COMO | June 2020

JUN E 2020 | T HE S MA LL BUS I NES S ISSU E | A PU B L ICATION OF TH E B U SIN E SS TIM E S COM PAN Y

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Resilience [ri-zil-yuh ns] (n.)

The ability to recover from or adjust to misfortune or change.

Perseverance in the face of uncertainty isn’t easy.

Doubt. Fear. Frustration. They take their toll and wear you down.

But you are strong. You endure. Because you are resilient.

So, stay the course. Trust your plan. Hold your ground.

And know you are never alone.

Fully invested in you.

Convergence-Financial.com Securities offered through LPL Financial. Member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advice offered through Convergence Financial, LLC, a registered investment advisor. Convergence Financial and LPL Financial are separate unaffiliated legal entities.

F I N D C A L M A M I D S T T H E C H AO S .

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• HelpDesk • Patch Management

• Monitor & Remediation • Engineering as a Service

HERE FOR YOU. The way we provide care might look a little different, but our commitment to safe, expert care is unwavering. Your health is important, now more than ever, and we don’t want anything to delay or prevent you from receiving the care you need. In addition to our expanded virtual care options, our hospitals and clinics have additional processes in place to ensure your care is as safe as possible.

We’re committed to your health and the health of our community and will continue to serve patients throughout, and long after, this health crisis.

LEARN MORE AT MUHEALTH.ORG/HERE-FOR-YOU.

We are so grateful

True North would like to recognize the following sponsors for providing support despite event cancellation.

Thank you for believing in the value of what we do.

LITTLE BLACK DRESS GALA SPONSORS

Lee & David Russell

Businesses

Bank of Missouri Betz Jewelers Columbia House of Brokers Realty, Inc CrossFit Fringe Fresh Ideas Gerding, Korte & Chitwood CPAs KRCG MFA Oil, Inc.

Missouri Employers Mutual Nancy Allison, Shelter Insurance Agent Pepper Sprout Properties Pet Center LTD Providence Bank Shelter Insurance Foundation Veterans United Realty

Individuals

Katie Cox & Friends Jeri Doty Mary Jo Henry Lisa Howard Donna Jambor Ruby Kuhler Julie Middleton & Friends Brenda Selman Wendy Wiederhold Mary Wiemer & Friends

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Letter from the Editor

We Are Resilient!

G

oodness! I don’t know about you, but I don’t know whether I want to hit the pause button to try and process everything that’s gone on in the past three months or hit the fast-forward button to when everything feels normal again. But, sadly, since life didn’t come with a remote control, I suppose we’ll keep taking it one day at a time.

How are you doing with taking it one day at a time? If you’re a small business owner, there truly isn’t another choice — you just keep moving forward. I can’t even begin to imagine how many decisions you have to make daily in order to keep your business afloat, much less the pressure you feel to do well by your employees.

Right now, our futures are uncertain to some extent, but I do know this: Our community is resilient! We will get through all the ups and downs the future holds. We will support our favorite businesses and restaurants because we’re an extended family. We are Columbians. We are neighbors. We are friends. We have each other’s back. Together, we will push through and come out on the other side.

This Small Business Issue gives you a peek into how that’s already being practiced.

Art in the Park may be canceled this year, but the artists who planned to be there are finding new ways to sell their artwork. Hear from a few artists about their plans and how you can support them and others on page 56.

A pair of sisters who own a lavender farm in Rocheport are finding ways to still provide their customers with their favorite products through a cute little stand they’ve built at the end of their driveway (page 51).

Despite the lockdowns, business development hasn’t stopped. Drive to the

“Success is not final; failure is not final. It is the courage to continue that counts.” ­­ —Winston Churchill south side of town to the corner of Scott Boulevard and Nifong, and you’ll see a few new construction sites next to Addison’s and the Copperstone neighborhood. Want to know what that’s all about? Check it out on page 94.

And let’s not forget our cover story. The Bank of Missouri has recently brought on Geoff Karr to help build out the commercial side of their bank so that they can be a bigger asset to the community. Learn more about Geoff and the two other recent executive hires on page 88.

ART DIRECTOR’S PICKS Where’s my stimulus check going?

Well, after dutifully paying honors to Dave Ramsey and tucking most away, I will support some of my favorite small businesses.

Skylark Bookshop One of the last things I did before the stay-at-home order was go on the April cover shoot with Alex George. Little did I know I should have stocked up then! My reading habits have increased, but my home library needs a little help.

Hitt Records I recently acquired a record player.

I’m doing my best not to become a hoarder....

Fractal Branch Botanicals I’ve yet to try these full-spectrum hemp products out of a small farm in Northern Arkansas. Ozark Naturals is a teaching and research farm that uses organic and sustainable practices. And since Columbia native Maggy Rhein is involved, I know the product will be great!

ON THE COVER The Bank of Missouri’s newest executives: Geoff Karr, Mike Ireland, and Jay Alexander (page 88).

Photo by Anthony Jinson

JUNE 2020 | THE S M A L L B US I NESS ISSUE | A PUBLICAT ION OF T HE BUSINE SS T IME S COMPANY

We got this!

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EMMA BENTLEY EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

��EaM �eA� COMOMAG.COM

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Committed and authentic for the greater good of our company, and more importantly, our clients.

Polly Reynolds CPA, CTFA,

Vice President and Trust Officer Jenny and I have our own responsibilities, strengths and weaknesses. By encouraging and supporting one another, we enhance each other and more importantly, our clients benefit from working with a cohesive, high performing team. And they’ve learned to count on us to cheer them on toward their professional and personal goals.

We work hard, and we have joy.

There is just nothing better to witness, as well as being a part of The Trust Company!

Jenny Hayes

Account Administrator Polly and I work towards a common vision, which is providing excellent customer service to our amazing clients.

This collaboration makes our relationship with each other and our clients successful. Individually we can do a lot, but together we can do so much more. When women support each other, as we do, incredible and marvelous things happen!

See us for your investment portfolio, trusts, estates and wealth management.

Jenny Hayes

Polly Reynolds

4210 Philips Farm Road, Ste. 109 Columbia, MO 65201 573.876.7000 thetrustco.com Toll Free 800.285.7878 This is a Trust Representative Office.

President Erica Pefferman

Erica@comomag.com

Senior Vice President Fran Patrick Fran@comomag.com

EDITORIAL Publisher Erica Pefferman Erica@comomag.com

Editor-in-Chief Emma Bentley Emma@comomag.com

Department Editor Hannah Kueck

Hannah@comomag.com

Editorial Assistant Kim Ambra

DESIGN Art Director Cassidy Shearrer

Cassidy@comomag.com

Senior Graphic Designer Jordan Watts Jordan@comomag.com

Graphic Designer Sadie Thibodeaux Sadie@comomag.com

MARKETING REPRESENTATIVES Director of Sales Bonnie Hudson Bonnie@comomag.com

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

Keith Borgmeyer, Mary Kate Hafner, Anthony Jinson, Anastasia Pottinger, Sadie Thibodeaux

Operations Manager Amy Ferrari Amy@comomag.com

OUR MISSION

To inspire, educate, and entertain the citizens of Columbia with quality, relevant content that reflects Columbia’s business environment, lifestyle, and community spirit.

CONTACT

The Business Times Co. 300 St. James St., Suite 103 Columbia, MO 65201 (573-499-1830) • comomag.com @wearecomomag /wearecomomag @wearecomomag

We’re•so¶ much•more¶ than•a¶ bookshop.

You’ll love not only what’s on our shelves but what happens between them, as well!

Readings, signings, talks, book clubs, and more.

SUBSCRIPTIONS

Magazines are $5.95 an issue. Subscription rate is $39 for 12 issues for one year or $69 for 24 issues for two years. Subscribe at comomag. com or by phone.

COMO is published every month by The Business Times Co., Copyright The Business Times Co., 2020. All rights reserved.

Reproduction or use of any editorial or graphic content without the express written permission of the publisher is prohibited.

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Kristin Blake, Nicole Flood, Mary Kate Hafner, Katie Perry Harris, Jessica Jainchill, Jessica Vaughn Martin, Kermit Miller, David Morrison, Jennifer Truesdale

ON T H EM E

Where is your favorite local place to buy gifts?

Erica Pefferman Publisher

Fran Patrick Senior Vice President

Jordan Watts Senior Graphic Designer

Sadie Thibodeaux Graphic Designer

I love going to McAdams’ for those really special to me.

Charlie, the general manager, acts as my personal shopper. I tell her my budget and what the person is like and she immediately puts several things in front of me to pick from.

Speckled Frog has amazing kiddo gifts, plus the in-store experience makes you feel like a kid again. Poppy always is a great one-stop shop for everyone you know, also.

You can never go wrong with a good book from Yellow Dog or Skylark bookshops and a bag of beans from a local coffee shop.

Fretboard is my personal favorite!

I adore Poppy. They have such lovely, handmade goodies, from beautiful jewelry to pretty coffee mugs, and a section in the back for kids. Added bonus: The staff is incredibly friendly and helpful if you’re not quite sure what you’re looking for.

22 S. 9th St., Columbia Mon – Thu: 10-6 • Fri – Sat: 10-8 • Sun: 11-5 mail@skylarkbookshop.com (573) 777-6990 • SkylarkBookShop.com

Sign up for our newsletter to get the latest on our upcoming events.

Because books.

Hero [hÄ“-rĹ?]

noun, plural heroes 1. a person noted for courageous acts or nobility of character 2. a person who, in the opinion of others, has special achievements, abilities, or personal qualities and is regarded as a role model or ideal

To all the heroes taking care of our community and to our community for taking care of us,

Thank you

IN THIS ISSUE

85 PERSON YOU SHOULD KNOW Eric Morrison, Mid-Missouri president at Providence Bank, cherishes time with his family and small culde-sac gatherings.

JUNE 2020 | The Small Business Issue

13 Editor’s Letter

LIVING 21 ART & CULTURE To Plant a Seed

23 PET FRIENDLY Education vs. Training

25 WELLNESS The Chamber’s Affordable Benefits Plan

47

FAVORITE FINDS Dig It!

51

FRIENDS & FAMILY A Budding Family Business

63

COUPLE YOU SHOULD KNOW Eric and Angie Olsen

WORKING 67

CLOSER LOOK

68

26

BRIEFLY IN THE NEWS

HOMES Moving into Coastal Style

71

33

73

GOURMET Saturdays Are for Snacks

MOVERS & SHAKERS

LOCAL GOVERNMENT Coronapolitics

76

FEATURES

CELEBRATIONS

56

Salon Nefisa

78 NONPROFIT SPOTLIGHT Turning Point Day Center

81 BUSINESS UPDATE The Village of Bedford Walk

85 PERSON YOU SHOULD KNOW Eric Morrison

106 THIS OR THAT Tom Trabue

ART IN THE PAUSE How local artists are faring after the cancellation of shows — and how you can support their work.

88

IT’S A PEOPLE BUSINESS The Bank of Missouri adds a new executive hire and grows its Columbia market amidst a pandemic.

94

WHAT’S NEW ON THE SOUTH SIDE? Explore what’s being built and discover new favorites on Columbia’s south side of town.

101

NAVIGATING YOUR BUSINESS’S VALUE A guide to what you need to know before you put your business on the market.

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Living

26 MOVING INTO COASTAL STYLE Bennett and Alexis Arey enjoy living in their new custom-built home.

47 DIG IT! Get your garden on with these local favorite finds.

63 COUPLE YOU SHOULD KNOW Angie and Eric Olsen talk about their first date, their family, and their favorite activities.

Have you tried Ragtag at Home?

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Living

To Plant a Seed

ART & CULTURE

Anna Sundberg, Elizabeth Braaten Palmieri, and Courtney LeCure

A look into the inspiration behind the GreenHouse Theatre Project's performances.

BY HANNAH KUECK PHOTO BY ANASTASIA POT TINGER

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ontraditional. Innovative. Avant garde.

These are just some of the characteristics that can describe GreenHouse Theatre Project, a nonprofit theatre company founded

by Elizabeth Braaten Palmieri and Emily Adams in 2011 that is known for their site-specific performances around the city.

Led to Columbia by each of their husbands’ new jobs, both of these women found themselves here around the same time.

Both being professional actors and directors with extensive experience with nontraditional theatre in nontraditional spaces, they wanted to create a unique platform to showcase their work. “There was nothing like what we wanted to do here in Columbia,” Elizabeth says.

Being a new company with no money and no home for rehearsals or performances didn’t stop this duo. Instead, they used this as an opportunity to bring innovative theatre to the community. “We depended on this idea of site-specific. We’re like vagabonds — we move from location to location,” Elizabeth explains.

This was the seed that sprouted GreenHouse Theatre Project.

GreenHouse brings a new meaning to innovative and nontraditional theatre. The theatre company transforms the community into their stage. From nightclubs downtown to the rooftops of the art district, GreenHouse’s performance spaces have no limits. “We have inhabited and taken over in different ways,” Elizabeth says.

One of these nontraditional performances, Elizabeth remembers, was an adaptation of “Frankenstein” that she wrote. In this production, the theatre company collaborated with Hoot Design Co. and SilverBox Photography to create an immersive production that

allowed the audience to move throughout the space as action was happening. “I collaborated with two visual artists who were able to take my vision and bring it to life, and they created an art installation in which the performers and the audience got to move within it,” Elizabeth describes.

GreenHouse productions are, as Elizabeth describes, “quick and dirty.” Most of the productions put on by GreenHouse are around 60 to 75 minutes long. They’re fastpaced, engaging, and made to enthrall. “The idea is that you can grab ahold of your audience. You don’t even give them an option of wanting to look at their phone or their watch,” Elizabeth explains. This has become GreenHouse’s mission: to keep the audience’s attention long enough to tell the story and entertain them.

Collaboration is another element that allows GreenHouse to be innovative. In a traditional theatre, theatrical costume and set designers are hired to help with a production. But for GreenHouse productions, Elizabeth seeks visual artists to help create the scene. “We’re not trying to mask or disguise any of the spaces we’re in. I’ve chosen each of the spaces we’re performing in for a reason,” Elizabeth says.

Each project for GreenHouse Theatre Project starts as a seed that Elizabeth is planting.

From adapting the plays to collaborating with other artists, Elizabeth plants these seeds and watches how they take shape and grow. For GreenHouse, she explains, “It’s not just people standing and walking around talking. People are performing with every facet of their body, and it’s dangerous — with live theatre, it’s never going to be the same. Anything can happen.”

COMOMAG.COM

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JUNE 2020

Living

PET FRIENDLY

Education vs. Training Anne Gafke shares her 50 years of experience connecting with man’s best f riend.

BY JESSICA JAINCHILL

A

Google search of dog trainers in Columbia brings up many businesses with five-star ratings. However, only dog trainer Anne Gafke has a five-star rating that carries 50 years of experience and a deep, valuable understanding of dog training.

Anne’s 50 years of experience began with training a family dog that her husband, who was in the military, insisted be well-behaved since their family moved around so much.

