Brandi Ogunnowo

Brandi Ogunnowo joins CEK Insurance

CEK Insurance, Lawrence’s oldest independent insurance agency, is proud to announce that Brandi Ogunnowo has joined the team. Brandi, a Lawrence native, began her insurance career in 2007 and is a Certified Insurance Service Representative (CISR). She was awarded the 10 years of Excellence Award from The Society of Certified Insurance Service Representatives. Brandi is passionate about providing the best service possible. In her free time, she enjoys home renovation shows and spending time with her husband Kenny and their son Rocco.

Shania Lamm

Meritrust Credit Union announces promotion of Shania Lamm to Private Banking Officer

Meritrust Credit Union is pleased to announce Shania Lamm as Private Banking Officer for Meritrust Lawrence. With six years of experience in both personal and commercial banking, she brings an expertise to the unique needs of Lawrence’s affluent membership.

Lamm’s passion for helping her members optimize their financial lives is what drives her to be on-call and available in all service capacities, bypassing the need for Private Banking members to step foot into a branch.

“As a solid relationship-builder, her focus will be on growing our connection with the Lawrence market’s Private Banking membership,” says Cole Shaffer, Private Banking Market Manager. “Shania will provide tailored lending and deposit solutions to the credit union’s high-net-worth members, all while offering concierge-level service.”

Lamm appreciates her Private Banking membership’s dedication to and concern for community. She’s proud to be able to, in turn, serve their financial needs with the exceptional concierge experience they deserve. “I’m really looking forward to providing top-tier service and being available to cater solutions to our members’ specific situations,” says Lamm.

Danielle Bishop

Meritrust Credit Union celebrates promotion of Danielle Bishop to Assistant Retail Manager

As Assistant Retail Manager of Lawrence Meritrust, Danielle Bishop will leverage her knowledge of Meritrust products and services to mentor her teammates and help guide the financial well-being of her members.

“Danielle joined the team in 2017 and has been championing the best interests of our members ever since,” says Jennifer Breitenfeldt, Lawrence branch Retail Manager. “With each member interaction, she brings enthusiasm and a desire to learn how she can best serve their banking needs, and I’m looking forward to seeing her grow her leadership and dedication even more in the new role.”

Bishop’s deep respect and admiration for Lawrence stems in part from the #RiseLawrence movement.

“Lawrence is all about supporting local and banding together as a community,” says Bishop. “I can’t wait to dive deeper into building relationships and help our members become financially stronger.”

Communities In Schools of Mid-America

Winter Family Fund Supports Communities In Schools of Mid-America

Communities In Schools of Mid-America® (CIS of Mid-America™) is pleased to announce it has received a $5,000 award from the Winter Family Fund. The funds will be used to support CIS of Mid-America programming at Prairie Park Elementary School in Lawrence, KS.

The mission of the Winter Family Fund is to make a meaningful difference in the lives of at-risk and vulnerable populations with an emphasis on at-risk and vulnerable children and families. Activities funded by the grant include providing whole-school and individual student supports at Prairie Park Elementary School in Lawrence, KS.

Andrea Chavez

Andrea Chavez Joins Peaslee Tech as Executive Director of Grants and Administration

Peaslee Tech Executive Director, Dr. Kevin Kelley, announced today that Andrea Chavez has joined Peaslee Tech as the Executive Director of Grants and Administration.

Peaslee has developed strong relations with Douglas County organizations as a reliable provider of training programs and consulting services. Over the past few years, Peaslee Tech has provided training to hundreds of company’s employees in a wide array of programs, from frontline leadership to robotics.

Andrea brings many years of experience working in the non-profit arena – with a focus on Administration, operations and the execution of grants. Prior to joining the team at Peaslee Tech, she worked for Communities In Schools of Mid-America as their Director of Administration.

Born and raised in Douglas County, Andrea is dedicated to helping Douglas County continue to grow economically and bring Lawrence and Douglas County businesses together with the community and its members.

Located at 2920 Haskell Avenue, Peaslee Tech’s mission is to be a catalyst for economic growth by providing access to technical training to a diverse community of learners to meet the current and emerging needs of our communities and employers. Peaslee Tech offers a wide range of technical and technology courses.

Community members may contribute to Peaslee Tech by mailing a check to 2920 Haskell Avenue, Lawrence, Kansas 66046 or by credit card at 785-856-1801. As Peaslee Tech is a not-for-profit organization, your donation is tax deductible.

