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Explore the world of business and entrepreneurship in Wichita. Learn from local business owners from a variety of industries as they share their experiences with hosts and Evergy leaders, Don Sherman and Ebony Clemons-Ajibolade, who are also small business owners. You’ll learn how they have built and grown their companies and the challenges and opportunities they encountered along the way. This podcast is brought to you by the Wichita Regional Chamber of Commerce and is powered by Evergy.
Ep140_VeraBothner_full
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Music: [00:00:00] When you hear the horns and drums, you know it's time for the Wichita Chamber Business Accelerator powered by Evergy. Join us as we explore the world of business, leadership and entrepreneurship in Wichita. Learn from local business leaders and owners on how they have built and grown their companies and the challenges and opportunities they met along the way.
Coming to you from the Evergy room at the Wichita Regional Chamber of Commerce. Here are your hosts, Don Sherman and Ebony Clemens of Jim.
Don Sherman: Welcome to another edition of The WCBA Powered by, of course, Evergy Ebony had to do some real work today, so I'm gonna hold it down for you first. Thank you for listening, [00:01:00] and don't forget to like us, love us, share us.
We truly appreciate it Today, we are excited to have my friend, we've known each other for. I'll say a few years. I'm not gonna say way back 'cause we're younger than you think we are. So, but this is a special edition of Journey Unseen. We have the one and only my friend. My dear friend and I said that already, right?
My dear friend, Vera Ner, welcome to the show.
Vera Bothner: Oh, Dawn, thank you. It is just whenever I see you, it is a good day whenever I see you. Aw, shucks.
Don Sherman: Oh my God.
Vera Bothner: Can we gonna
Don Sherman: do a podcasting addition to it? Yeah. I was thinking about this. I said, oh, this gonna be off the chain. Journey unseen is a. Three part series that features women community leaders and they share their unknown stories.
So you're gonna have to tell some unknown stories. Vera. Oh man. Okay. About your career journey. And it's, it's a beautiful journey. So, uh, let's get into it. The unseen journey [00:02:00] of Ra Ner, tell us about yourself. I want tell us all, everything. The good, the bad, and the ugly if you have
Vera Bothner: to. Oh my word. I love it.
You know. Every once in a while, and I tell this story when I speak with college students or young professionals, um, I wanted to be a clinical psychologist that, that served children. That's what I wanted to do. That's what I went to college to do. And I got into my fourth year of being, and this is not gonna surprise you one bit, but the Uber, uh, psychology student doing all the undergrad research and all the, I mean, just doing everything just.
Just try that. Overachiever stupidness, she just can't, you know, that's just in you and you can't help it. And oh my God. I got to that final semester of that final year and I realized I didn't wanna do it. My mother still remembers me calling home just sobbing. You know, that was back in the days when you actually had to go find a phone, right, right, right.
To to [00:03:00] call somebody and just crying. And then I read this description of public relations and communications. Literally at the career place. And it, it wasn't, it wasn't, it was about people. It was about making change. It was about working with others to figure out how to listen and, uh, create I ideas and make ideas happen.
And, and I immediately went, That's it. That's it. So I, I tell students all the time I fell into a career I dearly, dearly love. And so, you know, my path was definitely not what I thought it would be, but it's the one that was supposed to be, and, and how we leave ourselves open to that is, to me, that's the key.
Don Sherman: Excellent. Excellent. So tell us your entrepreneurial story. How you go from your. Clinical psychologist, is that what you [00:04:00] said? Yes. Okay. I wanna make sure my ears were right. Clinical psychologist to the vener of the day. Tell us
Vera Bothner: that journey. So I, um, I'd already, I already had my bachelor's. I essentially walked across the stage at K State with my bachelor's in psychology and immediately started back at K State and I added 30 hours in journalism slash public relations communications.
How did you get there? I mean, I, I, for some reason. How did you pivot? I knew, I knew, I knew that I wanted to work with people, and as I got into the communications part of the classroom work, I also realized that the strategy part of it was the part that I loved. I was a decent writer. I've become a better writer over time.
