Many hands working toward the same goal can make immense progress in a short time. 

That’s exactly what Elizabeth Gold and Lori Casagrand prove through their combined efforts. 

The two real estate agents team up and make a vital impact for area residents with ReeceNichols. It all started when they met as next-door neighbors, became friends and later decided to go into real estate together in early Fall of 2018.

Elizabeth serves as Team Leader. She remembers the way she and Lori first met.

“My husband and I purchased our home in Valley Park in Republic in December 2005. It wasn’t long before I became friends with Lori who was our next-door neighbor. After all of the kids were older, Lori had a job she wasn’t crazy about and I was periodically looking for new entrepreneurial challenges. I suggested that we go into real estate together, Lori agreed, put in her two-week notice, and The Lori & Elizabeth Team was formed in November of 2018.

Elizabeth and Lori are prime examples of how people with similarities and differences can make outstanding business partners.

“We are different. She is very artsy, got a degree in interior design and worked in retail. I have a business degree, worked in corporate and have done marketing, management and used taught computer applications at the University,” Elizabeth points out. 

“It was a perfect fit for us to work together. I do the business and training side and love working with sellers and she tends to work with buyers and client retention.”

It didn’t take long for their winning brand of teamwork to catch on and the business to grow.

“For a time, we planned on having just the two of us. We got busy, so decided to add our first buyer’s agent, Sam Craft, in June 2020. He has a degree in forestry, so he handles most of our land deals in addition to working with commercial properties,” Elizabeth explains. “We have kept growing. By the summer of 2021, we added Bebe Hayes. In 2022 we added David Norman.  Courtney Swank and Sharon Manosh joined us in Springfield in 2023. We also have our fantastic Assistant, Gina Wilson, who has been with us for three years.”

There have been other rewarding opportunities that have sprung up through time. Elizabeth is originally from Joplin and she and her husband both went to college at Missouri Southern. In 2021, a new possibility came to the surface with one of Elizabeth’s college friends, Renee Guadalupe, who is a Carl Junction graduate. While Renee lives and sells real estate in Orlando, Florida, she keeps her Missouri license and refers business to Elizabeth. Elizabeth works both markets and as Joplin continued to expand, Stormie Riggs joined the team in 2022 and Lacey Baker in 2023 to help cover the Joplin Market.

There may be other options for growth in the future, as well, as they are considering expanding into areas of Kansas, Oklahoma and Arkansas.

Elizabeth and Lori have a strong passion for their clients. Elizabeth enjoys listings and working with sellers and helping them understand how to get the most for their property. Staying busy and coming up with answers is a big, rewarding part of the team’s work. Lori has a passion for helping buyers find their dream home and especially loves working with first-time homebuyers and educating them on the process.

“Our team members like solving issues for clients who may be growing out of a space or downsizing, we enjoy it all,” Elizabeth says. “We all like meeting new people. We’re big on referrals and continuing relationships with our clients. We stay in touch with people we have worked with previously and it is not uncommon to work with their children, parents or friends. We are fortunate to get repeat business.”

Another part of their work that they take a lot of pride in is working with and supporting the needs of buyers who move to the area from other states or sellers being transferred for work, retirement or to be closer to family. They have referring partners all over the US and love being able to connect their people with an agent outside the area.  

“As part of that, we know that it’s very important that we stay in touch with what’s happening in the city to be a resource for people moving into the area,” Elizabeth says.

Family time is truly rewarding for both ladies.

Elizabeth is married to her husband, Chris, who serves as Superintendent for Marionville Schools. They have three children — 23-year-old son, Jordan, who serves in the Navy as an IT specialist; 21-year-old daughter, Hailey, who is a junior at the University of Missouri majoring in Psychology and Sociology; and their 19-year-old son, Jackson, who is a freshman at UMKC with plans of going into dentistry.

In their free time, Elizabeth and her husband enjoy traveling to places such as Paris, Universal Studios, New York and the beach. They are also a very athletic family. Chris played college baseball and is a former coach. Their children have been involved in various sports growing up, and the entire family enjoys tennis and golf together. Other favorites include kayaking, hiking, and attending concerts and professional sporting events, especially KC Chiefs, NBA and MLB games.

Lori treasures time with her husband, Marty, who works as a Project Manager. They look forward to sharing special times with their children — 28-year-old daughter, Sierra, who works locally as a GIS Specialist and 25-year-old daughter, Holly, who lives in Seattle and makes a positive impact on that community with her social work degree.

In her free time away from work, Lori is an avid reader, loves growing vegetables in their raised bed gardens and is a season ticket holder to both MSU Lady Bears and Ice Bears Hockey. She also looks forward to time away with Marty, especially traveling to their favorite vacation spot, Lake Superior.

When it comes to giving back, Elizabeth and Lori support Republic’s Community Kitchen, People Helping People and Lost & Found Grief Center. The entire team supports Harmony House, as well as being Gold Key Agents for Ronald McDonald House donating a night’s stay from each closing from April to October.

Congratulations to Elizabeth, Lori and the rest of their team for making a vital impact in the lives of their clients and community each day.