From there, Anne trained dogs for other military families who were having difficulty moving around with their dogs.

Anne says: “It soon grew from [one person] having a problem to several other people having a problem, and then they knew somebody, and they knew somebody. So that’s how I got started in training dogs. Of course, we moved, and the same thing sort of repeated itself.”

Eventually, Anne’s husband retired from the military and they came to Columbia.

“We weren’t in the service anymore, and the same thing sort of happened, except I had a young [German] shepherd by then that I was working on training to show,” Anne says. “I had trained him, but I had not worked him around any other dogs or anything like that. I needed a class, and there were some people in town who were [giving] dog training classes. I went there, and it was absolutely deplorable. I was very upset by the way they trained and so on. I came home and said, ‘Forget that, I’m going to start all my own classes!’”

And that is how Anne Gafke’s Teacher’s Pet was born. Th is dog training facility is where Anne applies understanding and caring methods of training to each dog. Anne has trained various dogs for various purposes, but she approaches each case with a consistent belief that the bond between a person and their dog is important and unique.

“I came home and said, ‘Forget that, I’m going to start all my own classes!’”

“I try very hard to set the training to the individual dog. I try very hard to solve problems that people have with their dogs,” Anne says. She further emphasizes, “I like all dogs because every dog is different.”

Th is individualization is a key component of Anne’s approach to dog training, which she prefers to view as an “education.” Anne says that one of her biggest problems is that people drop off their dogs at her facility and come back and “want to know which button to push.”

“Dogs are biological systems,” she says. “It’s a matter of the education for the dog. How long did it take you to finish school? And yet you think that your dog is so much smarter than you that they can finish school in eight weeks?

People want an instant fi x, and it’s not a matter of instant fi x — it’s a matter of education.”

By approaching each case on its own terms like this, Anne is better able to understand what dogs — and their owners — need out of her training. “I definitely prefer positive reinforcement,” she says. “We want the dogs to love work and love working for you.”

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801 Business Loop 70 East, Columbia MO www.davegriggsflooringamerica.com

Living

WELLNESS

Chamber Offers Affordable Benefits Plan Small companies join together to provide employees with health insurance.

BY KATIE PERRY HARRIS

Q

uality health insurance with lower deductibles — who wouldn’t want to sign up? Small businesses in Columbia are fi nding that the Columbia Chamber of Commerce’s benefit plan provides them with an affordable option for health care coverage for their employees.

First available in 2017 as the Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangement, or MEWA, the plan has been known as the Chamber Benefit Plan since 2019. The plan is a joint effort between the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry and local chambers, like Columbia’s. The model enables smaller employers to join together and share in the overall claims risk by being part of the larger pool.

POOLING TOGETHER TO PROVIDE BENEFITS “We need access to good, affordable health care,” says Matt McCormick, president of the Columbia Chamber of Commerce. “It’s been a challenge. We worked hard to advocate along with the state chamber to get this done.”

The plan is designed for small businesses with two to 50 employees, and businesses must be a member of their local chamber to be eligible. “We’ve had a number of businesses join the chamber so they could have access to this,” Matt reports.

The Columbia chamber works with the local business community to find programs that are beneficial to members. “We continually try to revamp and try new programs and products that our business community finds value in,” Matt says. “Insurance for small businesses was one of those things.”

Some businesses that join the plan are able to offer health care to employees for the fi rst time in their company’s history, according to Matt. Others join for the financial benefit, he adds — the Columbia chamber uses the plan itself, seeing annual savings of $7,000.

LOCAL COMPANIES SEE ADVANTAGES Locally, about 95 businesses are a part of the plan. One of those companies is Dave Griggs’ Flooring America. Michele Bayte, the store’s president, fi rst heard about the plan when she served as chair of the chamber’s Women’s Network. “The plan not only offered significant savings, but we also were able to give a richer plan with lower deductibles,” Michele says.

Providing quality health care helps with recruiting employees, Michele adds. “It gives me

and my employees peace of mind that we’re able to provide something that is obtainable and affordable.”

Michele also sees an advantage in using local insurance providers with multiple brokers to choose from. Current insurance agencies offering the plan include First State Insurance Agency, Gallaher Insurance Group, NaughtNaught Insurance Agency, TIG Advisors, and Winter-Dent & Company.

Monarch Title Co. president Chuck Bowman learned of the plan when he was looking through the Missouri Chamber’s magazine and saw an ad for the program. “We ended up saving a little over $10,000 a year, which is pretty phenomenal,” Chuck says. “Plus the big benefit is that it’s a group of small employers, so we all have that commonality and we gain savings by joining together as a small business group.”

Monarch covers 100% of its employees’ medical and dental insurance, so the savings allows them to reinvest the funds in new software or bonuses for staff. “All that goes to the bottom line, so it’s a huge benefit for us and for the employees,” says Chuck.

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JUNE 2020

Living

HOMES

Moving

Coastal Style into

Bennett and Alexis Arey enjoy living in their new custom-built home.

BY KAT IE PE RRY HARRIS P H OTOS BY K EI T H B O RGM EY ER

COMOMAG.COM

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Living

28

HOMES

JUNE 2020

W

alking into Alexis and Bennett Arey’s new home in The Gates subdivision in southwest Columbia, you can see that their vision for their custom-built home has been brought to life. After detailing their homebuilding process in COMO’s “To Build or Not to Build” series, the Areys have now moved into the home that Alexis describes as open concept, light and bright, and homey.

“A lot of people move into their house and say, ‘Next time I would change this,’” says Alexis. “I do not feel that way. We really feel at home and happy with our floor plan. It’s so cozy to us.”

Neutrals, Neutrals, Neutrals As soon as you enter the home through the front double doors, there’s a semi-formal entryway, one of Alexis’s must-haves for their new home. “I wanted a proper entrance where you’re not just walking into the living room right away,” she says.

The entry also leads to Bennett’s office, which has glass doors so it doesn’t feel closed off, and a half-bath with shiplap walls. The half-bath has the “whole vibe of Rosemary Beach,” Alexis says, one of the family’s favorite beach destinations in northwest Florida.

That coastal aesthetic was an important style element as the Areys picked out finishes.

Alexis describes her design style as coastal in the sense that it builds around “neutrals,

neutrals, neutrals.” That’s shown through the home’s white cabinetry, wall color in classic gray by Benjamin Moore, and wide-plank light oak floors. The engineered hardwood “hides dog scratches and doesn’t show dust or dirt,” Bennett adds.

Accented by touches like linen slipcovers on the living room furniture, the overall look is light and bright. “I didn’t want anything to scream farmhouse and be so trendy,” she says. “I wanted to bring in whites in a more classic way.”

Large windows and 10-foot high ceilings give the living, dining, and kitchen areas the open vibe and natural light that were key elements the Areys wanted in their new home. The open concept area has already provided the ideal space to host gatherings both large and small. “It’s perfect for hosting Super Bowl parties and family nights and still have everyone comfortable,” Bennett says.

The living room has a coffered ceiling with traditional crown molding and a stone fireplace with an oak mantel that matches floating shelves in the dining room bar.

The dining room bar also has custom-built cabinets with a small refrigerator and a serving area, and a large sliding door in the room leads directly out to the screened porch.

In the kitchen, which features custom, ceiling-height white cabinetry and quartz countertops, Alexis chose a Carrara marble subway tile for the backsplash to connect with the other marble throughout the house. A

large pantry off the kitchen contains multiple outlets for the coffee machine and small appliances. “No appliances on the counter was one of our big things,” Alexis explains.

Being Flexible and Decisive

Changes often happen along the way when building a custom home, and the Areys mentioned in an earlier article that the master closet was initially a roadblock. “After getting everything configured for our plan, we taped out the space on the ground and it was much smaller than we were wanting,” Bennett says. “Unfortunately, we found out you can’t always just make a room bigger. A few feet of difference can throw off the whole roof design or many other aspects of your plan.”

They solved the problem by bumping the closet a foot into the garage. The end result is a large walk-in closet with custom cabinetry, including built-in dresser drawers, shoe racks, and a mirror. The closet’s pocket doors connect directly to the laundry room on one end and the master bath on the other.

“It wasn’t super important to us to have a huge, luxurious bathroom,” Alexis says.

“We did higher-end finishes in the bathroom to compensate for the fact that it’s not as massive.” The look is achieved with a custom furniture piece for the double vanity, polished nickel faucets and fixtures, marble floors with a herringbone pattern, and a slab of marble for the bench in the shower.

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“At the end of the day, I was decisive and went in with a vision beforehand,” Alexis says. “It made the builders’ lives easier and made it more enjoyable for everyone.”

The herringbone marble floor carries through to the laundry room, which has a fun, custom slide-out dog bowl cabinet for the couple’s dog. Pocket doors lead to the mud room, which features a shiplap back to the “drop zone” built-ins.

The home’s layout is a split bedroom design, with the master bedroom on one end and a bedroom for the Areys’ 2-year-old

30

JUNE 2020

daughter, Eleanor, on the other end, along with a second bedroom being used as a playroom and a bath featuring marble floors in a hexagon pattern. “We definitely wanted our daughter to be on the same floor as us,” Alexis says. “Aesthetically, I loved the look of a story-and-a-half house, but with a child her age, I didn’t want her upstairs.”

The Areys initially searched for a larger lot — something in the two- to five-acre range — but selected their lot in The Gates once they realized they didn’t want to sacrifice what they wanted in a house for more land. Now that they’re settled in, they love it. “We chose the lot

with the flattest backyard, which for us, with a little kid, is worth it,” Alexis says. Bennett adds that they’ve met a lot of neighbors and that the neighborhood is continuing to grow.

The only remaining items to finish in their new home are the landscaping and finishing out the walk-out basement level, with plans for another bedroom, a living area with a bar, a hobby room, and a flex movie theater or playroom space.

For others who are considering building a custom home, Bennett advises recognizing the critical importance of timelines, both in determining how long it’s going to take as a whole and determining deadlines to meet along the way. “I don’t think people realize how many hours go into this,” he says. “If you want to do a custom home, it’s going to be a lot of time.”

Alexis recommends that anyone who wants to build a custom home be comfortable making a lot of decisions. “You’re pretty much on your own, down to picking out the hinges on your doors,” she says. “A lot of people aren’t ready to do that.”

Would they build another custom home?

While they love their new house and would be comfortable living here forever, their goal is to see the home as an investment. “I enjoy the process so much,” Alexis says.

Bennett adds with a laugh, “Too much.”

“At the end of the day, I was decisive and went in with a vision beforehand,” Alexis says. “It made the builders’ lives easier and made it more enjoyable for everyone.”

Your home is more important than ever.

The moments you spend at home are what make it special. The time you spend with us is what makes our business meaningful.

Together, we can create a home that’s ready for all of life’s moments.

Life Happens At Home.

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MY SISTER’S CIRCUS Looking forward to seeing you soon.

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Living

GOURMET

S.2aturdays Snacks ARE FOR

A lunch made from finds at the Columbia Farmers Market.

BY M ARY KAT E HA FNE R

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Saturdays are great sprinters — they get away before they even seem to begin.

I let Saturday run. As a believer that the idea of hyper-productivity is counterproductive, I take Saturday as a chance for my brain to breathe. One of the best ways I do this is through learning about food, whether it’s by cooking, tasting, reading, or visiting the Columbia Farmers Market, a place that showcases our community’s farmers and artisans and helps bolster our region’s culture and environment.

Being an early riser, on Saturdays, I begin to set the state-of-mind for food by securing a cup of coffee and, of course, the mandatory baked goods. Saturday is the day a splash of half-and-half replaces my splash of soy milk.

Why not, when I have the time for indigestion that follows?

If breakfast is the most important meal of the day, then lunch is the most neglected.

During the week, my rushed, sad desk salads, and fast-casual bites wreck the potential optimism lunch tries to assert. Right when I’m feeling down in the middle of the day, lunch is there to provide an interlude and a delicious treat. There is no better place to give lunch the respect it deserves than at the Columbia Farmers Market.

Truthfully, I don’t go to the farmers market every Saturday. For me, the market is a fun adventure that I visit with no plan and, embarrassingly, sometimes with no reusable bags!

Walking up to the market pavilion, one can hear music and neighborhood chatter pour out onto the street, allowing market visitors to get a taste of what Columbia has to offer before they even take their first bite of a savory Ozark Mountain Biscuit Co. biscuit.

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I like to ask the farmers what their favorite ways are to prepare a particular vegetable. This, I have found, helps me fail less, and unlocks a treasure trove of farmers-only knowledge.

In addition to produce and meat, vendors also sell prepared foods, plants, honey, flowers, and baked goods — ­ there’s even a man that sharpens knives every weekend. There is a little bit of everything for everyone. These goods represent hours of labor and love performed by the individual smiling back at you behind their table.

Open for Summer My last visit to the farmers market took place in mid-April, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, as they opened for the summer season. My adventure to the market, to say the least, was Hollywood-level bizarre. Unlike my bags, I did not forget my face mask. No music was heard, and familiar faces and booths were missing.

Throughout the market, booths were spaced far apart, some shielded by plastic coverings. I navigated the market following crowd control and social distancing directions.

Despite the physical hurdles, I experienced the same cheerfulness I would have any other Saturday. I witnessed familiar unbridled passion from vendors while inquiring about different greens. I was even talked into purchasing, for the first time, dinosaur kale: a dark leafed, purple stemmed kale variety. Reminded of the resilience and strength of our community, I walked away with a terrific haul.

“These goods represent hours of labor and love performed by the individual smiling back at you behind their table.”

The Haul It was an impressive mixture. I picked up some extra-large ravioli and greens lasagna from Pasta La Fata, microgreen salad mix and rainbow chard microgreens from Stem to Table, and a jar of Hemme Brothers quark cheese — out of both self-love and self-loathing, I always purchase the smaller jar. I was coaxed into taking home the dinosaur kale (also called lacinato kale or black kale) and then I spotted some green onion and, for a friend, an egg and cheese biscuit from the Ozark Mountain Biscuit truck.

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Other frequent farmers market purchases are fresh flowers and bread, any lavender product, and mini pies or sweet bread loaves.

My shopping mantra is twofold: to not buy anything I don’t think I will consume and to try something new.

Stem to Table microgreens are my market staple. Like most things, greens are cuter when tiny. One of my favorites is Stem to Table’s basil microgreens, which, to me, are a modern take on basil: sweeter, brighter, and refreshing.

I throw my microgreens onto almost anything that could use a nutritional kick: sandwiches, salads, even crackers smeared with a cheese like Hemme Brothers’ quark, a creamy, mild-tasting German cheese that becomes buddies with almost anything it touches.

Through some Google research, I found that microgreens are harvested when the plant is no taller than five centimeters. This is typically about one to three weeks into the plant’s life.

Microgreens are best eaten raw. When cooked, they can lose their vitality, as well as precious water-soluble vitamins and enzymes.

Stem to Table also sells edible flowers, honey, balms, and salad mixes. Stem to Table and Hemme Brothers are among the many farmers market vendors whose goods are also available in grocery stores around Columbia.

