Briana Heaney: What makes you the best candidate for the job?
Dustin Stanton: So I have actually been in the office already for the past six, seven months. So I'm currently the Boone County Treasurer. So I've already gained the institutional knowledge needed to perform the job and the duties, full support in my office full supportive people even within the building as well. So bipartisan support in the effort. In regards to the knowledge in the field of academia, I went to the University of Missouri here, and a full ride business scholarship with emphasis in advanced accounting, with coursework in that as well as monetary policy, money and banking. So I kind of bring that to the realm of what I'm doing, but also actually began a business at the age of six. So I began Stepbrother Eggs with six chickens with my brother. Fast forward when I was 16. It was designated by the USDA as the nation's largest independent free range egg operation. It continues to this day, although I've honestly stepped away from the day to day operations of that.
Briana Heaney: What made you decide to run for this office?
Dustin Stanton: Well, it kind of goes back to the idea of being appointed. That's kind of where it began. And I've thought about public service for quite a while. So my family has been in this community for a very long time. We've been on our family farm since 1845. And to put that in perspective, we live west of Centralia it's really wasn't established till 1857, 12 years after we came here. So we've been really invested in the community for a very long time. And I was taught growing up to be involved and to give back. That's just something that was really been instilled in me.
Briana Heaney: What makes mid-Missouri unique to you?
Dustin Stanton: Oh, I love mid-Missouri, like so, so much. So I've been able to travel to different places, I've been to Japan and to Costa Rica. I have not been to Europe yet. But I would love to go I really love traveling and kind of seeing different cultures and different like, like diverse backgrounds, it really means a lot to me. And every time I think about those things, I come back here to mid-Missouri and it always feels I'm biased when I say this, but it feels so much better. Like I just I love the community aspect that goes on here. I love the people here I think it is it's a wonderful, I really do. I mean, you can even if you want something bigger, you're two hours from Kansas City or St. Louis. But at the same time you're stuck in here, mid-Missouri and I even count Columbia as a small town, I really do. I think you can go to any grocery store and bump into someone you know. And to me, that's something I really cherish and really love.
Briana Heaney: It's clear agriculture and business have played a major role in your life as a kid, you gravitated towards both agricultural and business. And you continue that by getting a finance degree and running your ag business and then taking an administrative role at the farmers market all the way up to being appointed by the governor to Boone County Treasurer. Was there ever a moment you thought about going a totally different direction?
Dustin Stanton: Yeah, I mean, there have been. So when I was in college, probably my junior year, and they hit me really hard to to be a teacher. I really, I really struggled that for a while just thinking a lot about it. I loved all my teachers to this day, I still love all the teachers that I've had. They've been amazing to make me an individual individually. today. I thought about going a different route and getting a master's in education. Really what I probably would have done would have been math, I love math. I probably would want a high school math teacher. But I finally came to the conclusion that I also I loved the independence of the business and just with with where I was going so I decided not to at least at this time. I think it'd be fun. Yeah, I'm sure you still get to do a lot of math. It's yeah, there's not in the classroom, but there's a whole lot of math.
