Everybody Has A Story: Jenny (Verry) Holdredge - From Syracuse to Doctorate

by Garry Warner | May 21, 2026

“If you want to get it done, get a woman to do it!  “SHE” is Jennifer Suzanne Verry (ALWAYS  known as Jenny), born October 1, 1977 to James and Valerie Verry in the small town of Belle Fourche, located on the northern slopes of the famous Black Hills in western South Dakota. Younger brother Wesley would come along seven years later.  Jennie would live there until the second grade when her mother moved her and her baby brother to Coolidge, Kansas, after her parents divorced.
 They would live with Jenny’s grandparents, Fred and Rose Ostoff, until her mother was able to afford her own home in Syracuse.  But Coolidge schools had already consolidated with Syracuse, and Jenny was now officially a Syracuse Bulldog and part of the class of ‘96.  Lisa Haslett and Heather Kennedy were special friends, but she emphasized that she was friends with everybody in her class.
 Jenny was a typical kid in elementary school, playing with her friends, swimming at the community pool, and riding her bike.  She started working at part time jobs in middle school at the Northrup Theatre and Cynthia’s Pizzaria. She recalled a connection with Ron Ewy, the longtime Syracuse High School Track Coach and Counselor. Jenny had been working on a science experiment on how optimism or pessimism impacts how people see  optical illusions.  She was struggling to get it all to make sense and fit together, so she went to the school library for information.  When she found what she was looking for, she took it to Mr. Ewy for a better explanation, “What is this stuff?”  she asked.   His answer was, “That’s psychology.”
 We’ve all had those moments in our lives when something changed, some event or something someone said that put us on a different path or impacted us in a special way.  That’s what happened to Jenny that day as she sat in Mr. Ewy’s office discussing a science experiment.
 Sometimes, a story just pops up within a story.  Ron Ewy was one of those stories.  I reached out to Chris Pollart who now teaches in Lakin, Kansas.  Chris and Ron coached together.  “I was lucky enough to teach and coach with Ron for 21 years.”  I had just shared the amazing story about Ron and Jenny with Chris.  “That story you recounted was typical Ron Ewy.  He could sit there and see more about a student than he could see about himself.  Then he was able to say, okay, this is what we need to do to hit that end goal.  Countless times, students, both in the school and at even out for track, might start a conversation, and you had no idea where it was going to end.  Until all of a sudden you had that ‘aha’ moment like ‘Oh! I hadn’t looked at it that way.  That really makes sense.’    He was a wealth of knowledge and he could apply it.”
 That’s what had happened between Mr. Ewy and Jenny.  Her voice changed as she was recounting the story.  I could tell that this had been a life changing moment when a high school counselor and coach who touched so many lives in his years in the Syracuse schools had said, “That’s psychology.”  Her answer was quick and profound.  “I said, ‘I love this!  This is what I want to do!’  He said, ‘you need to get your doctorate in psychology.’  I said, ‘What?’   Okay!  I was thirteen or something at the time, and he and I decided I was going to get my doctorate in psychology, and I HAVE my doctorate in psychology now!”  Her experiment required giving people a little test that she distributed in her class and a few others.  Teachers let her go in and interrupt classes and administer the test.  She had found it in one of the books she used for research. Jenny was on her way!
 When she finished that story, we both paused for a few moments, me to process what I had just heard, and she as she was remembering.  She went on to express how much support she had from her parents, teachers, especially Mr. Ewy, and parents of her friends.  She especially remembered Tim and Rhonda Haslett and James and Diana Kennedy. Jenny also found time for basketball, choir, band (alto saxaphone).  Some of her favorite teachers besides Mr Ewy included Mr. Richter, Mrs. Hauck, Mr. Mathias, Mrs. Spiker, and Mr. Sullens.  She laughed and said, “I don’t want to forget anyone!” 