Just like anything, you've gotta use the skills to be able to get there. But I was a decent writer. I would've [00:05:00] never been able to be a working journalist who had to meet a deadline every day, who, you know, I, I could have never, ever done that, but I knew that I liked the strategy of. Communications, what's, what's our end goal?
What's the outcome that we want? How do we, how do we get there? And how do we, how do we listen to people to be able to figure out how we all get there together? And, and I had no idea. I mean, I still remember the. One of the, I I applied all, I applied all over Wichita because, because my better half, I should, my better half.
Jim was already living here, not better. Three-fourths. He's my better. Three-fourths for sure. Okay. Just one. He's my better. Three-fourths for sure. And he was already living here and I knew I wanted to be here. I, a few years after I, um, started working here, I looked back at my, you know, my applications and I'd applied to Gene Dickinson at the Chamber.
It's, oh, whoa, it's. So funny to go back and [00:06:00] look and what's, what's really funny is that one of my dear colleague friends now, uh, URA Austin, she, she ended up working at the Chamber. Oh wow. Um, right about that same time. Um, so I, I ended up with. With the job at the Wichita Symphony, I got that job with two weeks in the semester left.
Um, I had never, I was a western Kansas farm girl. I had never been to a symphony concert. The very first symphony concert I went to was the one I'd been promoting all summer, and, and I still remember, and, and he's passed now. But my, my first professional boss, Mitch Berman, said, Don't worry about not knowing about the symphony.
That's what we're experts in. Hmm. You're an, you're an expert and I wasn't, I was straight out of school. He said, but you know how to market, you know how to communicate, you know, how to work with people. And so it was a great first job because I had to do everything. I was everything from volunteer [00:07:00] coordinator to, you know, putting the program together to um, oh, I bought advertising, which is insane.
I bought advertising. Um, I had to do it all. And it was an incredible introduction to the Wichita community and. I, I was able to work with people who were on that board or who were the young professionals at the time. Um, serving in a, in a volunteer capacity. I was able to work with them the rest of my career here, which is incredible.
Wow. Just incredible. And from that, I got a job at, um, Sullivan, Higdon and Insync. Mm-hmm. And spent seven, eight years there just. Having the most incredible learning experience of all, of really learning how different clients think. I bet. I worked with 50, definitely more than 50 clients there, including the Chamber.
Susie Tand was one of my very, very first clients, Susie Tand, and one of my [00:08:00] very first projects was helping announce the plan for Old Town. Oh, okay. And, and wow. I mean, I think back on that and, you know, my boss at the time was telling me what I needed to do and this and that. And I, and I look back and I look back at those, those photos, and I look back at what Old town has become, and I go, that's, that's what making a difference makes.
That's, that's that from an idea and from a visual to celebrating today, I mean, there was. One restaurant, the pasta mill, we didn't even have heroes yet. That's right. The pasta mill. That's right. That's right. Clarksburg came pretty soon, but, but it was, it was literally mostly abandoned, right. Warehouses. So it's so bizarre to, to still feel like that young person who just announced Old Town, but also go, man, that was, that was 25 years ago.
Right. The difference that that makes.
Don Sherman: So how did you get to make the decision, you know, I can gonna hang up my own [00:09:00] shingle and do this.
Vera Bothner: I started having kids, which is often, so let's talk about the, the journey of women for a little bit. I had my second child and I desperately at s h s tried to go part-time.
Mm-hmm. And I was the fa, I was the fail. Not them, they were wonderful about it, but I could not tell clients, no. Hmm. I could not tell myself no. So even though I tried to go part-time, I still was working more than full-time hours. I always laugh. I say I negotiated. I negotiated part-time, part-time, pay for more than full-time work, not my, not my most brilliant Monzy with Don.
