The Mission of Amassing Wealth and Giving

Ingram’s annual Philanthropy Edition means far more to our team than an annual tradition. It’s a capstone in time to pay tribute to great individuals, families, companies and foundations deserving of recognition for their philanthropic giving and volunteerism. This is the 28th year of the Philanthropy Edition and we’re proud to serve as the steward of this annual publication. Michelle and I purchased Ingram’s in February of 1997 and one of the first decisions we made was to dedicate the theme of the December edition to the subject of philanthropy.

If there is one legacy we leave this great city and region we hope it will be considered our commitment to covering philanthropy. Not only is this our favorite publication of the year but we believe it’s the most important. As most know, the Kansas City region punches well above its weight as a giving city. We hope this annual publication has a place within the formula of how KC has become known among the most generous cities in the nation.

Many terrific stories have been shared on the pages of Ingram’s. I reflect back to the stalwart leaders we got to know along the way and how we’ve shared their stories. I want to share a couple stories about this year’s Philanthropist of the Year, Bob Regnier. It’s actually a story about his father Vic and the Regnier family. Bob refers to his Dad as being a complex person but I recall him to be extremely driven to amass real estate and an extremely hands-on entrepreneur. 

As a recent college grad in the early 80s in my second job out of college at Rainen Business Interiors, I inventoried the equipment I purchased over the course of years in school and studied real estate trends, especially throughout southern Johnson County. On a part time basis in 1982 my brother John and I started a landscape construction and commercial lawn maintenance company by the name of Corporate Care. This era in commercial real estate development was arguably the region’s most productive. College Boulevard was developing with massive investment at Corporate Woods, Executive Hills and land throughout southern Johnson County was selling at record-setting values. As we witness the ridiculousness of Jackson County and KCMO elected and appointed officials, it’s no wonder the region grew strongest on its southwest corridor and that corporate investment and housing flourished back in the ‘80s and the exodus from Jackson County continues today. 

I purchased updates of the land ownership map of Johnson County a couple times each year and there I studied a trend where a couple by the name of Victor and Helen Regnier were noticeably increasing their land holdings. At one time I believe the Regnier family owned more land in Johnson County than any other family, business or government.

One of the buildings our company had installed an irrigation system and landscaping to happened to be across the street from another office building that appeared to be taking a long time to finish. There I met Vic Regnier, who at that stage along with his trustworthy helper by the name of Emmett, were constructing the tenant finish of the office building. Mr. Regnier was surprised by my familiarity with Johnson County land ownership and of his holdings. I was surprised of his hands-on efforts to finish this office building, which apparently had several slacker contractors who couldn’t properly finish the job. This property was close to Regnier’s home base of Ranchmart Hardware and Shopping Center and was one of several commercial developments in his portfolio.

Over the course of time working on Rick Standard’s office building across the street from Meadowbrook Country Club, I’d periodically stop in and visit with Vic and Emmett, who finished the building.

Prior to selecting Bob Regnier as this year’s Philanthropist of the Year, I had a lengthy and memorable conversation with him. I was aware of some of the contributions he and his family made to various educational institutions and I wanted to have a better grasp of their foundation and mission prior to our selection committee getting together to discuss and select this year’s honoree.

A memorable story Bob shared was that their family would tour area farms on Sundays and meet with prospective sellers. “Don’t break anything Bob”, his Dad would say to the then young lad, and one day he apparently did, before having “the talk” with Dad. Vic Regnier’s strategy was simple. Get to know prospective sellers, offer them an opportunity to sell their farms for a fair price and oftentimes allow them to reside on the farm for a typical 10-year period during the owner-financing term of the sale. 

Bob Regnier and his brother Vic, Jr. and sister Cathy were required to make significant decisions quickly upon the terminal illness of their father, who apparently was more a producer than financial planner. The quick thinking and actions taken by the Regnier siblings put into place a plan which today yields massive contributions to our region. And it all began with a simple mission to buy land in speculation of growth. We can think of no person or family more deserving of being honored as this year’s Philanthropist of the Year. 

Enjoy getting to know several of our region’s most caring and giving.