Citizen Spotlight: Mark and Anna Sue Spohn

Excelsior Springs has so many good people! Each week we select a citizen (or citizens) from Excelsior Springs to highlight the impact they have on our community. Click here to nominate someone for the Citizen Spotlight!

spohn-feature — *Anna Sue and Mark Spohn pose outside the beautifully restored, Payne Jailhouse Bed and Breakfast (photo S Jason Cole).*

In the heart of downtown Excelsior Springs, sits the Payne Jailhouse Bed and Breakfast, lovingly restored and maintained by owners Mark and Anna Sue Spohn. Long-time residents of the community, the Spohns have had a significant impact on the direction of the city, especially the downtown. Mark moved to Excelsior Springs in 1974 as a junior in high school and graduated from ESHS in 1976. He and Anna Sue met and were married in 1988. In addition to restoring several historically significant properties,
together they have volunteered hundreds of hours towards the renovation and beautification of the downtown area and given hundreds more in civic service.

spohn-closeup — *Anna Sue and Mark Spohn work together to make the community more inviting (photo S Jason Cole).*

Mark and Anna Sue have served the community in multiple ways. Mark, who worked for Ford for 30 years, recently completed 8 years of service with the Downtown Excelsior Partnership (DEP) and continues to serve on their Design Committee. He also currently serves on the board of The Chamber of Commerce and is a member of the Public Safety Sales Tax Commission. Most notably, he was recently elected by the citizens of Excelsior Springs to serve as a member of the City Council. Anna Sue has served in the past as a board member and President of the Chamber Board. She is also an entrepreneur and operates her own travel agency, Itchin’ 2 Go Travel. She recently became an active member of the real estate community under the brokerage of Better Homes and Gardens KC.

If you had met Mark or Anna Sue forty years ago you might not have guessed they would be such champions of civic engagement. Each was on a very different path, Mark struggled for many years with drugs and alcohol, while Anna Sue, a professional dancer living in Montreal, was going through a tough divorce. Mark said his positive impact in Excelsior Springs didn’t really begin until around 1984. ”I was awakened to the reality of what God has done on my behalf through His Son, Jesus. Prior to that moment in time, I pretty much lived for me, my whims, and my desires. Since that life change, my focus has shifted,” he said. Mark and Anna Sue’s paths crossed through a singles ministry. “I came up here to a conference that they had at Pisgah,” said Anna Sue. Mark said he wasn’t sure what she saw in him but their running joke has always been that “I had a microwave and she didn’t.”

Just prior to their marriage Mark had remodeled an old house that he was living in at 705 Park Avenue, in Excelsior Springs. As they began their life together they were raising their sons but they said they dreamed of owning and operating a bed and breakfast someday but the timing just wasn’t right. In 2013, their dream arose, quite literally, from the ashes as they purchased a boarded-up, burned-out building at 426 Concourse Ave., downtown. The former home of past Excelsior Springs Police Chief, Bill Payne (1926-1953), and his wife Edna, the site was also Excelsior’s night jail for a number of years because supposedly, “Chief Payne grew weary of not being able to sleep in his own bed at night when he had prisoners at the jail.” Chief Payne built an addition on the back of his house and began to take prisoners there when they required overnight stays. In the mornings Edna would then feed them breakfast. Mark laughed as he said, “We often say, it was a bed and breakfast from the get-go.”

spohn-warden-suite — *Guests can leave messages on the dining room wall after their stay at the Payne Jailhouse Bed and Breakfast.*

spohn-living-room — *Guests can leave messages on the dining room wall after their stay at the Payne Jailhouse Bed and Breakfast.*

The purchase of 426 Concourse Ave began a 2.5-year process of renovation, culminating with the opening of the Payne Jailhouse Bed and Breakfast in September of 2016. “Historic Preservation kind of gets in your blood,” said Mark. After renovating the the bed and breakfast, Mark helped to renovate the property across the street which now serves as Dubious Claims Brewing Co. Then the Spohns purchased a property at 504 Benton Ave that had been vacant for 17 years. After a year of renovation, they sold it to Mark’s sister. A year later, they purchased 1009 South Marietta Street, to possibly flip. “As I began renovation, Anna Sue kept telling me that she loved the property. We decided to change our renovation plans from a flip to a place we could call home. We moved there 5 months ago, which opened up an additional suite for rent at the Jailhouse”, said Mark. But they’re not stopping there. The Spohns recently purchased another historic home at 436 East Broadway. Mark said the home was allegedly formerly occupied by a past mayor of Excelsior Springs by the last name of Bates located in the Craverson Bates Survey and it was most recently occupied by the late John Steven Jewell. “Our plans are to renovate the home as a vacation rental, calling it the “Bates Jewell House,” said Mark.

Mark said he believes their work restoring properties that are burned out, boarded up, or vacant is a reflection of God’s work in his own life. “Because I was just a broken individual bent on personal destruction, but God changed that mindset and that purpose for my life,” he reflected. The Spohns said it is their faith that motivates them to pursue their passions for historic preservation and revitalizing the community alongside many others who have paved the way. They said they truly believe that a vibrant downtown is necessary for the growth and vitality of the entire community, but it will take an ongoing collaborative effort. “We believe that our little town can become anything and everything that we collectively envision it to be. Our best days are not behind us, but in front of us,” said Mark.