EVERYDAY HERO

A business owner, real estate agent, board member and mother. Melissa Westphal keeps busy in the community.

When Westphal was young, her father was a jail warden, causing her family to move around. They finally landed in Riverside and after high school, Westphal headed off to college at the University of Iowa.

In 1993, her sophomore year of college, she got the opportunity to open Stairway to the Starz.

'From the time I was a little girl I've always taken dance,” Westphal said.

Now, Westphal and her husband Jason have five children, four boys and one girl ranging from the age of 5 to 19.

Westphal's daughter was a safe haven baby. For years prior, the Westphal's were a foster family and were on the adoption list. The safe haven law allows any mother to leave their child at a hospital, no questions.

Westphal said their daughter was a newborn when they adopted her.

'It has been a blessing to our family,” she said.

When she's not with her family or in the dance studio, Westphal is a real estate agent at Elliott Reality, a board member of the YMCA, a board member of the Washington Area Performing Arts board and the health, wellness and accountability adviser for a University of Iowa sorority.

Westphal said every business owner is a hero during the COVID-19 pandemic.

'We are hanging in there,” she said. 'It has been a rough go for everybody.”

For the first four weeks, Westphal said it felt unmanageable and devastating.

'You felt like you were drowning in the water,” she said.

Once the first two months passed, Westphal said it started to be OK.

She said the community has risen to the challenge. The pandemic has forced people to not be complacent, she added.

'It can be easy to get into a really comfortable spot with our businesses,” Westphal said. 'Something like this comes and shakes things up and you have to recreate yourself.”

She said it has caused growth within businesses.