DAN HENRY
On the surface of things, the success of 38-year-old Dan Henry, the president and COO of Euronet Worldwide, comes from "working hard on building an international company." In May 1994, Dan and his wife sold their house and cars, gave their dog away, and moved to Budapest, Hungary, to build an ATM network. Of course, before making such a big move, Dan did his homework. He and Euronet Worldwide partner, Mike Brown, made trips to Eastern Europe looking for business opportunities. "As free-market fundamentalists," says Dan," we thought the recently liberated communist countries might need some good, honest entrepre-neurs." They did indeed. Today, Euronet Worldwide is in 18 countries, has 556 employees, 5,000 ATMs under management, and had 2003 revenues of $200 million. Dan and his wife Diana, to whom he is "gleefully married," moved back to Kansas City in 1999. They have two children, Daniel, 6 and William, 4, and lots of frequent flyer miles.
SMITH HOLLAND, JR.
Smith Holland marked himself as unusual by earning a GPA overall of 3.9 and a GPA major of 4.0 while playing varsity football on a full athletic scholarship at the University of Kansas. After college, Smith, now 35, worked as an analyst at Hallmark and as senior financial analyst for Hallmark International. In between the two Hallmark jobs, he got his MBA from the prestigious Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and worked a couple of high-level executive positions elsewhere. He returned to Hallmark as vice-president, corporate finance. At Hallmark, Smith has been responsible for corporate financial planning and analysis, merger and acquisition activity, management of Hallmark's investment portfolio and has played a key role in a company-wide cost management initiative. Most important to Smith is "raising my children to enjoy life and pursue their passions in a way that makes positive contributions to society and their community." Smith and his wife, Tina, have three children: Jake 6, Audrey 3, and Claire just 1.
KEVIN KELLY
At 38, Kevin Kelly is living the American dream and supervising that same dream for the 4000 Ferrellgas employees who are part of the company's employee stock ownership plan. Kevin is senior vice-president and chief financial officer of Ferrellgas, the nation's leading propane supplier. He has worked with the Liberty-based company for the last eight years. This experience has given him "the opportunity to be part of a leadership team focused on growing and constantly improving his company." With Kelly's help, Ferrellgas has continued to grow through acquisitions and has continued to implement new technology focused on improving customer service and efficiencies. Still, as Kevin is quick to admit, "My family remains my proudest achievement." He's happily married to wife, Dianne. And he's the proud father of three children: Megan, 10; Ryan, 8; and Lauren, 6, all of whom are actively involved in their church. Kevin attributes the success that he has achieved in business to "the support I receive from my family."
MICHAEL KETCHMARK
Attorney Mike Ketchmark's burning ambition is to fight the good fight "for people who are in need of help." After five years of working for a large Kansas City defense firm, Mike started his own firm, Davis Ketchmark & McCreight, P.C. At 38, Mike has an enviable streak of record-breaking verdicts, including three of the top 20 verdicts in the State of Missouri in 1997. In 1998, Missouri Lawyers Weekly named Mike one of the top five "Up and Coming Lawyers." In the wake of the Robert Courtney affair, Mike helped established a team of other Kansas City law firms to hold the pharmacist accountable. Mike went on to obtain a $2.25 billion verdict against Courtney, on behalf of cancer patient Georgia Hayes--the second largest verdict in the nation that year. Mike's most significant accomplishment, however, is his terrific 15-year marriage to his wife, Susan and his two children, Steven and Chloe.
