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Blogs /  417 Blog /  May 2008 /  10 Most-Beautiful Finalist: Brenda Rantz /  Brenda Rantz

Brenda Rantz

Age: 53

Occupation: Director of Finance for Nixa School District

Background: Brenda’s hometown is Nixa, where she still lives. She’s been in 417-land her whole life. She has a husband, Jim, and son, Zachary.

Tell us why you love 417-land.

I live right in the middle of 417-land where there is a big “X” that marks the spot for Nixa. My roots run deep. I have lived in 417-land most of my life, minus a small period of time out-of-state. My family is from this area and has been a part of Christian County for years. My uncle helped start Sucker Day, a local fishing holiday in Nixa. My grandparents were the first telephone operators in Nixa, and my dad was deputy sheriff. I grew up in Nixa, and I wanted to raise my family in such a great place. Working for the school district has helped me give back to a place that has given me so much. Nowhere else can you find such community spirit and sense of family that you find in 417-land. A neighbor is a neighbor indeed, and someone you can count on. I cannot think of any other place I would want to live. It is my home and certainly where my heart is!

Tell us about your community involvement and volunteering. (Please tell us what organizations you’re involved in, what you do to participate and how long you’ve been doing it.)

For almost all of my adult life ,my husband and I have worked as leaders of youth groups (ages junior high to college age) at our church. In addition, I worked with the AWANA (Approved Workmen are Not Ashamed) program for 15 years in the junior high/high school group and then ages K-2.
The last four and a half years, I have been focused on mentoring and supporting women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer. The Breast Cancer Foundation of the Ozarks does fantastic work in supporting women. I have had the opportunity to be a part of A Time to Share. Having gone through breast cancer myself, I know it is important to reach out to others.

What’s something that might surprise us about you? (Or a story you love to tell.)

The story I love to tell is about my mom and my first date with my husband. For me, it was love at first sight. For him, it was not. I tried everything to get his attention at school, so he would ask me out, to no avail. My mom got tired of hearing me talk about him nonstop, so she took it upon herself to call him up and tell him I needed a date for New Year’s Eve. Mortified, I thought my life was surely ruined at 17. I could only imagine what he thought about some lady he had never met calling him at work asking him to take her daughter out on a date. My brother thought it was the most hilarious thing he had ever heard and could not believe she had actually done it. He called, I said yes and the rest is history. That was 36 years ago. After becoming a mom myself, I realized that love knows no boundaries.