Norma Champion is a former children's TV show host and retired university professor

Professor

A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...

 who served as a Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 in both the Missouri House of Representatives

Missouri House of Representatives

The Missouri House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the Missouri General Assembly. It has 163 members, representing districts with an average size of 31,000 residents. House members are elected for two-year terms during general elections held in even-numbered years.In 1992 Missouri...

 from 1995 through 2003 and the Missouri State Senate from 2003 through 2010. She is a resident of Springfield, Missouri

Springfield, Missouri

Springfield is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County. According to the 2010 census data, the population was 159,498, an increase of 5.2% since the 2000 census. The Springfield Metropolitan Area, population 436,712, includes the counties of...

.

Norma received her masters degree in communications from Missouri State University

Missouri State University

Missouri State University is a public university located in Springfield, Missouri, United States and founded in 1905. It is the state's second largest university, with an official enrollment of 20,802 in fall 2011...

 and a Ph.D.

Ph.D.

A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...

 in educational communications technology from the University of Oklahoma

University of Oklahoma

The University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...

. She went on to do post-graduate study at the University of London

University of London

-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...

. After completing her studies, she served as professor of Broadcasting and Communication Theory at Evangel University

Evangel University

Evangel University is the national university of arts, sciences and professions in Springfield, Missouri. Evangel College was renamed Evangel University on June 8, 1998. The campus sits on that were originally part of . The first President of Evangel was Klaude Kendrick who served from 1955-1958....

, and, from 1957 to 1986, was the writer, producer, and host of the television program The Children's Hour on KYTV

KYTV (TV)

KYTV, virtual channel 3, is the NBC-affiliated television station for the Ozark Plateau area of Southwestern Missouri that is licensed to Springfield. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 44 from a transmitter in Fordland...

, channel 3, the Ozarks' NBC

NBC

The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

 affiliate, known to locals as just simply, "KY3".

In 1987, Norma was first elected to the Springfield (MO) city council. She served in that body through 1992, when she was elected to the Missouri House of Representatives

Missouri House of Representatives

The Missouri House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the Missouri General Assembly. It has 163 members, representing districts with an average size of 31,000 residents. House members are elected for two-year terms during general elections held in even-numbered years.In 1992 Missouri...

, She served in that body through 2002, when she was first elected to the Missouri State Senate. During her eight years in the Senate, she served on the following committees:

• Gubernatorial Appointments
• Health, Mental Health, Seniors and Families (chair)
• Education (vice chair)
• Appropriations
• Rules.

Throughout the years, Norma has continued to serve the community on a variety of board and committees. In 2009, Norma was awarded the General Superintendent's Medal of Honor, the highest honor the Assemblies of God

Assemblies of God

The Assemblies of God , officially the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, is a group of over 140 autonomous but loosely-associated national groupings of churches which together form the world's largest Pentecostal denomination...

bestows upon a layperson, reserved for those who have greatly distinguished themselves through meritorious served to God, the church and fellow citizens.

In 2011, Norma was named Professor Emerita at Evangel University.