(From the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame)
Former Missouri State University standout and World Series winner Ryan Howard along with a host of the state’s most influential sports figures will be inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame during its Enshrinement Ceremonies presented by Killian Construction.
President and Executive Director Jerald Andrews announced the Class of 2019 on Wednesday. It also features Kansas City Chiefs receiver Carlos Carson, Kansas City Royals and St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Jeff Suppan and University of Missouri tight end Chase Coffman. Heart of America Beverage Company will be bestowed the John Q. Hammons Founder’s Award, and Bryan Magers of Bryan Properties will be honored with the President’s Award.
The event is Sunday, January 27 in Springfield. Associate sponsors are Advertising Plus, Bryan Properties, Great Southern Bank, Hiland Dairy Foods and Hillyard, Inc. Festivities begin with an 11 a.m. reception presented by Reliable Toyota at the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame. The remainder of events are at the University Plaza Hotel & Convention Center, with a 4 p.m. reception followed by a 5 p.m. dinner and ceremony.
Sponsorship tables of 10 are $1,500 and include an autographed poster (a rendering by renowned artist Dayne Dudley), recognition in the printed program and at the table. Individual tickets are $150. Numerous other sponsorship opportunities are available, including congratulatory ads, trading cards and 20-month calendars. Call the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame at 417-889-3100.
The Class of 2019 features:
- Ryan Howard, a baseball star for MSU and the Phillies
- Carlos Carson, a star receiver of the Chiefs’ 1980s teams
- Jeff Suppan, who helped pitch the Cardinals to two World Series after pitching for the Royals
- Chase Coffman, the most prolific pass-catching tight end in Mizzou history
- Alan Cockrell, a Joplin native who QB’d the Tennessee Volunteers and was a big-league player and coach
- The Drury Family, a champion of outdoors who host and produce multiple television programs
- Cris Barnthouse, a former Head Team Physician of the Kansas City Chiefs
- The Sandbothe Family of Washington features 7 siblings who attended college on athletic scholarships
- Troy Major, a nationally recognized shotgun sports champion
- Rod Smith, the longtime Sports Director of KRCG-TV 13 in Jefferson City
- Mark Fisher, a longtime basketball coach and sports administrator
- Joyce Mahoney, a standout in the sport of golf and a women’s sports advocate
- Kip Janvrin, a co-head coach of the University of Central Missouri Track & Field teams and an Olympian
- Kirk Pedersen, a co-head coach of the UCM Track & Field teams and coach of UCM cross country teams
- Kelly Donohoe, the football coach of Blue Springs High School
- Steve Hunter, a longtime high school basketball coach at Ozark High School
- Ray Wageman, a record-setting triathlete from age 50 to age 83 who will be inducted posthumously
- Berkeley/McCluer South Berkeley High School Boys and Girls Track & Field Programs
- West Plains High School Boys and Girls Cross Country Programs
- Heart of America Beverage Company – the John Q. Hammons Founder’s Award
- Bryan Magers – President’s Award
Ryan Howard – Lafayette High School, Missouri State University & Philadelphia Phillies
A graduate of St. Louis’ Lafayette High School, Howard vaulted from little-known baseball recruit to a star at Missouri State University before enjoying 13 seasons in the big leagues – all with the Philadelphia Phillies. A fifth-round draft pick of the Phillies in 2001, he led the Phillies to World Series in 2008 and 2009, with the 2008 team winning it all. Along the way, Howard earned the 2005 National League Rookie of the Year and, in 2006, earned NL Most Valuable Player, the NL Hank Aaron Award, a Silver Slugger Award and was voted MVP of the 2009 NL Championship Series. Six times he finished in the Top 10 voting of NL MVP voting. Twice he led the NL in home runs (58 in 2006, 48 in 2008) and also led the circuit in runs batted in three times (149 in 2006, 146 in 2008, 141 in 2009). Overall, he finished with 1,475 hits, 382 home runs and 1,194 RBI. Howard played for MSU from 1999 to 2001, earning Missouri Valley Conference Rookie of the Year and later finishing his career among the Bears’ all-time Top 10 in seven offensive categories. MSU has since retired his No. 6 jersey.
