Ingram’s September 2022

Donald Hall, Jr. EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN, HALLMARK

Adam Hamilton FOUNDER/PASTOR, CHURCH OF THE RESURRECTION Dad. Mom. Two kids. That was the headcount when Adam Hamilton founded the Church of the Resurrection in 1990. His goal, he said years later, was to build a different kind of ministry. Well …. mission accomplished. The different kind of ministry he built is, in fact, the nation’s second-largest Methodist congregation, trailing only the massive Windsor Village church in Houston. Among Hamilton’s flock are dozens of top executives from Kansas City’s biggest businesses.

Don Hall’s family has watched economic waves roll through Kansas City for a long time, so his practical attitude toward those times makes sense. “What’s that old saying?” he asks. “Economists have predicted seven of the past five recessions?” Hall went on to say, “I was an Economics major and learned that economists always couch their predictions with ‘on the other hand.’ What is certain are economic cycles will occur, and businesses have to learn to ride the ups and the downs with equal balance.”

COLLEGE: B.A., Pastoral Ministry, Oral Roberts University; M. in Divinity, Perkins School of Theol ogy, Southern Methodist University DEFINING QUOTE: “God’s strategy for changing the world happens one person at a time ….”. FORWARD IN FAITH: Hamilton has led the congregation’s work on Vision 2030, its plan to close the gap between what is and what should be in the lives of its members, the broader community, and the world between now and the year 2030. PENMANSHIP: A prolific author, Hamilton has been inspired to craft nearly three dozen faith-re lated books, from explorations of Moses, Luke, John, and St. Peter to treatises on courage, truth, and forgiveness. Also in the mix is a guide for improving the speaking skills of religious speakers and preachers.

COLLEGE: B.A., Economics/Literature, Claremont-McKenna College; MBA, University of Kansas NEXT BIG THING FOR KC: “I think the region will see population growth, as people living in expensive cities on the coasts facing huge challenges will start to understand what a great community this is. The Kansas City Spirit is alive and well, and there is not just one thing leading to our improved quality of life.” KC CHIEFS PREDICTION: “I’ve been a Chiefs fan for a long time, and the upcoming schedule is as tough as I’ve ever seen. They’re playing both teams from Super Bowl LVI, and about six other teams that could make a run at a championship this year. I think the spirit of the team, however, is one that should give us great confidence, and I predict the Chiefs will end the regular season at 12-5 before going to another Super Bowl.”

Brad Hampton CEO, HELZBERG DIAMONDS

Dave Harrison PRESIDENT, VANTRUST REAL ESTATE

Brad Hampton spent the previous five years as chief financial officer and member of the executive board for Helzberg Dia monds, so he was well-qualified to assume the final rung on the leadership ladder when Beryl Raff headed out this summer after a 13-year run as CEO. The national retail chain he now leads, with 170 stores coast to coast, has been part of Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate since 1995.

Dave Harrison has been in on some pretty high-profile devel opment projects in the Kansas City region for better than four decades, but is he working on a career capstone Downtown? The company he founded in 2010, Caymus Real Estate, later became VanTrust, and it’s working with the city on a reimbursement plan for the demolition of several buildings. Where? At one of the sites being mentioned for a new baseball stadium. Stay tuned …

A DIFFERENT PATH: Before coming to Helzberg in 2017, Hampton spent 20 years in telecom, working for Sprint. NEW DIGS: Hampton is now at work in a completely redesigned 52,000-square-foot corporate headquarters in North Kansas City; in March, the company put the finishing touches on a make over that started in late 2020. FOR THE TEAM: “Our associates are at the center of everything we do,” Hampton said of the fa cility makeover. “We wanted to transform the space we have been in for over 50 years to maximize inclusion, facilitate in-person collaboration and enhance communication across work groups.” “I DO … RIGHT NOW”: The company set something of a new standard for employee training in 2019 when it began ordaining associates so they could perform weddings right there in the stores.

COLLEGE: B.S., Business Administration, Rockhurst College CHALLENGES AHEAD : “The biggest obstacles in navigating the choppy water in today’s environment are the movement of long-term interest rates and their corresponding impact on capitalization rates, continued cost increases for labor and material, lagging increases in rental rates and continued procurement challenges.” FINDING TALENT : “We continue to focus on finding great people and then slotting them into ap plicable roles.” KC’S NEXT BIG THING: “The next big thing needs to be the collective focus of the entire city as it relates to affordable housing, education, crime, job creation and growth through development. We desperately need to be “firing on all cylinders” in order to realize our future potential.”

Bob Hayworth MARKET PRESIDENT, HUMANA

Mike Heitmann PRESIDENT/CEO, GARNEY CONSTRUCTION

Patience. Strategy. Teamwork. Coaching. They’re all fundamental to successful performance in baseball—a game close to Bob Hayworth’s heart since his days playing the game as a kid—and they continue to be values he applies to his leadership of Huma na’s Kansas City operations. “The baseball diamond,” Hayworth says, “was where I learned a lot about life and working together as a team.”

It was a career at first sight when new college grad Mike Heitmann came to Garney Construction in 1990. And from construction project work around the country to executive roles and, finally, the firm’s leadership in 2011, it’s been a perfect fit. He leads an employ ee-owned firm with 1,700 people across the country, generating more than $1 billion in annual revenues. His biggest professional achievement, he has said, is “being a part of the development of Garney into the leading water and wastewater contractor in the U.S.”

COLLEGE: East Carolina University BACK TO HUMANA: Hayworth came to Kansas City to work for the company more than 20 years ago. In 2003, he took a position as chief operating officer for Lockton companies in the benefits division and eventually became executive vice president before making his way back to Humana. WHY INSURANCE?: “Completely by accident and chance. I had planned to go to law school after undergrad. Yet, during my senior year, a friend of mine encouraged me to interview for a sales position with an insurance company he was working with. I interviewed and received a very promising offer with great income and perks, but more importantly, there was a chance to learn something new. I took it and have never looked back.” PASS THE SAUCE: “I have thoroughly enjoyed being a part of this community and look forward to finishing my career here. Although the sun, surf, and sand will be calling my name in retirement, I am going to get my fill of Kansas City barbeque before I ride off into the coastal sunset.”

COLLEGE: B.S., Architectural Engineering, University of Kansas A KC SUCCESS STORY: Heitmann is steward of the legacy created by one of Kansas City’s elite entrepreneurs, Charles Garney, who founded the company specializing in pipeline and utility con struction in 1961. ESOP ADVOCATE: The concept of employee ownership was nearly 30 years old at the time but still relatively new to Kansas City contractors when Garney sold nearly a third of his stake to employees in 1986. He followed that up in 1995 by taking the company 100 percent employee-owned. POWER PLAYER: Among other recognition, various trade publications and industry metrics rank Heitmann’s team No. 1 in both water supply and water transmission-line construction, No. 2 in water treatment and desalinization plants, fourth in sewerage/solid waste systems, fifth in waste water treatment plants, and No. 6 in sanitary storm sewers.

58

I n g r a m ’ s

September 2022

Ingrams.com