KC’s Constellation of Stars

I can’t begin to tell you of the joy it brings to serve as the publisher of Ingram’s for the past 28 years and to deliver this unique edition honoring some of the most accomplished companies and leaders who built the Kansas City region we enjoy today. 

Ingram’s 50th Anniversary edition focuses on the past half century since the magazine’s founding, and on the titans who accomplished so much that we might take for granted today. This special edition is dedicated to the doers and their teams. We’re proud to deliver a fragment of the history that has been chronicled in the pages of Ingram’s and our predecessors, Outlook and Corporate Report Kansas City, since this publication’s first edition in 1974.

The pages that follow include tributes to dozens of the brightest stars over that span. It is impossible to include all who deserve recognition for building the companies and communities we enjoy today, but we hope you appreciate our mission to shine the spotlight on several of the most deserving. This publication serves as a history book for rising stars to learn how and by whom this  city was built. We hope you’ll agree this may merit required reading for those who aspire to lead going forward. 

I believe my great friends and colleagues Dennis Boone and Traci Faulk will agree that this edition of Ingram’s may have been the most challenging we’ve ever produced. Traci, Dennis, Michelle and I are the closers who pull each edition together and we’ve had the pleasure to collaborate and produce 250 publications together. I want to publicly recognize our controller and long-time friend Jim Ryan for his loyal  service and friendship over the past 28 years. Every Sears has a Roebuck, and Jim has served that role masterfully. Will Crow and John Ward are newer additions who round out our team and are already contributing significantly. I’d also like to recognize Jack Cashill, who has contributed as an executive and senior editor for 37 years. Thanks, too, to Nancie Boland for her editing and proofreading expertise over the past two years. We’ve built a great culture and team at Ingram’s and would like to recruit a few others.

Our small but talented team has enjoyed front-row seats to observe, report on and work for decades with the most successful leaders of this region. I can’t begin to tell you of the remarkable friendships we’ve forged with so many extraordinary professionals and companies. We appreciate your allowing our Ingram’s family to be a part of your own. Building culture is often discussed and rarely perfected but we’ll continue our efforts to build a company that, we hope, punches above its weight. This team has taken on monumental projects and executed the job very well. Michelle and I could not be more pleased to be a part of this team and the opportunity to affiliate with so many terrific companies and leaders on endless levels.

The past five years especially have witnessed a historic departure of long-time friends and remarkable leaders. The Ingram’s 250 published each fall has seen more than 150 departures of iconic names over its relatively short eight-year history. The Boomers are departing in massive numbers—we’ve never seen such an exodus of talent. 

Those who know me realize I’m wound a bit too tight to embrace retirement, and Michelle kindly agreed to explore a dream in the hospitality sector at mid-Missouri’s beautiful Lake of the Ozarks. On the two pages that follow are a few photos of Pebble Bay Club. The irony of this boutique waterfront resort west of Camdenton, including Pebble Bay Club Grill, is that we’ll officially open with 20 new employees the very day this issue goes to press. Understandably, we’re spread pretty thin and perhaps it wasn’t such a good idea to serve as the general contractor and have such a hands-on tie to the development, but I have no regrets. I do, however, want to apologize to our team and patrons for not being all in at all times. The project has been disruptive but rewarding and we’re looking forward to serving patrons for years to come. We welcome you and your team or family to join us.

That said, we don’t plan to leave the magazine anytime soon. I have to admit that it’s a ball to build teams that have each other’s back with an organization that demands loyalty, trust and perseverance. You’ll read a lot about perfecting these traits on each page of this edition. If you like this 50th Anniversary special edition of Ingram’s, we’re confident you’ll enjoy and may care to participate in our August and November editions. We’ve written a unique playbook with this issue and will replicate the format on behalf of the states of Missouri (August) and Kansas (November).

Our 50th year editorial plan has less to do with this organization specifically as it does the shared stories of this region’s titans of business, and the extraordinary companies and organizations that have made the greatest impact. 

I want to thank each of you—our readers—for your loyal following and for supporting our mission all of these years. The media have dramatically changed over the years, but this is constant: Our pledge to promote the interests of the business community throughout Missouri and Kansas to the best of our ability. We hope your organization will find a place in your plan to support that mission to support your business interests. 

We hope you enjoy this historic edition of Ingram’s as much as our team has in producing it. Here’s to the next 50!