Benton County Enterprise Staff
NAME: Raini Ward
BIRTHPLACE: Clinton, MO
YEARS IN WARSAW: I moved here in high school, left for college, but came back.
FAMILY: Husband, John; daughters, Kendall and Rory. My mom and sister also live in Warsaw.
THE BEST THING ABOUT LIVING IN WARSAW IS: the small town feel. We're close enough to bigger cities that it's an easy drive, but far enough far that we're still a small community. I get road rage too bad to live in a city.
OCCUPATION: Student Services Director at Climax Springs School District
WHAT I WANTED TO BE WHEN I GREW UP: A counselor or teacher, and I wound up teaching!
FIRST JOB: Estes Drive-In in Lincoln
FAVORITE CHILDHOOD MEMORY: Any memory with my BFF, Jalyn.
THE BEST TIME OF MY LIFE WAS WHEN: It's the small things for me; I love quiet mornings with my kids snuggled up.
MOST EMBARRASSING MOMENT: The first thing that comes to mind is when I realized I walked through all of Country Mart with a hole in my pants.
WHAT DO YOU VALUE MOST IN YOUR FRIENDS: Loyalty. Knowing that if I need someone, they will be there, or that if circumstances change they will still be there with me. This seems so hard to come by these days!
YOUR GREATEST FEAR IS: Number 1, losing my kids. But I also hate those spider crickets that are in basements.
I HOPE I NEVER HAVE TO: follow the flight attendant's instructions on how to get out of the plane in an emergency.
I'VE NEVER BEEN ABLE TO: do a cartwheel.
IF I WON THE LOTTERY, I WOULD: pay off something of my family members, sell my house and go live on a yacht part-time and a cabin in the mountains the rest of the time.
MY DREAM TRIP WOULD BE TO: stay in a cabin in the mountains during Christmas.
HOBBIES: Reading, hiking and playing with my kids.
FAVORITE BAND OR MUSICIAN: I cannot possible choose just one.
FAVORITE MOVIE: The Family Stone
FAVORITE DRINK: Coffee
FAVORITE SNACK: Cheez-Its
FAVORITE CANDY: Only chocolate, other candy is gross.
FUTURE GOAL: Raise good human beings.
WHICH PERSON DO YOU ADMIRE MOST: Zane McCubbin; I want to be her when I grow up! She is the most influential, thoughtful person I have ever met. It's flooring to see the influence she's had on students through her years as an educator. As soon as you talk with her, you know she is 100% listening and interested in what you have to say.
ADVICE YOU WOULD GIVE YOUR YOUNGER SELF: Stop trying to rush everything, enjoy it all while you're in that time. Or . . . to not post all of my thoughts and feelings on facebook. That stuff is embarrassing 12 years later.
WORDS TO LIVE BY: "The grass is greener where you water it". . . I love this because nothing is going to be handed to you in life, but you can always work harder to build a life you want. Comparison is the thief of joy.
