Ingram's August 2022

Rachel Hollman Les Bourgeois Vineyard Rocheport “Missouri wines,” attests Rachel Hollman, “are strong and gritty, just like Missourians. Harsh winters, hot and humid summers, early freezes, and rocky soil are a unique combination that can create some incredibly dynamic and

Todd Keske FSI Earth City

Flame met fuse when Todd Keske’s parents launched Foam Supplies, Inc., now FSI, from their home in Creve Coeur in 1972. Boom. “The company quickly outgrew the house and relocated to a 1,000-square-foot rented warehouse

surprising wines.” And she should know: All but two years of her career have been an immersion in the Show-Me wine industry, from the marketing staff at Les Bourgeois to its leadership role in 2013 and, since 2019, owner. When you’re going head to head with Napa Valley and French imports, the competition can be bracing. “We are constantly battling poor consumer experiences and preconceived notions of only making sweet wine,” Hollman says, but adds that “our industry is collaborative, and we strive to provide an environment in which wineries can all be successful.” She grew up in St. Charles County “and found a deeply rooted work ethic from a very young age. I was very active in my community and never had less than two or three jobs at a time. I learned early on that you don’t get what you don’t go for and that nothing is handed to you.” Leadership there has produced another benefit, she says: “I saw the people that I once called colleagues turn into my family. I saw an opportunity to continue to support them and their families. … The type of work we do is hard, but we wouldn’t have it any other way.”

down the road,” Keske says. They bought a warehouse in Earth City, he says, “and we’ve been expanding our footprint in Earth City, but also around the world, ever since.” They had to do without his assistance for a while; his father wanted him exposed to other retail settings before coming on board. And when he did, it was nowhere near the leadership. “My earliest experience here was working on the jobs nobody in the warehouse wanted, like cutting metal in 105-degree weather,” Keske says. “My dad always wanted me to comprehend the value of hard work and enjoy that great feeling of stepping away feeling tired but proud of what you did that day.” FSI is a global chemical supplier that creates polyurethane foam systems for industrial applications, and Keske has been recognized by EY in its annual Entrepreneur of the Year awards for his spirit of innova tion. “Innovation is one of our core values at FSI and has been the foundation of our success over the past 50 years,” he says. “It takes vulnerability to think of new ways and try new things. FSI has been privileged to have an incredible team of courageous leaders who work hard and are dedicated to the vision of building a better tomorrow.”

Mark Long Newmark Zimmer Kansas City

Abram McGull McGull Law Firm Springfield Abram McGull’s lifetime of service— to country, to community, to law enforcement, to business, and most recently, to his law-firm clients—can be traced back to the lawn mower that was his Saturday-morning nemesis as

The Hallmark influence in Kansas City is strong, but Mark Long’s ties to it had little to do with greeting cards: His father was the corporate real-estate director there for 30 years, and when Long was growing up, he made careful

note of the caliber of people his dad worked with. “Some of those he did business with in commercial real estate were very interesting to me,” Long recalls. “They were well put-together, smart; they understood relationships, they were genuine.” Commercial realty, then, “was really the only thing intriguing to me. It just seemed so challenging, and then you had this ability in some fashion to impact not only the city’s skyline but some of the fabric of the community you were in. Being a part of the fabric that brings in jobs, investment, the whole downstream benefit and impact of what we do.” And he’s done it well: He’s managing partner for a leading commercial realty firm with pre-pandemic sales north of $300 million. Some of his success over the past 28 years, he says, followed from the mentoring of the firm’s founder, Hugh Zimmer, and some to the entrepreneurial mindset of the firm itself, even as it transitioned from a property-ownership model to client representation. He’s also had a front-row seat to see the powerful growth in Missouri’s logistics sector over the past decade.

a boy in New Orleans. “My mom made me get up and mow the lawns of widows in the neighborhood,” McGull recalls. “I hated those Saturday mornings.” But over glasses of cold water, he heard stories of the deceased husbands and what they had done in life, “and those stuck with me the rest of my life,” McGull says, “and they carried over to my service as a public official. I’m so happy my mother taught me that valuable lesson.” McGull knew early that he could leverage a journalism graduate from Louisiana State into law school, which he did after earning a master’s in communication. Then came a career as a federal prosecutor and in the Navy Reserve, including Bronze Star-winning service in Iraq. “That took me all over the world, and it gave me a broader perspective of where we are in this country in relation to other parts of the world,” he says. “I’ve been in places where people are leaving, and I was going in.” Invariably, people he met would ask him: “Tell me about America.” McGull, former mayor of Pleasant Valley, is now on the Springfield City Council, retired from the Department of Justice and the Reserve, and sits on the board of Guaranty Bank.

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