Board of Directors

Thank you for reading our story, and considering the idea of being one of our many Community Partners. My name is Clayton Maier, and I am the President of the Board of Directors for Destination Elevation. I’m native to the Bismarck area. I was born, raised, and educated in Bismarck. I graduated college from Minnesota State University at Moorhead, and then returned to Bismarck. I owned and operated an indoor advertising company providing all the advertising you see on the bathroom walls in restaurants and bars. My beautiful wife and I have 3 amazing adult children, and 2 granddaughters whom we adore. I ultimately sold the indoor advertising business and accepted a position as a police officer with the Bismarck Police Department, where I spent many years helping our community in various ways. I retired from that career path at the end of 2011. My wife and I then purchased an over the road trucking company which I’m currently operating. I’ve been actively involved in recovery and mentoring for nearly 40 years, and fully understand the complications that addiction, mental health issues, and criminal activity brings into many lives. One of my favorite mottos is “we never shoot our wounded”. There’s always hope that everyone can be spared from the horrific effects of addiction. I feel the same way about children. After raising 3 children myself, I clearly see that we can absolutely make a positive difference in any child’s life and plant the seeds necessary to keep them from going down the paths of addiction, destruction, and criminal activity. Every child and every person deserves to know that somebody loves them and cares about their future. Destination Elevation is a platform like nothing I’ve experienced. Our Mentors are from all walks of life. More importantly, most of our Mentors have seen the darker sides of society and have miraculously returned from a position that seemed hopeless. We believe that through the use of positive principles, and principles of self-analysis, we are capable of helping anyone to change their perspective on their life, and return to being responsible productive members of our communities.

My dynamite wife, Teri, and I have been married for 35 years. God has blessed them with son, Nathanael, daughter-in-law, Alexis, and daughter, Brooke. Jon grew up in Williston, North Dakota, and graduated in 1989 with a B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from NDSU and in 1994 with a Master’s in Religious Education from Nazarene Theological Seminary. Jon has worked as a consultant electrical engineer for over 20 years and is currently working remotely as the director of business development for a growing power delivery engineering firm. In 2000, Jon and Teri quit their jobs and jumped out in obedient faith, moving to Fargo, ND, to start a new church for people who don’t like going to church. With no experience, but great passion, they followed God’s dream of connecting 1,000s of people apart from God with Christ and a church family. Over the next 20 years, the church grew to one of the largest churches in North Dakota. In 2019 Jon and Teri retired from pastoral ministry and moved out of North Dakota but their love for ND and the people of ND remained so they moved to Bismarck in 2023. Jon is passionate about training Godly, effective leaders in the church and business community and started a business called Growing Forward in 2010. He has completed leadership speaking, training, and coaching contracts as a founding team member of the John Maxwell Team. From 2016 to 2021, Jon wrote leadership columns for Forum Communications that were published in 10 newspapers in ND, SD, and MN. Jon is excited about the potential for Destination Elevation to lift the hope and future of thousands of kids throughout North Dakota in the years to come.

I am from Napoleon. I’ve lived and worked in Bismarck for the past 25 years. I am married and have 3 children.

I bring a heart for service and a passion for keeping things organized and moving forward. With a background in Human Resources, I love using my skills in communication and structure to help support the mission behind the scenes. Outside the boardroom, I’m a wife, a mom, and someone who deeply values faith, family, and community transformation. Being part of Destination Elevation allows me to live out my belief that real, lasting change starts with clear purpose and consistent action. I’m grateful to play a small part in something that’s making such a big difference.

During the day I am a manufacturing engineer for Bobcat, but on weekends you might find me having a blast playing some laser or archery tag! My goal is to bring some excitement, teamwork, and wholesome fun to the people of our community. I support the mentors with fun activities and provide opportunities for youth to participate in running my small mobile entertainment business, Blast ND.