She reminesced about cruising main and going to football games with friends.  There were band trips to places like Branson, Missouri.  She also had an artistic side, a REALLY GOOD artistic side.  She painted a mural at the city swimming pool.  She designed a badge for the Hamilton County Sheriff’s office.  That creation was featured in the Syracuse Journal.  She designed the class t-shirt.  She went to state and won a state art contest.  “I  was always artistic.  I did a lot of fun stuff, but I didn’t really know what to do as an artist.  You know, you always hear about starving artists.  I just thought, oh, I probably don’t want to do that for a career, but I liked art.  I still like art.”
 When I asked if she was a teacher’s pet, she responded by saying, “I was a good student.”  She mentioned that she was tied with six classmates with a 3.9 grade average.  The next year, when she moved to Glenwood City, Wisconsin, she was class salutatorian.
From that special day back in middle school, Jenny remained focused on a career in psychology.  She planned on getting her higher education at Kansas University, but that all changed in her junior year when her mother got a tumor in her back.  Her mother had been a nurse at the Hamilton County Hospital, and the family made the difficult decision that it would be best if Jenny stayed with her aunt and uncle in Glenwood City, Wisconsin, to make sure her senior year would not be interrupted while her mother got treatment.   Jenny would graduate from high school in Glenwood with their class of ‘96. 
She and Syracuse classmate friends Drift Wood and Dana Watson, all left before their senior year, but the three have kept in touch with each other and all their Syracuse classmates.  Jenny plans to attend her Syracuse class 30 year reunion this May.
Upon completing high school. she started looking for the perfect college to pursue her Bachelor’s in Psychology.  The University of Wisconsin Eau Claire was chosen because of its psychology department  and because she was now living out of Kansas and would have to pay much out state higher tuition.  Jenny worked all through college.  Her jobs were in her career field including work in a juvenile detention home, case management, and child protection.  She also enjoyed being a member of Delta Zeta sorority.  She  balanced classes and all those jobs with working at Hutchinson Technology, a factory that made computer parts.  When I marveled at everything she did, she admitted. “I had to work a lot!”  
 Upon the recommendations of her professors, she chose Minnesota School of Professional Psychology where she would get her Master’s in marriage and family counseling, graduating in 2003.  Her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology would come later  in 2012.
 But many changes in Jenny’s life came before she would finally get that coveted Doctorate.  Just when I didn’t think Jenny could surprise me again, she surprised me again.  It was 2002, and she was in the middle of getting her master’s.  To pay college expenses and support herself, she was working in case management and child protection, and child mentoring.  One of those children was eleven year old Clarissa.  “She lived with her grandmother, and her grandmother was going into assisted living. The attorney called me and asked if I would take her. I didn’t really want a kid.  I was 25 and single.  You know what I mean? I was finishing my master’s at that point, I asked him what was going to happen to her and he said she was going to go into the system. I didn’t want that either, so I adopted her.”  God bless you, Jenny!  
 Clarissa is 35 now.  She lives in Eau Claire, Wisconsin with her daughter and is a nail tech cosmotologist.
  Jenny’s work ethic continued there as well where she worked in mental health.  After completing her Master’s, Jenny obtained her license as a marriage and family therapist, and started her family practice while completing her Doctorate.   The year was 2004.  She would name it Rum River (named after a nearby river) Counseling, Inc., a name that it still has today.  Little did she know that this would be the first big step to managing a large company with dozens of employees and thousands of clients.
 Jenny and Andrew Holdredge would marry in 2005.  They had three children, daughter Emma in 2006, son Hayden in 2008, and daughter Lola in 2011.  Jenny and Andrew divorced in 2012 but they continue to be friends, cheerfully share their responsibilities as co-parents and running the family business together.
