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This Is Iowa: Pleasantville woman with Down syndrome turns green thumb into thriving business

This Is Iowa: Pleasantville woman with Down syndrome turns green thumb into thriving business
I'VE MET THOUSANDS OF IOWANS WHILE TELLING THIS IS IOWA STORIES FOR THE LAST 10 YEARS - AND SOME OF THOSE STORIES KEEP GETTING BETTER AFTER OUR STORIES AIR. LIKE THE ONE IN 2015 THAT TOOK US TO THE GREENHOUSE. IN GREENHOUSES ACROSS IOWA - <AND FOUR OF THESE PLEASE.> YOU'LL FIND POTENTIAL IN EVERY POT. <WELL, WE HAVE A LOT OF VEGETABLE PLANTS THAT YOU CAN PLANT IN THE GARDEN.> COLORFUL BLOSSOMS, READY TO GROW. <SNAPDRAGONS.> JUST LIKE THE GREENTHUMB WE FIRST MET IN 2015 WHO ACTED LIKE SHE RUNS THE PLACE. BECAUSE... SHE DOES. <I AM A BOSS.> MARISSA SCHLETZBAUM'S ONLY TWO EMPLOYEES? <MY MOM AND DAD.> ARE HER PARENTS - WHO PLANTED THE SEEDS FOR THIS YEARS AGO. <SOMETIMES IT'S HARD TO FIGURE OUT WITH SOMEONE LIKE MARISSA, WHAT IS THE BEST?> WHEN SHE WAS IN HIGH SCHOOL, THEY NOTICED SHE LOVED GETTING HER FINGERS DIRTY AND SPREADING SMILES. <LAUGH.> SO HER DAD RETIRED EARLY, HER MOM DID THE HOMEWORK AND TOGETHER, THEY INVESTED IN A DREAM. <YOU JUST TRY AND DO THE BEST FOR ALL OF YOUR KIDS SO THEY CAN GROW AND DEVELOP.> MARISSA'S STRAW HAT FARMS IN PLEASANTVILLE GREW. <IT NEEDS WATER.> WHICH IS INCREDIBLE GIVEN HER ABILITIES IN THIRD GRADE. <THEY WERE WORKING ON COUNTING TO 100 WITH HER AND SHE WAS HAVING TROUBLE WITH 15. COULDN'T GET PAST 15.> A PROBLEM SOLVED-- <33 DOLLARS AND 46.> ONCE CUSTOMERS KEPT HER SPECIALLY DESIGNED I-PAD CASH REGISTER HUMMING. <WELL, I'D SAY YOU'RE PRETTY GOOD AT THIS JOB BECAUSE A LOT OF PEOPLE TELL ME THAT.> WITH CUSTOMERS PICKING UP MORE THAN PETUNIAS. THEY ALSO GET A LESSON IN ABILITIES. <THE MORE THEY'RE EXPOSED TO IT, THE MORE THEY GET IT. THE MORE SHE'S EXPOSED TO IT, THE MORE SHE GETS IT.> NOW, MARISSA HAS EIGHT MORE YEARS OF SPRING EXPERIENCE. <YEAH, I LIKE THIS JOB.> AND HER RESPONSIBILITIES- - <TAKE THIS IN THE DIRT. PICK UP THE PLANT.> HAVE GROWN TOO. <PUT THE FLOWERS IN THE POTS.> MARISSA'S GREENHOUSE NOW SUPPLIES FARMERS MARKETS AND RESTAURANTS WITH VEGETABLES FROM HER NEW HOOP BUILDING OUT BACK. AND BY APRIL-- <MARISSA IS VERY GOOD AND METICULOUS ABOUT MIXING THE GROWING MEDIUM.> SHE'S MIXING, TRANSPLANTING AND WATERING. <I DO LIKE WATERING BECAUSE WE WATER A LOT OF STUFF.> <SHE KNOWS EXACTLY WHAT TO DO.> BUT THE LAST DECADE'S HELPED HER GROW OUTSIDE THE GREENHOUSE TOO. SHE WAS NAMED BIG 12 SPECIAL OLYMPIC ATHLETE OF THE YEAR! <85,000 PEOPLE IN TEXAS STADIUM ARE GIVING HER A STANDING OVATION. UH, YOU JUST SOAK IT IN. BUT IN THE GREENHOUSE, IT'S THAT WAY EVERY DAY. (57) AND THAT'S WHAT MAKES IT WORTHWHILE.> BECAUSE MARISSA'S PARENTS KNOW THIS WASN'T ALWAYS POSSIBLE. <BACK IN THE DAY WHEN I WAS A KID, UH, THERE WERE NO OPPORTUNITIES FOR KIDS WITH DISABILITIES.> NOW THOSE OPPORTUN
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This Is Iowa: Pleasantville woman with Down syndrome turns green thumb into thriving business
When Marissa Schletzbaum was in high school, her parents noticed she had a green thumb. She loved getting her fingers dirty and spreading smiles.So Marissa's parents, Roger and Maureen Schletzbaum, decided to invest in a dream. They opened Marissa's Straw Hat Farms in Pleasantville. KCCI first met Marissa in 2015. Now, with eight more years of spring experience, Marissa's responsibilities have grown. Her greenhouse now supplies farmers markets and restaurants with vegetables from her new hoop building. In the last decade, Marissa has also been recognized for her talent outside the greenhouse. In 2018, She was named Big 12 Special Olympics Athlete of the Year."Eighty-five thousand people in the Texas Stadium are giving her a standing ovation. You just soak it in. But in the greenhouse, it's that way every day. And that's what makes it worthwhile," Roger Schletzbaum said.

When Marissa Schletzbaum was in high school, her parents noticed she had a green thumb. She loved getting her fingers dirty and spreading smiles.

So Marissa's parents, Roger and Maureen Schletzbaum, decided to invest in a dream. They opened Marissa's Straw Hat Farms in Pleasantville.

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KCCI first met Marissa in 2015. Now, with eight more years of spring experience, Marissa's responsibilities have grown.

Her greenhouse now supplies farmers markets and restaurants with vegetables from her new hoop building.

In the last decade, Marissa has also been recognized for her talent outside the greenhouse. In 2018, She was named Big 12 Special Olympics Athlete of the Year.

"Eighty-five thousand people in the Texas Stadium are giving her a standing ovation. You just soak it in. But in the greenhouse, it's that way every day. And that's what makes it worthwhile," Roger Schletzbaum said.