So, so, Tammy Bradley had been one of my clients at the Kansas Health Foundation. We had done this incredible, um, take it outside campaign about not, this seems so, so amazing now today that we had to do this, but at the time it was radical to think, don't smoke around your [00:10:00] children. Mm-hmm. Don't, don't take your, take your secondhand smoke outside.
Wow. That was a radical thought. So we were working with the Kansas Health Foundation and Tammy had told me, she said, if part-time at the at s h s doesn't work, Gimme a call. And I, again, I was the fail. And I, we were, I, I remember we were in a meeting, um, actually we were listening to a speaker and I wrote her a note that said, I'm ready to talk.
And so, um, I. That was, that was when I went and became a consultant to them. And I was technically ner public relations. I had maybe about three other clients a year, but I really gave the Kansas Health Foundation, um, most of my time. I, I took Fridays off so the kids and I could have a three day weekend and do something other than the laundry.
Right? 'cause that's one of the things that we all know as, as working parents. And I think we need to start thinking about it as working parents, not as working mothers. Right. You, you gotta have, you've gotta have some [00:11:00] margins. And I've done a really horrible job with that my entire life, except for when the kids were little and I made sure that we had margins so that we could enjoy each other and we could go to a park and we could go to the zoo and we could, I, I've, I've often laughed that I've helped with all these nonprofits in town, and I, I haven't always taken as much time as I.
Should to enjoy the fruits of what we all collectively have managed to create here in Wichita. Right. So, um, so yeah, I did that. Tammy, I was a consultant to Tammy. I, I always love to say, especially with her staff, she assembled an incredible staff there. It was great because I was, I was the aunt and not the mom.
Okay. I loved being with those people. They were so incredible. And they, they're some of, um, some very, very good friends today. Not, I mean, Tammy's my business partner, but, um, that's where I, um, met and Tammy hired Kara Cleaver, who has her own business and does incredible work. Right. So that's where I really added.
I had a [00:12:00] lot of the community, but I added a lot more of the community theory to my tool chest, if you will, while I was doing that. And the kids were young and, and, um, it was, it was great. And then, and then it, um, about seven years into that, six, seven years into that, Tammy was ready for her next step, and I was ready for my next step.
And it was clear we needed to step together. I mean, excellent. We'd known each other by that time as both. Client and closer in consultant client relationship. And so 17 years ago we said, you know what? Let's put this Ner and Bradley idea into, into play
Don Sherman: motion. Yeah. Excellent. I appreciate you sharing the story.
I mean, for the four people in Wichita that don't know you, they needed to have that back backstory. So, um, Let's talk about you. Okay. Define leadership for us. Vera Ner
Vera Bothner: style. Wow. What a great question, Dawn. You know, leadership is, and this is, this is truly off the top of my head because I [00:13:00] don't have a, I don't have a textbook definition.
To me, leadership is not waiting for someone else. It's, it's not sitting on the sidelines and saying somebody should, it's having that idea and saying, I'm gonna get in a game and part of this is up to me. And then when it's not your issue, when it's not your idea cheering on from the sidelines, I, I,
Don Sherman: and whoa, that's, yeah,
Vera Bothner: that's, and, and not to not have constructive, I, I'm not even gonna call it criticism because I've, I've learned over time what it is, is it's, it's enough constructive s support and help.
From, from the knowledge you've built up without the baggage, it's easy when you've been in one job or in one community for a long time to just have the baggage and to let that get in the way of what can [00:14:00] happen. Leadership is knowing I've got this baggage, but that person, that person can make this happen and I can share these three lessons with them, and then I can cheer rather than, rather than criticize.
Because we all have too much criticism in our lives. What we need are more leaders and more cheerleaders. Agreed.
Don Sherman: Agreed. What was one problem or issue or challenge that you had to overcome
Vera Bothner: over your journey? Well, there's been so many more than one dawn. How do I choose one? What
Don Sherman: ever?
Vera Bothner: Um, you know, I would say I, you know what?