Carlos Carson – Kansas City Chiefs
Carson was a standout receiver over 10 seasons with the Chiefs from 1980 to 1989 after being a fifth-round draft pick out of Louisiana State University. He hauled in an incredible 6,360 yards receiving – fifth-most in Chiefs history – and holds the franchise record for yards per catch (18.1), plus scored 33 touchdowns. His career season came in 1983, when he caught 80 catches for 1,351 yards and seven touchdowns, all career-best numbers. Along the way, Carson was a two-time All-Pro selection by the United Press International (1983, 1987), as he finished with the second- and fourth-most yards receiving in the National Football League. Carson, who was selected as part of the Chiefs’ 40th anniversary team as chosen by then-owner Lamar Hunt, has since been inducted into the Chiefs Hall of Fame and is only the third receiver to be included on the team’s ring of honor at Arrowhead Stadium. At LSU, Carson caught 89 passes for 1,728 yards and 14 touchdowns in three seasons.
Jeff Suppan – St. Louis Cardinals & Kansas City Royals
Suppan pitched 17 seasons in Major League Baseball and made a significant impact for the Show-Me State’s two big-league franchises. The right-hander pitched for the St. Louis Cardinals (2004-2006, 2010), helping the Cardinals to two World Series and three consecutive NLCS. With the Cardinals, he earned 47 wins, including 16 in both the 2004 NL pennant-winning season and in 2005, when the club returned to the NLCS. Suppan also was a 12-game winner on the Cardinals’ 2006 World Series championship team. He was voted the NLCS Most Valuable Player that October as he pitched 15 innings in the series and allowed only one earned run. He previously pitched for the Kansas City Royals from 1999 to 2002, winning 39 games, including 10 in each of his first three seasons. Overall, Suppan was a second-round draft pick of the Boston Red Sox in 1993 after he graduated from Crespi Carmelite High School in California and finished his career with 140 wins. He pitched for Boston (1995-1997, 2003), Arizona Diamondbacks (1998), Pittsburgh Pirates (2003), Milwaukee Brewers (2008-2010) and San Diego Padres (2012).
Chase Coffman – Raymore-Peculiar High School, University of Missouri & NFL
A graduate of Raymore-Peculiar High School in Kansas City, Chase Coffman became the most prolific pass-catching tight end in the history of University of Missouri football from 2005 to 2008. As a senior, he earned consensus First Team All-American honors and received the John Mackey Award, given to the country’s best tight end, making Coffman the first Tiger ever to win a national individual award specific to a position. That season, he caught 90 passes for 987 yards and 10 touchdowns despite missing two games due to injury. He left as the Tigers’ career leader in catches (247) and touchdown catches (30), all while finishing with 2,659 receiving yards – third-most in program history. At the time, his 247 career receptions stood as the NCAA career record for tight ends. Coffman was also a three-time All-Big 12 conference selection, including first team honors in 2006 and 2008. He also earned First Team Freshman All-American honors in 2005. In the 2009 NFL Draft, the Cincinnati Bengals took Coffman with the 98th overall pick. He played eight seasons in the NFL with the Bengals, Atlanta Falcons, Tennessee Titans, Seattle Seahawks, Indianapolis Colts and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. At Raymore-Peculiar, Coffman was a three-time All-State selection (2002, 2003, 2004) and helped the team to an undefeated, Class 5 state championship in 2004.
Alan Cockrell – Joplin High School, University of Tennessee & MLB
Cockrell quarterbacked Joplin Parkwood High School to a 1980 state championship, was a three-year starting quarterback for the University of Tennessee – where he also was an All-American baseball player – and later became a big-leaguer with the Colorado Rockies. Since 1999, he has served as a coach for MLB organizations. He recently spent three years (2015-2017) on the New York Yankees staff, including two years as hitting coach. He was previously the roving hitting coordinator for the Arizona Diamondbacks (2011-2013), hitting coach for the Rockies (2002, 2007-2008) and Seattle Mariners (2009-2010). At Tennessee, he was the first freshman ever to start at quarterback and later led the Volunteers to a Citrus Bowl victory. Cockrell, who in 2009 was named to Tennessee’s All-Century baseball team, was the ninth overall selection of the San Francisco Giants in the 1984 MLB Draft. He played in 1,414 minor league games and made his big-league debut in 1996.
