Bollinger County

A great place to ... settle down

Sue and Gary Brewer made Bollinger County their home almost 20 years ago after retiring from the military. Both originally from Northern Illinois, they had no ties to Southeast Missouri but quickly made connections in the area.

"We found an ad for a farm in the area and looked at it and resettled here. We don't have any ties -- our family is all over the country -- but we liked what we saw here," says Sue. "It's beautiful country. We were looking for a farm to retire to with a mix of pasture and forest land, and we found exactly the right mix here in Bollinger County."

Sue volunteers with the Salvation Army as an area coordinator in Bollinger County. She's also volunteered with the Red Cross for some 30 years and now heads the charity's Bollinger County efforts.

"I work fire cases in Bollinger County, and if there's a disaster, I do casework and help fund a shelter if needed," she says.

Sue is a Master Gardner and she and her husband are both active in their church. Gary is also an Optimist Club member and volunteers with his church, the Bollinger County Co-Op, Boy Scouts and the University of Missouri Extension. The Brewers live on a farm, complete with cows and horses, and say Missouri's central location makes it a great central meeting spot for their faraway friends and family.

Shannon Daniels (Fred Lynch)

Cape Girardeau County

A great place to ... go for a run

St. Louis native Shannon Daniels moved to Cape Girardeau when she was 17, and she fell so in love with the city that she made it her permanent home.

"There's a lot to do in St. Louis, but now, I can see deer walking around in my backyard," says Shannon, a financial adviser with U.S. Bank who volunteers with the Zonta Club and American Cancer Society. "Cape is a nice-sized city. I like that I can go to any store in town and see people I know."

One of Shannon's favorite things to do in Cape is run. When she started running six years ago, she couldn't run a mile without stopping, but to date she's run 40 miles on her 40th birthday, organized an annual charity 5K and finished races in Las Vegas, St. Louis and Little Rock, Ark.

"The thing about running is that every time you conquer a new distance, the ceiling on your limits grows; the bar is raised higher, so you keep pushing your limits," she says.

Shannon's favorite places to run are in downtown Cape Girardeau, along the Mississippi River and near the casino, the LaCroix Recreation Trail and the scenic county roads just outside of city limits.

The best thing about running, though, are the people she's met -- the local running community is very friendly and supportive, she says.

"The cool thing is that I've formed friendships with people I would not have met otherwise," says Shannon. "We're not in the same professions, we're not in the same groups, but we all have this crazy running addiction."

Lynda and Doyle Lorenz, curators at the Saxon Lutheran Memorial in Frohna, Mo. (Laura Simon)

Perry County

A great place to ... connect with the past

Lynda Lorenz is not only the curator of the Saxon Lutheran Memorial in Frohna -- she lives there, along with her husband, Doyle. She lived near Perryville during her school years but has spent the greater part of her life in the St. Louis area. When the curator position opened up at the Saxon Lutheran Memorial, she was glad to return to the area.

"It really is coming home for me, even though I'm not from here," she says. "My heart has always been a country heart. I like the ease and comfort and security of living in the country. I like the slow pace -- I'm a laid-back person."

The Saxon Lutheran Memorial, an 1800s homestead of Lutheran immigrants from Germany, is a fun place to learn about history without memorizing dates and names, says Lynda.

"Being able to see a tangible part of history ... is proof that this kind of lifestyle existed," she says. "You can read about it in books or hear stories, but here you can see, hear, touch and walk into a house that people lived in 175 years ago."

Working at the site also fits with the couple's personal mission in life: sustainable agriculture.

"I enjoy working with people and teaching," says Lynda. "A lot of this is education, whether it be from a historic standpoint or a hands-on perspective, like how to churn butter or how a quilt is put together, how to use an herb garden or what vegetables come from what seeds."

Michelle Fayette, executive director of the Kenny Rogers Children's Center in Sikeston, Mo. (Adam Vogler)

Scott County

A great place to ... help your community

As executive director of the Kenny Rogers Children's Center in Sikeston, Mo., Michelle Fayette oversees a number of high-profile fundraisers and special events for the center, including the annual telethon in March. The KRCC receives no state or federal funding, so events like the telethon are crucial in providing therapy services and equipment for children with disabilities in Southeast Missouri.

"I think people don't realize that we have been around for 40 years and never charged a family for any services they receive," says Michelle. The center employs 20 full-time therapists and serves about 500 children in a 10-county area.

The KRCC Telethon comprises a whole weekend of opportunities for the community to have fun while supporting a good cause. In addition to the telethon itself, this year's events included a pancake breakfast, fish fry, 5K, "Telethon Idol" competition, dog show and a silent auction, to name a few. Other fundraisers are held throughout the year, including a rodeo benefit, charity walk and poker run.

Michelle is also a huge supporter of other community events like the Sikeston Jaycee Bootheel Rodeo, the farmers markets and the Sikeston Cotton Carnival.

"We have a lot to offer," she says. "It's a close-knit community, and it's close enough to Memphis and St. Louis that we can take a day to go down for Memphis in May or up to St. Louis for a Cardinals game or to the Fox Theatre."

Ste. Genevieve County

A great place to ... make friends

Joy French inside Sweet Things Sweet Shop. French co-owns the St. Genevieve candy and gift shop with her daughter. (Laura Simon)

Joy French meets a lot of people at Sweet Things Sweet Shop, her candy store in downtown Ste. Genevieve, Mo. She also meets a lot of people at the bank where she works. And at the clog dance classes she teaches. And in the hand chimes ensemble at her church. And at the community center, where she cares for the plants.

In fact, it's the people that first drew Joy and her husband to Ste. Genevieve from Iron County.

"My husband and I had been coming this direction to the wineries for a couple years before retirement. We liked the area and got to know several people from the area," she says.

The couple moved to Ste. Genevieve in 2009, and last fall, Joy took ownership of the candy store.

"It's close to St. Louis and we have a lot of conveniences here, too. I love the people here," she says.

A retired art teacher and former 4-H kid, Joy has many artistic hobbies, including chair caning, basket weaving, knitting, crocheting, jewelry making, stained glass, cooking, pottery and sewing. She sells some of her handmade items at Sweet Things.

"I enjoy doing and learning new things all the time," she says. "I don't do all those things all the time, just when the mood hits me that I want to try this."

Louis Keena stands along a fence after feeding some of his steers at Rafter K Rodeo in Puxico, Mo. (Laura Simon)

Stoddard County

A great place to ... ride the bull

Caring for Rafter K Rodeo Arena in Puxico, Mo., is second nature to Louis Keena, who's lived in Stoddard County and done rodeo all his life.

"I growed up roping and messing with cattle," he says. "It's just home. They can't run me off -- I think they've tried."

The grounds host all sorts of rodeo events, including calf riding for younger kids and bull riding, barrel racing and ranch rodeo for bigger kids and adults.

"We've usually got 'em coming from all over -- from Illinois, Tennessee, Kentucky, Arkansas, Oklahoma," says Louis, who's in his fourth year working at Rafter K. He brought his own children up doing rodeo, and now he strives to make the rodeo grounds a friendly place for participants as well as spectators.

"It's a good family deal, and that's what we wanted to do here. It's a very family-oriented place," he says. "We have a pretty good crowd that fills up the hillside."