Jodi Orton was doing very well as a legal executive. She and her husband Bret were successful in their careers, but felt barren spiritually. So, they decided to make a change toward purposeful living and making a difference.
They began fostering and adopting children, and now have ten children, nine of whom are still at home. They live on wildlife conservation property where they also provide homes for large animals.
Jodi is the author of three children's books and was featured in an award-winning documentary, Gold Medal Service, about her work with Special Olympics in Iowa. In the Fall of 2011, the family was the subject of a documentary shot by United Kingdom director Sam Windsor-Phillips titled Fostering Change.
This photograph is of Jodi and two of her children.
The family was named 2011 Foster Family of the Year by the National Foster Parent Association.
Photograph copyright 2013 Larry F. Levenson. All rights reserved.
For thirty years, William Whitener has been active as a dancer, teacher, choreographer and director and has worked with leaders of contemporary American ballet, including Robert Joffrey, Jerome Robbins, and Twyla Tharp. Mr. Whitener has served as Artistic Director of Canada's Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Les Ballets Jazz de Montreal and Kansas City Ballet.
At age 11, he was the recipient of a Ford Foundation scholarship to study with the San Francisco Ballet School. As a child, he performed with the Bolshoi Ballet in their production of Ballet School. As a teenager, he was trained by Robert Joffrey, who invited him to join the New York City Opera Ballet and, subsequently, the Joffrey Ballet.
Mr. Whitener joined the original Broadway cast of Bob Fosse's Dancin' in 1978. Later that year, he began an eight-year association as a leading dancer with the Twyla Tharp Dance Company. He performed internationally and for President Ronald Reagan at the White House. He also assisted Twyla Tharp with works for American Ballet Theatre with Mikhail Baryshnikov. He has staged Ms. Tharp’s ballets for Kansas City Ballet, The Joffrey Ballet, The Juilliard School and Ballet du Capitole de Toulouse in France.
He expanded his career into the world of film and television, appearing in Amadeus, and the ABC television production of Bye Bye Birdie. Other television credits include the premiere episode of the PBS series Dance in America, The Dick Cavett Show and the BBC production of The Catherine Wheel.
Mr. Whitener has choreographed works for many ballet companies including Kansas City Ballet, Boston Ballet, The Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Les Ballets Jazz de Montreal, Ballet Hispanico with the Tito Puente Ensemble, Hartford Ballet, Joffrey II, and Princeton Ballet. He also choreographed solos for Broadway performers Ann Reinking and Tommy Tune.
He has been a member of the faculties of Harvard University, University of Washington, Concord Academy, and Pacific Northwest Ballet. He was nominated for the National Corporate Fund for Dance American Choreograper Award and served as an Evaluator and Advisory Committee member for the International Ballet Competition 2006. Mr. Whitener has served on the dance panels for National Endowment for the Arts, Pew Charitable Trust Fund, Bush Foundation, New England Foundation for the Arts, Herb Alpert/CAL Arts Awards, and the Board of Trustees of DANCE/USA.
Photograph copyright 2013 Larry F. Levenson. All rights reserved.
Each year, Barron's magazine publishes a ranking of independent wealth advisors. Marty Bicknell, Chief Executive Officer at Mariner Holdings, and his teams were ranked #7 on Barron's 2012 list of the "Top 100 Independent Wealth Advisors". That was the third consecutive year Bicknell has been ranked in the Top Ten.
For five years in a row, he has been ranked by Barron's as the #1 financial advisor in the state of Kansas.
Photograph copyright 2013 Larry F. Levenson. All rights reserved.
Tanna Guthrie, the Kansas City radio legend, was honored with a 2013 Kansas City Influential Women Award by Kansas City Business Magazine. Tanna was chosen based on her career achievements, business acumen, outstanding leadership abilities, and her dedication to bettering the Kansas City community.
The Influential Women Award program annually recognizes Kansas City's women leaders in the creative, corporate, nonprofit and entrepreneurial communities.
Photograph copyright 2013 Larry F. Levenson. All rights reserved.
