JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Shana Beasley, legislative assistant to Rep. Tim Remole (R-Excello), is a passionately lively presence on the second floor of the Capitol. She has been a state employee for more than 15 years, 6 of which she served as the legislative contact for the Department of Revenue.
“I loved the challenge that position brought with problem solving and expediting services,” Beasley said. “I love anything that gives me that shot of adrenaline and working against time and getting tough jobs done. That was as close as I could get in a cubicle. Other than that adrenaline, there is no better feeling than being able to help people or give renewed faith in services that the State offers. My position there really fit my strengths and I had some amazing people to look up to.”
Despite her passion for her job at DOR, Beasley hoped to transition to the Capitol.
“My great-grandfather, Buck Walz, worked at the Capitol during the Hearnes administration and was lovingly known as the ‘Basement Governor.’ The stories my grandfather used to tell me about his time there and his great connection with people, always fascinated and inspired me. I knew I would find myself ‘across the street’ someday.”
Her transition began when she took a soul-finding rugged adventure to the Buffalo River in Arkansas with her husband, Clay, and she made an active choice to look for opportunities in the Capitol.
“Soon after this realization I saw there was an opening posted for an LA on the House website,” Beasley said. “I applied and a few days later I was being interviewed by Rep. Kent Hampton. I was a fit for his office, and I spent the next three years working for a man with the utmost integrity and a beautiful mind full of honest perspective. I respect him very much and am so thankful I was his – Junior Representative’ – as he called me – for three years. I then had another stroke of luck and was then paired with two men who also share the same integral qualities that Kent had. Just good ole’ guys with values and goals that I admire.”
Beasley admires the building as much as the men she has worked with for the experience it has provided her.
“It is truly a privilege to work at the Capitol,” Beasley said. “It is a place rich in history and diverse personalities. You cannot help but become a more well-rounded person because of the unique and intimate environment that it radiates. Just like I loved being able to help people at DOR, I find I have a much greater capacity to help here at the Capitol. You are constantly learning here, whether it’s new names and faces or how to challenge your perspective and it keeps growth alive.”
Beasley likes to dress “to the hilt” during session (and equally whimsically outside of session) and takes her contemplative and deliberate fashion to a more intellectual and personally inspired level. When asked what she loves, she has no hesitation to exclaim, “music!”
“I love discovering and revisiting music masterpieces,” Beasley said. “In another life I would have loved to be a music critic, or a creative writing teacher or a true historian. But music is where it’s at for me. I also collect vinyl and have three record players – I love them like some people love their pets. I like to hula hoop, roller skate (and would love to join a derby team someday), laugh and play with my family. I love stand-up comedy, to read, to fill my head with trivial nonsense, and to obsess over certain historic events like the holocaust. I love to make things (but don’t love to cook), and dance in the living room with my family any and every chance I get. I love hard, play hard and am a hard core supporter of truth and justice. I believe in fixing what’s broken, but easily walk away from those things that cannot be fixed. I always strive to see both side of any story. I believe people do much better when they learn to swallow their pride and work together. I believe fear keeps people locked in sad, lonely boxes and I refuse to be fearful. I don’t believe in labels and simple associations.”
Outside of the Capitol, Beasley loves to play with her husband and four kids. Clay was her first kiss and a first boyfriend from middle school.
“My husband and I are constantly dating and flirting and playing,” Beasley laughed. “When we get away from the kids – I have four kids Savannah (16), Sydney (14), Brock (8), and Quinn (20 months), we love camping and canoeing and we are always searching for the magic rivers. You will find me scanning the riverbanks always looking for that perfect heart rock to add to my collection. I don’t know where I am going, but I am enjoying every baby step and leap that I have taken so far. I do know that when the game of 8-t0-5 is over for me, you will find me humming to tunes in a VW bus as my husband and I explore as much as we can as we act like the kids we never grew up from being.”
It seems that Beasley is as passionate about her literature as she is her music. She had no trouble quoting Norman Maclean.
“A magic river is whatever you want it to be,” Beasley said. “But to me it is any river that makes you think something like this: Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it. The river was cut by the world’s great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time. On some of the rocks are timeless raindrops. Under the rocks are the words, and some of the words are theirs. I am haunted by waters.”
Rachael Herndon was the editor at The Missouri Times and also produced This Week in Missouri Politics, published Missouri Times Magazine, and co-hosted the #MoLeg podcast. She joined The Missouri Times in 2014, returning to political reporting after working as a campaign and legislative staffer.
Rachael studied at the University of Missouri – Columbia. She lives in Jefferson City with her husband, Brandon, and their two children.