Untitled Document

	Heather bortnick It would take more than economic meltdown to faze Heather Bortnick. The 39-year-old real estate maven has braved worse things than a plunging Dow. Bortnick is a co-founder of The Koehler Bortnick Team real estate company. She and her mother started the venture in 1996, and last year it recorded more than $143 million in closings, making it a leader in the Kansas City market and catching the attention of The Wall Street Journal, which ranked the firm fifteenth in the nation. For Bortnick, the national recognition is nice, but since her diagnosis with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma in 2003, she’s good at putting praise and problems into perspective. “Concern for my health created perspective in my life and enhanced my focus to build a sustainable business in the metro,” says Bortnick, who is married with two children. “My family is the reason I am able to be optimistic and focus on my personal, professional and philanthropic goals.” Bortnick is a sustaining member of the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, is active in the Disney Marathon and Black Tie Ball fundraisers for the Leuk-emia & Lymphoma Society and is a parent volunteer at The Pembroke Hill School
	jean-paul chaurand “From a professional perspective, what is most important is that my work makes a difference in the community,” says Jean-Paul Chaurand. The 34-year-old Senior Vice President of Community Investment for the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation puts his money where his mouth is. In his professional capacity, Chaurand has done work ranging from developing a center that provides services to the area’s homeless to leading reform initiatives for public education. Chaurand’s negotiations with DST Systems were paramount in recruiting the record keeping company’s office park to Kansas City’s west side. The development re-used blighted land, saved 1,000 jobs and created more than 400 jobs for the city’s urban core. Off the clock, Chaurand is just as committed to community improvement: He’s a board member of the Kansas City, Missouri Community Development CDE; treasurer for the Alta Vista Charter High School board; and an active father of two. How does he keep the beat? Chaurand is also an instructor and vice president for the Mexican folk dance group El Grupo Folklorico Atotonilco. “I will continue in both my professional and personal time to look for opportunities to improve the lives of those less fortunate in our society,” he says.
	jon cook For Jon Cook, growing successful employees is a professional joy. The 38-year-old Cook has had plenty of opportunity to do just that. As the President of VML, Cook has seen the company grow from 30 employees to more than 700 over the past 12 years. “A constant theme in my life is ‘creating opportunity,’” Cook says. “VML’s success has fueled my passion for helping young professionals break into and succeed in advertising and marketing.”Cook certainly gives them a starting point for success. Under his leadership, VML has recruited such big-name clients such as the American Cancer Society, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas City, ESPN and Sam’s Club. Cook also serves as a board member on the Ad Club of Kansas City Foundation, on the Leadership Board of the American Association of Adver-tising Agencies, and on the marketing committee of CASA. His competitive spirit extends beyond the office walls to the softball field, where Cook coaches the company’s team, and to the annual Kansas City Corporate Challenge program, in which he regularly competes. Cook, who is married with three daughters, actively supports the VML Foundation and manages pro bono projects for local charitable and non-profit organizations.

Heather bortnick
It would take more than economic meltdown to faze Heather Bortnick. The 39-year-old real estate maven has braved worse things than a plunging Dow.
Bortnick is a co-founder of The Koehler Bortnick Team real estate company. She and her mother started the venture in 1996, and last year it recorded more than $143 million in closings, making it a leader in the Kansas City market and catching the attention of The Wall Street Journal, which ranked the firm fifteenth in the nation.
For Bortnick, the national recognition is nice, but since her diagnosis with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma in 2003, she’s good at putting praise and problems into perspective. “Concern for my health created perspective in my life and enhanced my focus to build a sustainable business in the metro,” says Bortnick, who is married with two children. “My family is the reason I am able to be optimistic and focus on my personal, professional and philanthropic goals.” Bortnick is a sustaining member of the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, is active in the Disney Marathon and Black Tie Ball fundraisers for the Leuk-emia & Lymphoma Society and is a parent volunteer at The Pembroke Hill School

jean-paul chaurand
“From a professional perspective, what is most important is that my work makes a difference in the community,” says Jean-Paul Chaurand.
The 34-year-old Senior Vice President of Community Investment for the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation puts his money where his mouth is. In his professional capacity, Chaurand has done work ranging from developing a center that provides services to the area’s homeless to leading reform initiatives for public education. Chaurand’s negotiations with DST Systems were paramount in recruiting the record keeping company’s office park to Kansas City’s west side. The development re-used blighted land, saved 1,000 jobs and created more than 400 jobs for the city’s urban core.
Off the clock, Chaurand is just as committed to community improvement: He’s a board member of the Kansas City, Missouri Community Development CDE; treasurer for the Alta Vista Charter High School board; and an active father of two. How does he keep the beat? Chaurand is also an instructor and vice president for the Mexican folk dance group El Grupo Folklorico Atotonilco. “I will continue in both my professional and personal time to look for opportunities to improve the lives of those less fortunate in our society,” he says.

jon cook
For Jon Cook, growing successful employees is a professional joy.
The 38-year-old Cook has had plenty of opportunity to do just that. As the President of VML, Cook has seen the company grow from 30 employees to more than 700 over the past 12 years. “A constant theme in my life is ‘creating opportunity,’” Cook says. “VML’s success has fueled my passion for helping young professionals break into and succeed in advertising and marketing.”Cook certainly gives them a starting point for success. Under his leadership, VML has recruited such big-name clients such as the American Cancer Society, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas City, ESPN and Sam’s Club.
Cook also serves as a board member on the Ad Club of Kansas City Foundation, on the Leadership Board of the American Association of Adver-tising Agencies, and on the marketing committee of CASA. His competitive spirit extends beyond the office walls to the softball field, where Cook coaches the company’s team, and to the annual Kansas City Corporate Challenge program, in which he regularly competes. Cook, who is married with three daughters, actively supports the VML Foundation and manages pro bono projects for local charitable and non-profit organizations.

return Home \| <-- Previous Page \| Next Page -->	Page 3

40 Under Forty Class of 2009