I really. I don't know that this is truly one. I'm trying not to do the typical, oh, you know, perfectionism is my, you know, that's, no, I want
Don Sherman: the reel vera. Don't,
Vera Bothner: you know what, it probably was not always being able to, it's [00:15:00] not, it's, it's not something I had to. Overcome, but it's something I had to realize about myself.
How about that? Okay. 'cause I will tell you, I had the most amazing mentors. I had the most amazing people. I, I never felt I had to overcome anything other than maybe always this was my own issue, feeling like the Western Kansas Farm girl, you know? Um, but even then, I, I was able to, for whatever reason, show up and I.
I think be genuine. Okay. And, and not try to be who I wasn't. I never wanted to be nor tried to be anything other than, you know, Vera McIn, Bosner from Ashland, technically Sitka, Kansas. And there's a bunch of people out there who already know where that is, which is stunning. Um, it, I think the one thing I did have to overcome is I realized that I was never the person that had the vision.
Really? No. Isn't that s I think that does surprise people about me. I [00:16:00] don't have the vision, but man, I recognize people when they do and and I am able to help clear obstacles out of their way to get to that vision. Now it means we're gonna have to have some hard conversations.
Don Sherman: Okay, I'm with you
Vera Bothner: now. I got you.
See it. Okay. I don't have the vision, but, but boy, when the person who had the vision for tech education 'cause. 20 years ago when Tammy and I first got into business technical education, we didn't have anything close to W S U Tech. Correct. We didn't have what Dr. Ash Correct. And her team have created that has come from the, the vision and the germs and the seeds that a bunch of people right here in this chamber room created.
Mm-hmm. Over, over time, including Ron Holt. Yep. And, and plenty of other names we all recognize. Right. That was a seven year journey for Tammy and I early on in our, that was one of our first big clients was um, Kansas Technical Training [00:17:00] Initiative. And it was all about how do we raise not just the level of technical education in the community, but create the structure and the vision for it.
And it was an incredible journey that changed. Every two to three months based on where we were going. I didn't have that vision, but the people who did, I helped 'em get there. You
Don Sherman: helped them get there. Exactly. 'cause now tech is cool. Now tech is cool. I
Vera Bothner: mean, so yeah, you look at what's happening. That is exactly the vision.
That was and, and another one, another example of that, Dawn and is Jeff Flor with Downtown Wichita? Mm-hmm. So when Jeff Flour first came to Wichita, I remember where I kept reading about him and thought, who is this Jeff Fluer guy? Right? Right. And then Susie Allst Strand, who is one of the most connected, best people, has made more things happen in this community than anyone will ever realize, said, Vera, let's, let's, let's meet with Jeff.
We wanna talk, and then, We got, of course, Cheryl Woolford involved. Mm-hmm. And we got all these other people involved. And the [00:18:00] next thing we know in the middle of a recession, Jeff Fler had the vision. We needed a downtown plan, right? We needed a master plan. And Suzy and I would, that is true, would be like, here's the obstacles.
We're in the middle of a recession, we have a new city manager. Um, we just bit by bit just overcame those obstacles. And the community itself developed a downtown master plan that now. 10, you know, 10 years. It's now 11 years. Right. A billion dollars of investment. Yeah. So that wasn't my vision, that was Jeff Flores.
But man, I could see he had it and, and I could help him overcome the obstacles and create the energy to get there. And that to me, I. That's, it's not something I had to overcome, but it's something I had to realize about myself.
Don Sherman: Wow. That is so, so cool. One quick question before we go to break. Do you have any insecurities as a leader?
Vera Bothner: Oh, my word. How many insecurities do you have?
Don Sherman: Gimme one. Um,
Vera Bothner: oh man. I, I [00:19:00] do think like, I do think like a lot of women and like a lot of men, I think it is hard not to have an imposter. Syndrome. Feeling okay that every time, you know, every time you show up, every time I show up to it's, it's gotten better over the last few years, but especially when you're young, it is hard to show up and not think, oh my word, this issue, this idea, this challenge is so big.