Time for Lunch With the awareness that I had only consumed caffeine and sugar that morning, and with anchovy pasta sitting on my dinner plate docket, I knew lunch was my best chance to work in anything restorative for the day. My solution? Quick greens sautéed with pantry staples.

Snacking on cheese and crackers, I tore the kale by hand. As explained by its farmer, the dinosaur kale was intense. It had a firm bite and a taste that made me scrunch my nose.

Even after sautéing in the usual suspects — garlic, red onion, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and extra virgin olive oil ­— the hefty green still had some attitude.

I tossed a handful of microgreens salad mix on top for a balance of warm and cold. Then I finished the plate with a crumble off the feta cheese block and lemon. Hot sauce and tortilla chips may have made an appearance too.

It was fast. It was easy. And the only thing I regret is not adding a fried egg. Almost everything is better with an egg on top, maybe even a chocolate cake.

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Don’t ruminate. Just pause.

By Anne Tuckley Find more at AnneTuckleyhome.com

G

reek philosopher Heraclitus famously said, “Change is the only constant in life.” Is it ever.

We are all experiencing a massive shift in our lives. Some are suffering emotionally, some physically, some financially. Even the few that may not have been affected too dramatically are seeing the struggle in those around them.

It is a painful time.

I am fortunate in that myself and my loved ones have remained healthy. However, it should come as no surprise that my business has taken a hit. My business requires me to be in my clients’ spaces and other than the occasional vacant staging or virtual consultation that simply isn’t possible right now.

So I am pausing. It may be a forced pause, but nonetheless, a pause and pauses in life are critical. Pauses allow us to self-reflect, explore new hobbies, reconnect with others, and refocus. I am taking the time to breathe, reach out to those I care about, and tackle my own project list. I’ve used the time to write and illustrate letters to friends, paint a wall, and get my hands dirty in the garden.

Change in life is constant. Most changes, even good ones, come with some pain. The good news is no matter how dire things seem change is coming. Don’t stop. Don’t ruminate.

Just pause.

Anne Tuckley

ANNE TUCKLEY HOME Anne has been in the interior design industry for over 20 years and has resided in many metropolitan cities from NYC to Houston while honing in on her skills. Her specialties are interior design and home staging, with a focus on unique perception. Anne graduated with a BFA in fine art with a concentration in design and illustration. She has extensive experience in designing new construction as well as remodeling and conceptualizing out-of-the-box ideas. She ensures cutting edge design and superb customer service.

108 CORPORATE LAKE PLACE, COLUMBIA, MO 65203 573-639-1989 | ANNETUCKLEYHOME.COM

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Your Credit Score — The DOs and DONTs

By Tim Rich Find more at tlclender.com

F

or some people, managing their credit score is similar to playing Whack-A-Mole.

You address one issue and another one pops up. It can be a terribly frustrating cycle that never seems to have an end.

In my job as a loan officer with Total Lending Concepts, I have found there are three distinct groups of folks when it comes to credit scores: 1. People who have no idea what causes their credit score to get worse or get better.

2. People who have some idea about what helps and hurts their credit score, but don’t think they have the ability or the resources to see any improvement.

3. People who know what the causes of a good or bad credit score are, and work intentionally to check the boxes on the path toward a good score.

Let’s talk a little about the functional ways to improve your credit score or to make sure your score continues to stay in a good spot.

PAY YOUR BILLS ON TIME This is a big one. U.S. News & World Report estimated that a single late payment can lower a credit score by 100 points or more.

The good news…missing a payment by just a few days likely won’t put your scores at risk.

The bad news…paying bills 30 or more days late can have a serious effect on your credit.

KEEP BALANCES ON CREDIT CARDS AND LINES OF CREDIT BELOW 30% According to FICO, the amount you owe is the second-most-important factor after on-time payments. Just owing money isn’t an issue. Owing too much relative to your capacity of credit can be.

The key to this one is to start somewhere.

If you are at 100% credit utilization, try to get it to 70%. Then shoot for 50%…and then just keep going. As that number goes down, your credit score will go up.

DON’T MAKE TOO MANY CREDIT INQUIRIES This one is self-explanatory. Multiple credit inquiries in a short period can have a long effect on your record. But keep in mind that in certain situations, like buying a car, you can have multiple applications within a smaller time frame without your credit score taking the hit.

There are plenty of other tricks and tips to help you keep your credit score where it needs to be. Reach out to me today at tim.rich@ tlclender.com to learn more or to find out if your credit score is ready for that next big purchase.

Tim Rich

TOTAL LENDING CONCEPTS Tim Rich has called Mid-Missouri home for over 35 years, settling here after serving with the Salvation Army as Commanding Officer for Columbia and Boone County. He met and married Lauri, the love of his life, here. Together they raised three children and now enjoy traveling and spending time with their grandchildren. As a nonprofit leader for 30+ years, his integrity and heart for helping people and serving his community is the driving force which led him to his first career. Tim served the Central and Northeast Missouri communities in leadership positions with the Salvation Army, the Food Bank for Central and Northeast Missouri, the U.S. House of Representatives, Heart of Missouri United Way and, Welcome Home. He continues that “service to others” as a volunteer.

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A Thriving Market

By Beth Arey Find more at discovercolumbiamo.com

W

ith some of the best home sales and housing starts in more than a decade, our biggest challenge going into the spring home-buying season was a lack of inventory. The coronavirus pandemic has kept both buyers and sellers on the sidelines but after weeks of being confined to their homes, plenty of buyers and sellers are now entering the market.

The time in quarantine has allowed many future sellers an opportunity to freshen paint, deep clean, organize and landscape.

If attention to these details along with the appropriate pricing strategy is achieved, we believe sellers will be able to attract multiple buyers and pend their home in a short amount of time!

The experience of being at home for a long period of time has everyone rethinking their priorities. People are recognizing usable space is essential. Trends we may see in housing are dedicated offices and childfriendly areas as well as the desire to live on acreage with few restrictions.

Mortgage rates are expected to stay at record lows, hovering around 3.2%. Some lenders, however, might require larger down payments and higher credit scores due to the large amount of unemployment grappling the country. If you are considering buying, we always suggest getting

prequalified with a local lender. Not only does it shed light on your purchasing power but also helps strengthen your offer to the seller once submitted.

Time is of the essence when new listings hit our market. Being accessible to tour and ready with your financing as well as being

educated with the Columbia market will help you be able to have an offer accepted.

We have the experience, understanding and tenacity this market requires. If you’d like to meet us and discuss either selling your home, buying a home or investing in real estate, we’re here to help!

Beth Arey

TRACY AREY REAL ESTATE Beth enjoys learning about the clients she serves and creating the reality of achieving homeownership! Competitive by nature, she shines best when working with buyers. The best part of her day is when she’s able to tell her client that their offer has been accepted! Within the brokerage, she is Tracy Arey Real Estate’s broker, buyers’ agent, and transaction coordinator. Her family is the core of who she is; between Tracy and her, they have four children, two daughters-in-law and two granddaughters. Tracy and her are so proud of their kids’ accomplishments and the people they have grown up to be! Did you know that Beth received two degrees from the University of Missouri and taught elementary school at both Shepard Elementary School and Columbia Independent School?

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Don’t Sweat It—Tint It!

By Marc Schumer Find more at windowtintcolumbiamo.com

A

s the days get warmer with the bright, summer sun rays beaming into your windows, you want your home or business to stay at a cool temperature. Of course, you have your air conditioning working to its full potential, but that comes with a cost—literally. And in the warm, summer season, shoveling money into your energy bill is that last thing you want to spend your money on. The Tint Guys can help with a simple solution: window tinting.

Energy costs are typically one of the largest operating expenses for a home or business. These costs are so large that energy itself accounts for around 30% of your operating costs. But this can be reduced by installing the proper film to your home or business.

Don’t sweat over your energy bill. By installing Llumar Vista Window Films, you can save nearly 15% on your cooling bill. And even better, you can enjoy your time indoors with your family or coworkers at a comfortable temperature without having to overwork your air conditioning, or your wallet.

Installing Llumar Vista Window Films to your home or office reduces the amount of heat and light that passes through your windows. Not only will this help keep your home or office cool, but it can also reduce the glare that disturbs your screen time.

Llumar Vista Window Films have a lifetime transferable warranty for residential installations.

So, if something happens to your film, The Tint Guys have you and your home covered.

Help your wallet this summer. Spend your money on a nice vacation with your family—not your utility bills. Give The Tint Guys a call; we’re here to help you find the perfect tint solution for you and your family.

Marc Schumer

THE TINT GUYS, A DIVISION OF SOUND PERFORMANCE INC Marc and his wife, Shelly, have been in business in the same location serving Columbia and the surrounding areas for nearly 20 years. Their original focus on personal connection, expert service, and value-based products stands as true today as it did in 2001. They truly enjoy bringing solution-based options with competitive pricing to all of Mid-Missouri. They split their time between their work-family and their six kids and one grandchild.

1310 INDIANA AVE., COLUMBIA, MO 65203 573-874-9203 | WINDOWTINTCOLUMBIAMO.COM

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Creating a Landscape Plan in 3 Phases

By Jacob Porter Find more at rostlandscaping.com

C

reating a new outdoor space at your home can be exciting.

Whether it is a planting bed to add some variety and color to your home, or a new patio for entertainment and relaxing, all outdoor creations can bring joy. At the same time, deciding how you want the space to look and what to put in it can be a daunting task. When creating a new space, I like to break it down into 3 phases to make the design of it much easier to handle: Size & Layout, Filling the Space, and Finishing Touches. When looked into separately, creating these new spaces can be a feasible and enjoyable project.

PHASE 1: SIZE & LAYOUT The first step to creating a new space is to decide on the size of the area. For any patio space, the amount of people you typically entertain needs to be considered. There needs to be enough space for everyone to be able to move around without feeling confined or crammed into one area. In a new planting bed, think about what would be proportionate to the home. Allowing enough space for a couple rows of plants is a good place to start.

Once size is determined, shape will need to be taken into consideration. Bed lines that are free form and flow smoothly gives an aesthetic appeal while making the mowing along those lines easier.

Patio spaces can look good with either organic or straight edges.

Depending on the style of patio that is desired, both can make an impact on the final product.

PHASE 2: FILLING THE SPACE The types and sizes of plants need to be considered when filling that new landscape bed. Plants will need to be able to fit in the area without overcrowding, but also need to fill in the space well as they grow towards maturity. This will keep the bed from feeling empty and allows less area for weeds to encroach. Using varying heights and colors will also add interest and appeal through the season.

When it comes to the new patio, this step involves selecting what material is desired. Whether it be stone or concrete pavers, both have

attractive options. Each one will have selections that range in sizes and colors to create a patio that suits your style.

PHASE 3: FINISHING TOUCHES Adding the final touches may be the most fun part. Once the plants have been selected, it is just as important to consider what mulch to use. Wood and gravel mulch are both options that have a range of colors to finish off the look of that bed. In the new patio space, consider features that make it more functional for you to relax or host a gathering. Landscape lighting is an excellent addition to both landscape beds and patios. They provide additional viewing time at night, as well as added security around the home. Other considerations might be firepits and furniture.

With so many styles and options, we know it can seem overwhelming, but by working within these phases simplifies the process making it and the finished product more enjoyable. And don’t forget, if DIY just isn’t for you, contact a designer so they can point in you the right direction!

Jacob Porter

ROST LANDSCAPING Jacob comes from the small town of California, Missouri. With his plant science degree from MU and six years with Rost, he enjoys creating exciting outdoor spaces for his clients. Watching these creations come to life is only one highlight of being a designer for Rost. When he is not designing, he enjoys spending time with his wife and son, tournament bass fishing, and a little bit of woodworking.

573-445-4465 | ROSTLANDSCAPING.COM

As we work together to make it to the other side of this COVID-19 season, it is important for us to be mindful and draw a?en@on to those en@@es that are con@nuing to do important work in our community even in the midst of this global pandemic.

Keep Your Distance is a reminder to us all to to prac@ce social distancing, while simultaneously doing our part to support organiza@ons that serve at risk and underserved children.

Proceeds from the sale of Keep Your Distance t-shirts and bandanas will beneďŹ t these great organiza@ons.

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We’re currently seeing clients via Telehealth video sessions To learn more or request an appointment, visit marriageandfamilycenter.com

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Dig it!

Cultivating our love for plants at Superior Garden Center.

WRIT T E N AND STYLE D

BY K IM AM BRA M OD E LE D BY M IC K I KLIE T HE RM E S PH OTO S BY KE IT H BORG M EYE R

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FAVORITE FINDS

Coming Home 2

Rosa apron Garden basket with tools

3

Garden seat with tools

1

Poppy 4 5 6

Butterflies bandana by Hemlock Goods Ellis bandana by Hemlock Goods Green bandana with yellow flowers by Hemlock Goods

Superior Garden Center 7

8 9 10 11 12

12

Green fresh herb bucket Packets of seeds Frog statue Succulent log Two-tone succulent planter Yellow succulent planter

Skylark Boo kshop 13

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“The Culinary Herbal” by Arthur O. Tucker & Susan Belsinger “Design your Garden Tool Kit” by Michelle Gervais

Yonder S tudios 15

(Previous page) Plants are Magic T-shirt Passionate About Plants tote

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Lend your voice.

BECOME A CASA VOLUNTEER. Children in foster care who have a CASA volunteer are more likely to succeed in school and adjust to change. And they’re half as likely to re-enter the foster care system later. As a volunteer, you can make all the difference for a child who has experienced abuse or neglect in your community. Your voice is needed more now than ever to help change a child’s story.

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JUNE 2020

Living

FRIENDS & FAMILY

A BUDDING FAMILY BUSINESS Two sisters embrace an adventure to grow lavender and other lovely plants in the small river town of Rocheport.

BY JE SSICA VAU GH N MART I N | PH OTOS BY AN T H ON Y JI N SON

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As fields of lavender

take root in the rich Rocheport soil, so does a budding family business.

Since 2017, sister duo Kelly Wisch and Kimie Grimm, along with the help of their husbands, have tended The Lookout Farm, where they sell homegrown and handcrafted lavender products. The sisters have spent the past two years cultivating their crop and their shop.

You’ll fi nd goods well-suited for every room in your own abode — culinary lavender buds, an herbal tea blend, lavender cocoa, candles, soaps, cleaning sprays, and more.

Their story is woven with serendipity and hard work. For years, the sisters sought out a business venture to begin together, but nothing hit the mark.

Inspiration struck Kelly while on a walk with her toddler, who pointed at a blooming lavender plant in her neighbor’s yard. “I wonder,” she thought, “if you can farm lavender in Missouri?”

Fast forward a few months and the duo had more than just answers to that question. They had a plan in progress.

“My husband and I had just stayed here [in Rocheport] at a B&B, and then in the fall this property came up,” Kelly says. It was the perfect property, it turns out — rolling hills ideal for growing lavender and a house with a finished basement apartment, ideal for two sisters and their husbands starting a family business. The two families moved in, and within a few short months, they planted lavender bulbs in the ground. One season later, they attended their fi rst Columbia Farmers Market as vendors.

