Business Connections for Fall 2019

FALL 2019 7 // Business Connections Both BJ and Cara Speer grew up in the country—BJ just south of Everest and Cara just outside of Lancaster. They attended Kansas State University, studying human ecology/sociology and business marketing, respectively.  BJ said,“We lived in Kansas City for awhile but knew life in the big city was not where we belonged. After getting our foot in the door at a couple of great companies and starting our careers, we tried to figure out how we could ‘escape’ back to a more rural setting. The opportunity presented itself when I was contacted by a family friend and established insurance agent in Horton (Paul Mclenon). Paul was looking to slow down and retire but did not want his business to dissolve. I had experience as a crop insurance underwriter, and we came to an agreement for me to purchase the crop insurance portion of his business. CHAMP (Crop Hail And Multi Peril) Insurance was formed, and Cara and I moved to Horton in 2012.” After working four years for C.H. Robinson— a Fortune 500 company offering freight transportation, supply chain management solutions, brokerage, and warehousing services — at their Kansas City office, Cara was able to continue her employment working remotely in Horton. She stays connected with the corporate office through high-speed Internet from Rainbow Communications. “I currently work as an account manager. I’m in direct communica- tion with customers, providing them an array of options in order to transport their freight and find ways to streamline their supply chain,” explained Cara. What are the benefits of living in Horton? BJ replied, “It’s a small community where you see a lot of familiar faces any given day. People are very friendly, and small business owners are always rooting for the others to do well and succeed. Reinvent Horton is actively trying to bring new businesses and opportunities to this community. We always were a little nervous about raising a family in the city, so we’re happy that our children are going to be able to grow up and learn in a smaller school. Plus, there’s no traffic!” BJ added,“My hope for the future is that downtown Horton will continue to grow and more people with an idea for a small business will take a chance to make their dream become a reality.” In this magazine, we periodically highlight people in our community whose career path brought them back to their roots in Northeast Kansas. For this issue, we recognize BJ and Cara Speer. BJ and Cara Speer with their children Returning to Your Roots