Steve Willett

Steve Willett Joins Allen Press as Sales Executive

Allen Press, Inc. is pleased to announce Steve Willett has joined its team as Sales Executive. Willett will focus primarily on sales development of scholarly publishing services.

Willett is an experienced online and print publishing expert who comes to Allen Press with extensive knowledge of XML-based publishing workflow solutions and how to leverage them to meet fast-changing publishing needs.

“Steve’s industry knowledge and decades of experience make him an excellent addition to our scholarly publishing services team,” said Mark Kohlhase, Allen Press CEO. “He’s dedicated to customer service, understands clients’ needs and how to meet them by creating streamlined workflows and other custom solutions. This will be invaluable as the publishing ecosystem continues to evolve.”

“I look forward to working with scholarly clients to leverage the impressive systems, services, and solutions Allen Press has to offer, which includes website and composition template design, association management, peer review, composition, online hosting, and printing,” Willett adds.

EnvistaCares Challenge Helps to Raise $153,879 in 2021

Each month the EnvistaCares Challenge provides one local organization a one-month media package valued at more than $10,000, a $2,500 challenge gift and a video for the organization to use to share their story during and after the challenge. The EnvistaCares Challenge gift is a dollar-for-dollar match, up to $2,500. During 2021, the community gave $126,063 to ten different organizations to secure the EnvistaCares Challenge match of $2,500 for each organization. In total, $153,879 was raised in 2021 to help local organizations in Lawrence, Topeka and Hutchinson. Lawrence 2021 EnvistaCares Challenge:

• Theatre Lawrence: The community gave $32,743 and Envista matched $2,500 providing Theatre Lawrence with a total of $35,243.
• O’Connell Youth Ranch: The community gave $2,500 and Envista matched $2,500 providing O’Connell Youth Ranch with a total of $5,000.
• Lawrence Habitat for Humanity: The community gave $2,800 and Envista matched $2,500 providing Lawrence Habitat for Humanity with a total of $5,250.
• Lawrence Old Fashioned Christmas Parade: The community gave $9,249 and Envista matched $2,500 providing Lawrence Old Fashioned Christmas Parade with a total of $11,749.

The Trust Company of Kansas Announces Christopher English as Chairman of the Board along with other Promotions and new Hires.

Christopher M. English

Christopher M. English, C.T.F.A. – Chairman & Chief Executive Officer

In addition to his role as Chief Executive Officer, Chris has taken on the role of Chairman of the Board at The Trust Company of Kansas. Since assuming a leadership role in November 2020, he has led TCK in successfully managing over $1 billion in assets under management.

Teresa Akers

Teresa Akers – Vice President & Trust Officer

Teresa has been promoted to Vice President & Trust Officer. She will be responsible for the administration of a variety of account relationships – agencies, guardianships, revocable and irrevocable trusts, individual retirement accounts, and other types of fiduciary accounts in our Lawrence market. In this role, she will continue to work closely with Chief Executive Officer, Christopher English

Jennifer Moore

Jennifer Moore – Vice President & Trust Officer

Jennifer has been promoted to Vice President & Trust Officer. She will be responsible for the administration of a variety of account relationships – agencies, guardianships, revocable and irrevocable trusts, individual retirement accounts, and other types of fiduciary accounts in our Lawrence market. In this role, she will continue to work closely with Senior Vice President & Trust Officer, Daniel Brogren.

Lee Anne Thompson

Lee Anne Thompson – Vice President & Employee Benefit Officer

Lee Anne Thompson has been promoted to Vice President & Employee Benefit Officer. She assists TCK’s Administrators with the technical and administrative functions regarding ERISA plan administration for 401(k), Profit Sharing and Defined Contribution Defined Benefit Plans, and SIMPLE IRA Plans. Lee Anne’s knowledge and expertise allows her to best design effective retirement planning strategies on behalf of our clients.

Chris Davis

Chris Davis – Vice President & Trust Officer

Chris joined The Trust Company of Kansas as Vice President & Trust Officer in December 2021. He will focus on business development and new growth opportunities in our Lawrence market.

Mindy Mesler

Mindy Mesler – Trust Administrator

Mindy joined The Trust Company of Kansas in January 2022 after a successful career as an administrative assistant in the field of education. With her excellent organizational and interpersonal skills, Mindy will assist Chris English, Teresa Akers, and Jennifer Moore with the administration of their books of trust business and business development efforts in our Lawrence market.