2019 National Advisory Board Nominees RICK AUSTIN Rick Austin is Chairman and CEO of Austin Wealth Strategies, LLC. Rick is widely regarded as one of the top financial advisors in the country with 42 years of experience in designing integrated wealth strategies. He offers a proven process to achieve clients’ financial goals; a resource team of legal, accounting, taxation and risk management analysts; and access to the top insurance companies. Rick was chosen for select membership into The Nautilus Group, an exclusive, advanced planning team, and is a past member of its Board of Directors. His long-term affiliation with New York Life Insurance Company culminated in 2003 when he was named New York Life’s Council President. Rick serves as a member of New York Life’s Advisory Board, was elected to the Agent’s Advisory Council (AAC) and served as AAC’s past president. Rick’s industry recognitions include being a Life Member of the Million Dollar Roundtable, Top of the Table and member of the MPI Study Group. Prior to his career as a wealth advisor, Rick played professional baseball for nine years with the Cleveland Indians and the Milwaukee Brewers. A native of Tacoma, Washington, Rick is an alumnus of Washington State University. Rick’s son, Luke, joined Austin Wealth Strategies in 2005. He also has two daughters, Renee and Angie, as well as seven grandchildren.
KRIS BEUERLEIN Kris Beuerlein has been an active member of The National for 14 years and in 2018, she served her eighth year as an elected National Advisory Board Member. Kris grew up in Ohio and graduated college from The University of Toledo with a Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing. After graduation, she was a SICU nurse at Ohio State University for six years. In 1997, Kris moved to Kansas City and married her husband, Matt, that same year. She continued her nursing work at Liberty Hospital and Mid America Cardiology for several years until the birth of their first child, Jack, now age 19. Twins Sam and Emma are 17 years of age. Kris had her hands full with school programs and projects and volunteering with many community services. Most recently, Kris has partnered with a health and wellness company and continues to use her nursing skills on a part-time basis, helping people get their health back outside of a hospital setting.
TODD DOWNEY Todd Downey is a Founding Member of The National and served on the Advisory Board this past year. He has been a Parkville resident for 23 years and built a home at The National three years ago. Todd and his wife, Laurel, celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary this past summer. Todd is currently Vice President of Compensation and Benefits for Cerner Corporation where he has worked for 33 years. He has held various positions in finance and human resources throughout his career. An avid golfer and member of The National’s Kansas City Cup Team, Todd and his family participate in many events at the Club.
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JERRY FELKER Jerry Felker has served on The National Advisory Board in four different years, most recently in 2017. As one of the Club’s first members (and the very first homeowner on the south side), Jerry brought to the Board a great deal of experience and continuity. Originally from Nebraska, Jerry has lived in Parkville since 1991 and has seen huge growth in our area. He was a pharmacist for 35 years before retiring and proudly served 30 years in the Navy, in active and reserve duty, as a Combat Corpsman with the Marines. He served combat tours in both Vietnam and the Persian Gulf. Jerry was one of the three original organizers of The National’s Veterans Day Golf Tournament which celebrated its 15th year in 2018. He chaired the event the last two years. Jerry was also the Fundraising Chairman for the Folds of Honor event held at The National the past four years. He is one of the founding committee members, representing the VFW, for the Platte County Veterans’ Memorial, to be located in English Landing Park. He is a long-time member of the City of Parkville Ethics Committee (since 2009) and a four-year member of the Industrial Development Authority. Jerry currently serves as an officer at VFW Post 7356 and is Past Exalted Ruler of the Elks. Jerry and his wife, Gayle, have been married since 2000 and have one daughter, three sons and 10 grandchildren.
ADAM LABODA Adam LaBoda has been a Parkville and National resident for 10 years and an active member of The National Golf Club since 2010. As a partner at Spencer Fane LLP, Adam concentrates his practice in the areas of transactional and regulatory banking matters, including mergers and acquisitions, commercial lending and corporate trust. Adam received his undergraduate degree from the University of Iowa and his law degree from the University of Kansas Law School. He has been recognized by the Kansas City Business Journal’s “Best of the Bar” and the Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers Rising Star from 2009-2018. Adam is active in the Northland Regional Chamber of Commerce as well as the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce. Adam and his wife, Sarah, have a six-year-old son named Matt.