  As she talked about her degrees, the passion for psychology started to surface again.  “Psychology was always the love of mine, like, gosh, I really like understanding people, and I always liked  to listen to people like when they would talk about what’s going on with them or whatever.  So this career path was just like a natural thing for me.”  The small company began growing almost immediately. “My business literally boomed due to the work I was doing with couples, and the work environment I was providing was safe and supporting, and it allowed therapists to thrive and specialize in areas of interest which has been a big draw for therapists joining my group.  Clients have largely come via word of mouth and we see many people from the same family.  Clients and therapists both trust our company and that is a very important value to me that I work hard to protect and provide.” Her dream was to bring five or six counselors together under one umbrella.  “I just wanted five or six people, and I wanted us to do it together, and nobody wanted to do that.  They all wanted me to do it.  I’m not really that kind of person.  I’m not like a class A type of person.  I’m not like the person who wants to be in charge, you know?  So I was kind of reluctant to start a business, you know?  I didn’t go to school for a business either.”
 But reluctant or not, start the business she did! And it grew and it grew!  Five or six associates became ten, then twenty, then 30.  “I’m good at bringing people together.  I’m good at making people feel safe.”  Today, she has over 70 employees (60 therapists and 10 administrative) and  operates out of six offices. There are also three associates that have moved to  other states but choose to stay within the company while they work  remotely.  The website for Rum River Counseling is “rumrivercounseling.com.”  Jenny’s artistic talents and creativity are on full display as you brouse.  Jenny does all the marketing.  Revenue this year will exceed eight million dollars.  The company is growing by over $1,000,000 a year, and serves thousands of clients.
 Today, Jenny has just a handful of clients of her own that she personally counsels.  She meets with them remotely via Teletherapy,  and runs the company from her home including ALL the billing.  This amazing woman never stopped surprising me!!!
 I hope readers will take a moment after you have finished reading Jenny’s story, and go to the company website.  You will see all the amazing things this company does!  You will get to see some of Jenny’s artistic talents.  She created the website by herself.  I forgot to ask her if she is planning on going to the moon...probably!!!
 As Jenny reflected on everything we had talked about, I asked her if she had any final thoughts she would like to share.  She was quiet for a few minutes, and then she started to speak softly about her amazing journey.  “I would just say that like, my company has afforded me the opportunity to just live a great life and my daughter’s going to college for business, my kids work in the business.  It’s been something we can all enjoy together.  It’s a cool business because it helps a lot of people.  I feel I have a really full life.  I have great connections and great like businesses, like women’s networking groups.  I’m close to my neighbors and my people in my town, and so many friends.”
 “I’ve worked really hard,  but my business has really just kind of helped me create the life I want, where I can travel a lot, and I have a lot of flexibility.  Mr. Ewy, if it hadn’t been for him, I’d probably be an artist!”  As she said those last words, there was a quiet chuckle as she remembered.  You could feel the reverence for this man who had impacted her young life in such a profound way.
 Both her brother and her mother live close to her.  Jenny bought her mother a home in nearby Shoreview, and Wesley lives in Elk River.  He works for a road construction contractor, and “is doing really well!”
 I asked her if she would like to say anything about growing up in Syracuse.  Again, there was a long pause, and then she began.  “I would just say to value the connections you make.  Along the way, you just don’t know where it will lead.  I’ve always valued people and relationships and along the way. I have really close friends and people that I’ve just developed relationships along the way, and I think it’s important to let people influence you.  When Mr. Ewy said to get your doctorate in clinical psychology, I could have easily been like, oh, that seems like too much. But I felt he had some good ideas about it, and so I thought I would just go with it.”
 Yes, you did, Jenny!  You “just went with it.”  You REALLY went with it!  Thank you, Ron Ewy!  I know you are looking down from heaven as you read Jenny’s story and saying, “Job well done!”
 It’s an amazing accomplishment that started in a Syracuse, Kansas middle school classroom.  It started when a quiet young girl fell in love with psychology in the middle of  a science experiment, and was encouraged by her counselor to pursue her dream.  As I write her story, I’m reminded that this could only happen in America.  She will be in Syracuse next month when the class of 1996 celebrates its 30th reunion.
 
 

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