Henry Service: As the owner of the Historic Lincoln Building, Henry has invested his own funds in upgrades and improvements to the building since he bought it in 2017.
Henry is an attorney who has gained a wide variety of experiences in the areas of law and government regulation. His experiences include work as an Assistant District Attorney on a busy Criminal and Child in Need of Care (CINC) docket. He served as one of only a few members of a Written Discovery Response Team in a very large corporate law firm, focused on tobacco litigation. Recently, Henry has worked performing long-term care regulation, implementing the federal Life Safety Code, using specific State Operations Manuals (SOM), conducting complex legal research, and coordinating Mandatory Continuing Legal Education (MCLE).
Meticulously organized, detail-oriented, and dedicated to his work, Henry has a proven track record of success conducting legal research, analysis, government regulation, mediation, trial preparation, and document drafting. He has unique abilities to logically and effectively find and analyze statutes, ordinances, case law, and factual data. On principle, Henry has worked diligently to provide expanded access to excellent law services for clients for whom a $350 hourly rate is beyond what they can afford. His ability to be concise, complete, logical, objective and persuasive in both written and oral communications has served him throughout his professional journey.
Resourceful and entrepreneurial, Henry has an innate talent for anticipating and evaluating issues, completing projects that produce professional results, and adhering to deadlines and budgets.
Enam Haddad: Enam is an entrepreneur, facilitator and ecosystem builder. She has more than 10 years of experience in operations management, stakeholder management, content curation and educational program development and management.
She has experience with both government and private institutions. Enam also has more than five years of experience in hospitality management both in the United States and abroad. Since moving to Kansas City, Enam has connected to the Entrepreneur community and resources. Prior to moving to Kansas City, Enam was the Program Lead for the U.S. Department of State sponsored program TechWomen, which was operated by the educational non-profit Institute of International Education (IIE). One of Enam’s main responsibilities for the program was to recruit and vet more than 500 female mentors from top tech companies in Silicon Valley. She facilitated the mentor matching process, as well as curated programming for 500 Female founders from around the world, who participate in TechWomen every year.
Enam is an active member of the KC Coworking Alliance (KCCA) and founder of FlexPlay, the first coworking-space-with-childcare concept in Kansas City.
Steff Hedenkamp: Steff is an entrepreneurial program management and public affairs professional with 20 years of experience in communications and ecosystem strategy, stakeholder engagement and community involvement, and fund development. Steff guides public- and private-sector clients to plan and implement actionable approaches to reach target audiences, shepherd engagement approaches, develop outreach and brand strategy, and cultivate strong, trust-based relationships.
She is a creative catalyst who works collaboratively toward idea adoption, as well as increasing awareness, promoting understanding, extending and enhancing internal and external dialogue, and fostering consensus and results. Steff reliably manages large-scale strategic efforts, including but not limited to, communications and civic engagement, relationship building, media relations, writing, editing, and project and program management for a wide variety of client teams.
In 2018, she helped to launch Bridge Space (https://bridgespace.us), a 14,000 sq. ft coworking space and entrepreneur incubator, which occupies a restored 1962 post office in downtown Lee’s Summit, Missouri. She collaborated to develop the workflows, processes, and voice of this new brand devoted to accelerating the advancement of entrepreneurs, serving as a new hub to connect entrepreneurs to business success, and creating a robust entrepreneurial ecosystem. Bridge Space is a place where startups and mature companies find a shared environment for innovation, mutual success, support, and advancement. Steff served as a Strategic Program Advisor & Communications Manager for Bridge Space, which received the Missouri Alliance for Historic Preservation’s “Preserve Missouri Award” in 2019. Steff is owner and President of Red Quill Communications, Inc., (https://redquill.com), a certified WBE.
Bob Koester: Financial services professional with more than 30 years of experience in turnaround, cash flow management, bankruptcy, real estate property management, personal property liquidations, and other troubled company matters. Bob brings his extensive banking experience and strong expertise with family businesses to bear.
His industrial experience includes, but is not limited to, commercial real estate management including receiverships, construction, manufacturing, wholesale and distribution. Bob is successful as an expert witness including a directed verdict in a Florida case. His specialties involve improved A/R policies, procedures, and performance; pre-bankruptcy management; in-chapter bankruptcy management; asset dispersal; liquidating agent and receivership services.
After founding Nicholson General Contracting (https://www.nicholsongeneralcontracting.com/) in 2011 with tools he only had in his garage, Chris Nicholson knew he had much more than a dream on his hands. He started with a contract to start renovating homes, which instilled in him greater confidence in his abilities. Since September 2017, Chris has managed and grown his business with his wife, Shawniece Nicholson, who left her work of 10 years in the banking industry to support Chris’ dream and to help where the load became heavy.
In their first year as a team on the business, Chris and Shawniece were hired to help renovate an apartment building with more than 220 units. From new flooring and paint, to infrastructure updates and bringing the building up to code for the owner and its residents, Chris and Shawniece got the job done with professionalism and excellence. Together, they have gathered a team of hard-working contractors with whom they work side-by-side to become masters in the field. They have navigated the complexities of getting their business licensed and insured, as well as growing their company.
Their passion for Nicholson General Contracting has become their peace. For Chris and Shawniece, they see the sky as the limit for their business. On the residential side of the business, Nicholson General Contracting has remodeled more than 250 homes, and they love providing master work in their clients’ homes and buildings. In addition, the Nicholsons have expanded into commercial updates and remodels. Their specialty is to make sure their clients are very happy with the quality, affordable work they provide. The mission driving the day at this minority-owned firm is “Building the Future, Restoring the Past.”