Jeff Stacy
Family: Wife Lisha, and children Likayla, 18, and Cheston, 16.
In Town: Jeff Stacy of Stockton, Mo., has worked for the Missouri State Teachers Association (MSTA) since 1996. He is currently the Southwest Senior Field Coordinator. “We help teachers with any problems they have, work related,” explained Jeff. “We do a lot of professional development and leadership training.” He not only advocates on behalf of teachers, but also has represented cooks, custodians, bus drivers, administrators and school nurses. “We are all-inclusive; anyone that gets paid by the school district is eligible to join and receives liability coverage and legal,” Jeff explained.
In the Country: Jeff and his family live on a farm near Stockton, Mo. “We are a five-generation farm family. My grandparents and their parents made a living in agriculture several decades ago,” said Jeff. On their own farm, they raise beef cattle and own several Quarter Horses, Missouri Fox Trotters and a couple mules they use for rodeos, trail riding and hunting. Their children, Likayla and Cheston, also play an active role in the farm. “Lisha and I both believe a farm is the best place in the world you can raise a kid. When kids are learning how fragile life is and how to care for animals, they can transfer that into caring for people. There is going to be life-long skills they pick up on the farm they will use forever,” Jeff said.
A life-long skill Jeff learned at an early age was how to start horses. Jeff has been starting horses since age 11 for clients as a side job. “I learned almost everything from my dad, but I picked up more techniques from Kenny Morrison when I boarded horses at his stable,” explained Jeff. Jeff starts horses from the beginning, building trust with the horse and teaching them to accept the tack and rider. Jeff will teach the horse to turn, stop, back up, side-step and allow the rider to open gates. “I make them an extension of the cowboy so when you are checking fence, cows or getting up a sick calf they are a tool you would use just like a tractor on the farm,” said Jeff.
