Left to right: Jessica Davis and Cheinie Case, service club members and Stacey and Matt Wedemeyer, recipients.
Special to the Times Vedette
The 2025 Citizens of the Year for 2025 are Matt and Stacey Wedemeyer.
Matt, a Casey native, started his love of community when he was a toddler. He and his brother were in the kids parade and then later the big parade with their various organizations. His real community service projects started from 4-H membership with the Way-Out Walnuts and then when he was a member of the AC FFA group. He served in various leadership roles through both organizations.
After completing college, Matt came home to farm and sell real estate and decided to run for the Adair County Supervisor seat in his district. He won the election and has represented Adair County as a supervisor.
He and Stacey married and immediately immersed themselves in remodeling projects from their rental home business to the beautiful former funeral home. They decided to continue their entrepreneur efforts by purchasing Howard Messinger’s barber shop and turning it into Stacey’s dream of owning an ice cream shop — the Casey Creamery.
Stacey, a registered nurse, has spent years taking care of others. One of the highlights of her career were her years as the ACGC elementary nurse. She enjoyed looking after the children’s medical needs. She did it all from giving prescriptions, evaluating potential broken bones to passing out an occasional aspirin along with very special band aids. She has been available when needed for community service in her various hometowns.
Stacey has been the Casey Service Club president for the last two years and before that was willing to help with many community events. Her empathy and compassion for others is where she gained her knowledge of wanting to go into the nursing field. From a young age, she was watching out for others. At one time, she had five sets of grandparents. She loved all of them. So, in her field of nursing, she came by it naturally. With her determination and compassion, she has been the go-getter. When she moved to Casey, she found her town and made it her own.
The latest acquisition for Matt and Stacey is the former grocery store purchased from Marge Sublett. This building has been rehabilitated from top to bottom, making it a dual-purpose building with a two-bedroom apartment on the upper level and a new retail store, Hometown Basics, on the main. The apartment is furnished for extended stay or a quiet weekend getaway.
Both Matt and Stacey have embraced the history of the community. With the restoration of the buildings, they have tried to keep some of the characteristics of the original buildings intact while giving them an updated look.