2019 TOPEKA BUSINESS HALL OF FAME LAUREATES ANNOUNCED
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Topeka, KS –
The 2019 laureates are: Mike Wilson, Architect One; Rob Briman, Briman’s Leading Jewelers; Beth Anne Branden, BA Designs; Patrick Gideon, Silver Lake Bank.
The annual Topeka Business Hall of Fame dinner honoring the laureates will be held Thursday February 28, 2019, at the Ramada Downtown Topeka, Topeka, KS. For more information, contact Ashley Charest with Junior Achievement of Kansas at 785.235.3700 or ashley@kansasja.org.
Beth Anne Branden Beth Anne Branden is the Regional President of BA Designs, a company she founded in 1995 in Topeka. She currently leads operations in tandem with its parent company Pure Workplace Solutions. From 1995-2017 she was the owner and president of BA Designs and Superior Installation Services. She transitioned to Regional President in an effort to make time for additional entrepreneurial and personal passions. With over 30 years of interior design experience, Beth Anne has built a career where solution-minded customer service has always been at the forefront.
Beth Anne is a Topeka native graduating from Washburn Rural High School in 1980 and the University of Kansas in 1985 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in interior design. She desires for Topeka to be the best place to work and live, and has had the privilege of serving on the Family Service and Guidance Center Foundation board, the Marian Clinic board and GO Topeka board. She currently serves on the Youth Entrepreneurs Topeka Advisory board, Greater Topeka Partnership Small Business Council and ARTS Connect board. Beth Anne sees Topeka as a community that will continue to thrive and provide support and inspiration to all entrepreneurs.
Born to Harry and Kay Craig, Beth Anne continues a family tradition of being a business owner. The family business, Martin Tractor Company, was a partner and support system to BA Designs in its early years. With its world class customer service, top notch employees, and mentorship, the people and spirit of Martin Tractor inspired and taught Beth Anne to be the leader she is.
Since 1998, Beth Anne has worked alongside her husband Russ in business. In addition to running BA Designs together, they also started a new company, Built Interior Construction in Kansas City in 2015. In her spare time she enjoys spending time with family including her children Matt and Kathleen, reading, and spending time in the Flint Hills at Lake Wabaunsee.
Rob Briman Rob Briman is co-owner of Briman’s Leading Jewelers, which has been a part ofTopeka since 1940. He began his career in jewelry as the third generation in the family business in July 1979. For thirty-nine years Rob has worked to build relationships with multiple generations of Briman’s customers by providing aquality product and professional honest service.
Rob is a lifelong Topekan, graduating from Topeka High School in 1975, and then went on to become a state certified EMT in 1976 and a graduate surgical technician in 1979.
For twenty-four years, Rob has been a member of Topeka South Rotary, along with serving as a Rotary board member for multiple years and is a Paul Harris Fellow. He is a current board member of Downtown Topeka Inc. and a past board chair. Rob also serves the community as a board member of Capper Foundation Advisory Council and is a past board member of Brewster Foundation.
Rob and his wife Carol have been married for thirty years, have two children, Mandy, and her husband Dillon, and Russell, and his partner Shannon, but his special loves are his three grandchildren, Jackson, Aubrey, and Mason. Besides Topeka, his business and family, Rob loves to spend time boating.
Patrick Gideon Patrick Gideon has the rare and distinct privilege of saying that his entire careerhas been with one company, Silver Lake Bank (SLB). Gideon’s beginnings withthe bank started with running a floor-waxing machine as a young boy during hisfather’s tenure as president. From those beginnings, Gideon has followed in hisfather’s footsteps, serving as President of SLB since 1987.
Gideon received his Bachelors of Science in Business Administration from the University of Kansas, and attended the Graduate School of Banking at the University of Wisconsin. Following his graduation, he returned to Topeka to take on the role of President.
In his role of President, Gideon is responsible for overall operations, including planning and developing financial policies and practices. He serves as Senior Lender and is directly responsible for the bank’s largest loan portfolio. In 2003,Gideon worked with then Auburn-Washburn Superintendent Dr. Brenda Dietrich to establish a student-run bank for Washburn Rural High School that continues to operate today. Subsequent student-run banks were developed at Silver Lake High School and Seaman High School in following years. In addition, SLB offersa way for their customers to “give back” to one of these three school districts, byoffering customized debit cards that donates a portion of transactions back to the districts.
Gideon is heavily involved with the community. He served as one of the founding members of the Topeka Independent Business Association (TIBA) and was a 2010 graduate of Leadership Kansas. Additional community involvement includes serving with Midland Care, United Way of Greater Topeka, and the American Diabetes Association.
Gideon enjoys working on his ranch, golfing, reading, rooting for the Kansas Jayhawks, and spending time with his two sons, Austin and Nick.
Mike Wilson Michael (Mike) T. Wilson is the Founding Partner of Architect One, Inc. He is also a real estate developer, who, along with other partners, has developed several local properties including Kansas Ave Lofts at 101 N. Kansas; 900 S. Kansas office building; 906 S. Kansas – and current offices of Architect One; and Summerfield Office Parks I and II, among others. He and his wife Maria also own and manage numerous residential and multifamily properties.
Wilson is a Topeka native and a Topeka West and Kansas State University graduate. After college, he worked in Aspen, Colorado, for an architectural firm and contractor before returning to Topeka in 1982. He opened Architect One on January 1st, 1989, and has designed hundreds of buildings over the past 30 years. Architect One has grown to a four partner company with a dozen employees and offices in Topeka and Manhattan. The firm has made significant contributions to the City of Topeka and State of Kansas architectural landscape.
Architect One was the Greater Topeka Chamber of Commerce Small Business ofthe Year in 2008 and the Small Business Administrations’ Kansas City DistrictSmall Business Persons of the Year in 2017.
Wilson has been on the board of Habitat for Humanity for several years and is currently serving as the board President. He also serves on the Executive Committee of Valeo Behavioral Health and on the Topeka Board of Building and Fire Appeals, the Topeka USD 501 Construction and Design Advisory Board, Heartland Visioning, Momentum 2022 and the Mankind Project. Wilson has previously served on his church and AIA Topeka boards, the GO Topeka Board, Riverfront Task Force, and is a Leadership Greater Topeka alumnus.
Wilson credits perseverance, gratitude, hard work, and the support and confidence of the staff and clients of Architect One for his enduring success. Mike and Maria have three grown children and three grandsons whom they are fortunate to see often. They enjoy time with their family, travel, hiking on trails in and around Topeka, and look forward to expanding their recently attained SCUBA skills. They have traveled extensively and have a long bucket list of future adventures – but their favorite place in the world is their own back deck.
About Junior Achievement of Kansas Junior Achievement (JA) of Kansas inspires and prepares young people with the skills they need to succeed in a global economy. Collaborating with the business and educational community, JA of Kansas provides relevant, hands-on experiences that give students knowledge and skills based on the three pillars of financial literacy, work readiness, and entrepreneurship. JA of Kansas serves nearly 28,000 children statewide. To learn more about JA of Kansas, visitwww.kansasja.org or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