Drury Family – Outdoor Television and Media Production
For 30 years, Missouri-based Drury Outdoors (DOD) has existed to bring compelling and practical knowledge and tactics to the hunting community. It started with brothers Mark and Terry Drury’s VHS turkey feature titled “King of the Spring” in 1989. The overwhelming success led them to produce a hunting library consisting of over 115 story-driven VHS and DVD features primarily showcasing whitetail and turkey, but also including other big game and predator pursuits. In the early 2000s, DOD entered television and has expanded its outreach to equip hunters through four TV shows. True to their family focus, during this phase of DOD, Terry’s son, Matt, and Mark’s daughter, Taylor, have both risen to prominence in front of and behind the camera. Today, their social media fanbase is one of the biggest in the outdoor media industry. In August 2018, DOD launched a revolutionary deer movement forecasting mobile app called DeerCast. The DOD family’s commitment to helping hunters become more proficient is in their DNA and showcases the best of Missouri’s incredible natural resources.
Dr. Cris Barnthouse – Sports Medicine
Dr. Cris Barnthouse has been one of the state’s leaders in sports medicine, with 29 years working with the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League. With the Chiefs, Barnthouse was an integral part of the franchise’s physicians team with longtime Head Team Physician Dr. Jon Browne (MSHOF 2017) and ultimately was promoted to Head Team Physician. A Winfield, Kansas native and graduate of University of Kansas Medical School, Dr. Barnthouse completed his orthopaedic training at the University of Kansas Medical Center in 1986 after playing for the Jayhawks basketball team and earning academic All-American honors. He completed a fellowship in sports medicine through Harvard University at Massachusetts General in 1987 and now is board certified by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery, and a fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgery. He is Co-Director of the Orthopaedic Sports Medicine Fellowship Program at the University of Missouri-Kansas City with Dr. Browne.
Sandbothe Family of Washington
The Sandbothe Family of Washington — siblings Scott, Steve, Robin, Mark, Mike, Lori and Lisa – all went to college on athletic scholarships. Their parents, Louis and Wanda “Nellie” (Parker), were Vienna High School basketball standouts, and Louis played at the University of Central Missouri. Mike (1986-1989), Lori (1988-1990) and Lisa (1987-1991) played for the University of Missouri after earning All-State for Washington High School, with Lisa and Lori each honored as Miss Show-Me Basketball. Scott and Steve played at East Central Junior College and then Missouri S&T and Benedictine College, respectively. Robin, who set the state’s prep discus record, played basketball at several colleges. Mark earned All-State and played at East Central. At Mizzou, Mike ranks seventh all-time in steals (172), eighth in assists (380) and 10th in minutes played (3,647). He later played in the Continental Basketball Association and in Japan. Lori played at Moberly Junior College and Mizzou. Lisa was a three-time All-State selection and, at Mizzou, is No. 3 all-time in blocked shots (143) and 10th with 288 rebounds. She was a two-time All-Big Eight Conference selection (1990, 1991) and played for the WNBA’s St. Louis River Queens. Several of their children are also college standouts, and Mike’s wife, Teri (LeBlanc), is an inductee into the Mizzou Athletics Hall of Fame as a four-time NCAA All-American track star (1986-1989) and 1988 U.S. Olympic Trials qualifier.
Dr. Troy Major – Nationally Recognized Shotgun Sports Champion
One of the nation’s top shotgun sports champions lives right here in the Missouri Ozarks. Dr. Troy Major, a graduate of Springfield’s Parkview High School and Drury University, has risen to the top in the sport. He was named an All-American in 2001 and 2003 by the Sporting Clays Association. Additionally, he has competed for the Missouri State Open Team, which features the four best shooters in the state. Major, who has enjoyed sporting clays and skeet shooting since his youth, has turned in perfect 100 scores some 20 times at the Ozarks Shooters Complex in Walnut Shade, an elite sporting clays complex about halfway between Springfield and Branson. His family also are shooters. Son Bryan is a Master Class sporting clays shooter, while Troy Major III is experienced in pistol, rifle and shotgun shooting while Dr. Major’s wife, Jean Suzanne, also has experience with shooting.
