20 years of charm at the CVB

Carolyn Parks walked into the Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau and halted just inside the door. Glancing at the unattended receptionist desk, she looked as if her path suddenly hit a wall. Trying to regroup, she exchanged an awkward look with the only attendant she saw, administrative assistant Jana Willison.

Suddenly, the silence was broken by a voice from behind Parks.

"You want your Christmas ornament, don't you?"

Turning at the sound of Anita Meinz's soft and familiar voice, Parks sighed in relief. She was back on course.

Rapping her rings against a table tucked away in a corner behind the main entrance, Meinz quickly turns to Willison.

"Don't you know her?" she said with a broad smile. Now everyone in the room is at ease.

After almost 20 years and thousands of volunteer hours as a Paddlewheeler and CVB receptionist, Meinz has used her charm, luminous smile and vivacious personality to endear herself to a city and its visitors. She in turn knows nearly every soul that walks through the bureau's doors. And if she doesn't know them immediately, just give her a few minutes.

"I don't take long to make friends," Meinz said. "Don't ask me why."

Her boss has a theory.

"She's very warm and disarming to people coming into a strange location looking for information," said CVB executive director Chuck Martin. He said he still receives cards and letters addressed to Meinz from former visitors to Cape Girardeau thanking her for making them feel welcome.

Martin is the fifth director that Meinz has worked under at the Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau since she first volunteered to be a part-time Paddlewheeler, or city greeter, in 1985. She retired as secretary at Franklin Elementary School in 1990 and soon thereafter, she began volunteering most of her time and talent to Vision 2020, the United Way, American Red Cross and the Glenn House.

"I've spoken to many groups over the past few years," said Cape Girardeau Mayor Jay Knudtson. "I often see Anita out there winking and smiling at me. She gives her time, passion and energy and expects nothing in return."

But some of her most rewarding work comes from her time at the CVB. Her love for that place stems from her affection for the people she works with and her pride in her community.

"I'm crazy about these people, and I love Cape Girardeau," Meinz said.

She's said she's lived all over the country, but Cape Girardeau is her only home. She raised her family here, and it's here that she feels like part of a tightly interwoven community.

Her strong feelings about the community are reflected in the thoughts of many of the people in Cape Girardeau. Her co-workers call her "The Ambassador," saying she's the heart and soul of the CVB. Friend Frank Nickell characterizes her presence in the community as being much more far-reaching. He calls her the "Spirit of Cape Girardeau."

"If everyone in town showed that kind of spirit, attitude and dedication to their community, Cape Girardeau would be a better place to be," Nickell said.

But in spite of her outgoing personality, Meinz said she likes to stay out of the spotlight. That's why she shied away from cameras when her co-workers threw her a party for her 83rd birthday on Dec. 3. As behind-the-scenes as she may want to stay, she realizes that the extroversion that draws that attention is the very virtue that makes her so invaluable to her friends and co-workers.

Or as she puts it:

"I'd like to just blend into the woodwork, but it's kind of hard with my big mouth."