Do I? Can I do it? And then bit by bit, it's just like anything else, bit by bit, bit by bit, working with great people. It never happens by yourself. Bit by bit, right? Getting the right crowd around you, the right team around you, you're able to to get it done. So that's one of my many insecurities.
Don Sherman: Gotta pay some bills.
So let's take a break and hear from our sponsors and we will be back shortly with the unseen journey. Uh, Vera Ner
Vera Bothner: severe weather, whether it's hail, wind, rain, or snow, storms can cause [00:20:00] damages, inconveniences, and sometimes even power outages. At Evergy, we are committed to providing safe, reliable energy, and in the event of an outage, our linemen work tirelessly to restore your power as quickly and as safely as possible.
And with tools like our outage, map, and realtime updates, we are with you every step of the way. Visit Evergy dot com slash stay safe to learn more.
Don Sherman: We are back with Vera Ner Ner and Bradley, and uh, we're talking about her unseen journey and, uh, got a few more questions. Thank you still for sticking around. I thought you'd probably leave during, during the break, but I would never leave you Dawn. You kidding? Oh my God. You're like this energizer bunny.
I mean, you're always around. Just you're always happy. How do you recharge as a leader?
Vera Bothner: Oh, that's a great question. So one of the things I have to do is, and, and this does surprise people, um, I have to have alone [00:21:00] time. I, I spend so much energy during the day mm-hmm. That my evening, I rarely get on the phone.
I, I, I rarely, I. If I had my wish in the evening, other than, um, every once in a while, drinks with just fabulous friends, I, you would find me very happily, um, laying in the hammock reading a book if it's nice out. I love to get lost in books watching something with Jim. The kids. We're just now in that kind of the, you know, the kids are out on their own.
So Jim and I are, you know, gonna be able to catch up on the hundreds of shows that we know we will love. I love that. I love that time. And I've learned about myself. In fact, I laughed, I said a couple of weekends ago. I said, I said I had my introverted weekend, so I can now have, I can now have my weekend with people.
Nice, nice. Yeah, so that's, I I have to recharge. Excellent. That way. And, and it's, It's also about getting outta my own [00:22:00] head, and that's what is great about books. There is nothing better than, and I read a lot. I I'll read fiction because it's about getting outta my world and into somebody else's world.
Okay. Excellent, excellent. Because my head is not that interesting.
Don Sherman: Whatever you are. The Vera Ner, trust me. How would you define this moment in your leadership journey?
Vera Bothner: Oh man, that is a great right here, right now. Mr. Sherman. That is a great question. Um, you know, I think like a lot of people, I think that I.
A pandemic. And might I say Tammy and I have had the pleasure working with a lot of public health people over the years, and it kind of cracks me up. They have told us four years, four decades, we knew that a pandemic was coming. Really? We, they have said this for years. There were plans years ago when I was a consultant to the Kansas Health Foundation.
Right. It was after, I can't remember, after SARS or one of 'em. Mm-hmm. That, I mean, that was all the rage planning for the [00:23:00] pandemic. So, um, it's, it is funny. They told us it was coming, it still caught me off guard. But I think in, in my journey right now, I think just like anything, just like everybody else, it's made me go, where do I really want to spend my time?
I have so much interest in so many issues. Our clients are incredible. Our opportunities are there. Now, where do I spend my time and how do I do that intentionally as opposed to. What happens to be next? Okay. Because I tend to have lots of interests and I think at this point in my journey, I would really like to figure out how do I focus those interests?
And then the other part of it, and this I'm just of always loved, um, learning from others, and that's the next generation of leaders too. So, uh, in [00:24:00] many ways it's not about them learning from me. I. It's about me learning from them and then together, man, I, I am so excited about what could happen because they're incredible.
And you know, Tammy's in my, our logo is a torch, and Bill Gardner did that for us 17 years ago because Bill Gardner, she said, yeah, he said, you carry a torch for your client's issues. And I think we also carry a torch for the community and the people that we work with. I mean, how do you not. I just love working with young people who have the energy and who, you know, combined with just a few lessons that don't let it weigh you down, but let it inform you on how you go forward.
