Interview with the Gasconade County R-1 Schools Superintendent
Written By: Charlotte Ervin

Dr. Geoffrey Neill (pictured left) moved here during the summer after he got the job of the Superintendent of Gasconade County R-1 School District. Dr. Neill was the superintendent in Sturgeon and before that the High School principal in Cuba. Dr. Neill said that “I had been to Hermann several times… and thought it would be a good place to work, a good place to raise your family.” When he saw the job opening at Gasconade R-1, Dr. Neill called a previous Superintendent, Dr. Smith (who he knew from doing training together), and asked what he thought about Hermann Dr. Smith said it was, “A great place with a great opportunity to be closer to family.” Dr. Neill said that since his in-laws live close to this area it made sense to move so his family could be closer to them, it was an exciting opportunity.

Dr. Neill had some things to say about the people he had met prior to his application, “[The people of Hermann] seemed very nice and I liked the facilities and the sense of community.” Dr. Neill said that his wife and two daughters, one daughter in 8th grade and one in High School, so far are happy. There is, “A lot of community pride here… it’s a good community and [the locals] take a lot of pride in what they have here and that’s important.”

This is the first time Dr. Neill has lived in a place that has tourism, “If it wasn’t for the tourism I don’t think we would have three grocery stores.” Tourism brings a lot to the town of Hermann, mostly people and businesses, but without the tourism element, it is doubtful that we would have everything that we do. When asked where his first pick was to go to eat in Hermann he said, “Oh hate saying that because I don’t want to make the other ones mad… I’ll put it this way, I have not had a bad meal in Hermann.”

When asked why he believes in Hermann he said, “I think Hermann has the history and has proven it can do some pretty wonderful things and the kids here have the ability, the teachers and the staff here care enough, that I believe that there are some very special things that can happen in this place.” He also said that if you don’t believe in a place you don’t bring your kids there, and he would not have moved his family here if he did not believe in this community. “There is a desire to make sure Hermann is successful in the future, and when there are that many people involved and working towards one common goal it’s going to be pretty hard to stop them.” He also said he would advise people to move here as he did. The motto that HRED came up with “A Good Life Within Reach” is a great way to refer to Hermann because “We have [extended] family that lives in St. Louis and I would never live there, but the proximity [of Hermann], you could be anywhere [and get to anything] pretty quick… or you could get everything you need in town at the grocery stores. And if there’s anything else that you need, Washington is close… you can get anything you need fairly quickly. Which is a positive, especially because we are an hour from Columbia, [Hermann] is a good location.”

Thank you to Dr. Geoffrey Neill for agreeing to take time out of his schedule to talk to the intern for Hermann. We hope that he and his family will continue to enjoy Hermann and all it has to offer.