THE INSIDER PATTY UNLEASHED

Happy birthday to The Greenberg Gallery!

Founded in 1972, it was one of the first contemporary art galleries in St. Louis. To celebrate the milestone, it's running a special 50th anniversary exhibit. The opening reception is Nov. 3 at 6 p.m., and the show will run through Jan. 31.

FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT, THEGREENBERGGALLERY.COM.

THE INSIDER

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St. Louis County Library has been named the 2022 Missouri Library of the Year! The award was presented by the Missouri Library Association in recognition of SLCL’s work in the areas of digital equity, community partnerships, improved facilities, service to the justice-involved and COVID-19 relief efforts. 5 On Your Side’s “Tackle Hunger” campaign has surpassed more than 50% of its goal to donate 40,000 pounds of food to Operation Food Search. Each week, the station features a high school football matchup and challenges both schools to compete by collecting food donations in the lead up to their game.

You can celebrate a piece of St. Louis history at the annual Arch Builders reunion Oct. 29. From 10 a.m. to noon, the public can meet the engineers, tradesmen and support staff who contributed to the construction of the Gateway Arch, which was completed 57 years ago.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT GATEWAYARCH.COM.

PATTY

by patty hannum

THIS MONTH, MISSOURI HAS GOTTEN A LITTLE GREENER!

Forest ReLeaf partnered with Spire to plant 1,000 native trees throughout the state—including in St. Louis county.

I DECIDED IT WOULD BE FUN to take a

vacation this fall with just my husband—something we hadn’t done in 20 years. We tend to vacation with other people or head down to our second home in Florida. I have visited every state except Alaska so we thought a cruise would be perfect. While it might sound rather geriatric, we called our friend Melissa who is a travel agent, and she found the perfect one for us. It departed in Alaska and returned to Vancouver, which was great. Both Carey and I visited Vancouver about 35 years ago and loved it, so we could add on to the end of the trip.

Well, that would have worked if we had not let our passports expire. Seriously. Little Miss On-Top-of-Everything somehow managed to not renew our passports. At first, I blamed the United States government. Shouldn’t they send out a postcard or something? But then I realized I barely look at the mail so really it was my own fault. Our cruise was off, and I am still one state short of the magic 50! (I’ve been to Puerto Rico. I know it is just a territory, but I’ve hit 50 places under the U.S. domain … that has to count for something!)

Then I had a better idea: driving up the Pacific Coast Highway from Long Beach to Carmel-By-The-Sea. Now, if you are a faithful reader, this idea should cause you to ask, “Is she nuts?” Just a few months ago I wrote 600 words about how much I hated the way my husband drives, and now, I wanted to plan a vacation that involved driving on a twisty, curvy and (sometimes) scary highway? Yes, that is what I proposed, and that is what we did. The good news is we are still married. I said not one word about his driving during our vacation. and being together has not led either of us to an attorney’s office. (I’m speaking for myself here, but hey, if anyone has seen my husband heading into one, a quick email would be appreciated.)

Before we left, Carey and I chatted about his driving. Carey has driven on the PCH a time or two so he is familiar with all the twists and turns, but he assured me he would take it slow and easy. A few of our friends and family even talked to him about the drive, and it worked. I never once tried to put on the brake on my side of the car, no F-words were said, and no harm came to either of us. We were overwhelmed by the beauty of what we saw, the Pacific Ocean on one side and cliffs and hillsides on the other. It was beautiful.

We stayed in six cities: Long Beach, Malibu, Santa Barbara, Cambria, Big Sur and Carmel-by-the-Sea. As we left each one, it became our favorite. In Big Sur, this ‘not really into nature’ person spent two days in a treehouse surrounded by huge redwoods. There was a certain smell that I can’t describe, but luckily the gift shop had a bottle of the scent for me to buy.

So, this going away together by ourselves is going to be a regular thing. Next year, Australia! G’day my Peeps! &

TEAMWORK MAKES THE DREAM WORK

uying or selling a home can be a complicated and stressful process. It’s important to have someone in your corner who you can rely on. Rachael Boxdorfer and Will Springer know the importance of strong relationships. Working with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Alliance Real Estate, the two agents have formed a team dedicated to helping clients successfully navigate the market—whether they’re buying their first home, exploring St. Louis’ luxury market or looking to find an investment property.

Both Boxdorfer and Springer came to real estate from different backgrounds. Boxdorfer initially started her career working for nonprofits and marketing for TV and radio—an experience that gave her critical skills when it comes to selling homes. She made the transition to real estate in 2002. Springer made the move to real estate more recently in 2015. Originally, the St. Louis native worked as a lawyer in California. “I decided that wasn’t what I wanted to do,” he says. “When my family and I moved back to St. Louis, I had an opportunity to start working with a friend of mine who is a real estate broker. In 2017, I made the transition to Alliance Real Estate.”

It didn’t take long for the duo to realize they had similar work ethics, although their partnership didn’t officially form until this January. “Real estate is a 24/7 business, but there are times when you won’t be available,” Boxdorfer explains. “You need to find someone you can trust your clients to, and I always found myself going back to Will. He cares just as much as I do about client services. We balance each other, so we started conversations about teaming up. It’s been a great match.” Collaboration is key for the Boxdorfer Springer Team—whether it’s how they work with each other or clients. “Our goal is to find the best resolution, and that means working well with buyers, sellers and other agents,” Springer notes. “Any market is stressful, but the past two years have been particularly so. We’re here to help navigate different challenges.” Boxdorfer adds that helping explain and work through the process with clients is crucial to their process. “We’re comfortable with our clients and work to build good long-term relationships,” she says. “We do

BOur goal is to find the best resolution, and that means working well with buyers, sellers and a lot of education about real estate. Even experienced buyers and sellers have to relearn the process in difficult markets.”other agents. For both Boxdorfer and Springer, their love of St. Louis makes it easy to love what they do. “Part of my job is getting to be an ambassador for the city,” Springer says “St. Louis has so much history, and there is a lot to teach people about the city, especially if they are relocating. There are good homes to fit any budget.” The team is dedicated to giving back to the city it serves. At the start of the pandemic, they helped organize a food drive that has become an annual tradition at Alliance Real Estate. “We’re in a business that deals so personally with people, so it’s important that we support the community,” Boxdorfer notes. “St. Louis has a small town mentality, and that means we all help each other.”

RACHAEL BOXDORFER AND WILL SPRINGER