Sub Spotlight: Sherry Crawford

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  Sherry Crawford’s Christmas tree farm, Evening Star Pines, started small. “We had the ground, so my husband planted a few Christmas trees,” she said. What began as a few trees has transformed into a full-fledged Christmas tree farm with 6,000 trees of various sizes, fresh wreaths and arrangements, locally made jams and jellies, dog… Read more »

Sub Spotlight: Sidney Grinter

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  You’ve seen the sunflower pictures from Grinter Farms on Instagram and Facebook. The ones with people posing amongst a seemingly endless field of sunflowers. The pictures have exploded in popularity recently. It seems everyone has made the trek to Grinter Farms to snap a photo with the sunflowers. But the sunflower field was never… Read more »

September Sub Spotlight: Ron Brown

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  Ron Brown is a busy guy. Not only is he a substitute teacher, he’s an author and musician. Ron began substitute teaching while in law enforcement. “I was in law enforcement as a Deputy Sheriff, a Park Ranger, and a Campus Police Officer. While a patrolman, I would substitute teach to give back to the… Read more »

Sub Spotlight: Doretha Bighems

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  Doretha Bighems is not only a substitute teacher with MHED, she is also a veteran. For 23 years, Doretha served our country in the United States Army, Active Army National Guard, and United States Army reserve. “I am a graduate of Officer Candidate School (OCS) and various Non-Commissioned Officers (NCO) Schools,” Doretha said. “Other… Read more »

Sub Spotlight: Matt Eckelman

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  As a pitcher at St. Louis University, Matt Eckelman was eying a career in the majors before an elbow injury sidelined him during his junior year. “Sitting out, it was hard at first,” Matt told the St. Louis Dispatch in 2016. “But, I was pretty sure everything would work out.” He was right. Matt… Read more »

Sub Spotlight: Marianne Tennant

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  As an actress, Marianne Tennant finds her skills from the stage work well in the classroom. “As a substitute, you have to be on because you never know what you are going to walk into.” Marianne has always had a passion for acting. As a child, she and her eight brothers and two sisters… Read more »

Sub Spotlight: Laura Girard-Munroe

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  If Laura Girard-Munroe is going to do something, she goes “all out.” That’s why, after she began running 18 years ago to lose weight, her first races were a 12K and half-marathon. “I ran my first marathon because I entered a marathon naming contest in my hometown of Maryville, MO,” Laura said. “They picked… Read more »

January Sub Spotlight: George Blume

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  At an early age, George Blume’s father gave him some advice: If you want your community to be a better place, then YOU work to make it better. It’s wisdom that has guided George all his life. It’s what led him to 27 years as a volunteer firefighter. And 26 years as an Emergency… Read more »

December Sub Spotlight: Lolita Richard

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Lolita Richard was working on her degree in Elementary Education when her instructor challenged her to write a children’s book. “She asked, ‘with the growth of technology how do we keep students interested in books?’ I did some hard thinking and all I could come up with was to write interesting books, and that’s exactly… Read more »

October Sub Spotlight: Brenda Ross

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If you’re going on safari soon, Brenda Ross has some advice. “The important thing to know when going on safari is that you have to be able to run fast and climb a tree.” Brenda should know. Born in Cape Town, South Africa, she has been on her fair share of safaris. “There have been… Read more »