Director

Director Payton Beims was born and raised on a farm approximately twenty miles Southwest of Saint Francis, Kansas in a family of four. Ever since Payton was a child, he always enjoyed helping those in need and giving back to his community in whatever way he could. This mostly involved the Pleasant Hill 4-H Club in his younger years, but eventually grew into being involved with other organizations whose focuses were to build up the community and provide for its inhabitants.

Payton was, for a time, the youngest person to attend the Kansas Leadership Training Academy shortly after its grand opening. Payton openly admits he enjoys leadership roles because of the opportunities they present and the challenges they bring to the table.

Payton became a Police Officer with the Atwood Police Department in December of 2018. In September of 2021, he suffered an ankle injury which took him out of his job for an extended period of time. That is when Cardinal was born.

Given the staggering number of suicides in the community, Payton had always felt somewhat guilty regarding the status of mental healthcare in the area. He had been wanting to do something about it for some time, but never had the time to do so and didn't know exactly where to start. His time in recovery and dealing with his injury provided all the time he needed to begin the process of creating what Northwest Kansas has needed for so long.