Cross country biker, Luke Hall is one of those immovable individuals who just can’t give up when they got their eyes set on a goal. Yes, a lot of people say they’re determined spirits but there is little that can genuinely stop Hall when he has his mind made up. Including moving cars. Literally. When the guy was out training for a race one spring he and his buddy got hit by a vehicle and went tumbling down the pavement. 

For many, they would probably throw in the towel, do some physical therapy, and call it a year. But it was barely six months later until Hall was back on the track and took first place on his inaugural race since the accident. Somewhere between a rock and an underdog, Hall just doesn’t give up, especially when the odds are stacked against him.

Tee Clarkson has always had a penchant for the outdoors. Growing up in Richmond, VA his parents pretty much sent he and his two brothers into the wilderness to find something to do. Of course they played sports but they also found pleasures in the simple things, like the cool chill of farm ponds on a hot summer day, spending afternoons fishing along the James River.

Heather Machelle’s story is a lesson on alternative lifestyles in a conformist world. Nothing too crazy or drastic, but rather a person simply driven by their passion to push their body and truly see the world. In short, for her 30^th birthday Machelle hiked the famed Appalachian Trail; an impressive 144-day trek across the 2,189 miles stretching from Maine to Georgia.

Jessica Pearson and Joe West of Springfield nonprofit, TrailSpring have a unique way of looking at the world. If you take a drive around southwest Missouri, you will of course notice the region’s rolling plains and hills. What looks like dirt mounds and fields to some folks is so much more to Pearson and West. These aren’t just hills, they are a full-blown adventure waiting to be experienced; a trail to be blazed, a path to be carved.

Say what you want about Springfield, Mo but it is a city rich with great music. To be a young college kid in the Queen City is to be acquainted with the warmly-lit house shows rocking the night away on National Avenue and to know that familiar smell of Pabst and cigarettes outside the Outland Ballroom. And of course, there is the music. From the scrappy yet insanely talented local indie rock outfit to national headliners like Band of Horses and Elvis Costello, Springfield has a way of attracting top shelf acts far and wide.