Ingrams August 2023

Monica Bailey Atchison County Development Corp., Rock Port With a population of a little more than 5,300 at Missouri’s farthest northwest point, Atchison County would seem like an easy place to overlook. Monica Bailey begs to differ. “We work diligently to change the conversation that’s

Andrew Bailey State of Missouri Jefferson City

Donald Trump, Tucker Carlson, or even his own rapscallion of a son have caused a few headaches for Joe Biden this year. But can any of them compare with Andrew Bailey, the attorney general of Missouri? This spring alone, Bailey and his team

been prevalent for decades,” she said. “Rather than warning our youth there’s nothing here for them, we show and tell them they can choose this place as their home—and we remind people repeatedly that #ACisAwesome.” As the executive director of the Atchison County Development Corp. (ACDC: “Yes, my acronym is better than yours!” she jokes), Bailey is busy connecting high school students to current employers through emerging work force events while also constantly celebrating what they already have to offer. The purposeful long-term strategy is designed to change the collective mindset—to foster the feeling of, “I made a great life here; you can, too,” she said. Born and raised in the county, Bailey spent more than a decade at Mizzou, obtaining a bachelor’s and a master’s, then applied her education to her home. She also sees there the potential of leveraging both natural resources and I-29 for future economic growth, especially in the logistics industry. “We have interstate, rail, river, and a small modern airport capable of private jet traffic,” she says. “With relatively close proximity to an existing Missouri River port and two major airports, we are certainly an ideal location.”

John Branham Branco Enterprises, Neosho Growing up in a family-owned business didn’t mean automatic employment for John Branham. “Branco did and still does have a rule that a family member has to work somewhere else for a minimum of two years,” he says. Now CEO of Branco Enterprises—a leading provider of general contracting, design-build and construction management headquartered in Neosho—Branham started his career as a construction engineer for Mobil Oil. He was the first in his family to earn a college degree—a bachelor’s in civil engineering from Missouri University of Science and Technology. “Since then, our world, our industry and our clients’ desires have rapidly become more complex,” he said. “As we have grown as a company, our needs have grown more demanding. … I foresee this trend continuing as our professionalism grows.” And Branco, he said, is taking the lead: The carpentry apprenticeship program that started in 1993, for example, is now formally associated with Crowder College, and now more than a third of those in the firm’s field work force are either enrolled in the program or have already graduated. Looking back on his career, Branham credits much of his success to the positive examples set by his parents and church growing up in Neosho. “I’m a firm believer in the concept expressed in Luke 12:48: ‘To whom much is given, much is required.’ Often this concept is perceived in financial terms, but applies across the board to our time, talents, wisdom. Although you will not always see or get the results hoped for, the successes are extremely rewarding.” scored two major legal victories against the administration. In June, the Supreme Court issued a 6-3 ruling thwarting the president’s plan to forgive more than $460 billion worth of outstanding college loans for millions of, one might assume, grateful voters. Days later, a federal judge smacked down administrative overreach from colluding with social media platforms to restrict online content it didn’t like. The first case may have implications for a national election; the second dwarfs even that—the judge who dropped the hammer on the White House said it “arguably involves the most massive attack against free speech in United States’ history.” And Bailey didn’t even assume office until Jan. 3 of this year. Of the first case, Bailey said, “Joe Biden’s plan to force farmers, school teachers, and truckers to pay the student loan debts of Ivy League graduates was a gross abuse of power and a slap in the face to every working American who didn’t attend college or who paid off their debts.” In the winner’s circle again a week later, he said the free-speech action was filed “to stop the biggest violation of the First Amendment in our nation’s history.” In each case, the state’s legal reputation as a fighter was burnished. “Missouri,” Bailey said, “will contin- ue to lead the way in the fight to defend our most fundamental freedoms.”

Peter Brown Four Seasons Group Lake Ozark

Less than two miles separate his boyhood home of Northbrook, Ill., from one of the world’s biggest lakes, but Peter Brown became a champion of Missouri lake life by following a different path—on snow skis. “I fell in love with skiing, and was

visiting my sister in Denver, who said you should check out the University of Denver for college,” he recalls. He earned a finance degree there, met the love of his life and set out on a career as a stockbroker. A down market dissuaded him from that track, but his wife’s family was getting into the development business on 7,200 acres at the Lake of the Ozarks. He jumped at the chance to get involved and, in mountain terms, things snowballed from there. He and Susan built the Lodge of the Four Seasons Resort, one of the most storied resort brands on the lake, and have pieced together a wide-reaching company that has developed and sold more than 4,400 lots and includes ownership of golf courses, a restaurant, a spa, marina and more. The region owes its good fortune to the lake, he says, and with it’s 1,200 miles of shoreline, “there’s plenty of ground to be developed.” It has been, he says, an impressive transformation in the region. “Boating popularity is what’s made it; people want to get out on the water,” he says. “But it’s been quite a change, with people now building fancy homes at $1 million apiece, everyone on the water with a dock, two or three boats and Jet Skis. But that’s provided us a great base for membership at the club.”

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