Rod Smith – Sports Director of KRCG-TV Jefferson City
Smith has delivered sports news on KRCG-TV 13 for three decades, a career in which he has covered the St. Louis Rams’ two Super Bowls and the St. Louis Cardinals’ and Kansas City Royals’ World Series runs along with University of Missouri athletics. His Mizzou coverage includes football bowl games and Southeastern Conference and Big 12 Championship games in addition to Tigers Basketball in NCAA Tournaments. His coverage of local high school sports on KRCG’s football Friday night and basketball Tuesday and Friday nights is among the best in the Midwest, and he may be best known in the Midwest for “Rod’s Big Ol’ Fish!,” a segment dedicated to presenting the catches of anglers from across the region. Smith stays active serving as emcee of many fundraisers, including the Mid-Missouri Heart Association Heart Ball, the American Cancer Society Relay for Life, United Cerebral Palsy’s “Wing Ding” and “Deal or No Deal,” along with annual YMCA and Samaritan Center benefit auctions and events supporting Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Young Life and Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. A Naperville, Illinois native, he is a graduate of Oral Roberts University.
Mark Fisher – Basketball Coach & Sports Administrator
A graduate of Northwest Missouri State University, Fisher served as the athletic director of Springfield Public Schools (2003-2014) with supervision of more than 300 employees across five high schools and nine middle schools. He was also director of the Bass Pro Tournament of Champions, which features top basketball prospects during a January weekend tournament that draws roughly 25,000 fans. He also led a $3.5 million fundraising effort that led to facilities improvements in the 2012-2013 school year. He is now in his fourth year at Drury University, where he added wrestling and women’s bowling to Drury’s NCAA Division II sports department and welcomed shooting sports and STUNT (a cheer competition) as non-NCAA sports. The moves have grown student-athlete enrollment from 285 to 451. Fisher began as a high school boys basketball coach, first at Stanberry (1981-1986), Owensville (1986-1989) and Springfield’s Greenwood Laboratory (1989 to 2003). He guided Greenwood to a 1991 state runner-up finish, won 58 games at Owensville and guided Stanberry’s girls track and field team to a 1982 state championship. He is a 2015 Springfield Area Sports Hall of Fame inductee and, in 2017, was honored by the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association with the Gary Filbert Award for his lifetime of work.
Joyce Mahoney – Golf & Women’s Sports Advocate
Mahoney certainly made a name for herself in golf. Known for her short game, she won 18 Springfield Area Women’s Golf Association Championships, with her first in 1979 and her last in 2001 at age 71. That was part of a career in which Mahoney was a 1975 finalist and 1978 runner-up in the Missouri State Amateur. She also won the Missouri State Senior Championship in 1980 through 1984 and the Hickory Hills Club Championship 10 times. Other victories include the Highland Springs Country Club Championship in 1990. Mahoney also placed third in the National Senior Olympics in 1988 and has left quite a legacy, including as a founding inductee of the Ozarks Golf Hall of Fame in 2002. Just before moving to Springfield from Michigan, she won the Spring Lake State Tournament championship in 1968. Mahoney, who is a member of Hickory Hills Country Club in Springfield, also has been an advocate of women’s sports throughout her life.
Kip Janvrin & Kirk Pedersen — University of Central Missouri Co-Head Coaches of Track & Field, Cross Country
Janvrin, a U.S. Olympian, and Pedersen have coached at Central Missouri for 30 and 32 years, respectively, with enormous success and have served as UCM’s co-head coaches in track and field for 23 seasons. The pinnacle came in 2015 as they guided Central Missouri to its first NCAA Division II national championship in women’s track and field, which won both the Indoor and Outdoor Championships that academic year. The coaching tandem also has produced 15 MIAA men’s and five MIAA women’s indoor championships, 12 MIAA men’s outdoor titles and three Jennies outdoor conference championships. In 2002 and 2015, Janvrin and Pedersen were named United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) National Indoor Coaches of the Year and the 2015 National Outdoor Coaches of the Year. In the past 12 years, the duo has garnered 15 MIAA Indoor Coach of the Year awards, adding 11 more Coach of the Year honors for the outdoor season. In 2017, Pedersen won the Jimmy Carnes Distinguished Service Award from the United States Track and Field Cross Country Coaches Association, as he has coached UCM cross country. Both coaches are graduates of Simpson College (Iowa).