Most Saturdays from April through October, you’ll fi nd them at the farmers market, but that’s not the only place you can purchase their products. Their online shop is open all year, and soon, a shop on the property will welcome visitors for pop-up events.

As with almost all businesses large and small, the COVID-19 pandemic has changed some of the plans for The Lookout Farm’s 2020 season. School tours were canceled, and the rollout of on-farm shopping was postponed. But

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S I ST E RS K EL LY WI SC H AN D KIMIE GR I MM WOR K T H E I R FAR M IN RO C H EP O RT.

nothing here was halted; instead, a pick-up station, painted a fitting shade of lavender, was placed at the entrance to the farm.

Th is contactless delivery method enabled customers to keep stocking up on products while practicing social distancing methods.

S E A S O N S O F GR OW T H In the time since the sisters planted their fi rst lavender bulbs, they’ve shared seasons of growth individually and together. “Me and Kimie, we’re not complete opposites, but we’re pretty different in most ways,” Kelly says. “It’s

FRIENDS & FAMILY

just been really cool to see those gifts mesh together as one really cohesive ‘get ’er done’ kind of thing.”

Much like growing lavender, strengths don’t always blossom overnight.

“Th is last year, we’ve been really narrowing down what the jobs are that we have and who is best for them, and then we’re trying to be really good about me and Kimie taking on most of those things. We do see this as our business, and our husbands are helping.

Because they have full-time jobs, they’re our main support.”

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The sisters share a passion for the education piece of their business; school tours are always a highlight. And even for those well-beyond schooling years, there is a lot to learn about lavender and other exciting projects happening at the farm. Take last year’s new product: the loofah bar.

A loofah is a plant in the gourd family that bears long fruit; the dried interior of this fruit can be used as a natural sponge in the form of what most of us know as a household loofah.

In the midst of a very busy year, this new project brought unexpected success. “Every article I read talked about how hard loofahs were to grow, and so I said I’ll try four of them and see how it goes. And we just had the craziest year that we have had — it was too much to remember. My garden just went to hell, but for some reason, my loofahs went crazy. My whole garden felt like, I wouldn’t say a full-on failure, but it was not pretty to look at. But these loofahs just grew in mass.”

At the end of the growing season, she ended up with 35 nearly three-foot-long loofahs, which were then cut, dried, and turned into soaps or sold alone. The sisters found out that when most people think of loofahs, they think of the sea. But alas, it’s the same soil that fosters waves of grain, not water, where loofahs grow.

Th is summer, they’ll turn their focus to another section of their ever-expanding garden: wildflowers. “I just think it will be really cool to have people come and pick their own bouquets,” Kimie says. “I think it’s going to be beautiful, but also just really fun to see kids running around and grabbing flowers.”

T HE FLOW O F A FA MILY FA R M Just this year, both sisters welcomed new babies into their families. (In fact, Kelly was in labor when I called for our interview, and when I followed up a couple months later, Kimie was just a week away from her due date.) It’s no small feat, they say, growing a family and a business all at once. But it’s certainly not out of reach. “It’s just real life,” Kelly says. “And we’ve learned that from some of our farmers market friends . . . with me already having two kids, I’ve found people are very gracious and understanding. It’s real life, and honestly, [taking care of the kids] is our fi rst job, so the farm duties come after that.”

But the farm is fun for the kids, too. “Kelly’s kids help with the tours,” Kimie says. “Her daughter is 5, and she’s super excited about showing people the land and stuff , so they’re really a big part of it too.”

The pace of the town, slow like the Missouri River, has taught them to embrace a more passive approach, at times, to business. “Rocheport is way more easygoing than even Columbia, so we’re still in the process of kind of adopting the Rocheport way of, ‘Well, life happens,’” Kimie says. “So that’s been fun, but it’s also something we need to get better at too — more go with the flow.”

Luckily, the flowing fields of lavender can help with that.

Known for its relaxing properties, using lavender products can relieve anxiety and stress — helping with the slowdown we all need once in a while.

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JULIA SEITZ BROKER

www.juliaseitzcolumbia.com

SW EET TERIYAK I BOWL

Let’s Get Your House in Order....

Dissolving a marriage is messy and confusing ...and trust is often in short supply.

(I get it—I’ve recently been there!)

Working with an experience, reputable real estate agent can help you reclaim control. Whether you need a valuation of marital property, realistic options for a transition, or help downsizing with dignity, I’m here for you.

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Art in the Pause How local artists are faring in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic — and how you can support their work.

BY J E S S ICA VAU G H N M A RTIN

COMOMAG.COM

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Art in the Pause

T he vibrant sea of artists and artwork

that have congregated for Columbia’s Art in the Park festival for over half a century has receded this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pausing this Columbia Art League tradition is a thoughtful precaution to protect the health and safety of artists and the community members who flock to buy their work each June, but nevertheless, it’s a heartbreak for vendors and shoppers alike. And for some artists, it’s more than heartbreaking — it’s bank-breaking, too.

Those who rely on the art festival circuit are grappling with the cancellation of many, if not all, of their scheduled 2020 shows. For many of these makers, their craft is their sole source of income; shutting down shows is like handing them pink slips. But creatives are just that: creative. In the midst of uncertainty, these local artists are adapting to new ways of making and merchandising.

We caught up with three local makers to learn more about their work and find out how the community can show socially distanced support during this art show drought.

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Bill Brackett ME TALWORKS

Bill Brackett’s workshop is a steel garden.

Hand-worked petals shaped with customcrafted tools make up an infinitely blooming array of flowers that rust and age gracefully in the elements.

As he recalls, Bill’s love for plants sprouted early on in life. “I was a really little kid,” he says. “There was a broken bag of beans and I asked my mom if I could take some to try growing them. She said, ‘You can take three,’ so I took three. I took them home and planted them in a little cup. Everybody laughs because I was like 3 or 4 years old and I had a beanstalk growing in my bedroom.”

Through a winding career path, that passion for plants turned into creative expression. You can see the precision in his art; he mirrors the fine details that nature makes. “I just always thought plants were perfect little mechanical things,” he says. “I’ve always been into mechanical things, building stuff, but plants have always fascinated me — they have just always been, to me, synonymous with machinery.”

Now, this artwork is more than just pleasure; it’s Bill’s sole income. But this summer, with the cancellation of Art in the Park and several other shows he had lined up, Bill’s focus will be on tending nature-made blooms instead of those in his workshop. “All the income I expected for this year, it’s gone,” he says. “It’s kind of a bummer, but I really do love plants, so that means I get to spend more time working in my garden.”

Bill’s creative process puts him ahead of schedule for summer shows, so his shop is now full of work with nowhere to go. “Except for a couple of new things I was going to do, everything is ready to sell,” he says.

You can find a sample of Bill’s collection at oak-n-iron.com. To purchase his work, email ferrousbotanist@icloud.com.

We're Still Here I’m sure that I’m not the only artist who has a house full of stuff ready to sell. Look up your favorite artist, call them up, or email them, because we’re still here; we just can’t go anywhere. I’ve been doing Art in the Park since 2007, and a lot of the people I met in 2007 are still doing it, and I bet they’re prepared to do shows, but they can’t. They have homes and studios, so go out and look them up. ­—Bill Brackett

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Art in the Pause

Jessica Pelzer OIL ON C ANVA S MINIATURES & NECKL ACES

After the birth of her daughter, artist and graphic designer Jessica Pelzer embraced time a little differently. “I think children are really cool because they teach you how to appreciate time so much more,” she says.

“Everything means so much more because everything is so much more significant. A week is the difference between her saying a couple words and her saying a ton of words.”

Even the small spaces of time — like naptime — become creative windows when there are small children around. While her daughter sleeps, Jessica paints miniature oil paintings, usually 4-by-4 canvas landscapes, or even smaller necklaces. “I’ve always been drawn to miniatures, but it’s especially helpful when you have a full-time job and a small human to take care of. Doing miniatures is like my naptime hustle.”

That hustle paid off during her first year at Art in the Park in 2019, and Jessica was delighted to be accepted to the show in 2020.

“I really got kind of the art show bug — it’s so cool and so magical,” she says. “That was kind of one of the big ways I was going to sell my art and also just get exposure from word of mouth.”

Her plans, like those of many artists, have changed; but it’s not all negative, she says.

“There’s this amazing artist who’s called Emily Jeffords, and she has this really great podcast for creators called ‘Do it for the Process.’

Whenever everything started happening with COVID-19, she did this really wonderful episode where she spoke about this mantra of asking, ‘What does this make possible?’”

Jessica says. “Even though this is hard and you have to give yourself grace, you’re really looking at as: What great opportunity is there? How can you kind of pivot or change things for the better or go your own way?”

Jessica is using this mantra to put a plan into action. She says, “What I’m hoping is that it’ll push me to revamp my website a little bit and look at some other ways to sell my art.”

You can purchase Jessica’s art at jessicapelzer.com and follow her on Instagram at @jessica_pelzer to see her latest work.

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How to Show Your Support SHARE artwork and pieces that you love on social media. It’s free and easy to do — just make sure to credit the artist responsible by using their handle or including their website. It means a lot to the artists!

SEND a nice message to an artist you admire. One of the great things artists love about art shows is the people they meet. They can see and hear about the joy their pieces bring to their customers and the people who just stop by to admire their work. While this can’t be done in person this year, it can still be done online! If you find a piece you love or that speaks to you, reach out to the artist and tell them, because it’s incredibly encouraging.

KEEP AN EYE OUT for collaborations.

I’ve noticed that there’s been some really cool collaborations that have happened lately. Logboat Brewing Co. collaborated with Smiley Textiles on these beautiful bandanas that are branded with Logboat logos. It’s this really cool collaboration to give both parties exposure and something new. I think it’s a great thing for businesses, especially, to collaborate with other artists or for artists in general to collaborate with each other, making sure it’s beneficial for both parties.

BUY the piece of work you love if you are in a position to do that. I think some people might not realize that some artists have different price points for their work. It’s not just the original piece that you can buy — a lot of artists do prints. It’s a great way to support the artist, and you have beautiful work that makes you happy. ­—Jessica Pelzer AS THINGS BECOME less restricted and art festivals and such happen again, get out and support your local artists, check out what they’ve been doing, and find a piece of art you love. ­—Ann & Lloyd Grotjan

Ann and Lloyd Grotjan

POT TERY, MULTIMEDIA Husband-wife duo Ann and Lloyd Grotjan share a passion for the arts and a common inspiration: nature. Ann, a three-dimensional artist, creates functional stoneware pottery in her studio near California, Missouri. Lloyd is a multimedia artist, using photography, music, and video in tandem. Their work is different, but their end goal is the same: to create work that offers beauty and resonates with their community.

“I like to use plants in the clay a lot, or I’ll carve images of animals into the clay as well,” Ann says. “More form and function, but I like to add an extra touch of beauty in there, too, so you can really appreciate it while you’re using it.”

Pottery, like many three-dimensional art forms, is best sought in person — it’s a tangible experience for buyers. “It’s just really tough for Ann to sell pottery [now] because it doesn’t ship very well, and it’s generally a pretty hands-on thing for customers,” Lloyd says.

With the closure of galleries and shows, that experience is no longer readily available.

And Lloyd’s photography and live music performances have taken a hit, too. “I have always supplemented our income with photography — that’s our practical artistic backup,” he says. “I’d say 85% of our business even for that has been gone [during the outbreak].”

Instead of dwelling on their dwindling income, the two have used the opportunity to re-focus. “This has actually given me a chance to make music videos and stuff that I’ve been wanting to do, but haven’t felt like I can allocate the time for,” he says. “There’s been a feeling of uncertainty, there’s no doubt about that, but we’ve actually enjoyed all of the time being at home, and we can be outdoors more and kind of re-evaluate priorities.”

Ann has found herself embracing the pause, too. “I’m always working in my pottery studio for future events,” she says. “I’m usually working and working to have enough inventory for shows, and now I’m caught up, but I just keep making it. Like right now, the dogwoods are blooming and I have to do all

the pottery that has the dogwoods in it while they’re fresh, so I have dogwood pottery inventory for future shows.”

For Lloyd, the re-evaluation includes how he’s sharing his music. “I go out and do a show, and there might be 50 or 100 people there. Artists that have posted online stuff potentially have millions of viewers, so I’ve rethought using that for my own things,” he says. “One thing I would say that would be an advantage I would see is if I could get my artwork seen on YouTube. If I get enough hits, I can make money, but it takes a lot.”

To see and purchase work from Lloyd and Ann, visit fullspectrumphotoaudio. com, or contact them via email at lloyd@ fullspectrumphotoaudio.com.

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Living

COUPLE YOU SHOULD KNOW

Angie & Eric Olsen Angie and Eric Olsen share about their first date, their family, and their favorite activities.

WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR FAVORITE Angie and Eric with their granddaughter, Harlow Rae

PROJECT TO WORK ON TOGETHER? A: I don’t know if you would call it a project,

but we trained for the Lincoln Half-Marathon together in 2015. I had a bucket-list desire to run a half-marathon before turning 50!

Eric is not a runner. He hates it. I have been a runner since I was in second grade. We made a promise to cross the finish line together and we did just that!

E: Raising three great kids.

WHAT BROUGHT YOU BOTH TO COLUMBIA? A: Eric had the opportunity to join the McLarty Automotive Group and become general manager of Joe Machens Nissan. I’m a real estate agent at Iron Gate Real Estate.

E: I had an opportunity to take over Joe Machens Nissan as the general manager.

WHAT IS THE KEY TO A LASTING AND HEALTHY RELATIONSHIP?

HOW DID YOU MEET? Angie: Eric and I met in high school in

Minden, Nebraska. We had history class together our junior year, and as they say, “The rest is history!”

WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST DATE? Eric: We went to my best friend’s house

and watched a movie with him and his girlfriend on St. Patrick’s Day in 1984.

WHAT DO YOU LIKE TO DO IN YOUR FREE TIME? A: In my free time, I love to boat at Lake

of the Ozarks, travel, bake, take walks, watch sporting events, and spend time with family, friends, and our sweet grandbaby, Harlow Rae. E: Boating, spending time with family, and

bow hunting.

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR RELATIONSHIP IN ONE WORD? A: Blessed.

A: The key to a lasting and healthy relationship is good communication.

E: Putting Christ fi rst in your relationship and having a sense of humor.

E: Compatible.

WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE DATE NIGHT

A: The future holds a second granddaughter for us, and we are ecstatic! We also look forward to a continued partnership with McLarty Automotive Group and the growth of Joe Machens Nissan.

SPOT IN COLUMBIA? A: Our favorite date night spot is CC’s City Broiler with a bottle of Silver Oak cabernet sauvignon. We haven’t been in Columbia for quite a year, so we look forward to learning about more great date night spots. Food places are our favorite date spots!

