
Vision, Grit, and Victories
Your Dose of Leadership
- Contact Us
- Find Us
- 888.733.5041
- Quick Links
Behind every business is an amazing story of inspiration, guts, leadership, challenges and victories.
At Equity Bank, we love a great business story! So we’ve teamed up with Richard Rierson, host of the award winning podcast ‘Dose Of Leadership’ to capture a special series of business stories.
Listen to business leaders from all across the midwest tell their firsthand leadership stories and you'll see why Richards’ Dose Of Leadership podcast is on the ‘must listen’ lists from Forbes, Inc. and Entrepreneur magazine!
Dose of Leadership - Equity Bank Entrepreneur Podcast Series
Featuring Greg Knowles
Greg began his career doing internships with electrical distributors while getting his degree in Industrial Distribution from Texas A&M from which he graduated in 1990.
Featuring Michael Higgins
Michael Higgins is a founding partner of MSP Consulting. Mike has more than 30-years of business consulting experience helping clients increase performance.
Featuring Jared Young
Jared Young is President and CEO at Employer Advantage, an HR outsourcing firm based in Joplin, Missouri. Prior to joining EA in 2015, Jared practiced corporate law at a large law firm in Washington, D.C.
Featuring Justin Maxson
Justin Maxson is the Senior Executive Vice President of NCRI – National Catastrophe Restoration Inc, which is a national property damage restoration contractor. Within a decade, Justin has climbed the corporate ladder to become a successful young executive, focusing his efforts on growth within the organization.
Featuring Julie Towner
Julie Towner is an established entrepreneur with a proven history of scaling companies, by improving business processes, team culture, and brand. Through her dogged negotiation and planning skills learned while she held the position of Production Manager at GAP Inc, Julie has found her passion for growing companies through strategic acquisitions.
Featuring Tammy McDonald
Tammy McDonald is the owner and Publisher of HERLIFE Magazine. Tammy is about to celebrate her 5th year with HERLIFE Magazine and the magazine just entered its 12th year of publication.
Featuring Sean Van Horn
Sean Van Horn is the co-founder of Freight House Fitness, a Kansas City fitness center where people are blessed with a feeling of being welcomed, loved, & healed – physically, mentally and spiritually. In this episode, Sean tells us how he improvised, adapted, & overcame his business model during the COVID-19 crisis.
Featuring Sandy Kemper
Sandy Kemper is the founder of C2FO and serves as Chairman of the Board and CEO. In addition, he is Chairman of the Board of The Collectors Fund, a private equity fund focused on alternative asset classes.
Featuring Jon Holzmeister
Jon Holzmeister has been in sales leadership for the majority of his career. At age 24, Jon was Unitog’s youngest sales manager managing the Southeast Region, which included Atlanta and Charlotte. After his success at Unitog Jon moved to AngioDynamics, a pre-IPO medical device company where he achieved a growth rate that exceeded 20% annually.
Featuring Jon Schram
With over 25 years of Business and IT experience, Jon Schram fully understands the “business of business”. Having built three successful startups, he has learned how to leverage technology that supports growth. He also understands that technology is a tool to be used strategically.
Featuring John Hanley & Mike Snyder
In the midst of this economic uncertainty due to this COVID-19 crisis, this episode is full of actionable tactics, strategies, and pivoting mindsets that will allow you to better deal with our new reality.
Featuring David English
David English is the Vice President of Ad-Trend Outdoor Advertising and Owner of Simple English Consulting. Having experience in both the corporate environment and running a small business provides a foundation for a well-rounded understanding of leadership and how to achieve success.
Featuring Deena James
Deena James, President & Co-Founder of Cowell James Forge Insurance Group, is passionate about providing world-class service and peace of mind to clients and instilling a sense of shared mission and quality to everyone on her team.
Featuring Christina M. Long
Christina M. Long brings more than 15 years of communication and design experience to CML Collective.
Featuring Dayton Moore
Dayton Moore, the General Manager for the Kansas City Royals, knows a thing or two about how to build winning cultures, leadership and how to be heroic both professionally & personally.
Featuring Dan Shurtz
During his entire career, Dan Shurtz has always been driven by his passion to help others accomplish their goals and exceed their own expectations.
Featuring Tom Triumph – Author of “Evolve or Die “
Tom Triumph helps companies grow by collaboratively helping them reinvent their business, product development, and marketing.
