Then & Now

Tony Salazar

In 1985, when Tony Salazar was promoting the initial planning stages of the Quality Hill project, he told Ingram’s what turned out to be a self-prophesizing statement: “I see Quality Hill as something I want to complete from start to finish. I may not get this kind of opportunity again.”

Salazar was the executive director of the Kansas City Neighborhood Alliance, which at the time operated from his house, and later joined the Kansas City office of McCormack, Baron & Associates. That was after his search for the “right” developer for Quality Hill led him to the St. Louis office of McCormack Baron.

Today, Quality Hill is featured on the website of McCormack Baron Salazar, along with Salazar himself. Now living in Los Angeles and a principal of the firm, he says the current boom Downtown started with Quality Hill and the renovation of the old Vista Hotel. “Quality Hill was a project way ahead of its time,” he states. “It was truly visionary.” His firm specializes in redeveloping historic neighborhoods across the country by mixing low-income housing with market-rate units.

Does he come back to visit? “I was in Kansas City a couple of months ago. My parents live there, so I do get back there about once a year.”

Bill “Doc” Worley

Bill “Doc” Worley, veterinarian, entrepreneur, scientist/inventor, historian, and civic promoter and activist is a man who wears many hats. But it may be his involvement in local publishing for which he is most remembered. Worley and partner Mike Russell founded the Kansas City Business Journal, which grew into the larger American Cities Business Journals, Inc. For a couple of years they collaborated to publish Corporate Report Kansas City magazine, the predecessor of Ingram’s.

While his career eventually led him away from Downtown, it didn’t take him out of the spotlight. His founding of Kingston Environmental Services and his pioneering work as head of Alpha Environmental Biosystems established him as an international authority in environmental science. In 1995 he represented the State of Missouri at the White House Conference on Small Business, and in 2003 he was named Regional Entrepreneur of the Year by the Henry W. Bloch School of Business and Public Administration at UMKC.

Despite all his admirable success, a few of us will consider (Russell) and Worley as publishers emeritus.

Mike Russell

Mike Russell still lives in Kansas City. He laughs as he confides that. Most people think he’s gone. Truth is, he splits his time each week between this city and the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. He operates about 350,000 square feet of self-storage space, divided among five locations in and around the Big D.

“Since homes in Dallas don’t have basements, the per capita demand for self-storage there is about 30-40 percent higher than it is in Kansas City,” he says.

Aside from the years spent in publishing with Doc Worley, he says self-storage is about the only thing he’s done. Well, almost. Russell is also a former bank chairman, a former chairman of KPERS (Kansas state retirement pension), and a former director of Emblem Graphic Systems. Today he is content with a lower-key life, heading “a small development company.”

He loves to reminisce about his days as co-publisher of Corporate Report and the Kansas City Business Journal. From time to time, he still runs across people who exclaim, “So you’re that Mike Russell!” He says if the economy hadn’t have gone south in the late 1980s, he would still be in publishing today.

And, folks, Dallas would be a messier, more cluttered urb.

Sandra Lawrence

In this age of few remaining pioneers, Sandra Lawrence is a true pioneer woman in Kansas City. When she came to this town some 25 years ago, Harvard MBA in hand, Sandra’s experience, level of education, and breadth of knowledge combined to give her a commanding and endearing presence.

Ingram’s initially featured her in 1993, when she had joined Stern Brothers & Co. in Kansas City after having opened the local office of Edwards & Associates. Today she is the executive vice president and CFO of Children’s Mercy Hospital.

In between yesterday and today, she served as either company president or a high-ranking executive at Midwest Research Institute, Frontier Medical Research, Gateway Computers, Global Packaging Solutions and at MRI’s Center for Regional Development. Involved as a member of several boards and committees in town, Sandra is the current chair of the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation and Affiliated Trusts. Before being named to her current position at Children’s Mercy, she had served on two of the hospital’s boards for eight years.

“I am a person who craves changes, turn-arounds and continuous improvements,” she said. “I am very fortunate and have been blessed to serve this community while at the same time doing the things I truly enjoy. My time in Kansas City has been a wonderful experience.”