- Janvrin is in his 23rd year as co-head coach and works primarily with UCM sprinters, hurdlers and multi-event athletes. Jarvin also won the 1989 U.S. Olympic Festival, the 1995 Pan Am Games and the 2001 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships. He earned a spot on the 2000 U.S. Olympic Team and is the world record holder for most career decathlon wins (41) and the American record holder for the most career decathlons over 8,000 points (26). He is an inductee of the Drake Relays Hall of Fame.
- Pedersen has guided the Mules’ cross country team to 11 MIAA championships in the past 24 years, with 11 consecutive To 25 finishes (from 1996-2007) at the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships. He also led the Jennies cross country program to three MIAA championships and has earned MIAA Cross Country Coach of the Year honors 13 times. In college, he was five-time NCAA Division III All-American and won the 800 meter indoors his senior year.
Kelly Donohoe – Blue Springs High School Football Coach
Donohoe has been one of the state’s most successful prep coaches since the turn of the century. In his 18 seasons as head coach of Blue Springs High School since the year 2000, Donohoe is 210-55 and has led the Wildcats to seven state championship games, with four state championship seasons (2001, 2003, 2012 and 2013). His 2001 and 2013 teams both finished 14-0, while the 2003 team finished 13-0, and the 2012 went 13-1. His 2009, 2016 and 2017 were state runners-up. Additionally, his teams have advanced to one other state semifinal (2018) and seven other state quarterfinal appearances (2002, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2014, 2015). Donohoe is a 1986 graduate of Harrisonville High School and was quarterback at the University of Kansas from 1986 to 1989. He was an assistant coach for Blue Springs South High School (1993 to 1996) before serving as head coach of Raytown South High School (1997-1999). He took over athletic director duties at Blue Springs in 2017.
Steve Hunter – Basketball Coach
Hunter was 536-254 as a high school boys basketball coach, a career covering 28 seasons and the states of Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas. He took three Missouri boys basketball teams – West Plains, Hartville and Ozark – to a combined six Final Fours within a 10-year period. In 15 seasons coaching Ozark (1999 to 2013), Hunter’s Tigers earned 280 wins, including a Class 4 state championship in 2003, three other Final Four appearances (2001, 2004, 2006), six district championships and five Greenwood Blue and Gold Tournament titles. Upon his final year at Ozark, his 64 wins in the Blue and Gold were the most in the 72-year history of Springfield’s prestigious holiday event. He previously guided West Plains to a Class 4 state runner-up in 1996 and Hartville to a third-place finish in Class 2 in 1998. Hunter, who was named the Missouri Coach of the Year in 1996 and 2003, was inducted into the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2009. Meanwhile, the 2018-2019 basketball season marked his fifth at North Arkansas College in Harrison, where he began this season with an 85-40 (.680) record. Hunter was an all-conference basketball and baseball player at Glendale High School in Springfield before he attended John Brown University and graduated from Lubbock Christian College in Texas in 1982.
Ray Wageman – Triathlon Champion
Wageman will be inducted posthumously for a career as a triathlete. A military veteran and the longtime district manager of The Springfield News & Press, he completed 101 triathlons between ages 58 and 83, and won 397 multiple sport events from 1980 to 2005 in world, national, regional, state and local competitions. His history-making win came at the 1989 World Championships for the 65-and-older age group, as it marked the first world title in the developing sport of triathlon and helped pave the way for the sport’s inclusion into the 2000 Olympics. Among other accomplishments were the 65-and-older gold medal of the 1992 Halifax, Canada Atlantic Games and 15 records set in cycling, swimming and triathlon at the Missouri State Senior Games, plus three triathlon records at the National Senior Games Association. He also was named to the U.S. Tri-Fed Association’s All-American Team seven consecutive years and was on USA Triathlon’s list of “Notable Athletes” from 1983 to 1989. Overall, he biked almost 44,700 miles, ran 5,019 miles and swam 1,101 miles. Wageman passed away in 2014 at age 89.
