Ingram's August 2022

Garrett Hawkins Missouri Farm Bureau

Tracy Hart Tarlton St. Louis

Appleton City/ Jefferson City Garrett Hawkins’ family has been farming for five generations, and he is the third to own the farm they have near Appleton City, mainly focused on raising beef cattle, with some row crop and dairy production. But he’s as steeped in

Tracy Hart had a plan: First, the degree from the University of Michigan in English and communications, a career in public relations and advertising in Chicago. She even found a role with a general contractor, familiar territory for someone

agriculture policy as agricultural output, immersed in the legislative process, policy, and personalities for the better part of the past 20 years. Most recently, he’s been serving as president of the Missouri Farm Bureau. Garrett’s professional experience is rooted in service and spans the bureau, state government, and agribusiness. He also has done a private-sector stint as account manager for a company that distributes agricultural chemicals across west-central and northwest Missouri. Hawkins went to work at the bureau 20 years ago after earning an ag business degree from Missouri State, directed its national legislative program, then went to work for the state as deputy director for the state Department of Agriculture until the bureau summoned him back in 2020. He heads a statewide organization that was the first of its kind upon its founding in 2015. A membership-based organization, it gives voice to more than 143,000 member families, and its reach is extensive, both geographically and politically. There’s an office in every one of Missouri’s 114 counties, and the bureau’s position will be articulated whenever policy considerations arise, whether in Jefferson City or Washington.

who grew up in a family with a construction business. So it was all working out—right up to the time her husband got a job offer in St. Louis. “Hmmm,” she thought. “I know a general contractor there …” Cue the movers. This time, though, she started on the side that does the heavy lifting, as project manager, then into line services, business development, strategy, and now the chief executive’s role, where she’s led the company to revenues approaching $200 million and a ranking as that metro area’s third-largest woman owned business. “Our best customer is the sophisticated buyer of construction, and our best project is something with hair on it, a difficulty factor that others might not be able to do,” she says. She shares ownership with her brother (who’s executive vice president) and sister; a brother-in-law also works there in business development. That ownership qualified Tarlton for WBE designation; a factor Hart cites in its growth. “We lucked out,” she says. “If I’d had a brother and no sister, things would have been different. But being a diverse-led company works in our favor. We’re doing very well in terms of exceeding the national averages in diversity, especially with women.”

Terry Kilroy Polsinelli Kansas City

Casey Lund Collision Leaders Warrensburg

What does it take to excel in labor law? Terry Kilroy knows, and he can tell you: It ain’t all about what you find in law libraries. “My favorite day of work is in collective bargaining on behalf of companies with their unions,” says the shareholder at

Casey Lund’s father, who owned an auto body shop in Warrensburg, once offered some pointed career advice to his son: “Stay the hell out of the body business.” And for a while, it looked like that guidance took hold: Young Casey

Kansas City’s biggest law firm. Being successful in negotiations, he says, “requires a combination of competitiveness, theatrical skills, good judgment and the ability to relate to hourly and blue-collar workers to persuade them that management’s position on an issue is reasonable. In my view, to succeed in labor law, you should like people issues more than you like financial/money issues—as labor and employment law is all about people.” Kilroy, who grew up in Johnson County and attended college and law school at Washburn University and KU, said he once considered a career in teaching after studying history, but his family has practiced law in this area since 1897. “I’m a third-generation lawyer,” he says, “so I always thought I’d ultimately end up practicing law.” A looming book of work for business law may be presenting itself today with a labor market almost unprecedented in its tightness. “Shortage of personnel is going to be a problem until the economy really softens,” Kilroy cautions. “COVID caused so many employees to retire early. As a result, management is scrambling to staff their work forces and making concessions to applicants that they won’t make after the economy softens or we have a recession.”

attended the University of Central Missouri, studied international business, and even spent time studying in Sweden. Casey stepped in to help temporarily after his father had a heart transplant in 2005. “Fast forward 20 years,” he says, “and I own it.” This, however, is not his father’s body shop. Warrensburg Collision has morphed into Collision Leaders, as Lund has set a vision for an organization with multiple locations in Missouri, something of a rarity in the car-repair sector where mom-and-pop operations dominate. He rebranded as Collision Leaders, made five acquisitions this year, and has plans for even more. Absorbing those, he says, “is hard, but Collision Leaders has a unique culture in the auto-body industry that encourages collaboration, rather than internal competition. Working together toward a common goal and empowering people has been key to our success.” That last point is important because outside the shop, Lund has been a whirlwind of civic activity, including a stint as mayor. Allowing others to step into leading roles helped free up time for that high level of engagement, he says. “Every business,” Lund says, “has people capable of doing so much more.”

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