Ted McCarter

Ted McCarter made a long and successful career out of being an unorthodox banker. We said unorthodox, not stupid. The retired president of Boatmen’s Bank, now living in California, was one of the first to realize that the future of banking in this city was as much in developing Johnson County as it was Downtown. So after some 20 years as a Downtown banker, and following the 1987 merger with NationsBank, it didn’t take long for McCarter to make a new move.

McCarter never quite fit the role of the blue-blooded lender that excels in catering to this city’s blue-blooded depositors. So the red-blooded Oklahoma-born banker ducked out of Downtown and went south—but not too far south.

The new move came in the founding of the Bank of Blue Valley, named after the bottomlands of the Blue River that snakes through southern Johnson County. McCarter’s protégé at Boatmen’s Bank, a young Bob Regnier, fled Downtown with his boss. While McCarter finished out his career as a director on the bank’s board, Regnier is today the bank’s president.

In a way, Ted McCarter is the Marlboro Man of Kansas City banking. He came, he saw, and he conquered.

Nick Bashkiroff

Of all the people who have made a mark on our city in recent years then moved on, perhaps none have gone a farther distance away than Nick Bashkiroff. The former managing director of the Power & Light District is now the development director of the Pearl-Qatar, a tropical island reclamation and development project immediately off the peninsular coastline, near the capital city of Doha. His employer is United Development Company (UDC), a company established in 1999.

The Pearl-Qatar, when completed, will have three main marinas, island villas, penthouse condos, as well as townhomes and apartments. It will also feature fine restaurants and hotels. The government has opened the project to international residents for freehold ownership and will give residency status to all property owners.

Bashkiroff is an architect by training and is a veteran of projects stretching around the world. “Right now the Middle East is the hottest real estate market in the world,” he was quoted as saying.

From his global perspective, he said something nine years ago in Ingram’s which still applies today: “Kansas City is… in search of itself. It doesn’t know whether it likes its past, but… Kansas City is the center of a region, the capital city of the heartland. It must take on that mantel and assert itself and create a direction that will support those visions.”