Featuring Matt Fouts – Associate Director & Operations Manager of Tanganyika Wildlife Park
Matt appears on Dose of Leadership to talk about his life among the animals and how to be intentional about building a culture that makes an impact; for both humans and animals alike.
Featuring Kevin Kunz – President and CEO of SleepTopia Inc
He is considered an expert in the field of home sleep testing and obstructive sleep apnea and has given several lectures on the subject. He is passionate and excited to continue applying his philosophy to healthcare and entrepreneurship.
Featuring Dallas Scrip – President of Benefit Management, LLC
Dallas has been integral in the development and marketing of BML’s new Value‐Based Administration division and possesses the experience, skillset, and knowledge necessary to successfully lead BML in his role as President.
Featuring David Barnes – Chief Operating Officer & Co-Owner for Tallgrass Freight
David saw tremendous success as an owner of a digital marketing agency (Sweet Spot Marketing) between 2007-2015. This meteoric rise of this company gave him the leadership, business, & life lessons in eight years that many never achieve in a lifetime.
Featuring Eric Maddox – Interrogator, Author, Speaker, Consultant
In 2003, Eric Maddox collected the intelligence which led to the exact location of Saddam Hussein—the Ace of Spades in the infamous Deck of Cards. His technique shaped the future intelligence collection for the military and civilians around the world.
Featuring Guy Gsell – President & Founder of Field Station Dinosaurs
Heading up the team at Field Station: Dinosaurs is Guy Gsell. An adventurer, teacher and life- long dinosaur lover, Guy has produced educationally themed theater, live events and exhibits in a career that spans thirty years and three continents.
Featuring Alan Banta – Trans Pacific Oil Corporation
Alan D. Banta is the President of the Trans-Pacific Oil Corporation where he has served many roles since it’s inception over 35 years ago.
Featuring Rodney Horton – Entrepreneur & VP of Sales at ConvergeOne
An IT Executive and Entrepreneur, Rodney has spent the last 20 years working on his IT management career and real estate business.
Featuring B.J. Hunt: Co-Owner/Founder of Walnut River Brewing Company
An experienced business owner and manager with an Executive MBA, B.J. has spent the last 18 years as the Director and ultimately President of a family-owned company.
Featuring Scott Redler: COO of Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers
Scott Redler, a restaurant operator to the core, loves the sights, sounds and smells of a well-run restaurant. Growing up in St. Louis, he got his start in the restaurant business at age 15 catering events for groups of two to 6000.
Featuring Julie Huber: Executive VP of Strategic Initiatives
Julie Huber joined Equity Bank in January 2003 and currently oversees mergers and acquisition integration and major projects for the $4.0-billion bank in her role as Executive Vice President of Strategic Initiatives.
Featuring Scott Schwindaman: President & CEO of Lubrication Engineers
Scott Schwindaman has been president and CEO at Lubrication Engineers since 2007, having started as a laboratory technician in 1981 while he was still in college and working his way up through the ranks. Today, he oversees a company that has more than 100 employees in the U.S. and a large network of independent consultants and distributors who sell LE products and services worldwide. Listen to hear more of Scott's story.
Featuring Steve Werner: CEO & Founder of Lawn Buddy, LLC
Steve Werner is the CEO & Founder of Lawn Buddy, an on-demand lawn care service, that connects lawn care providers, “lawntrepreneurs”, to homeowners, via a user-friendly app and website. Werner says the technology has evolved into an operating system for lawn and snow-removal services, and it’s starting to be used in other industries. Tune in to hear more about Werner's journey.
Featuring Dr. Sheree Utash: President of WSU Tech
Dr. Sheree Utash has served as president of Wichita Area Technical College (WATC) since 2015 and has overseen the transition of the college to the WSU Campus of Applied Sciences and Technology (WSU Tech). Prior to that she served eight years at the college as vice president of academic affairs. With 6,500 students, WSU Tech is the largest technical college in Kansas and acts as managing partner for the National Center for Aviation Training. Dr. Sheree Utash tells her story in this episode of Dose of Leadership.
Featuring Jeff Lange: Entrepreneur & Founder of Lange Real Estate & RedGuard
Jeff Lange embodies the spirit of the Kansas Entrepreneur. A native Kansan, Jeff first learned the excitement and perils of owning a business by growing up with a family farm business. Jeff's next experience came when he pursued a career in real estate and eventually opened Lange Real Estate. A few years later, he bought out his partner to become the sole owner of A Box 4 U, now RedGuard, a company that is now the leading authority in blast-resistant buildings. Listen to hear more about Jeff's driving force for success.
