By: Lindsay Sutton
Terri Steffes is a familiar name in New Town and throughout the pages of NTxConnect—and for good reason. As this month's Community Hero, we wanted to learn more about the woman behind the many community projects, events, and organizations that have helped make New Town such a special place to call home.
Where It All Started
Terri and her husband Bob moved to New Town in 2012, where they were warmly welcomed and quickly fell in love with the friendly people and abundance of community activities. Soon after, while visiting with new friends she met at The Bridge Coffee House, she learned about the Garden Club and was encouraged to join. The opportunity was a natural fit, as Terri has always loved flowers, inspired by both of her grandmothers who enjoyed growing them. She had also been a member of the Garden Club in Jefferson City, where she and Bob lived before.
Terri believes that gardens and green spaces give a neighborhood far more than beauty. They create connection, inviting conversation between neighbors who might otherwise never meet. They slow people down. They create pride of place. When people spend time tending flowers, relaxing on porches, walking neighborhood trails, or gathering in community gardens, they help create a neighborhood that feels vibrant, welcoming, and personal, while inspiring others to take pride in and care for their own homes and shared spaces.
That belief has guided Terri's work with the New Town Garden Club, where she served as coordinator for the past five years and now serves as President.
Within that Garden Club umbrella, Terri has helped lead several projects that have left a lasting mark on the community, including creating the Garden of the Month program, helping guide the design and approval process for a community art installation, and assisting with the club's transition to a 501(c)(3) charitable organization just this year.
She is especially proud of the strong community support behind these efforts and of how the Garden Club continues to reflect the spirit of New Town. After participating in the Residents' Garden Tour, she joined the tour committee and has helped support one of the community's most beloved events.
She also helped launch the Christmas Beach Luminaries tradition, which transforms the neighborhood into a magical holiday display each year. The Art and Wine Stroll, although no longer an active event, remains a particularly meaningful community collaboration she helped co-host, bringing together businesses, artists, and residents in a way that highlighted the best of New Town's creative side.
A Collaborative Effort
While Terri is quick to credit the many volunteers who make these projects possible (so many, in fact, that it was difficult to name them all here), her leadership has played an important role in bringing people together and turning ideas into lasting community traditions.
In today's busy world, volunteering can easily take a back seat to the many demands of daily life, but for Terri, staying involved is made easier by the support and enthusiasm of the New Town community. She knows it takes a strong team to get things done and says residents consistently showing up with their time, talents, and generosity make community projects feel worthwhile and meaningful.
When she's not volunteering, Terri enjoys spending time doing the things that help her feel creative, connected, and grounded. She loves watercolor painting, reading, traveling, cooking, and entertaining family and friends. Some of her happiest moments are the simple ones—sipping coffee outdoors in the morning, working in the garden, or spending time with her grandson, Miles.
Reading has always been a particularly important part of her life, and after moving to New Town, she missed the book club friends she had left behind in Jefferson City, so she even started the New Town Book Club. With help from Andrea Nelson, the group has remained active and connected for the past 12 years.
Terri also enjoys writing for her lifestyle blog, Our Good Life, where she shares stories about food, travel, gardening, books, and community life. She believes those personal passions are closely connected to her volunteer work, as both creativity and community involvement are ultimately about building meaningful connections with others.
An Act of Hope
Terri believes a garden tells the story of a neighborhood.
It reflects the personalities, cultures, creativity, and care of the people who live there—whether it's a yard overflowing with cottage flowers, a vegetable garden grown for family dinners, a carefully planned landscape, or a space that is joyful and wild. Together, these individual expressions create the texture and identity that make a neighborhood memorable and welcoming.
In many ways, she sees gardens as acts of hope. When people plant something, they are investing in the future and believing in beauty they may not fully enjoy until later. That quiet optimism has the power to shape communities over time, creating spaces that feel more connected, peaceful, and human, while reminding us that growth, beauty, and belonging are things worth cultivating together.
“I am especially proud of how residents contribute their own creativity and personalities to the community. You see it in the gardens people lovingly care for, the luminaries glowing during winter events, the conversations at community gatherings, and the willingness of people to volunteer and participate. There is a strong sense of pride, warmth, and belonging here that you can truly feel when you walk through the neighborhood. To me, New Town represents the idea that community is something we intentionally create together through beauty, shared experiences, and care for the place and people around us.”
The same creativity, curiosity, and sense of community that Terri brings to New Town can also be found on her blog, Our Good Life. Subscribe to stay connected with her latest adventures, favorite reads, gardening insights, recipes, and the simple joys that inspire her both in life and in service to our community.
Learn More
Our Good Life Blog:
https://www.terristeffes.com/