Barbara Holtzclaw was born and raised in Boonville , Missouri .  After graduating from Boonville High School , she attended Central Methodist College and received a Bachelor of Arts in Education degree with a major in social studies and a minor in English.  Her Master of Arts teaching degree was completed at Webster University in St. Louis .  For thirty years, she was a teacher and department chairperson in the Hazelwood School District in North St. Louis County .  During her teaching career, Barbara was active in the Missouri Council of the Social Studies and served on various committees and in offices, including president of the organization.  She was a member of the National Council for the Social Studies, serving on the Nominations, Meetings and FASSE Committees.  Barbara also was a member of the Missouri Bar Committee for Civic Education and was selected as an honorary member of the Missouri Delta Kappa Gamma organization. 

During her career, Barbara has received many awards and honors.  She was selected as the MCSS State Social Studies Teacher of the Year, the NCSS National Social Studies Teacher of the Year and participated in Harvard University ’s Seminar on Reading , Writing and Civic Education.  She also received on of State Farm’s national “Good Neighbor” awards for exemplary classroom teaching. 

After her first husband, Robert L. Ameiss, died in 1990, Barbara completed her teaching career and moved home to Boonville where she married John Holtzclaw in 1998.  Since returning to her hometown, Barbara has been very active in community affairs.  She has been elected to three terms to the Boonville R-1 School District Board of Education where she is currently serving as vice-president.  She is past-president of the Boonville Women’s Club, current president of the Friends of Historic Boonville and is a member of Kiwanis Club, the Boonville Chamber of Commerce and the Nelson Memorial Methodist Church .  She has also served as Chair of the 4-H Exhibit Hall at the Cooper County Youth Fair for several years.  As a broker, Barbara has made use of her background in teaching and community service involvement to promote sales training, continued education and to reinforce the importance of building strong client relationships with other REALTORS®.