Meet Your NeighborThe Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
Meet Your Neighborby Misty Huston, The Quill
Meet Your Neighbor, Justin Allaman of Rozetta. He was born in the Burlington, Iowa hospital and has lived in Rozetta all his life.
He is the son of Bill and Mary Allaman. Bill farms with his dad and two of his brothers in the Rozetta and Berwick areas. Mary works as a secretary at AEA/IEC.
Justin's paternal grandparents are Charles and Alice Allaman, also of Rozetta. His maternal grandparents are Charles and Janet Buford of Donnellson, Iowa. Charles Allaman and Charles Buford both farmed.
He has one younger sister, Rachael, currently residing in Rozetta. Rachael graduated from West Central High School in 2011 and just finished her Junior year at Greenville College. She is studying Elementary Education. On June 2nd, Rachael left for Cameroon, Africa, where she plans on spending six weeks this summer assisting missionary LaToya McLean teaching at an orphanage.
Justin graduated from West Central High School in 2009. After that he attended SCC in Burlington, Iowa where he received an A.A. degree. From there he transferred to WIU in Macomb and graduated in 2013 with an Ag Business degree.
While in high school he stayed busy with Student Council, FFA, Scholastic Bowl, National Honor Society, Band, and church activities. Throughout his schooling years he was also involved with Boy Scouts, achieving the rank of Eagle Scout in 2006.
After a fatal car accident outside of the high school in 2007, he was involved in the initiation of 34 VOICES, a student lobbying group with the goal of expanding Highway 34 to four lanes from Monmouth to Burlington, Iowa. As construction takes place on Highway 34, this organization is something he is still involved with to this day.
Like many area kids, he detasseled seed corn in the summers while in high school (unlike most kids though, the Crew Leader was his dad). During the summers he always has plenty to do mowing yards, baling hay, and other work on the farm. Farming also means busy times as they take care of field work in the spring and harvest in the fall.
This past winter he was fortunate enough to fill a temporary position at Big River Resources as a Campaign Assistant. The purpose of this role was to rally Big River investor, customer, and vendor support of the Renewable Fuel Standard. Other aspects of that position included writing articles about the benefits of ethanol, interviewing local community leaders, and producing promotional videos.
This past January, he was hired by Rozetta Baptist Church as Director of Youth Ministries, which consists of managing children's and youth activities like Sunday School, Vacation Bible School, Youth Group, and other special activities with young children and teens.
During the winter he also substitute teaches at local schools.
Justin has attended Rozetta Baptist Church all his life. From 2011-2014 he helped with youth group at Harmony Bible Church in Danville, Iowa as a small group leader.
As the 2013-2014 school year drew to a close, he also started Fellowship of Christian Athletes at West Central High School, which is another opportunity to work with area teens.
This summer he will be leading Rozetta's youth group on a week long mission trip to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. The following week, he will be traveling to Knoxville, Tennessee working with the impoverished and homeless.
He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Family Outreach Community Center in Stronghurst, which exists to help families in Henderson County.
In his free time he enjoys reading, outdoor activities and fishing.
One of his favorite family traditions is whenever his extended family get together, his cousins and him enjoy making homemade ice cream with an old-fashioned crank freezer. They also enjoy spending time together as they decorate his grandparent's Christmas tree.
His family and he are St. Louis Cardinals fans and they try to make it to at least one game a summer to watch the Redbirds play.
He enjoys traveling as well, specifically a family vacation to Walt Disney World in 2012 was particularly enjoyable. He has also gone on camping trips to Estes Park, Colorado, where they spent the week hiking in the Rockies. Doing mission work is a passion of his, having spent three weeks in Africa in 2012 doing Vacation Bible Schools, radio ministry, and prison ministry.
He currently plans on living in Henderson County, helping on the family farm, teaching and working with local teens. He says, "I have been very blessed to grow up in a supportive community and I want to do everything I can to give back to those who have given me so much."
He would like to travel more in the future, specifically New Zealand would be a place he would like to visit someday. A long term goal on his bucket list is to visit all six continents (Antarctica doesn't count). At some point he would like to return to Africa to see the people he met there and help the churches there.