FOR THE TWO OF YOU?

E: Someday, we would both love to “retire” on the water somewhere.

WHAT IS UNIQUE ABOUT

WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR FAVORITE OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES? A: My favorite outdoor activities are

walking, boating, laying on a beach, and pool time.

E: Boating, walking, hunting, and the beach.

YOUR RELATIONSHIP? A: We are best friends and have been for 36 years. We do most things together and have a lot of fun!

E: We truly are best friends and we love hanging out together.

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A HOME FOR THE HOMELESS

BEHIND THE SALON CHAIR

Turning Point Day Center works to provide critical services to those experiencing homelessness.

Sara El-Toumi celebrates the opening of a second location for Salon Nefisa.

81 COLLEGE CONTINUED Luxury retirement community The Village of Bedford Walk offers seniors an extended college experience and seeks to expand across the country.

DRIVING FORCE

A BUSINESS IS ONLY AS STRONG AS THE COMMUNITY IT SERVES. For seventy years, N.H. Scheppers Distributing has served and supported the business owners and the families working to make our community one of the strongest in our nation.

Because N.H. Scheppers Distributing was born in this community. They’ve grown with it. And when our towns and cities have needed them most, they’ve always been here to serve. Proud of the hometowns we’ve all helped build. Looking forward to a time we all toast again, together.

COLUMB IA | 573-874-4100 1306 Hathman Place

JEFFERSON C I TY | 573-636-483 2300 St. Mary’s Blvd

NHSCHEPPERS.COM

E @nhscheppers

Working

CLOSER LOOK

JUNE 2020

services. After graduating from MU, she began her business career with an accounting firm, where she had brushes with a wide range of businesses. “I have experience with hundreds of business owners in all different industries,” she says. This knowledge, along with her ability to break down financial information in an easy-to-understand way, gives her clients at Optimized CFO and Controller Services a unique edge within the field.

Rebecca hopes to continue having steady growth within her business. Her top priorities right now are to get her name out there more and to help the clients she has to the best of her ability.

573-220-1019 REBECCA@OPTIMIZEDCFO.COM OPTIMIZEDCFO.COM

Lizzi & Rocco’s Natural Pet Market Lean Kitchen Company

After exploring different business opportunities, husband and wife duo Jonathan and Natalie Hardin found their perfect opportunity: Lean Kitchen Company. The pair decided to explore this endeavor in October 2019, with a goal of opening their own location of the franchise in May. Lean Kitchen’s mission is to save customers time and money by providing healthy, prepared meals that still taste great. “We understand that your life is hectic and eating healthy is challenging. That’s where we come in by providing a balance of lean proteins, veggies, and carbs in perfectly portioned meals,” Jonathan explains.

The process is simple: The customer comes in and explains what they want to achieve.

From there, Jonathan and Natalie will provide advice, guidance, and education on how they can achieve these goals.

Not only has the duo opened a location in Columbia, but they will also be expanding the

franchise to Kirksville and Springfield, Natalie says. She explains: “We want to help people.

This is our way to give back to the community.”

212 E. GREEN MEADOWS RD., STE. 5 573-777-3636 LEANKITCHENCO.COM/COLUMBIA

Optimized CFO and Controller Services

Rebecca Knipp grew up in a family of small business owners. Because of this, she always dreamed of owning her own business. And in February 2019, she finally got to make this dream come true with the opening of Optimized CFO and Controller Services, a company created to help businesses and organizations optimize their growth and accounting systems.

Apart from being exposed to the small business culture from a young age, Rebecca also has nearly 10 years of experience with accounting

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Lizzi & Rocco’s Natural Pet Market opened a new store on the south side of town in March. Jessica Schlosser, owner of the pet market, explains that this space is completely different from their store location on Nifong, which housed the business for 10 years.

Th is new location is the largest of the Lizzi & Rocco’s stores, with 7,000 square feet of space. The larger space has allowed room for more services. “In this space, we have room for more groomers, we’ll be offering dog training, and we have a dedicated event space,” Jessica says. “We’ll also be doing a dog and cat bakery in it, where we will be baking fresh treats daily.”

Once stores are able to operate normally, Jessica is looking forward to seeing the different opportunities this new space will offer the business and the community. “There’s no way we would’ve envisioned what we’re doing now 10 years ago,” Jessica says.

550 E. GREEN MEADOWS DR. 573-875-2288 LIZZIANDROCCOS.COM

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Briefly in the News J U NE 2020

AWAR D S

Coil Construction Wins Awards Coil Construction was honored with two Hall of Fame awards from Varco Pruden Buildings for winning best of category in office and warehouse construction. Coil received the 2020 award in the office category for the Cherry Hill Dental building on Nifong, and won in the warehouse category for the Cartwright Business Technology Park.

GIVING BAC K

U.S. Cellular Donates to Boys and Girls Clubs U.S. Cellular donated $10,000 to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Columbia, one of 50 club locations receiving COVID-19 relief funds from the company to help support kids, families, and communities.

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BRIEFLY

EDU CAT IO N

CO MMUNITY

ED UCATION

Columbia Public Schools Foundation Makes Donation

Boone County History and Culture Center Introduces COVID-19 Project

Physician Assistant Studies Class Receives 100% Pass Rate

The Columbia Public Schools Foundation donated $25,000 to Columbia Public Schools to provide high school students with the opportunity to pursue additional online courses while school is in session.

This donation will fund up to 325 high school students. Allowing students to enroll in May will give the students more chances to take summer classes.

“We are happy to help Columbia Public Schools during these unprecedented times.

These funds will help with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic by allowing high school students to enroll in online courses earlier and filling a need for the schools.”

— CINDY MUSTARD, CPSF BOARD PRESIDENT

The Boone County History and Culture Center invites members of the central Missouri community to help document COVID-19 and share their stories as the center introduces the Remembering Coronavirus Project. The center is asking individuals of all ages to share their story through a written journal or a digital document and donate their record to the historical society so it can be preserved for future generations.

Stephens College is proud to announce that for the second year in a row, all graduates of the Master of Physician Assistant Studies program received a first-time 100% pass rate on the National Certifying Exam. The pass rate is an indicator of the program’s dedication to excellence in teaching and the ability to prepare students to practice medicine. Students must graduate from a physician assistant program accredited by the ARC-PA, an accreditation review commission, to sit for the exam.

SP ONSOR SHIP

Bank of Missouri Sponsors EVERFI Competition The Bank of Missouri sponsored the EVERFI National Financial Bee, which took place in late April. The financial bee is a first-of-its-kind nationwide financial literacy challenge for students in seventh through tenth grade. The five-day challenge featured a short, daily digital lesson and capstone essay contest in which students shared a financial dream and a plan for how to get there. Winners received a total of $20,000 in college scholarships.

CO MMUNITY

The Salvation Army Offers Financial Assistance The Salvation Army is offering financial assistance to households who have recently experienced temporary or permanent job loss or reduced hours due to COVID-19. These funds can help with a mortgage, rent payments, or utility payments. To fund the initiative, The Salvation Army has moved money from its reserves and received a grant through CoMoHelps, a collaborative fund for various organizations.

GIVING BAC K

Fuzzy’s Taco Shop Makes Donation for National Nurses Day Fuzzy’s Taco Shop donated 5% of all sales from April 29 to feed local doctors, nurses, and first responders on National Nurses Day. The restaurant partnered with local hospitals, urgent cares, or medical facilities in the community to provide warm meals to those on the front lines.

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Your financial goals, aspirations and investment needs are just that — yours.

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Because building portfolios isn’t the most important thing we do. Building relationships is.

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Accidents happen — even during a global pandemic.

As an essential service, Central Missouri Auto Body is open for business and remains dedicated to providing the highest standards of quality and safety for our customers.

• Maintain social distancing with our convenient night drop.

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Financial Planning Investment Strategy Portfolio Management

2801 Woodard Drive Columbia, MO

(573) 442-6146

Greg & Lon Brockmeier Financial Advisors

Securities offered through Raymond James Financial Services, Inc., member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through Raymond James Financial Services. Advisors, Inc. Brockmeier Financial Services, LLC is not a registered broker/dealer and is independent of Raymond James Financial Services.

JUNE 2020

TOJAN RAHHAL

Tojan Rahhal, assistant dean for inclusive excellence and strategic initiatives and an adjunct professor in the College of Engineering at MU, is among two recipients of the inaugural MU Study Abroad Teaching Excellence Award. The award recognizes exceptional and meaningful work carried out by faculty in global teaching, student learning, and curriculum design for MU faculty-led study abroad programs. Tojan was nominated for EDGEs — Engineering, Global Experiences, Diversity, and Service — a study abroad course developed to close the gap in cultural competence preparation for engineering students.

internal diversity, inclusion, and social impact blog posts. Arzelia graduated from Michigan State University with bachelor’s degrees in social relations and policy and arts and humanities.

STEVE TORRES

Coil Construction is pleased to announce the addition of a new project executive to its team: Steve Torres. Steve joined Coil Construction in March, and he will serve as an owner’s advocate and representative, coordinating design efforts, developing plans, and managing project budgets. He will also oversee project schedules and ensure client satisfaction throughout a project.

JOSHUA HARTSOCK

K R I STA K I PPE N B E R G E R

Klingner and Associates is pleased to welcome water and wastewater engineer Joshua Hartsock to its Columbia office. Joshua has been with the firm since 2015. He transferred from the firm’s Hannibal office to assist communities throughout central Missouri with supply, treatment, storage, and distribution design for water and wastewater systems. Joshua also performs testing, inspection, and construction services.

The Connection Exchange is excited to announce the addition of Krista Kippenberger to the team.

Krista will act as the welcome connector of the residential welcome service, which includes duties in membership development, new resident welcome visits, new resident block party events, and managing a new social media presence.

ARZELIA WILLIAMS

After interning with Veterans United Home Loans for the past two summers as part of the immersion program, Arzelia Williams has joined the team as a program coordinator. She is responsible for external media pitching and

character made her a top choice for the award. Amanda has taught courses on communication research, qualitative methodology, documentary storytelling, and many more subjects since 2006.

She has also served as the chair for the school’s promotion and tenure committee from 2015 to 2020.

M U H E A LT H C A R E

Dr. Richard J. Barohn has joined MU as executive vice chancellor for health affairs. Richard led efforts to strategically advance the missions of MU Health Care and the MU School of Medicine. He brings expertise in expanding clinical and translational research from his time at the University of Kansas Medical Center, where he served as vice chancellor for research and president of the research institute.

Dr. James Stannard has been named chief medical officer for procedural services. In this role, he will focus on the health system’s return to delivery of procedural care.

James will be responsible for ongoing quality improvement initiatives and overall safety and efficiency within procedural platforms.

TROY PETERSON AMANDA HINNANT

Associate Professor Amanda Hinnant is the 2020 winner of the O.O. McIntyre Professorship at the Missouri School of Journalism.

This award recognizes teaching excellence and comes with a $10,000 salary supplement for the upcoming 2020-2021 school year. Amanda’s dedication to the journalism school, teaching excellence, and

Troy Peterson recently joined Missouri Employers Mutual as director of customer care operations. Troy brings over 35 years of operations leadership experience. Prior to his insurance experience, Troy served as a senior operations leader in the financial services industry. He is also a US Army veteran and has earned a national Six Sigma certification in contact center solutions.

RAHHAL

HARTSOCK

WILLIAMS

TORRES

KIPPENBERGER

BAROHN

STA N N A R D

PETERSON

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LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Coronapolitics A rundown of how Missouri’s politicians are responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.

BY KRCG 13’S KERMIT MILLER

P

eople ask me what it's been like to cover the COVID-19 pandemic. I generally tell them it's a bit like laying track in front of a moving train. You never can be sure when the evolving data will overtake a coherent presentation and derail your effort. I can only assume that it's pretty much the same for policymakers in Missouri. They have no blueprint for this, and they get second-guessed at every turn.

Governor Mike Parson has been the man on the hottest of hot seats. People have repeatedly questioned his initial resistance to a statewide stay-at-home order.

"The advantage of social distancing is not so much the duration of infections," noted Dr. Mark Wakefield, the associate chief medical officer at MU Health Care. "It's avoiding the surge, or the height of the peak that can overwhelm the capacity to take care of critically ill patients. And if we slow down the peak and flatten the curve, then we'll save lives and preserve the capacity to take care of sick patients."

At the time of writing, we are roughly a month into the state's war on the coronavirus.

To date, no hospital nor public health agency in Missouri has reported the curve being so steep as to leave them overwhelmed.

Still, the fact that Parson is engaged in a re-election campaign leaves his decisions on COVID-19 management an obvious and irresistible target for his political opponents. And Parson's initial resistance to a statewide stayat-home order was front and center.

On March 31, State Auditor Nicole Galloway, the presumptive Democratic Party nominee for governor, turned up the heat. "Failure to address the immediate threat to public health will undermine our economic recovery," Galloway asserted in a news release. "Public health experts, frontline hospital workers, and medical professionals have provided clear guidance on what our state needs to do to make it through this crisis." It should be noted that the release came not from the state auditor's office, but from Galloway's campaign spokesman, Eric Slusher.

The next day, a reporter asked Parson about Galloway's statement. He didn't mince words, saying: “I would say the state auditor needs to worry about being the state auditor right now. All of us elected officials need to have one thing in mind: what do we do to help with the COVID-19 situation. This is not the time to play politics out of this issue."

Galloway counterpunched a few days later, putting on her auditor hat to question the circumstances surrounding the Parson Administration’s public safety department recall of some 48,000 KN95 safety masks.

With Missouri one of just 10 remaining states without them at the time, Parson announced a statewide stay-at home order on April 3, to take effect the following Monday, April 6. "There comes a time when we have to make major sacrifices in our lives,” the governor said. But that did not quell the partisan assault. The top Democrat in the Missouri House suggested that the order, which allowed people to access grocery stores, gas stations, and banks, and to engage in outdoor recreation, was an empty gesture.

"It is so riddled with exemptions that it differs little from the weak and ineffective social

distancing directive the administration previously issued," assailed Springfield Democrat Crystal Quade, the house minority leader. "And it formally punts responsibility for imposing stricter measures to local officials."

Before the stay-at-home order, in a series of almost daily releases, the Galloway campaign pushed Parson to form an "emergency economic relief council to advise the governor’s administration on economic stabilization in the short term and recovery," to "bypass statutory hurdles to get unemployment payments to displaced workers quickly," to activate a "COVID-19 Response Command Center," and to design a relief package.

Since the statewide order (and before the April 20 deadline for this article), Galloway has issued four additional statements. On April 10, she called on Parson to use some of the billions of dollars in federal relief money to pay counties the $35 million dollars the state owes for housing its prisoners in county jails. On April 13, Galloway urged the governor to support expanded absentee and early voting, citing CDC recommendations for mail-in ballots and other strategies to avoid having people show up at polling locations. And on April 18, she

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questioned Parson's declaration that 50,000 COVID-19 tests were needed weekly in order for Missouri's economy to re-open fully. On April 20, in a release from her office, Galloway requested information on the working group formed by Parson to direct the distribution of the billions of federal dollars bound for Missouri.