MICHAEL LETZIG Michael Letzig has played professional golf for the past 15 years, including five years at the highest level on the PGA Tour. As a professional golfer, he has had the opportunity and privilege to travel across the globe and has visited and played at some of the best golf courses in the world. Throughout the PGA tour, Michael and his wife, Holly, were able to give back each week to local charities in the cities they visited. They have a passion for the GO Project and helping local families in need. At each club and course he visits, Michael sees how they host and present themselves. His hope is to bring some of what he has observed and experienced to The National Golf Club as a member of the 2019 Advisory Board. Michael has lived in Kansas City for most of his life and now resides in Parkville on The Deuce Golf Course with Holly and their two children, George and Raleigh.
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2019 National Advisory Board Nominees (continued) JOE MANDACINA Joe Mandacina spent 27 years at the Sprint Corporation working in various executive positions in Corporation Communications, Marketing, Business Development, Finance and General Management before leaving in 2015. Always having an entrepreneurial spirit, in 2007 Joe successfully acquired a multi-million dollar specialty retailer of outdoor/casual furniture and holiday merchandise with stores in three states. Joe has served as President and CEO of Seasonal Concepts since the acquisition and has re-invented the retail business model. Beginning January 2019, Joe will join Cerner Corporation where he will be reporting to the CEO and lead the Communications organization. Joe has had the opportunity to play over 30 of the top 100 golf courses in the US including Pebble Beach, Cypress Point, Muirfield Village, Oakmont, Pinehurst and many more of this nation’s most prestigious country clubs. He was a member of The National Advisory Board in 2018 and continues to be civically active. He graduated with honors from Rockhurst University and successfully completed the Duke University Executive Leadership Program.
GAIL MICHELS Gail Michaels has been a member and resident of The National since 2005 and was elected to serve on the 2018 National Advisory Board. She worked in business development with the Cerner Corporation for 23 years in a variety of capacities. During her last several years with the company, Gail handled corporate relations for the organization’s largest, most complex clientele. Gail retired in 2009 so that she would have more time to spend with family, to travel and to volunteer within the community. Retirement also allowed Gail more time for golf — one of her true passions. Gail is very active in The National’s Ladies Golf Association, serving as both past Treasurer and President.
BRYAN RISLEY Bryan Risley has been a member of The National since he moved to Kansas City in 2007. Shortly after building their house at The National, Bryan and Shelley welcomed their daughter, Sydney. Bryan has been a three-time Captain for The National’s KC Cup team and was most recently the ViceCaptain for 2017. He has also led The National’s North/South tournament since its inception in 2010. Bryan is the President and Owner of a rep agency specializing in medical and surgical sales focused in the Women’s Health Care space. Prior to starting his own business, Bryan held multiple managements positions at Philips and GE.
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2019 National Advisory Board Nominees (continued) MICHAEL ROYLE As a founding member in 1998, Michael Royle has been an advisor to the Club since its inception. In fact, he negotiated the contracts with Tom Watson when the course was developed. Michael has practiced law for 35 years and is a partner at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP which employs 1300+ lawyers from all over the world. Based at the firm’s downtown Kansas City location, Michael represents regional, national and international clientele in a wide spectrum of negotiations, acquisitions and transactions. Professional affiliations include membership in the American Bar Association, Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association and the Missouri Bar. Michael was recognized by peer review as one of The Best Lawyers in America. Selection is based on a peer-review survey in which leading attorneys cast more than 5.5 million votes on the legal abilities of other lawyers in their practice areas. Michael and his wife, Gwen, have lived at The National (and enjoyed it ) for 18 years. Michael and Gwen celebrated 25 years of marriage in 2016. They have three children: Michelle, Zack and Adele.
COL (Ret.) JACK SHAFFERMAN Jack Shafferman and his wife, Barbara, have been residents and members of The National Golf Club for four years. Jack is 36-year Veteran with the Army Corps of Engineers and has served as a Facilities Engineer, Construction Engineer and Contract Engineer. During his last five years of military service, he served three tours to Iraq/Afghanistan as the Base Support Engineer. As the Engineer principal, Jack provided general and civil engineer advice for the construction of 10 support bases. Presently Jack is the CFO/Supervising Engineer for Patriot Outreach, a non-profit organization which provides direct assistance to our Armed Forces, Veterans, retirees, first responders, and their families (Patriots). The organization also delivers resources to combat stress and PTSD to help reduce the suicide rate among our Warriors and first responders. Jack has a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from Frostburg University and a Master’s in Administration from Central Michigan University. Serving as a military ambassador at The National Golf Club, Jack has initiated an ambassador program to promote awareness and advocacy with the military and their families … most recently with the “Kids Who Cook” program.
