Meet the influential family behind Springfield's new Steelcase office furniture dealer

Scott Rice, a dealer for Steelcase office furniture, has entered the Springfield market with an influential minority family running the operation.

CEO/President Alex Roman and her parents Vicki and John Palmer said they are excited for this venture.

They said Scott Rice Springfield is the only minority-owned Steelcase dealership in the Missouri market. Steelcase makes furniture for offices, hospitals and classrooms.

Before this family business venture, Vicki and John Palmer started their successful careers in two different fields. Vicki Palmer served 25 years as a C-suite executive for Coca-Cola, and John Palmer worked in politics as a senior aide to U.S. Senator Bob Dole as he represented Kansas in Congress. After Vicki Palmer retired, she decided to start The Palmer Group, a general management consulting company based in Atlanta, which has now formed a new partnership with Scott Rice Color Art.

Roman told the News-Leader it has been a blessing to go into business with her parents.

"It's been amazing," Roman said. "Having two parents who are as successful as both of them are individually, it's obviously a lot of pressure when you're younger. And I never felt like they put that pressure on me, I put it on myself."

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Roman is excited for this Springfield venture after working as a project manager at MGM National Harbor in Maryland and also working at ESPN before her time living in the Ozarks to build Scott Rice in Springfield.

Roman said she gives a lot of credit to Teresa Bradley Sr., Cindy McDonnell and Edie Bryant. These are women who work on the team at Scott Rice Springfield. These women have helped grow the business so far.

Roman told the News-Leader that she has loved her time in Springfield and thinks most of her interactions with people have been great.

For more information on their products and services, visit Scott Rice Springfield's website.

Ralph Green is a business reporter with the Springfield News-Leader. Contact him at RAGreen@gannett.com, by phone: (417-536-4061) or on Twitter at RalphGreenNL

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Minority and women-owned business is looking to make Springfield home