Photo courtesy of Laura Wills Photogrpahy

Where were you born?

I was born in Ames and lived there for 13 years before moving to Earlham, whereI graduated from high school.

Where did you go to college?

I received an undergraduate degree in Marketing from the University of Northern Iowa and then made the decision to go back to school for pre-medical classes after spending a year out of school.

I did my pre-med prerequisites at Iowa State, and my medical school education at Des Moines University. My residency was completed at Mercy Family Practice Residency Program.

Tell us about your family.

 My wife and I have two rottweilers named Newman and Eli. My wife and I met playing rugby – I played on the men’s team and she played on the women’s team.

Tell us briefly about your current career.

I work at The Iowa Clinic in Family Practice. I particularly enjoy the preventative medicine aspects of my job and helping people lead more healthy lifestyles in general.

What are your hobbies and interests?

I love all things football. I also enjoy watching movies and woodworking – in particular, cutting down the trees and milling up the wood myself.

What do you like most about living and/or working in Waukee?

It’s great to be part of a community that is growing so quickly and to serve the communities in which I spent my high school years. Seeing people from these familiar communities is a neat part of my job.

What motivates and inspires you?

Seeing people take charge of their own health and take steps to improve their health is a cool part of what I do.

It’s very rewarding when patients come in excited to report improvements in their health – whether they’ve quit smoking, reached a fitness goal, made improvements in their blood sugars, or achieved anything they are excited about.

Photo courtesy of Laura Wills Photography

Where were you born?

I was born in Moline, Illinois, but I’ve lived in Waukee since I was in the second grade.

Tell us about your family.

My husband and I have been married for three years. My parents and older brother live in Waukee, and my younger sister is moving to Indiana
in September.

 Tell us briefly about your current career.

This is my sixth year of teaching P.E. at Prairieview School. I’m also the varsity head softball coach, and I give individual youth softball lessons on the side.

What are your hobbies and interests?

I’ve always been interested in athletics. I graduated from high school as a four-sport athlete. I was very fortunate to receive all-state honors, and to be part of state championship teams in track and softball.

I played softball for four years while attending the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, and took my fifth year of eligibility to play basketball. In college, I received All-American honors and played on two national championship teams. After college, I played on a professional softball team called the New England Riptide in Massachusetts.

In my free time, I love to work out, run, play all types of sports, hang out with friends and spend time with my family.

What do you like most about living and/or working in Waukee?

I like Waukee’s close community feel. Even though it’s growing, it has maintained its small-town atmosphere.

What motivates and inspires you?

My faith journey has truly inspired me to push through the challenges I have experienced. My outlook on life is to fight through the battles and to view the glass as half full, not half empty. I try to teach valuable life lessons to my softball girls, because there is so much more to life than just the game of softball. For example, I try to show them that they’re always going to face setbacks and obstacles in life, but if they keep doing the right thing and stay on their path, good things will eventually fall into place.

Photo courtesy of Laura Wills Photography

Once upon a time a little baby girl was born On August 21, 1962 to Robert and Pauline Procter…

I grew up in a suburb of Chicago and graduated from the University of Iowa, where I earned a BA in Communications. After moving to Des Moines in 1986, I ended up in hotel sales and marketing. From the start, it was the perfect fit, and after two years as a Sales Manager, I became Director of Sales at a hotel in Clive.

In 2001, I joined the West Des Moines Marriott as Director of Sales. The hotel business is more than just selling guest rooms and banquet space. It’s about creating relationships, networking and building trust. Actually, many of my clients are people I have encountered in my personal life. You really can’t separate the two when you’re in sales.

I was recently appointed to the Waukee Area Chamber of Commerce and volunteered to chair the Ambassador Committee. I thought my time and energy could be put to good use welcoming new companies and members to the Chamber, and helping them see and experience the value in being involved with the Chamber.

My husband, Steve, and I have been married for 27 years. We’ve lived in Waukee for the past 18 years. We have no plans to leave until we’re ready to head to the Lake of the Ozarks for our retirement, but that’s still a few years down the road.

My husband owns a lawn care business called S & L Lawn Care Service. In the 13 years I’ve been with the West Des Moines Marriott, I’ve also played the role of Administrative Professional for his business. S & L stands for Snow & Lawn as well as Steve & Laura!

The other loves in my life are my sons, Evan and Garrett. Evan graduated from Waukee High School in 2008. He won an international modeling competition in New York this past summer and was picked up by Wilhelmina, one of the world’s most prestigious modeling agencies. He moved to Los Angeles last September and is enjoying great success. My younger son, Garrett, graduated from Waukee High School in 2011.
He’s a junior at the University of Iowa and a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity.

If you were to ask me my favorite thing about Waukee, it’s that it has a “small town” feel with a splash of cosmopolitan flare. I also love that you can go almost anywhere in Waukee and run into someone you know.

That’s a good thing unless you’re running errands on a Saturday morning with no make-up, glasses and a ponytail! It’s a melting pot of sorts – folks born and raised in Waukee, longtime residents like myself and people just moving in from other places near and far.

Together, we all bring something to Waukee that gives it life, energy and balance.

Do you know anyone we should feature for future editions of Faces of Waukee? Let us know! Visit our contact page and drop us a line.