New physician appreciates Iola’s charms

It didn’t take long for Dr. Brian Neely and his family to find themselves at home in Iola.
“We came to Iola and just really like the town,” Neely said Monday. “We really like the people we’ve met.”
Neely began work in July at Allen County Regional Clinic, 401 S. Washington Ave., with Dr. Wesley Stone and Margaret Lesher, ARNP.
Neely, 35, focuses on family practice: “Doing a little bit of everything,” he said.
He comes to Iola fresh out of residency at the University of Kansas.
Iola was a natural fit for Neely, his wife, Melanie, and their two children.
“I grew up in Spring Hill, and my wife grew up around Pratt,” he said. “We both wanted to move back to a smaller town. And the location here is great.
“It’s a straight shot to my wife’s family, if we go west on (U.S.) 54, and we can see my family on (U.S.) 169.”
Iola’s appeal carries more than simple geography, he stressed.
“Iola’s got good-sized schools, and it’s large enough that it has some things.”
While Spring Hill has slowly morphed into a Kansas City suburb, it was considerably smaller when Neely was a youngster.
“Iola has more than anything I grew up with,” he said with a laugh. “But what I see here are people who care about the town. We’re always looking for opportunities to do things in the community, maybe do something with the schools, helping out whenever I can.”

BEING A DOCTOR wasn’t originally in Neely’s cards.
He grew up with dreams of firefighting. He volunteered in Spring Hill out of high school, eventually working for the City of Lawrence for about two years, before deciding to go back to school to study medicine.
With 80 percent of his calls on medical runs, “I guess I just wanted to do a little bit more,” he said.
After four years of undergraduate schooling, and four more years of medical school, Neely is eager to immerse himself in the medical community, and in the Iola community.
“I like seeing the same people, getting to know them,” he said. “It makes it easier to treat people when you know them a little better.”

WHEN NOT at work, Neely is often found chasing his two children, a daughter who turns 4 in November, and a son who celebrated his first birthday July 4.
“Our home is very loud and very messy,” he joked.
Neely also enjoys sports, such as playing basketball, and reading.
“I’ve been so busy with school and my residency, I have a lot of catching up to do on hobbies,” he said. “I probably need to get some hobbies now that I have some free time.”