The incumbent chief executive has taken heat from the opposition direction, as well. Saundra McDowell, the U.S. Air Force veteran and attorney has jumped into the race for governor, as well. On April 13, McDowell put out a release challenging the constitutionality of Parson's statewide stay-at-home order. "[While] I believe the Governor’s intent is to safeguard the lives of Missourians, the order infringes upon our right to peacefully assemble, as well as the free exercise of religion," McDowell wrote. "I cannot, therefore, in good conscience stand by as our sacred First Amendment rights are infringed upon."

Parson is hardly a political victim here. After every coronavirus briefing, his office puts out a news release summarizing the steps announced and taken that day, followed by a release from his campaign organization exalting his "decisive action."

Team Parson has celebrated the Missouri Republican's efforts to expand COVID-19 testing, to extend social welfare benefits, to define social distancing, to waive dozens of statutes and regulations, to put the National Guard on the hunt for auxiliary housing and treatment sites, to create an army of medical volunteers to backstop frontline workers, to declare the statewide stay-at-home order, and, on April 16, to announce a move towards normalcy by getting people back to work on May 4.

Governor Parson's biggest political problem could be his decision to suspend reporter participation in his daily coronavirus briefings, claiming deference to social distancing. Despite media concerns about transparency, Parson shifted distribution of the sessions to his own Facebook page and required reporters to submit questions in advance. News organizations questioned Parson for not using Zoom or some other online conferencing technology to bring the governor and the media together.

"The frustration is that other states are doing it and the President of the United States is doing [real time Q&A]," Missouri Broadcasters Association President and CEO Mark Gordon told the Kansas City Star. "So I don’t know why we can’t do it in Missouri. And that is disappointing, to say the least."

Parson finally allowed reporters back to the capitol for a face-toface Q&A session on April 17, roughly the same time he announced Missouri would begin the re-opening process. But his public perception problems don't end there. At the time of this writing, the public has grown restless and the week ahead looks to be filled with capitol rallies and other public demonstrations of protest to his stay-at-home order. As I said, it's a little like laying track in front of a moving train.

Kermit Miller anchors the 6 and 10 p.m. news for KRCG 13. You can reach Kermit at kmiller@krcg.com

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Chimaeric is a motion picture company comprised of filmmakers and proudly based in Columbia, MO. We specialize in producing content that creates empathy and connects our viewer’s heads to their hearts.

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MORE THAN YOUR BANKER It’s the hard times that bring out people’s true character. During this season of uncertainty, our bankers are working hard to help our community stay strong, safe and well. If you need someone to talk to about your financial situation, we are here to help. Call 888-547-6541 to talk.

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Behind the Salon Chair Sara El-Toumi celebrates the opening of Salon Nef isa's second location.

W

hen Sara El-Toumi opened Salon Nefisa in 2004, she didn’t know much about starting a business. She had nearly 17 years of experience behind the salon chair and had the dream most hairdressers have: to open her own salon. With the help of the Small Business Development Center at MU, Sara got to make her dream come true with the opening of Salon Nefisa’s downtown location.

Sixteen years later, Sara is watching her dream grow even more as she opens a second location on the west side of town. “It feels amazing, and it feels crazy at the same time,” she says. “But it’s all thrilling if you love to have your own business. People will congratulate you, but it’s really all my team — my team has done it all.”

BY HANNAH KUECK

A Luxury Experience

PHOTOS BY SADIE THIBODEAUX

Sara describes the Salon Nefisa experience with one word: luxury. Guests coming into the salon are welcomed by their stylist — if it’s their first time, they can get a tour of the salon to see everything Salon Nefisa has to offer. Th is tour, Sara explains, helps to welcome guests

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further and relieve any stress they might experience as they enter a new salon. “We educate ourselves on knowing that people have a certain amount of anxiety when they’re coming into a new salon,” Sara says. The tour helps the guest get acquainted with the salon.

On top of this, guests also get a soothing head massage as they get their hair shampooed by their stylist. At the end of a guest’s first visit, they will leave with a gift bag of samples from recent product launches. “We want to make sure our guests feel like they’re taken care of and know that we want them back,” she says.

To be able to give guests this luxurious experience, extensive training is a priority for the salon. Inside of the downtown location, there are classrooms to help teach the stylists even more. “We describe ourselves as a teaching salon,” Sara explains. “Our stylists go through a fairly rigorous associate program that can last six to eight months.” Th is program includes a lot of homework and goal setting that’s designed to help develop a sophisticated stylist.

Before these associates are able to take guests, they are measured and evaluated based on their numbers from the program.

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“It feels amazing and it feels crazy at the same time. But it’s all thrilling if you love to have your own business. People will congratulate you, but it’s really all my team — my team has done it all.”

2004 Sara El-Toumi opens Salon Nefisa’s first location downtown.

2014 Salon Nefisa celebrates 10 years of business.

2016 Sara’s business partner, Ellen Crain, becomes a shareholder.

2019 Salon Nefisa obtains additional shareholders.

2019 Salon Nefisa celebrates 15 years of business.

2020 Salon Nefisa opens a second location on the west side of Columbia.

CELEBRATIONS

Sara El-Toumi, owner

Stylists don’t get a customer until they can pass different benchmarks. These benchmarks, Sara explains, review several factors. “Are they educating and doing a great consultation? How are their shampoos and color formulation? And are they getting the guest to come back?” she says. Seasoned stylists also take a business strategies curriculum to help them achieve a career status as a stylist.

Salon Nefisa stylists not only have to go through this rigorous course, but they must also partake in ongoing education throughout the year. “We set a minimum of two outside classes per year for stylists to attend to keep their skills fresh,” Sara says.

A New Space Since opening in 2004, the salon has grown significantly. “I was going to run out of room and chairs in the downtown location,” Sara says.

As the salon continues to add stylists and associates, Sara found she needed more space for her employees to be able to work. “We’re open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., and we double-booked the stations. If someone wanted to make up a shift, they needed to be really strategic about how they would be able to make it up,” Sara says. Th is growth hasn’t slowed down, and it’s only projected to increase more.

As she scouted for potential locations, Sara decided that she wanted something that was big enough for 12 more stations. She found her ideal location, one that allowed her 1,500 square feet of space to explore on

the west side. “We didn’t really want to be on the south side. It was too congested for us. We just knew the west side suited us,” Sara explains. “The people that live around this area don’t have to come far for anything — having a great hair salon right there would do well.”

To plan the new location, Sara enlisted the help of salon designer Peter Millard to create the perfect space. With more chairs for stylists to work, the new location for Salon Nefisa has allowed the downtown salon to open up and allow more growth overall. Sara now has more space to hire “seasoned” stylists and grow her team. She hopes to add another educator within the new salon for this location, allowing them to hire associates even quicker.

Regardless of the location, guests will receive the same service they received at the downtown location.

One element that is different for this new location, however, is the color bar. Guests can now watch as their stylist mixes up the coloring for their hair.

Sara is excited to see what this new location has to offer her team. But fi rst, the salon must overcome the troubles COVID-19 has caused. “Given the circumstances of COVID-19, Salon Nefisa’s viability is being greatly challenged,” she says. “We know we will survive this, but it’s the biggest challenge we’ve faced in 16 years of being open.”

SALON NEFISA salonnefisa@gmail.com Downtown Location 825 E. Walnut St. | 573-256 -1220 West Location 3304 Broadway Business Park, Ste. A | 573-507- 6328

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A Home for the Homeless Turning Point Turning Point Day Center works to provide critical services to those experiencing homelessness.

BY JENNIFER TRUESDALE | PHOTO BY SADIE THIBODEAUX

“If I was forced to say what the biggest reason why people are homeless is, that’s how I would frame it: somebody, somewhere who was supposed to take care of this person — a parent, a teacher, a coach, the foster care system, the criminal justice system — at the very least neglected that duty or, at the worst, used it in an abusive way. That’s really what unites all of these stories,” says Pastor Brad Bryan of Wilkes Boulevard United Methodist Church. WBUMC is home to Turning Point Day Center, a support center for those experiencing homelessness.

Unlike other organizations that provide overnight shelter or meals, Turning Point Day Center provides a wider range of critical services to those experiencing homelessness: a safe place to shower and do laundry; phone and internet access; storage of personal belongings for up to 60 days; a physical mailing address, which Brad says is the most used service; access to counseling, case management, and local resources; and fellowship. Open from 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, Turning Point, which served 1,676 people in 2019, opened in 2014 as the result of a major transition at the church.

A TURNING POINT FOR THE CHURCH ITSELF On its website, Turning Point says a “turning point” is defined as “a point at which a significant change occurs.”

“My predecessor, Pastor Meg Hegemann, led the congregation of Wilkes Boulevard United Methodist Church through a process of really intense discernments that ended up with the church deciding we needed to do something pretty big or we were going to end up slowly declining and dying as a church,” Brad says. “We’d just have to close our doors and sell our building.”

Attendance had been declining for years, and churches are seldom sitting on large cash reserves to go to in times of trouble.

“The church decided it needed to do something big, which led them to the question of, ‘What does our town really need from us?’” Brad says. “At the same time that was happening, Loaves and Fishes

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[a homelessness support program in Columbia] was quickly outgrowing its location in the Columbia Housing Authority apartments. The first big thing that WBUMC did was welcome Loaves and Fishes to our fellowship hall and start serving dinner. That continued to grow, and that became the foundation for becoming a direct access point for resources for homeless people. We started with money from the Missouri Conference of the United Methodist Church and opened Turning Point in 2013, and we cut the ribbon in 2014.”

Around the same time, one particular incident laid bare the need for an organization like Turning Point in Columbia. A homeless man died under an I-70 overpass, and as no one came forward as family, there also was no place to conduct a funeral.

“Pastor Hegemann was asked to provide a space for the funeral for a person with no family,” Brad says.

“Just finding out [his name] was difficult. That was part of what led us to say we’re going to try to be the church that, at its heart, tries to focus on and reach our unsheltered neighbors in Columbia.”

Turning Point is run by just three paid staff members, a robust squad of client volunteers who also receive Turning Point services, and an even bigger group of community volunteers. Brad joined WBUMC in 2017; he says that, like a lot of people in their 20s, he had needed to move back home with his parents who were in Columbia. Wilkes Boulevard United Methodist Church was his grandmother’s church for 50 years. “Because of my educational experience and personal passion for this particular ministry, the United Methodist System sent me to WBUMC three years ago, but my Columbia roots go back quite a ways,” Brad says.

Brad says that part of what makes Turning Point a successful point of service is its proximity to partners in the work to assist homeless individuals.

“Saint Francis House and Lois Bryant House were established and up and running just down at Wilkes and Tenth,” Brad explains. “Central Missouri Community Action was established and running at the other end of Wilkes at Providence. We’re close to the Voluntary Action Center, and we’re pretty close to Salvation Army’s Harbor House. Love INC is also a good partner and supporter.”

Founded: 2014 Mission Statement:

Providing dignity and hope for our unsheltered Columbia neighbors.

Board Members: 2020 Wilkes Blvd.

Church Council • Dianna Douglas council chair

• Brad Bryan pastor

• Ann Moreton treasurer

• Susan March finance

• Anita Parmer finance

• Jeanette Klemme finance

• Anna Romero staff parish

• Tara Cox

staff parish

• Patricia Pratt staff parish

• David Peterson trustees chair

• Scott March trustee

• Kenneth Parmer trustee

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Wilkes Boulevard United Methodist Church houses the Turning Point Day Center.

UNDERSTANDING HOMELESSNESS The Missouri Balance of State Continuum of Care conducts a pointin-time count of homeless individuals in 101 Missouri counties each January, as required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The 2016 point-in-time count recorded 220 homeless individuals in Boone County, and that number grew to 268 in 2019. Lack of affordable housing, unemployment, poverty, and low wages are the top causes of homelessness nationally, according to the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty.

Brad says that the lack of affordable housing in Columbia, along with a lack of transitional housing to bridge the gap from shelter to rental or homeownership, are among the biggest challenges facing our homeless community. “The homeless population in Columbia is here because of the I-70 corridor, because of the VA, and because of our hospitals,” Brad says. “Because Columbia is in relatively good shape in terms of its health care system, people come here for those services and end up stuck here when they’re released from those services. It’s true that there’s a group of people who made a mistake at some point, and the result has been experiencing homelessness. There is a group of young people aging out of foster care who don’t have anywhere to go, and there are veterans who, for whatever reason, do not respond to the great work being done at Welcome Home — not everyone is going to be attracted to a place like that.”

IT COULD HAPPEN TO ANYONE In ministering to the homeless, Brad reminds us: “We’re all one really bad experience away from living on the streets. That could be medical,

NONPROFIT SPOTLIGHT

professional, or personal, but every single one of us is just one really bad day or one really bad week away from homelessness. We just have to remember that, and at Turning Point and WBUMC, we completely remove judgment from the process.”

This level of empathy allows Turning Point to focus on providing help in whatever way it’s needed, regardless of circumstances. “It’s about what you need from us right now, and how can we get you connected to that,” Brad says. “These are people who have lived that one really bad experience over and over and over again, and they need to know that they are loved, and that they are respected, and they are believed in so that they might start believing in themselves again. And that’s what we do — we believe in people until they start to believe in themselves again, and when that happens, those are our success stories.”

TURNING POINT 702 WILKES BLVD. 573-449-4363 WILKESBLVDUMC.ORG/HOME

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BUSINESS UPDATE

College Continued Luxury retirement community The Village of Bedford Walk offers seniors an extended college experience and seeks to expand across the country.

BY KRISTIN BLAKE

Residents of The Village of Bedford Walk

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t was about 60 years ago that Les Neese graduated from MU and married his college sweetheart, Diane. After graduation, he moved around several times for his job and had two kids. But in August 2016, he and his wife chose to retire in their college town at The Village of Bedford Walk.

Opened in 2016, this luxury retirement community offers 88 units of both villa and apartment living for seniors ages 55 and older. Residents pay one monthly rental fee for everything: rent, one meal per day, concierge services, utilities, recreational fees, private transportation, maintenance, trash service, cable, internet, and telephone.

In 1984, Boone County native Jeff rey Smith started JES Holdings in Columbia, a development company with several child companies, one being JES Prime Senior Living. The JES Holdings family of companies has hundreds of properties in multiple states. JES Prime Senior Living opened Bedford Walk as its flagship property, and currently around 76 residents live there.

SOCIAL SCENE Marketing specialist Mason Neff calls this community the “Ritz Carlton of senior living.”

“I always joke to the residents and people that it’s college living for just a little older college kid,” he says. Similar to the college lifestyle, The Village of Bedford Walk has plenty of activities to choose from: tai chi, water aerobics, trips to Walmart, social hour with apps and drinks, poker, bridge, and more.

