INTRODUCTION TO THE BAILEYS‍

This essay is an encomium to my beloved friends, Drennan & Lauren Bailey, their son Taylor, and their business, Bailey Properties.

MY CREDENTIALS: A JOURNEY THROUGH DIFFERENT CAREERS

‍First let me list my credentials for this report: I left journalism to go into rural real estate. I later left rural real estate, and rural America, in order to go to graduate school. After graduate school, I became a political economist for a think tank. I left that field to do market analysis, and then marketing, for Price Waterhouse.

DRENNAN'S ROOTS: FROM CITY TO FARMLAND

‍Drennan grew up with a love of rural America and the farm life. He was raised in St. Louis but the family frequently commuted to their farm near Kirksville, MO. He went to college at Westminster College in tiny Fulton MO.

LAUREN'S ENTRANCE AND THE GROWTH OF THEIR FARM

‍After college Drennan moved to Kirksville and to the old farmhouse. He was joined, later, by his new wife Lauren. Drennan and Lauren not only managed the farm successfully but grew it dramatically.

A GLIMPSE INTO THE BAILEY CHILDREN

‍That farm produced more than corn and beans. Their children are Ashley, now a lawyer; Tiffany, a teacher; Drennan III, a consultant with a global firm, and Taylor, the son in the business who sells elevators when he isn’t selling farmland.

BAILEY PROPERTIES: THE EVOLUTION OF A REAL ESTATE DYNASTY

‍Real estate brokerage started as a side enterprise but it quickly grew. It grew even more quickly when Lauren forced Drennan to quit buying farms and concentrate on selling them. When Drennan and Lauren decided to leave the farm, they hired managers, returned to St. Louis, and settled into their wonderful niche—investment and get-away farms for urbanites. The only remaining major development in the history of the Bailey Properties is that in {year} Lauren left her teaching job to join the company full time.

IN CONCLUSION: A TESTIMONIAL FROM A TRUSTED SOURCE

‍So, from that brief history here’s what we have: An investment (farm real estate) famous for holding its value, and a family whose qualities of joy, integrity, and mutual commitment will leave a lasting impact. If you have even an inclination to consider a farm investment, you owe it to yourself to call Drennan, Lauren, or Taylor. It will be a life adventure! Good luck. And tell me how it works out.

From our dear friend, Pat Nichols.

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