MATT CONDON

Matt Condon practices, quite literally, a muscular form of entrepreneurship. His company, Athletic and Rehabilitation Center, provides physical therapy, rehabilitation and development programs through clinics and gyms. Condon founded the company in 2003, based on his MBA business plan at the University of Toledo, and just before he earned a law degree from KU. With nine clinics, nearly 90 employees and a gasp-inspiring growth rate of nearly 50 percent annually, ARC won the 2010 Mr. K Small Business of the Year award. Condon’s latest plans move beyond rehab to wellness—working with companies so their employees don’t need Condon’s injury rehabilitation services. “The one thing that I have somehow done well is that I have hired unbelievable talent” he says. “And at the end of every day, I’m proud of our success but thrilled that there is an overriding social value to it—making people healthy.” Condon was recently appointed to serve as vice chairman-at-large for the KC Chamber’s Executive Committee and to the Health Council of Greater Kansas City. His work on the Safety & Health Council board of directors preceded his other new commitments, but he’s clear that his wife and three daughters are the absolute best part of every day.

JULEE FOX

Growing up surrounded by the cornfields of Aplington, Iowa, Julee Fox learned that even if she didn’t have money, perseverance would help her reach her goals. As assurance partner and leader of the financial institutions audit practice for the accounting firm McGladrey, she oversees a team that covers a four-state region. Fox is active in mentoring others through their C3 program at the firm as well as chair for its People Council. Her past involvement in the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program helped her recognize the importance of being a role model for her nine-year-old daughter and five-year-old son. Fox says, “Every day is dedicated to striking a balance between being a successful business woman and being there for my children when they fall off their bikes and scrape their knees.” That balance includes her volunteer work—she is a former Brownie troop leader and still works with that troop, a coach for her children’s teams, and a regular Sunday school teacher at her church. The first generation of her family to attend college, she says, “I know because of what I’ve accomplished and the guidance and support of my husband, family and friends, the opportunities provided to my children will be greater than mine.” She’s happy about that and works hard every day to make it come true.

BRAD FEASTER

Brad Feaster was not a cowboy, but he wasn’t far removed from that life back in his native Texas, where his dad was in the cattle industry. After earning a finance degree from Texas Christian University in 1994, he worked in several different businesses until he and his father created Vintage Foods, working with high-end retail and food-service customers in southern California and Arizona. With profits growing at 30 percent per year for the six years he led the company, that multi-million dollar brand was developed so well the company was bought by National Beef, for which Feaster worked until last year. Bitten by the entrepreneurial bug and a desire to be back in a family business, he is now co-owner and executive vice president of Arrowhead Specialty Meats, supplying the food-service industry with high-quality meats, including a wide selection of exotic game and artisanal ingredients. Despite the times, growth is on target for at least a 30 percent increase in sales, and the company is expanding its operations. The best thing about being co-owner of a family business, according to Feaster, is that he will have more time to give to his family and community. Currently, he’s active at Oakhill Day School, where his sons attend, and at his church and says, “I look forward to doing more.”

KATIE DUNN FITZGERALD

As the daughter of community activists, Katie Dunn Fitzgerald is not only following in their footsteps but leading in her own way. Her working hours are filled with meeting clients’ needs as a wealth manager for Mariner Wealth Advisors, where she “will stop at nothing to get what her clients need and deserve,” according to CEO Marty Bicknell. Her giving back to the community includes over a dozen civic organizations ranging from United Way’s Women Leadership Council Steering Committee to the Boys and Girls Club to Ronald McDonald House Planned Giving council. She serves on the board of directors for Saint Luke’s Crittendon Children’s Center and Children’s Mercy Hospitals and Clinics’ Board of Advocates, where she’s developed a reputation for tackling committee chores and fundraising—hard work, lacking in glamour. She says that her most rewarding involvements have been coaching and mentoring a middle-school girls’ soccer team and, more recently, being part of the Centurions’ Leadership Program from 2007–2009. Says Fitzgerald: “I strive to do my best at every job I do and give as much time as I can, without sacrificing the most important things in my life,” time with her husband Matt and two children.