Who's Who 2012 - Rita Crain

Instead of celebrating her 50th birthday with a lavish party in her honor, Rita Crain invited her friends and family to pick up a hammer and spend the day helping to build a Habitat for Humanity house. In addition to being owner and manager of Girardeau Ventures and Crain Industrial Properties, Crain volunteers with FISH Food Pantry, serves on the SEMO Symphony board and is a Redhawks Athletic Booster. Crain, originally from Southern Illinois, and her husband of nearly 34 years, Steve, not only work together, but have raised two daughters together, Jennifer Bradshaw and Lisa Parsons. They have four grandchildren.

__What do you love about your work?__

The thing I love most about my work is that I get to spend lots of quality time with my family while working. It's very rewarding to be engaged in work with your family members. It allows us more time to spend together than you would normally be able to, plus it's rewarding to solve business issues and problems with people you love and care about. Adds another dimension! Also, on a daily basis what I do is very diverse; that keeps life interesting!

__What inspires you?__

Watching life unfold through the eyes of our grandchildren; it renews you!

__What community issue/cause is most important to you and why?__

Currently I volunteer at the FISH food pantry; it is an extremely worthwhile cause. With so many people out of work right now, there are many struggling just to put food on the table. I'm also very concerned about how many children are being raised with their father not present in their daily lives. Children need both parents involved on a day-to-day basis to achieve their best. Family mealtimes are so important, yet they seem to be almost a lost art. You don't have to spend a lot of money to have great quality family time; just spending time where you're truly focused on your family means everything.