Berkeley/McCluer South Berkeley Boys and Girls Track and Field Programs
The Berkeley/McCluer South Berkeley High School Track and Field Programs, also known as Relay U, have combined to win 28 state team championships between 1982 and 2017, with the teams winning it all at the same time on six occasions. They’ve combined for 106 state champions relay titles. The boys have won 16 state titles. covering 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2008, 2015. The boys program has produced 122 individual state champions, 59 state championship relay teams, 27 All-Americans and a two-time Olympian in Mike Rodgers (2012, 2016). Some 101 athletes have received college scholarships. Under coach Rod Staggs (MSHOF 2017), the team won 14 state titles and a state record 564 state medals. The girls won it all in 1982, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995, 2002, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2016 and 2017. The girls saw 94 individual state champions, 47 state title relay teams and an All-American, with Alishea Usery winning 16 gold state medals alone. Keith Rhodes helped the programs win several titles as an assistant and later the head coach.
West Plains High School Boys & Girls Cross Country Programs
The most successful high school cross country programs in Missouri belong to West Plains High School, as longtime coach Joe Bill Dixon (MSHOF 2001) has guided the boys team to 41 consecutive trips to the state meet — and won it all some 13 times along with 12 state runner-up finishes. The championships cover 1979, 1981, 1984, 1985, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1994, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2008. The 2017 team came within six points of winning it all. Meanwhile, the girls program has been right there, too, advancing to 38 state meets – 34 consecutive – and have won 12 state championships. The girls won it 1985, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2008. They also placed as the state runner-up nine times, falling short of titles by only six points in 1986 and five points in 2005. State champions were Chris Zinn (1981-1983), Jon Hatley (1985), Lisa Brown, Sean Carlson (1993), Jason Sandfort (2000), Jennifer Harper (2004) and Brittani Johnson (2005, 2006).
Heart of America Beverage Company – Founders Award
The Heart of America Beverage Company will be presented the 2019 John Q. Hammons Founders Award, which is bestowed annually to a corporate entity that throws its support behind the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, a not-for-profit organization. HOA has been a corporate sponsor of both the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame and lead sponsor of the PGA Web.com Tour’s Price Cutter Charity Championship presented by Dr Pepper. The company’s roots date to 1978 when Jim Ferguson launched Coors of the Ozarks in Springfield and 13 surrounding counties. It remains the last original Coors distributor in Missouri, with Ferguson still its President. The company, which has greatly expanded to 225 workers and covers 26 counties, operated earlier as the Clear Creek Distributing Company, the Beer Company LLC and, in 2008, changed its name to Heart of America Beverage Company. It has won numerous awards, including 11 Excellence Awards from Coors, four President’s Awards from MillerCoors and, in 2003, the Founders Award – the highest honor Coors Brewing Company gives for its National Distributor of the Year. In 2017, Ferguson was named a MillerCoors Legend, a select group of long-time distributors who are recognized for their leadership, commitment, investment and perseverance in building the MillerCoors system.
Bryan Magers – President’s Award
The Hall of Fame will bestow its President’s Award on Bryan Magers, who as the longtime owner and founder of Springfield-based Bryan Properties has become one of the state’s most recognized entrepreneurs and certainly one of its most prolific student-housing developers. The President’s Award recognizes an individual who champions sports in the state and especially the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, a not-for-profit organization. Magers has been a member of the Hall of Fame’s Board of Trustees. Additionally, his company is a corporate sponsor of the Hall of Fame and a lead sponsor of the PGA Web.com Tour’s Price Cutter Charity Championship presented by Dr Pepper, which has gifted more than $15.5 million to Ozarks children’s charities since 1990. His support through sponsorships of golf teams and the PCCC’s Bryan Properties Nighttime Classic has been tremendous. A native of southwest Missouri, he launched his real estate career in the late 1970s and, in 1985, founded Bryan Properties, which covers numerous multifamily residences in Springfield – including a $30 million, 800-bedroom apartment complex, Bear Village, near Missouri State University.