Don Sherman: That's so good to hear. I mean, there's at least 200 reasons why I. I'm your biggest cheerleader. But the deal is, I mean, just like you said about talking with the youth, I mean you mentor folks, I mentored a lot. Young Thundercats, I call 'em, but I always say if you mentor right, you're being [00:25:00] mentored back, you know, and that's, you know, so I'm glad you co-signed on that for me 'cause
Vera Bothner: that's, I love it.
Why we get along. I love it. And I'm gonna come up with a name, 'cause Thundercats is awesome. So I'm coming up with some sort of a name.
Don Sherman: Nice. Uh, This is one I love asking this of you. You have a biography. What would the title of the book be?
Vera Bothner: So Tammy, Tammy said this years ago, and it's absolutely stuck and we do tell this to people.
So Tammy says, the biography, my biography would be titled, uh, the Unscripted Truth. Oh, I'm sorry. The Scripted Truth. The Scripted Truth. The Scripted Truth. Because we are gonna absolutely tell the truth. We are going to script it while we do it.
Don Sherman: Nice,
Vera Bothner: nice. And some of that came out of just, and I don't manage as many crisis anymore, um, as I used to, but man, if, if you're managing a crisis, you're gonna tell the truth, but [00:26:00] you're gonna have, you're gonna know how you're intentionally going to tell the
truth.
Don Sherman: Right? Yeah. I've seen you do that in action. That's, that's pretty cool. All right. This biography has a, a movie. Who's gonna play the Vera Ner? Well, I don't know. Mm-hmm. That's not in that. Mm-hmm. You're not getting away with that one.
Vera Bothner: So this is when I always lose names. I always lose names. Um, I. Carrie Washington.
Can it be Carrie Washington? So she is the person who played Olivia on Scandal. Scandal. Scandal. Okay. And I had never watched Scandal until one of my dear colleague, and they were both somebody I volunteered with and I also did a project for them. Um, her husband started calling me Olivia, and every time I would get on the phone with her, I would hear in the background, he would go, is that Olivia on the phone?
Yeah, it's, so, I watched, I watched some scandal. [00:27:00] He wants some scandal and let me just say, I would like to be Carrie Washington and so I would really like her to play me in the
Don Sherman: movie. That would be cool. Yeah, I, I
Vera Bothner: could see that because she can drink a lot of wine and she can eat a lot of popcorn and she wears white and she never gets anything on that white and she is, She's, she's, she had it going and
Don Sherman: can extinguish a fire.
Huh.
Vera Bothner: And she could, in fact, there's times when I had to tell myself, you need to harness your inner Olivia. And it kind of gave me a little courage to do that.
Don Sherman: Excellent. See, that was, see, you thought you was gonna get off, but. That's cool. Kerry Washington. That's all right. I shared this earlier. I'm not trying to brag about, but yeah, I am.
I'm trying to brag that I know Vera for a long time. So, no, we were in the Wichita Business Journal 40 under 40, the inaugural class, which was I. The, the only class, the best class. So we set the tone and it was clearly
Vera Bothner: just two years ago.
Don Sherman: Yeah, yeah, yeah,
Vera Bothner: yeah. When we were definitely under 40 bandols.
Don Sherman: Yeah.
Oh my God. [00:28:00] Those were the days. Anyway, come back, Don, come back. I want to go over the roster of folks. Oh my goodness. Who, goodness was in that class. And you can say something. Or I'm just gonna keep, um, reading until you say uncle. Craig Anderson. Oh my word. He at then he was, uh, U M B Bank. Now he's at Equity Bank.
Yes. If I remember right. Talked to him a couple weeks ago. Matt rst. He was at Goldsmith's back in the day. And, um, Goldsmith's, I dunno when they left, but they're no longer here. Uh, Carol Byer from Fol Kin. Yes. Walter Berry. Yes. Barry Companies. Some lady. Vera Ner Sullivan Higdon and Sink back then, but she got her own shingle now.