Tony Salazar In 1985, when Tony Salazar was promoting the initial planning stages of the Quality Hill project, he told Ingram’s what turned out to be a self-prophesizing statement: “I see Quality Hill as something I want to complete from start to finish. I may not get this kind of opportunity again.” Salazar was the executive director of the Kansas City Neighborhood Alliance, which at the time operated from his house, and later joined the Kansas City office of McCormack, Baron & Associates. That was after his search for the “right” developer for Quality Hill led him to the St. Louis office of McCormack Baron. Today, Quality Hill is featured on the website of McCormack Baron Salazar, along with Salazar himself. Now living in Los Angeles and a principal of the firm, he says the current boom Downtown started with Quality Hill and the renovation of the old Vista Hotel. “Quality Hill was a project way ahead of its time,” he states. “It was truly visionary.” His firm specializes in redeveloping historic neighborhoods across the country by mixing low-income housing with market-rate units. Does he come back to visit? “I was in Kansas City a couple of months ago. My parents live there, so I do get back there about once a year.” Bill “Doc” Worley Bill “Doc” Worley, veterinarian, entrepreneur, scientist/inventor, historian, and civic promoter and activist is a man who wears many hats. But it may be his involvement in local publishing for which he is most remembered. Worley and partner Mike Russell founded the Kansas City Business Journal, which grew into the larger American Cities Business Journals, Inc. For a couple of years they collaborated to publish Corporate Report Kansas City magazine, the predecessor of Ingram’s. While his career eventually led him away from Downtown, it didn’t take him out of the spotlight. His founding of Kingston Environmental Services and his pioneering work as head of Alpha Environmental Biosystems established him as an international authority in environmental science. In 1995 he represented the State of Missouri at the White House Conference on Small Business, and in 2003 he was named Regional Entrepreneur of the Year by the Henry W. Bloch School of Business and Public Administration at UMKC. Despite all his admirable success, a few of us will consider (Russell) and Worley as publishers emeritus. Mike Russell Mike Russell still lives in Kansas City. He laughs as he confides that. Most people think he’s gone. Truth is, he splits his time each week between this city and the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. He operates about 350,000 square feet of self-storage space, divided among five locations in and around the Big D. “Since homes in Dallas don’t have basements, the per capita demand for self-storage there is about 30-40 percent higher than it is in Kansas City,” he says. Aside from the years spent in publishing with Doc Worley, he says self-storage is about the only thing he’s done. Well, almost. Russell is also a former bank chairman, a former chairman of KPERS (Kansas state retirement pension), and a former director of Emblem Graphic Systems. Today he is content with a lower-key life, heading “a small development company.” He loves to reminisce about his days as co-publisher of Corporate Report and the Kansas City Business Journal. From time to time, he still runs across people who exclaim, “So you’re that Mike Russell!” He says if the economy hadn’t have gone south in the late 1980s, he would still be in publishing today. And, folks, Dallas would be a messier, more cluttered urb. Sandra Lawrence In this age of few remaining pioneers, Sandra Lawrence is a true pioneer woman in Kansas City. When she came to this town some 25 years ago, Harvard MBA in hand, Sandra’s experience, level of education, and breadth of knowledge combined to give her a commanding and endearing presence. Ingram’s initially featured her in 1993, when she had joined Stern Brothers & Co. in Kansas City after having opened the local office of Edwards & Associates. Today she is the executive vice president and CFO of Children’s Mercy Hospital. In between yesterday and today, she served as either company president or a high-ranking executive at Midwest Research Institute, Frontier Medical Research, Gateway Computers, Global Packaging Solutions and at MRI’s Center for Regional Development. Involved as a member of several boards and committees in town, Sandra is the current chair of the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation and Affiliated Trusts. Before being named to her current position at Children’s Mercy, she had served on two of the hospital’s boards for eight years. “I am a person who craves changes, turn-arounds and continuous improvements,” she said. “I am very fortunate and have been blessed to serve this community while at the same time doing the things I truly enjoy. My time in Kansas City has been a wonderful experience.” Ted McCarter Ted McCarter made a long and successful career out of being an unorthodox banker. We said unorthodox, not stupid. The retired president of Boatmen’s Bank, now living in California, was one of the first to realize that the future of banking in this city was as much in developing Johnson County as it was Downtown. So after some 20 years as a Downtown banker, and following the 1987 merger with NationsBank, it didn’t take long for McCarter to make a new move. McCarter never quite fit the role of the blue-blooded lender that excels in catering to this city’s blue-blooded depositors. So the red-blooded Oklahoma-born banker ducked out of Downtown and went south—but not too far south. The new move came in the founding of the Bank of Blue Valley, named after the bottomlands of the Blue River that snakes through southern Johnson County. McCarter’s protégé at Boatmen’s Bank, a young Bob Regnier, fled Downtown with his boss. While McCarter finished out his career as a director on the bank’s board, Regnier is today the bank’s president. In a way, Ted McCarter is the Marlboro Man of Kansas City banking. He came, he saw, and he conquered. Nick Bashkiroff Of all the people who have made a mark on our city in recent years then moved on, perhaps none have gone a farther distance away than Nick Bashkiroff. The former managing director of the Power & Light District is now the development director of the Pearl-Qatar, a tropical island reclamation and development project immediately off the peninsular coastline, near the capital city of Doha. His employer is United Development Company (UDC), a company established in 1999. The Pearl-Qatar, when completed, will have three main marinas, island villas, penthouse condos, as well as townhomes and apartments. It will also feature fine restaurants and hotels. The government has opened the project to international residents for freehold ownership and will give residency status to all property owners. Bashkiroff is an architect by training and is a veteran of projects stretching around the world. “Right now the Middle East is the hottest real estate market in the world,” he was quoted as saying. From his global perspective, he said something nine years ago in Ingram’s which still applies today: “Kansas City is… in search of itself. It doesn’t know whether it likes its past, but… Kansas City is the center of a region, the capital city of the heartland. It must take on that mantel and assert itself and create a direction that will support those visions.”