RAY SILVEY Ray Silvey has been a member of The National Golf Club since 2000. He and his wife, Arlyn, were named National Ambassadors in the early stages of the Club’s opening and have remained steadfast supporters of the Club. After 30 years with Dairy Farmers of America as Senior Vice President in Human Resources and Labor Relations, Ray started a consulting firm (Ray Silvey & Associates, Inc.) to assist organizations with labor relations, employee benefits and management training/development as well as compliance issues with regulatory agencies. Ray then took on the role of Vice President in Labor Relations and Human Resources with Prairie Farms Dairy where he has been since 2006. Although Ray is retiring, he will continue to serve Prairie Farms in an advisory capacity. Ray’s background also includes teaching business courses for several years at both Missouri State University and Drury College in Springfield, Missouri.
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MIKE SOBBA Mike Sobba is President of Strunk, LLC, an Atlanta based consulting company that does business with community banks and credit unions across the country. Prior to going to work at Strunk in 2000, Mike worked at Commerce Bank in Kansas City. He graduated from the University of Kansas in 1984 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business. He later graduated from National Commercial Lending School at the University of Oklahoma and the Graduate School of Banking at the University of Wisconsin. Mike and his wife, Debbie, have lived in Parkville since 1992 and have been members of The National Golf Club since March 2000, before the course was open for play. Mike was elected to serve on The National Advisory Board in 2016, 2017 and 2018. Mike and Debbie have two sons, Chris (wife Erica) in Houston and Nick, who graduated from the University of Missouri in May 2018 and now works for Cerner.
RYAN SPRINGER Ryan Springer, born and raised in Independence, Kansas, learned the game of golf at an early age from his grandfather. Ryan played two years of golf at Butler County Community College in El Dorado, Kansas and went on to get his BS Degree in Business Administration/Finance and Marketing from Kansas State University. After graduation in May 1997, Ryan worked at Bartlett and Company, a grain merchandising firm in the Kansas City Board of Trade. From there, he pursued his interest in investments and became a Financial Advisor. As a Financial Advisor with Edward Jones since 1998, with his office in Briarcliff, Ryan works to develop tailored financial strategies and oversee the finances and investments for clients throughout the United States. Ryan has established himself as a financial advisor who genuinely strives to understand what is most important to his clients. He uses an established process to build personalized strategies to help his clients achieve their goals and partners together throughout their lives to help keep them on track. Ryan has lived in Parkville since 2005. He and his son, Nick, live in the Monticello neighborhood and have been members of The National since 2012.
ANDY STALEY Andy Staley and her husband, John, are founding members of The National Golf Club and have been residents at The National for 18 years. Andy worked in the retail grocery industry for 41 years, retiring from Balls Foods in 2006 as Store Director of the Tremont Hen House. During those 41 years, Andy was able to achieve many “firsts.” While at Milgram’s, she was the first female Store Director. When she moved to Balls, she became the first female Price Chopper Store Director in Kansas City. She says that it’s always fun “going where no woman had gone before!” Five years ago, Andy returned to work at Balls Foods on a part-time basis and now works for the company in human resources as a Recruiting, Hiring and Training Specialist, a fulfilling experience helping others achieve goals in their own careers. Andy has served on many boards and has been President of The National Ladies’ Golf League, Chairman of the Synergy Board and President of the Kansas City Chapter of Executive Women International. Recently she has been focusing her attention on organ donation awareness, working with Gift of Life and Team MO-KAN Transplant Games of America. Andy and John have three children: Kerry (husband Ed), Craig (wife Koby) and Eric (wife Krissy) plus four grandchildren: Brandon (wife Samm), Kamryn, Jordan and Travis. And, of course, Tiffany (the Yorkie) who runs the Staley house!
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2019 National Advisory Board Nominees (continued) TERRY YOUNGHANZ Terry Younghanz has 40+ years of management and leadership experience in the property and casualty insurance industry. He held a variety of positions including President of Alta Risk, LLC; Chairman, President and CEO of Rockhill Insurance Company; and Senior Vice President of Underwriting for GE Commercial Insurance Group, to name but a few. Terry received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Economics from Missouri Western College and his MBA from Rockhurst College. His background includes military service in the US Army as well as serving in the Kansas National Guard. As an active National member for almost 20 years, Terry looks forward to bringing perspective and experience to the 2019 Advisory Board and hopes to have the opportunity to serve the Club in this capacity.
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