Uh, Melvin Carter, he was with the Boys and Girls Club back then. I remember Melvin, I have to say the late John Clevenger with Commerce
Vera Bothner: Bank, I tell you, that just breaks my heart does. I served on, I served [00:29:00] on. Three different boards with John and his leadership. Yeah. I, I tell you. Just an incredible leader.
Don Sherman: Yeah. Yeah. That was just, that was heartbreaking. That was heartbreaking. Uh, Katie Kramer from United Way. What?
Vera Bothner: Katie Kramer. Dora. Look at Dora. Okay.
I
Don Sherman: was wondering if that was a door. Yeah. Okay. Now Mark Arts. Yeah, exactly. Doing big things over there. Jeff Deen Reed from Holon and Siefkin.
Vera Bothner: Jeff, we just love Jeff.
C Hall. Oh, my word. Definitely. I didn't realize C was in that class. Yeah. Yeah. I only met him in the last few years. Yeah. What a, yeah, what an
Don Sherman: incredible person. Paul Culligan. Yeah. Poncho Hall. He's not here, but he, he was with Pepsi. He went on to do something else at Pepsi. Marcy Hess, downtown Wichita
Vera Bothner: Association.
Wow. That's a name I haven't heard for a while. Okay. Kenneth
Don Sherman: Jack. Uh, yes. Davis and Jack JV Johnson. JV Johnson Johnson Cloths. Uh, Gragg. Clinda. Yes. With Clinda. At all. [00:30:00] Thank you. Yeah. Yes. And Foley Connect me. Oh man, I did. Oh man. And now I gotta pull this closer to me 'cause I can't read it. Somebody named George Laham.
What, what? Oh, man. With, um, Bradley Fair, of course. John Lewis, he was the dentist. He's Walter's brother. Yes. Cat named Steve Kin, who Prise Bank now at the Edwick County
Vera Bothner: Zoo. And has just what he's done at the zoo is I know, is incredible.
Don Sherman: Yeah, he's killing it. Roger Ramsar. Oh, one word. I didn't know He is in our group, but he, uh, He was with Coke then now he's at Cox doing big things, I think in Oklahoma.
Believe in Oklahoma. Believe this is a trip. Scott? Redler. Timberline. Oh my word, Freddy. I did
Vera Bothner: not remember that. Unbelievable. Well, I guess there's you and I and then there's
Don Sherman: Scott. Yeah, exactly. And then, uh, some guy named Don Sherman. He, he's in there. Dave Wells with Key construction. Oh my word. Uh, [00:31:00] James Weeby.
And last but not least, Cheryl Wolfer.
Vera Bothner: I knew that. Well, I knew that was the last W coming. I love it. Our dear friend Cheryl, who our dear friend Cheryl, just I, I tell you and, and the incredible thing is there's so many other names that have come since then. Correct. That have been so incredible. And that is the great thing about Wichita.
That's a great thing about the Chamber. That's a great thing about just this community of people who care and all those names who have made. Such a difference. Well, at least
Don Sherman: 39 of the 40 have. So thank you for, uh, coming through, Vera. I just wanted to share that list with you. I mean, it's been, it was 1998.
I'm trying to do my math. Is that 23? No. 23 years ish.
Vera Bothner: 23 years.
Don Sherman: Yeah. So you set the tone. We're trying to, we're trying to keep up with you. Thank you for coming through. Truly appreciate you anytime. You already know
Vera Bothner: that though, so I, [00:32:00] I don, I will go anywhere you want me to go? Ooh
Don Sherman: sh That's our show for today.
Thank you, Vera, for coming through, for telling your unseen journey exclusively here on the WCBA. Friends, we drop a new episode every Wednesday morning, so don't forget to like us, love us, share us. So until next time, peace.
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Visit Wichita chamber.org for a list of the area leaders we've interviewed for this series. This show is part of the I CT podcast network. For more information, visit ICT pod.net.