HE’S DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF PLATTE COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT
At the Missouri Public Health Association (MPHA) annual conference, Dan Luebbert, REHS, deputy director of the Platte County Health Department, was honored with the W. Scott Johnson Award.
The W. Scott Johnson award is the most prestigious award given by (MPHA). This award is meant to be a tribute to the skills, integrity, devotion to duty and the constructive leadership, which characterized the life of W. Scott Johnson, a longtime public health professional.
The first award was given 73 years ago in 1951. A list of past winners can be found at https://www.mopha.org/scholarships-awards.php.
The individuals on the list are some of the most influential public health figures that have served in Missouri.
This year was the first time in the award’s history that there were two recipients in a single year. The other awardee was Stephanie Browning, director of the Columbia-Boone County Health Department.
In 1989, Luebbert started his career as a multi-county environmental sanitarian, serving Lafayette (Mo.) and Johnson (Mo.) counties. He started with the Platte County Health Department in 1991, where he has worked for more than 33 years.
Luebbert’s hard work and dedication has not only made a permanent impact on public health in Platte County, but at the state and national levels. He is the epitome of the unsung hero and his many significant contributions are almost always out of the limelight.
However, shining stars are hard to hide. In 1995, Luebbert was awarded Sanitarian of the Year. Over the past 15 years, he has taken on multiple, more visible leadership roles, including being president of MPHA.
In Luebbert’s role as immediate past-president, Luebbert took on the project of merging MPHA and the Missouri Association of Local Public Health Agencies, two associations that have been the primary voice for public health in Missouri. That project was completed in September 2024.
Luebbert and his wife, Lisa, are long-time residents of Platte County and their son, Jacob, is pursuing a graduate degree in journalism at the University of Missouri, Columbia.
