terry
kimes At the first away game, the head student manager made a tactical mistake and got fired on the spot. By default, Kimes stepped into the role, and what started as an insignificant part time job, turned into an opportunity to rub elbows with the movers and shakers in MU athletics. “That happened to be the
That career, ironically, was tied to fellow laureate Bob Brock who approached Mize Houser about handling the accounting and information technology for his hotel franchise business—one that became the largest Holiday Inn franchisee in America. As Brock’s firm grew, so did Mize Houser. Mergers brought
“You have to balance ‘if you build it they will come’ with ‘they will come and then you build it."
Raised in a small town in Missouri, the son of a dentist, Terry Kimes grew up feeling like he knew everyone around him. This sense of familiarity fostered a personality that was comfortable around all types of people—a trait that has served him well throughout all aspects of his life. “I’m a people person,” Kimes says. “I love working with clients and vendors and interfacing with employees.” As a dual major in mathematics and chemistry at the University of Missouri, Kimes had the unique experience of attending MU at the same time as four of his first cousins. His aunt, who was in charge of keeping athletes academically eligible to play, found him a job as a student trainer under Head Football Coach Dan Devine.
year MU went to the Orange Bowl,” Kimes recalls. “What a fun, unique experience.” Kime’s love for all things business really began when he worked for a CPA firm his junior and senior years of college. His whopping $1.75 per hour not only helped to pay his school bill, but also taught him the value of hard work. Kimes began his career with a Fortune 500 company in Chicago, but he always had a desire to own his own business. When the opportunity arose to come to Topeka to join Mize Houser & Company, a new CPA firm that was starting a department in information technology, Kimes didn’t have to be asked twice. “They took a chance on a young 26-year-old to head that new department,” Kimes says. “Two years later I became an owner, and that began an almost 40-year fabulous and wild-ride career.”
in another large franchisee client, McDonald’s. The rest, as they say, is history. Actively involved in the community, Kimes served on several boards and played an instrumental role in helping fellow laureate Eldon Danenhauer bring projects such as the Kansas Expocentre and the airport terminal to Topeka. “You have to balance ‘if you build it they will come’ with ‘they will come and then you build it,’” Kimes says. Besides love for business, Terry’s passions include his family and exercise. Married for 47 years, Terry and his wife, Judy, have two daughters. Terry has completed five marathons, breaking the three-hour mark at the KU relays marathon. His reaction to being inducted into the Business Hall of Fame? “You’ve got to be kidding!”
TK...Topeka's Business Magazine
TK
Spring 2013
29