Featuring Michelle Becker: Founder & CEO of Profit Builders, Inc.
Michelle Becker is the Founder & CEO of Profit Builders, Inc. Founded in 1994, Profit Builders is an industry leader in Outsource Accounting specializing in a full platform of accounting services. Profit Builders is known for working closing with business owners; becoming the eyes and ears for their clients so they can make effective & profitable decisions. Listen to hear more about Michelle's entrepreneurial and leadership success story.
Featuring Allen Fee: President of Fee Insurance Group & Director of Hutchinson Regional Medical Center, Inc.
Featuring Trevor Crotts: President & Founder of Buddy Brands
A proven results-oriented entrepreneur with a focus on innovation and empowerment, Trevor Crotts uses the experience he gained in other fields to differentiate his company from the rest. Listen to hear how his journey took him from marketing and sales expert to begin his dream as an entrepreneur.
Featuring Karyn Page: President & CEO of Kansas Global Trade Services
Karyn Page is recognized across the nation for her global expertise in export promotion and ecosystem development. As President and CEO of Kansas Global Trade Services, Karyn's dynamic abilities make her an invaluable asset to the businesses she advises in international trade. Tune in to hear her perspective on what it takes to play your role on the international scale.
Featuring Dan Schawbel: Best Selling Author, Entrepreneur, Fortune 500 Consultant
His entrepreneurial expertise is what sets Dan Schawbel apart from the rest. Schawbel is the founder of two companies, the writer of multiple best selling books, and has been mentioned by over 2,000 media outlets. Named one of Forbes Magazine's 2012 "30 Under 30," Schawbel tells his story and discusses his latest works in this episode of Dose of Leadership.
Featuring Dan McKenzie: CEO of Ensignal
To Dan McKenzie, success can only be achieved by focusing on three key areas: Knowledge, Objectivity, and Ethics/Values. It's with these three principles that McKenzie has grown Ensignal from 14 stores to nearly 100 locations throughout the western United States. Tune in as McKenzie dives deep into how these ideals have led to his success.
Featuring Ronnie Leonard: President/CEO of Balco, Inc.
Ronnie Leonard didn't have to search far to find her calling. A graduate of Wichita State University, Leonard soon became a leader in her field as a CPA and Controller for Wichita businesses. It didn't take long for her leadership to be noticed, and she now leads prominent Wichita manufacturer Balco, Inc. Get her take on entrepreneurship in this episode of Dose of Leadership.
Featuring Teresa Lovelady: President/CEO of HealthCore Clinic
No entrepreneur's path can be considered "traditional," especially not Teresa Lovelady's. From patient to President; tune in to hear Lovelady's inspiring story of how she conquered the odds to become President and CEO of HealthCore Clinic.
Featuring Jon Rolph: President of Sasnak Management
Born and raised in Wichita, Rolph returned home to work in the family business of managing 60 successful restaurants across 10 states. Now the President of Sasnak, Rolph's familial entrepreneurial spirit drives him to success. Listen in to Rolph describe how growing up in an entrepreneurial family shaped his path.
Featuring Bud Gates: Entrepreneur, CEO, Executive, & Franchisee
Described as the "master franchiser," Gates has a track record of running some of the most successful franchises in the USA, including Rent-A-Center and Easygates, LLC. Tune in as he describes his journey and some of the hard choices he had to make along the way.

Featuring Bill Maness: Founder & CEO of Syndeo
Maness has been described as a dedicated, loyal, fiercely competitive, and demonstrative entrepreneur by his peers. Listen how his bold actions have launched Syndeo to success.
Featuring Victor Lukic: President of Great Plains Industries
As a business owner or executive, there's rarely a quiet moment, especially in your thoughts. Listen as Lukic describes what's on his mind as he leads GPI to new levels of growth and prosperity.
Featuring Jared Peterson: President/CEO of Vermillion
Peterson joined Vermillion in 2009 as a sales associate and quickly rose to Director of Manufacturing Operations. In 2017, the company's former president retired, leaving Jared in charge. So many options and decisions requiring boldness, tune in to hear about Jared's inspirational climb to leadership and what he's learned along the way.
