My story...
Over the years many people have asked, “What made you want to get into politics”?
There have been several day’s, I must admit, I’ve wondered the same thing- Why did I want to do this? I suppose that if you ask just about any elected official you would hear some version of a story that claims that they felt the urge to make a difference, so they took those all important first steps. Others you can just tell- it’s what they have always dreamed of.
What seems like a lifetime ago, I was working 50 hours a week spinning tires and changing oil at Yocum Automotive in Republic. I also operated a mail order nursery called Rolling Acres Nursery. With my formal education in plant science I spent my summer and fall collecting seeds and taking cuttings of plants to manipulate into next years crop. I started the first version of this business when I was just 14. It was called Lawn Masters.
Yep, just like many youngsters, I wanted to have a little pocket change; so I harnessed the work ethic that my parents instilled in me to buy a 1941 “A” Farmall with a 5-foot belly mower attached underneath. I still own and use that tractor today. That old tractor and I spent the summer mowing the neighborhood lawns and raking hay. By the time I was 16, my lawn service had expanded to the point where I was responsible for over 120 acres of manicured lawns every week, including the entire Republic School systems property. By the time I enrolled in (S)MSU I had four crews, trucks, and trailers hauling equipment all around Springfield all summer long.
With all of this ambition came recognition. I was highly decorated in the FFA. I secured the Green hand degree, Star Farmer degree, Area Farmer degree, State Farmer Degree, State Proficiency Award and National runner-up for the O.M. Scott’s Turf and Landscape Management Proficiency Awards. I was also the President of the Horticulture Club as a freshman at (S)MSU.
Like most young people I settled into adulthood and started a family. I applied what I had learned and continued to grow my business. I expanded my services into a full service landscape design and installation company. Many homes in south Springfield have my artistic touch quietly growing into mature plants.
Over the years I began to evolve the business into the mail order nursery shipping all over the continental U.S. The millions of plants that I grew now provide shade and beauty all over the country.
The wholesale nursery business is unique in that almost all of your sales happen in the dead of winter. This left me with a lot of free time; enough free time to once again be exposed to the public and I went to work at Yocum Automotive. For seven years I dealt with the public and all the crazy things they can throw at you. I absolutely loved the daily conversations I was having with my regular customers. We debated the impeachment of then President Clinton, The removal of the “fish” emblem from the City of Republic’s logo, the trial of O.J. Simpson, the “hanging chads” of President Bush’s election and witnessed the falling of the twin towers. 
It was during the “hanging chads” period that I began to publicly vocalize my beliefs as a conservative. People who I had great respect for then began to whisper- “Jim, you need to do something about this.” Other than voting, my interest in being “involved” in politics was as far from my mind as it could be. After all, I was elbow deep in grease and I was busy pulling weeds at home.
Over time, those annoying voices in your head (you know the ones), and the echoes of what other people have said in your presence begin to roll around. You start to think about your past and your abilities. You think about your fears and your concerns about the direction things in the country are going. You find yourself starting to stare at the ceiling at night pondering these things. Soon, an otherwise rational guy begins to think about placing his name on a ballot for public scrutiny.
So there is a point you reach; a point where you finally say -ok. I’ll try this.
Term limits were about to take out then Speaker of the House, Jim Kreider, my elected representative. The seat for the Missouri House of Representatives would be open and if I were going to do this, now would be the time. So you turn to the one true authority and say, Ok, God, if you want me to do this I’m going to need some help. And to my surprise a few weeks later someone bought my house and farm. He opened this door and all of the other doors that needed to be opened to bring this to pass. Next thing you know I’m in the Republic Monitor with an announcement that my name would be on the Ballot for Missouri State Representative.
The election was extremely hard. At no point did I have any clue if I was winning or not, I just kept knocking on those doors and asking for those votes. And the rest is a matter of public record. I joined the largest class of freshman in the history of the State in January 2003 and served all four terms allowed by the Constitution.
The experience has been priceless. The education is exceptional and the friendships are without equal. I stood my ground against Rod Jetton and his struggle for power and influence and I was instrumental in breaking the filibuster and guiding the strategy to repeal the “village law”. I stood firm against the merger of multiple state funded retirement systems saving potentially billions in investments. I forced the City of Springfield to take action on the ailing Police and Firefighters pension funds and many, many other amendments were passed or killed by my leadership. I was one of three founding members of the famous “Apple Pie Caucus”, a group of many legislators that regularly was visited by multiple Supreme Court Judges and respected by party leadership as the most powerful Caucus in the legislature. 
It is a combination of all these experiences, and many others that make me feel qualified to lead Greene County as Presiding Commissioner. I’m not a man that has dreamed of being an “elected official” but rather I view myself as a reluctant servant. I’m just a man who has answered the call to step forward and protect what our grandfathers believed in. I want to bring the experiences I have lived to the leadership table. I want to guide Greene County in a solid, conservative, fiscally responsible direction. That is why I am applying for the job of Presiding Commissioner of Greene County and I would like to have your approval.
Please vote for me- Jim Viebrock.
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Visit Jim's legislative site: Missouri first.com
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This site paid for and maintained by the Committee to Elect Jim Viebrock
P.O. Box 176
Republic, MO. 65738
Renee Viebrock, Treasurer