Sponsors
Mike Whalen
President and CEO of the Heart of America Group
Mr. Whalen is the founder of Heart of America Group (the “Company”) and has served as President and CEO since 1978.
Through Mr. Whalen’s entrepreneurial leadership and vision, the Company has grown from a single restaurant operation to a profitable and growing real estate development and hospitality enterprise with twenty-seven existing restaurant/hotel properties, several retail/office development/ leasing activities, and exciting plans for future property developments.
Mr. Whalen received his Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Illinois in 1975 and his Law degree from Harvard Law School in 1978. Mr. Whalen is heavily involved in multiple trade, professional, real estate, political, and civic organizations.
Mr. Whalen was recently featured in The Des Moines Register as one of the top 15 people to watch in 2016; the article highlights the 200-room Embassy Suites in Olathe, Kansas, which is the Heart of America Group’s most expansive hotel yet.
Brett Mitchell
General Manager of the Overland Park Convention Center
Driven by a desire to spend more time with his children, in 2010 Brett C. Mitchell returned as general manager for the Overland Park Convention Center, one of the few convention centers to generate a true operating profit.
Previously Brett held the position of vice president of convention center operations and regional vice president for Global Spectrum while directly managing operations totaling more 75 million dollars in revenues, 450 FT employees, and 5 million square feet of event space. He was instrumental in a dramatic expansion of Global Spectrum’s convention portfolio, with an average growth in excess of 20% annually.
Brett earned a degree in Sports Business Management from Brigham Young University and later served on the Industry Advisory Council for the school’s Facility Management Board of Directors for the Center for Exhibition Industry Research, the Wi-Fi Coalition and Convention Center Committee for the International Association of Venue Managers, and the Mity-lite Advisory Board. Brett is the son of a Marine Corps General, the husband of twenty years to Sheila Cook Mitchell of Vernal, Utah and the proud father of 15 year-old Georgia, 13 year-old Emma, 11 year-old Noah, and 9 year-old Maia.
Saturday Panelists
Scott Redler, COO and Co-Founder of Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers
Redler has created and launched varying restaurant concepts from five-star dining to business and industry dining. He and his partners, launched the first Freddy’s in 2002 in Wichita, KS, franchised in 2004. The concept now reaches coast to coast. Redler speaks regularly to entrepreneurship organizations and serves on many restaurant and higher-educational boards, including the National Restaurant Association, Kansas Restaurant & Hospitality Association, Wichita State University Presidents Council, and Butler Community College Hospitality Management.
Don Breckenridge, CHA
Area General Manager for Intercontinental Kansas City
Breckenridge, a Certified Hotel Administrator and 39 year veteran of the hospitality industry, has been the General Manager at the InterContinental Kansas City at the Plaza for the last 7 years. Previously, he served for 8 years as the General Manager of the Hilton Melbourne Rialto Place, the recipient of Hilton’s coveted Connie Award in 2008. He is the Chairman of the Board for the Hotel & Lodging Association of Greater Kansas City, President of the SKAL Club of Kansas City and is on the Board of Directors for the Society for a Friendship with China, Inc.
Mark Bado, MCM, CCE
General Manager/COO of The Kansas City Country Club
Bado has over 25 years of experience in the private club industry. He began his career with the international accounting firm of Deloitte LLP where he was a financial advisor. Currently, he is the General Manager/COO of The Kansas City Country Club since 2008. Bado has held many positions within the Club Managers Association of America and in 2012 he joined the elite group of twenty individuals by achieving his Master Club Manager (MCM) designation. In 2015 Bado received the “Excellence in Club Management” a national award that recognizes the top club leaders in the country.
Sue Heley, CMP, CMM
Conference and Event Strategistt Heley Creative
Heley began her career at the age of seven - coordinating a neighborhood fundraising carnival where her passion for managing events was born. Heley has been active in the hospitality industry for over 30 years. She has operated Heley Creative – an independent events business –since 1997, and she recently added Experient to her industry toolbox. In her role as National Account Manager, Heley consults with corporations around the globe, sharing her expertise. Heley earned her Certified Meeting Professional credential in 2001 and the Certificate in Meeting Management in 2012. She has been a member of the Kansas City Chapter of Meeting Professionals International since 1997.