Although the property plans and hosts many of these events, they also let the seniors take charge. “The residents do take an ownership in a lot of our activities as well, which I think is really great,” Mason says, “because it gives people a sense of, ‘Hey, you know, I can get some of my friends in the community to do this thing and maybe get more residents involved.’”

When Laura Roeder interviewed for the activity coordinator position at The Village of Bedford Walk, she explained that she wanted to bring socialization, fitness, mental health, and education to the residents. In her interview, Laura tossed out the idea of a cruisethemed week, where residents would “visit” different ports in different countries.

In 2016, Laura was hired, and immediately she had to start planning the Cruise Ship Week, which has become a staple event. Each summer, they kick off the week with a themed

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party where they dress up in island attire and play music. Each day’s theme corresponds to a different “port.” Residents eat a lunch inspired by that country, learn languages, and study up on historical information. For example, one year they “visited” London and had afternoon tea; on their Hong Kong day, they visited a Chinese art gallery in St. Louis, and on their Italy day, they decorated wine glasses.

Each year, the staff and residents finish out the week with a Captain’s Cocktails event.

“We just have the biggest celebration where it’s just all of us together, and we talk about what’s going on that week and we dance and we eat and we drink,” Laura says. “It is the most amazing night ever. It’s my absolute favorite night of the entire year.”

LIFE MADE EASY Les appreciates the simplicity of life at Bedford Walk; he doesn’t have to mow the lawn, shovel snow, or clean gutters. “I write three checks a month: one for the rent, one for my cell phone, and one for my credit card,” he says. “It makes life really easy all the way around.”

Mason says they want their seniors to be active and “to age in place.” Although this is an independent living facility, this property has on-site physical and occupational therapy services through its contract with Legacy Healthcare Services.

Social events have had to take a pause due to the coronavirus, but Les says the staff has done a “sterling job” amidst the chaos. “They really have done a lot for us and continue to do a lot for us through this little event that we’re having now with the coronavirus,” he says. “They’ve established great protocols for what to be done and they’ve kept us separate sometimes in spite of ourselves.”

Lewis Kelley, executive director for JES Prime Senior Living, says they’ve made changes in their protocol due to this virus outbreak.

At The Village of Bedford Walk, they’ve restricted access to the pool, dining room, and other common areas, Lewis says. “We’ve really tried to focus on safety and having them stay inside their apartments as much as possible for everybody’s sake,” he says. “We haven’t had any, any, any problems, and residents have been very cooperative.”

GRADUATED GROWTH Looking toward the future, Lewis says they hope to lease the remaining 20% of units.

About a year ago, they restructured and took their marketing in house in hopes of building a fuller property. And Lewis says it’s working: Now they’re able to have more control over new leads and keep tabs on how potential residents discovered the community, be it from Facebook or a TV ad.

BUSINESS UPDATE

“(We’re) definitely on the right track, and there’s no reason not to be because, I admit, I’m partial,” Lewis says, “but I do believe that the Bedford is certainly the classiest and nicest place in Columbia, hands down.”

He says they’re also planning to build in the college town of Gainesville, Florida, with the Columbia property as a model. “The idea originally was to build a sister property to sort of mirror The Village of Bedford Walk in Columbia and do one at their Sable Oaks property in Florida,” he says. Although the coronavirus has affected the timeline, Lewis says they plan to continue building, developing, and operating more properties.

For Laura, the future is simple: keep creating a space for seniors to live the lives they want and continue to evaluate the needs of the residents. “I have a feeling they’re going to keep moving in and keep getting comfortable and keep acting like these teenagers that are going to wear us out,” she says with a laugh.

“They’re going to give us a run for our money here.”

THE VILLAGE OF BEDFORD WALK 415 BAILEY DR. 573-303-7252 THEVILLAGEOFBEDFORDWALK.COM

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PERSON YOU SHOULD KNOW

Eric Morrison Mid-Missouri President, Providence Bank PHOTO BY ANTHONY JINSON

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JOB DESCRIPTION

Leadership of commercial banking for Columbia, Jefferson City, and Lake of the Ozarks markets.

PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND

Nine years at Providence Bank starting in 2010; nine years at the University of Missouri Department of Athletics from 1998 to 2007; three years at Sundvold Financial as an investment advisor from 2007 to 2010.

HOMETOWN

Quincy, Illinois.

YEARS LIVED IN COLUMBIA

26 years (that must be a typo).

QUOTE YOU LIVE BY

“Do unto others as you would have done to you.” Matthew 7:12.

FAVORITE VOLUNTEER ACTIVITY

Anything at Job Point.

FAVORITE RECENT PROJECT

The Small Business Administration’s recent Paycheck Protection Program is something we will look back at as a career milestone.

A COLUMBIA BANKER YOU ADMIRE AND WHY

Karen Taylor is one that comes immediately to mind. The personal engagement with which she supports Central Bank’s clients, her community, and her family is a model we can all aspire to.

WHY YOU ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT YOUR JOB

How can you not be passionate about serving a community that gives and has given so much to your family?

WHY YOU ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT PROVIDENCE BANK

Our team, our mission, and the opportunity to contribute to something greater.

IF YOU WEREN’T DOING THIS FOR A LIVING, YOU WOULD

I would be eking out a living in college athletics.

WHAT PEOPLE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT YOUR PROFESSION

Columbia’s bankers care deeply about our city and its businesses.

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Once I was ejected from a church league softball game.

I was 19, and to prove that you never stop needing discipline in your life, my parents made me call my date for that night and cancel.

THE NEXT CHALLENGE FACING BANKING

Rising to the challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic to support our total community and our business infrastructure.

YOUR NEXT PROFESSIONAL GOAL

Having my key work in the front door at the bank tomorrow.

BIGGEST LESSON LEARNED IN BANKING

It’s OK to say, “I don’t know.”

HOW YOU WANT TO IMPACT THE COLUMBIA COMMUNITY

I want to contribute in small ways to initiatives which continue to distinguish Columbia and Boone County.

GO-TO VACATION SPOT

WaterColor in Seaside, Florida.

FAVORITE COLUMBIA RESTAURANT AND A DISH YOU WOULD RECOMMEND

The Hawaiian chicken at Shiloh Bar & Grill.

WHAT YOU DO FOR FUN

Just about anything that our son, Evan, wants to do with me.

FAMILY

My wife of almost 18 years, Amy, and our 8-year-old son, Evan. My mom lives in Columbia. One brother and my niece and nephew live in Kansas City. My sister-inlaw and her family — three nephews and two nieces — live in Columbia. And I have a brother-in-law and three nephews living in St. Louis.

FAVORITE PLACE IN COLUMBIA

Our cul-de-sac with lawn chairs in the driveways, a grill going, and kids in full sprint.

ACCOMPLISHMENT YOU ARE MOST PROUD OF

The accomplishment I’m most proud of is handing our son to my dad and mom about 20 minutes after he was born.

MOST PEOPLE DON’T KNOW THAT YOU

Once I was ejected from a church league softball game. I was 19, and to prove that you never stop needing discipline in your life, my parents made me call my date for that night and cancel.

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THE BANKING DREAM TEAM

It’s a People Business JAY ALEXANDER

The Bank of Missouri adds a new executive hire and grows its Columbia market amidst a pandemic.

BY KRISTIN B L AK E | PH OTO S BY A N T H O N Y JI NS O N

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GEOFF KARR

MIKE IRELAND

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The Treasury Expert

I

nvest in people, not quarterly results — that’s the philosophy at the Bank of Missouri. “If I invest in you and take care of you, you’ll invest in your communities, and it’ll come back tenfold,” says Adrian Breen, CEO and president.

The bank’s most recent hire, Geoff Karr, joined the team as regional treasury solutions officer in early May. Under this newly created position, Geoff will work with business clients to assist with treasury management and non-lending needs.

Since 1891, The Bank of Missouri has been investing in their employees and serving the state — through the Great Depression, the COVID-19 pandemic, and everything else.

Based in Perryville, the Bank of Missouri is now growing across the state and investing in its Columbia market.

Expanding the Treasury Hiring Geoff will allow The Bank of Missouri to be a commercial banker, not just a commercial lender, says Jay Alexander, Columbia’s community bank president. “One of our strategic initiatives at a corporate level is building out this treasury group so we can better serve our business customers,” Jay says.

Geoff says this position is community banking at its finest. “We’re going boots on the ground, so to speak, and finding out answers and then bringing it back to the drawing board and adapting the solution around that,” Geoff says.

At the end of the day, Geoff wants clients to love their bank. “We are seeing an evolution in banking and that comes with the good old sit down, visit with your customer and client, and understand what it is that they need,” Geoff says. “But it’s also knowing that they operate from a phone and tablet, and they want to make sure banking is easy.”

Casey Crowell, senior vice president of treasury solutions, is excited to see what Geoff will bring to the table. She says there’s no one-size-fits-all solution for businesses, and the treasury department focuses on getting to know a business, whether that means researching the industry or meeting with clients, and building custom solutions. “Geoff Karr and Jay Alexander are fantastic complements to the high performing team in Columbia comprised of the best bankers around,” she says.

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The treasury solutions department was started in January 2018. Chief Banking Officer Dawn Dauer says The Bank of Missouri hiring Geoff will help the Columbia branch meet its growing demand. “With our commercial customers, there was the need for some more sophistication in products,” Dawn says, “to help them make their cash come in faster and easier and to help manage their money a little bit better.”

Columbia Market on the Move With $2.1 billion in assets, The Bank of Missouri has 36 locations across the state. Adrian says Columbia is a great market and that this branch has a great team to match, including groups devoted to small business and investment and retirement planning.

“You need really good people to manage the

THE BANKING DREAM TEAM

footprint and the loan portfolio risk, generate new business, and be active in our communities,” he says.

Geoff is only a part of the Columbia market’s growth spurt. In December 2018, Mike Ireland started as the regional bank president for central Missouri. In March, Jay joined The Bank of Missouri team as Columbia’s community bank president.

When Dawn met Mike in 2018, she felt that he would be able to bring the Columbia market and the region to the next level, she says.

“Once he got in and got acclimated, we realized there’s not enough Mike — we need more Mike,” Dawn says.

And that’s when Mike suggested Jay, whom he’d worked with about 10 years ago. “In two seconds of meeting Jay, it’s like, ‘Oh, my goodness, this guy, he’s a fit,’” Dawn says. “I’m very excited to have Jay on the team as well, because Mike and Jay, they’re just like the dynamic duo.”

Jay didn’t grow up thinking he wanted to be a banker; he says no one really does. After graduating from MU, he knew he wanted to

stay in Columbia, and one of the biggest industries in town is banking. One of his friends worked for a local bank, and Jay took a job as a credit analyst. “I kind of backed my way into banking,” he says.

But that first job out of college set Jay on a career-long path, thanks to great mentors and opportunities to get involved in the industry and community. And almost 25 years

later, Jay still enjoys this industry’s mentality of serving. “Banking, for me, is a people business, not a service business,” he says. “It’s all about kind of putting our customers and our bankers first.”

Although the bank has been growing quickly as of late, Mike knows it’s bigger than him. “There’s a foundation here that’s been built and has a lot of really good people,” he

Invest in people, not quarterly results ­— that's the philosophy at the Bank of Missouri.

Chief Collaborator COMOMAG.COM

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THE BANKING DREAM TEAM

says. “We just happen to be the most recent additions to it.”

Dawn has worked for The Bank of Missouri for more than 20 years and appreciates how the bank treats its people. “They really do believe in their people, take care of their people,” Dawn says. “If I want to learn something, they’re like, ‘Absolutely go for it.’ They don’t tie your hands where you can’t do things.”

COVID-19 Response Put simply, Jay hit the ground running at The Bank of Missouri, as his start date was during the COVID-19 shutdown. But with the federal government’s Paycheck Protection Program rushed into order, Jay had a job to do right away. Across the state, The Bank of Missouri made more than 1,600 loans totaling $128

million to small businesses. These loans helped more than 18,000 Missourians stay employed, Jay says.

Mike was worried about the timing of Jay’s joining the bank and how the crisis would affect it. “There was some concern that I thought, Oh, no, we’re not going to show him our best look because things are changing,” he says, “and we’re having to build the car as we go down the road a little bit.”

Ironically, it had the reverse effect. Despite being thrown into this fire from day one, Jay says the experience reaffirmed his decision to join the bank. He says, “It was really neat to see, as the new guy, that we were able to mobilize very quickly, collaborate as a team, remove all the friction from the process, and make it as easy as possible and as efficient as possible for our borrowers to obtain these PPP funds.”

Future Plans When Dawn looks ahead, all she sees is opportunity for the Columbia market, she says. “I like the mission that the city and the schools have laid out there,” she says, “which I think is very telling — that you’re in a community that’s committed to growth, but growth in the right way.”

For Mike, the Columbia market is far from an afterthought; he says it’s a large driver of the bank’s growth. “We’re a $2.1 billion bank, so we’re not a tiny community bank,” Mike says, “but we’re also not so large that we can’t be nimble and react quickly and have autonomy and make decisions and make banking easy.”

The Bank of Missouri has one branch in Columbia, and to Jay, that’s a big advantage.

“From a branch footprint standpoint, we have one location, which really allows us to be fairly efficient,” he says. “We can amass a really good group of people here in one location and then focus on delivering digital or technology products or different delivery of services to customers.” Likewise, Geoff says the bank’s one branch footprint in Columbia is one of the best positions to be in, thanks to smaller overhead costs and resources being devoted to digital growth.

The Bank of Missouri isn’t just your banker; they do life with you, Dawn says. “We survived the Great Depression, two world wars,” Dawn says. “You just think about how things have progressed, and at the end of the day, we still come to that foundation that we believe in your communities.”

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A BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT SERIES

What’s New on

Photo by Keith Borgmeyer

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the South Side?

BY N I CO L E FLO O D

This month, our business development series explores what’s new on the south side of Columbia.

From new business developments to exciting shops and places to eat, this side of The corner of Nifong and Scott Boulevard looking onto the Copperstone neighborhood, Addison’s, and a new development.

town has a ton to offer to the community.

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J O H N WA R N E R M ID D LE SCH OO L “Columbia is a community that values education,” says Michelle Baumstark, community relations director for Columbia Public Schools.

“Construction of the school is possible because of the continued support of our community.

We are grateful for that support and the investment our community makes in its schools.”

John Warner Middle School, the new 126,431-square-foot building located off Sinclair Road, is under roof and work is being done inside the building. It is on track to open in August for a capacity of 700 to 750 students.

“The school is being built to help alleviate overcrowding and address continued growth in south Columbia. Specifically, this will help address the overcrowding at Gentry Middle School,” Michelle says.

Jimmy Hale will serve as principal of John Warner Middle School with Taylor Drennan serving as assistant principal.

NIFONG SHOPPING CENTER Lindner Properties has turned the anchor of the Nifong Shopping Center from a Gerbes grocery store into a Planet Fitness and Woof’s Play & Stay. “When we weren’t able to come to terms with Gerbes, we quickly decided that it would be more advantageous to split the building and lease to multiple smaller businesses,” says Jay Lindner, president of Lindner Properties.

