Topeka Business Hall of FameThe Junior Achievement of Kansas Topeka Business Hall of Fame recognizes esteemed business leaders in the Topeka area.
Photos by Shelley Jensen
Business Hall of Fame Laureates are individuals who have not only forged successful careers, but who have also moved the Topeka community in a better, stronger direction. This year’s group of laureates differs dramatically from those in past years. For the first time the average age of the group is below 65. Three of the four are still actively working in their respective businesses, and the fourth only recently took early retirement.
While all four laureates hail from different types of business, they all have noticeable similarities. Each one has catapulted his or her business into the next level of success. Each one has played an instrumental role in creating a legacy that will continue far into the future. And each one downplays that success by attributing it to “sheer luck” or simply being in the “right place at the right time.”
Sheer luck has nothing to do with taking a company public. Being in the right place at the right time doesn’t turn a corporation into one of the fastest growing employee-owned companies in Topeka. Luck doesn’t expand a woman-owned company from two employees to more than 450. And it certainly isn’t luck that spurred architectural development all across the country.
Many words can describe the successful rise of the 2015 Topeka Business Hall of Fame Laureates—luck isn’t one of them.
Learn more about each of the 2015 Topeka Business Hall of Fame Laureates:
Editor-in-Chief
Lisa Loewen has been teaching journalism at the University of Kansas since 2004 on the Strategic Communications track. Loewen brings more than 25 years of experience in advertising, marketing and public relations. Her extensive writing experience includes magazine, newspaper and broadcast, advertising copy for print and television, as well as academic articles. Loewen’s career path has taken her from advertising agencies to corporate offices to education. As marketing director for an international communications company, she managed internal communications as well as information sent to clients throughout the world.
Website
