Special Issues

BY PATRICK YEAGLE She grew up the only girl with five brothers. Maybe that was where Mary Therese Vann first learned to hold her own. Known as M.T. to many, Mary Therese Vann of Springfield died Dec. 31, 2016, leaving a respected legacy of making her own way in the worlds of business and social […]

BY COURTNEY ENLOW HALL As the director of population health and community outreach for the SIU Center for Family Medicine, Dr. Tracey Smith has devoted her professional life to providing access and equity to people in vulnerable situations. “When I look at something, I always look at it in terms of a system,” she said. […]

BY COURTNEY ENLOW HALL Necessity is the mother of invention, and Rasha Said is a mother whose invention was born out of necessity. When her young son started to lose his vision, Said began to realize how important it was for him to remain independent. On a family trip to Disney World, she found herself […]

BY ROBERTA CODEMO The odds were stacked against Margaret “Boony” Luparell of Dawson from day one. Born on the south side of Chicago, her family moved to Springfield when she was about four years old. She grew up on Springfield’s north side, the youngest of five children. “I come from very humble beginnings,” she said. […]

BY ROBERTA CODEMO Dr. Susan J. Koch always looked up to her mother, who worked full-time while raising five children in a rural South Dakota town. “She was a very courageous and dedicated person,” Koch said. “She had high expectations for us. I didn’t want to disappoint her.” Whenever she left the house, Koch’s mother […]

BY COURTNEY ENLOW HALL Molly Berendt was 23 years old when she started the program that would change both her life and the lives of Springfield’s homeless children. Beginning as a ministry at Douglas Avenue Methodist Church, the Compass program – now Compass for Kids – sought to support homeless children at Dubois Middle School. […]