They went to work gutting the entire building and adding new storefront entrances, windows, and architectural features. They also added new mechanical equipment for the different spaces.

John Warner Middle School opening in August.

“We were able to get creative with Woof’s Play & Stay to remove a walk-in cooler outside the back of the building in order to create room for their outdoor play areas,” Jay says.

“Planet Fitness and Woof’s have been great, unique additions to the property. We do still have some space remaining in that building, and we look forward to bringing additional businesses to this corner.”

In addition to Planet Fitness and Woof’s, Lindner Properties is also constructing the Panera building in the parking lot of the property. “Panera has been looking for ways to get a drive-thru location in south Columbia for years now, and this location will give them great exposure and convenience. Working with them, we were able to take their prototype building and upgrade some of the finishes on the exterior to make sure the style fits in with the rest of our development,” says Jay, who is hopeful Panera can be operational by fall.

“The remodel has not only increased the curb appeal of this corner, but it’s also allowed us to get business activity and tax revenue coming in for the City of Columbia again,” he adds. “Had we not split the building, it likely would have sat empty for multiple years given the large size. Once the Panera building is finished, we feel like this will be one of the top properties in Columbia.”

CO PPE R S TO N E PA R K “My wife and I love Columbia and always planned to be here to raise our children,” says John Hall, developer of Copperstone Park Development and co-founder of Calendar. com. “When Copperstone was a new neighborhood, we were one of the fi rst families to build in the subdivision.”

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Park is located at Discovery Parkway. From enticing small plates and local seasonal items to a bar with a unique bourbon display and outdoor patio, Park is a must-try restaurant on the south side.

TAQ U E R I A D O N PA N C H O

PA PP O’ S

Located on Peachtree Drive, Taqueria Don Pancho is a family-owned traditional Mexican restaurant. They focus on fresh, delicious food and marinate their dishes for 24 hours before cooking to give them a rich flavor.

Whether you’re looking for traditional tacos, burritos, posole menudo, or tilapia tacos, you’ll find authentic flavors here.

PaPPo’s Pizzeria & Pub on Nifong offers handcrafted pizzas featuring artisan dough and fresh ingredients baked on a hearthstone. Pair your craft pizza with one of their 30 craft beers on tap and enjoy their cool environment.

S O U T H S ID E

WHERE TO

SHOP

TIN ROOF MONOGRAM & GIFT The Tin Roof Monogram & Gift is a small gift boutique that provides customers with unique merchandise. From home goods to baby items, simple apparel to unique trinkets, the shop is a labor of love that keeps on giving. In addition to lifting up their customers, they also strive to empower and support the community through fundraisers, charity events, and donations to various groups and causes.

PLU M E Plume offers trendy and vintage handmade gifts, décor, and treats. Over 70 local vendors design, make, or hand-pick and sell items here. You can find everything from upcycled furniture to soaps and vintage jewelry, and you can even grab fresh baked cupcakes from Mama T’s at Plume.

C M S E G I VI N G GARDENS CMSE Giving Gardens has provided meaningful work for people with disabilities for more than 50 years. The Giving Gardens is a retail nursery that has many plant varieties including perennials, annuals, herbs, vegetables, and hanging baskets.

John and his business partner were in the process of launching their new company, Calendar.com, and found themselves with the opportunity to construct their own office space.

“This allowed us to construct an amazing building to attract top recruits while being able to support businesses within the campus that we believe in and that are great for the community,” he says. “The development will be called Copperstone Park and will have a park-like atmosphere, with trees, walkways, and outdoor areas for an enhanced work environment.”

The new office building is at the corner of Scott Boulevard and Nifong next to the Copperstone neighborhood and the new Addison’s restaurant. The community support for this project is very positive. “There was 100% neighborhood support for this development at the planning and zoning meeting, in addition to both the planning and zoning commission and city council voting 100% in favor of this,” says John. “I believe this was because I spent a lot of time getting feedback from the neighbors and working with them to build a development that was great for the community.”

The building is currently in the finishing framing stage and is scheduled to open in September. Russ Anderson is the builder for the project, and he’s worked closely with John on multiple other properties. “Russ has built many of the homes within Copperstone, and I trust him to capture the amazing essence and beauty of the neighborhood and include it in this development,” John says. “In addition, Nick Peckham, who owns Peckham Architecture, has been amazing at designing a campus that is not only beautiful, but also carries strong aspects of green sustainability that are better for the environment.”

The 18,000-square-foot building is mostly rented, but there is still 6,000 square feet of office and commercial space available. “We’d love to get some more amazing companies in those last spots,” John says.

The campus includes two different commercial buildings and one residential structure of villas. “In the west building, the majority of the space will be taken up by companies owned by me and my business partner, John Rampton. These include Calendar.com, which is an evolution of the modern-day calendar online; Adogy, which is a media placement fi rm that gets authority media placements for companies to build their brand credibility, as

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S O U T H S ID E

A BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT SERIES

WHAT TO

DO

A peek inside The Strand’s waiting area and wall of products.

TIGER BOUNCE Tiger Bounce provides entertainment for children 13 years and younger with inflatable bounce houses, a skating and multipurpose floor, soft-play climbing structures, and full concessions. There is also a dedicated toddler area that’s perfect for infants and preschool-aged kids. It’s available for open admission, private birthday parties, a parent’s night out, and youth nights.

T H E ST R A N D S A LO N & S PA Mitchell Farris and Christy Huggans started The Strand more than 22 years ago. What started with a downtown location and two stylists has turned into a talented team of 20 at a premier salon and spa on Club Village Drive.

They offer clients color, cut, and style services in addition to a full spa and nail salon.

ROCK BRIDGE M E M O R I A L STAT E PA R K If you’re looking for an outdoor adventure, look no further than Rock Bridge State Park. Located on South Highway 163, it’s an oasis just minutes from Columbia.

It boasts some of the most popular hiking trails in the state and has biking trails, a large cave system, a rock bridge, sinkholes, a spring and underground stream at Devil’s Icebox, and Connor’s Cave.

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well as SEO placements; and about 10 others in our portfolio,” says John.

“We will have a company café and an outdoor area available in this building with firepits, bars, beach loungers, washers pits, and other fun things to create a more enjoyable and modern-day workspace.”

Next to that, they will have a co-working space that includes companies like StoryUp, run by CEO and chief storyteller Sarah Hill, and 361 Financial. The Company, Wendy Swetz’s real estate brokerage, is also in this campus. “It was an amazing fit because her company is growing, and she cares about Copperstone just as much as I do since she lives in the neighborhood as well,” says John.

“In the north building, Camacho Coffee, an exciting and fast-growing retail coffee shop, will be our first tenant in that building,” he adds. “Jesse [Walters] and his wife, Megan, were a perfect fit to be a part of the development, and we immediately hit it off since they cared about the community just as much as I do.”

In addition to the commercial space, they also have four high-end villas at the south end of the property, which will give this area the unique option of having high-end villas within a park-like environment. John says two are taken — one of which will be rented by his parents — and two are still available.

C A M ACH O CO F F E E “The building we are moving into is directly south of Addison’s as you enter Copperstone.

We have acquired around 1,250 square feet of the building,” says Jesse Walters, co-owner of Camacho Coffee. “We have been looking for space to rent since the existence of our business in 2017.”

Jesse and Megan began roasting out of a corner of a warehouse and later moved to a shared commercial kitchen, but they’ve never had a space of their own, until now. “The location, accessibility, a cool landlord — shoutout to John Hall! — and his flexibility in letting us build it out as we need, is everything we have envisioned for our business. I think John is truly building something special that the community will enjoy and benefit from, and we’re grateful to be part of it,” says Jesse.

Their space won’t be like any traditional coffee shop you’ve experienced. “The best comparison I can come up with is a brewery,” says Jesse. “Most of the space is used for manufacturing, production, and distribution, while the rest will be a ‘tasting room’ where people can come in and grab their coffee. It will be an open concept where the community can see and experience what we’re doing, all the way from hauling in the burlap bags to roasting and bagging to getting a brewed cup of joe.”

I don’t just see a customer.

I see you.

While other insurance companies just see a customer, I see a neighbor in my community. I’m here to get to know who you really are so I can help life go right.

LET’S TALK TODAY.

Phyllis Nichols, Agent

573-443-8727 | phyllis.nichols.g15k@statefarm.com 1006 West Boulevard North | Columbia

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VALUE Navigating Your Business's

Jan

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A guide to what you need to know before you put your business on the market.

BY DAVID MORRISON

R

andy Coil is in year eight of his business succession plan. He has been meticulous in mapping out every step along the way for the day he finally does decide to hand over the keys to Coil Construction, the company he founded in 1975.

He hired a certified public accounting fi rm with experience in business ownership changeovers. He hired an attorney familiar with estate law. He hired a professional with expertise in family handoffs to conduct interviews with other family members and company employees taking their temperature on how they would feel about Randy’s son, David, taking the reins of the company.

Since those early days, Randy has made sure David worked his way up in the company, learning every job, every nook and cranny of the managerial structure.

Randy has no immediate plans to step aside. But, when he does, he is confident that the transition of ownership will be smooth.

“I was told that from the beginning: the slower the transition, the better,” Randy says. “Whoever told me that, they were right.”

Some business owners heading for retirement aren’t so fortunate.

They may not have a qualified internal successor at the ready, or the nature of their business may be such that it can’t function without them.

The process can be largely the same as Randy’s, though: Determine a successor. If none stand out, get your business in the best shape possible to sell.

In either case, time, professional assistance, and planning are all crucial factors.

“They need to not wait until the last minute,” says John Weaver, a CPA at Williams-Keepers in Columbia. “With this process, there’s a good chance that, to carry it out right, it’s going to take at least five years, depending on their situation.”

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“It’s similar to getting a house ready to sell, in a way. People like to walk in, turn a key, and everything’s prettied up: new carpet, new paint.”

– Jeff Guinn

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JUNE 2020

Getting Your Business in Order Some owners are in for quite the sticker shock when they go through their business valuation in preparation to sell — and not in a good way. Once an independent valuator starts combing through books and assets, an owner might realize that what they thought was a $5 million business may not look anywhere near that appealing on the open market.

“There’s always a balance between what the owner wants and what’s realistic, and 90% of the time, the seller is unrealistic on what they think they’ll be able to get,” says Jeff Guinn, owner of LGI Business Brokers in Columbia.

“A lot of sellers hear numbers and get excited, but reality hits when they come see me.”

That’s where the time factor can come in handy. If an owner has a figure he or she would like to get for the business when it sells, it’s easier to make that a realistic goal for five years down the road than for say, next month.

“Pretty early on, you’ve got to have some idea as to the organizational value,” says Troy Norton, a CPA and business valuator at Williams-Keepers. “It takes an outside expert, someone who has the track record and experience, to give you an estimate of that value.”

So how can business owners make their companies more attractive for outside buyers?

First, clean up the books. Make sure the financials are in order and that there are no outstanding legal, ownership, or contractual issues left over for the new owner to iron out. If you’ve made a habit of running abnormal expenses through the business, stop doing that.

It tends to make buyers a bit leery.

“A lot of people believe all kinds of personal things that don’t apply to the business belong on the books,” Jeff says. “It’s similar to getting a house ready to sell, in a way. People like to walk in, turn a key, and everything’s prettied up: new carpet, new paint.”

Second, make sure to optimize your assets.

That means equipment, facilities, and property as well as employees. Troy says buyers like

to see a “depth of management,” where multiple employees are cross-trained in multiple areas of the business.

If the owner were to step out for a monthlong vacation, for example, would the company be able to keep humming along, or would it fold?

Even though he’s not selling externally, that’s one of the big reasons Randy pushed his son to touch every corner of the business as he prepared to take it over.

“He could view what we do and view the day-to-day life of our field guys,” Randy says.

“By doing so, he got an understanding of what they go through every day, what it takes to get a job done from the trenches on up. That was terribly important in his maturing in his role and gaining that understanding.”

Seller Beware There are a few potential negative outcomes that owners should keep in mind when they put their businesses on the market.

First, it might not sell. Jeff says that, historically speaking, he ends up completing sales on about half of the companies he lists.

“There are a lot of businesses that have provided people an income, raised their family, and allowed them to retire, but there’s not a big market out there,” Troy says. “Understanding that not all companies are marketable is a huge thing for buyers to overcome.”

Second, if the company does sell, expect taxes to take a large bite out of the final price.

That’s another reason it’s important to take your time and work with experts, John says. If a company is currently a C-corporation and wants to reclassify itself as an S-corporation to capitalize on a better tax rate, for instance, it’s not something that just happens overnight.

“You’ve negotiated the sale and you say, ‘We close next month. What can I do to save money from a tax perspective?’” Troy says. “It’s too late at that point.”

Th ird—and this one goes for internal transfers as well—you have to make sure you really want to step away from the business.

Randy says he and his son have been sharing managerial duties, they enjoy working together, and he can see the partnership lasting for a while before he exits the picture. He says he has friends who have sold their businesses and moved on free of regrets, and that’s the future he wants, too.

Not all are so fortunate.

“People regret selling,” Jeff says. “It’s not the money side. That’s one thing, but when they sell and they’re out of the business and not active, they suddenly feel like they’re less worthy.

I talk to the sellers and tell them what they’re going to experience. I still get ones who think they’re ready, but then they get so bored.”

Transfers to internal candidates can keep the original owner closer to the business and are, generally speaking, simpler propositions.

Although they also come with their own set of complications.

What if there isn’t a successor readily apparent, as there was in Randy’s case? How do you go about finding someone in the organization—or in your family—who has the desire, know-how, and sound financial footing to take control of the company? And, once you do zero in on a successor, how is that going to make the rest of the family or longtime employees feel?

At every stop along the route, at every decision point on the way, the counsel of accountants, valuators, lawyers, bankers, and brokers contributes to a better chance of success.

“It sounds like a plug, but you have to reach out and have a trusted advisor to help you through this process,” John says. “There is just too much stuff you need to navigate through.

There are too many different ways to go about it. You don’t want to change the terms at the end because you didn’t talk about it earlier.

Engaging someone to help you through the process early on is a really important step.”

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1. I love how they use the outdoor space for community events.

2. I love to walk and think, and I enjoy both parks equally. Kudos to the parks department for doing an awesome job.

3. Bet you can’t find my family’s New Zealand picture on the wall.

4. My heart is where my granddaughter is.

5. My remodeler says “transitional.”

6. I’m an architectural engineer – so creative analytic?

7. Big picture first, then we will get in the weeds and execute!

8. Lifelong learner and love to share what I have learned.

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300 St. James St., Suite 103 Columbia, MO 65201

“I would recommend a small business to Hawthorn Bank in a heartbeat.”

“I only needed a small loan to get things up and running at Moon Yoga. Hawthorn Bank was eager to help and put things together quickly – which was huge for me and my business.” ”I now have this partnership with them that really feels like family.”

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Brandon Kalista Commercial Loan Officer (573) 449-3204

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