Phil and Kristen Riggs never expected a temporary escape from the city to turn into a thriving business at the Lake of the Ozarks. Both originally hail from small Illinois towns—Phil from Morrisonville and Kristen from Winnebago. Their move to the lake happened suddenly in March 2020. Phil was a construction trade show in Las Vegas when pandemic shutdowns began.
Category Archives: Behind the Desk
Christina Landry is quietly redefining what healing can look like through Unbridled Therapeutics, a nonprofit co-located with Missouri Forget Me Not Horse Rescue and Sanctuary (MFMN). A licensed mental health professional with deep roots in the equine world, Landry has built a practice where traditional counseling and animal-assisted therapy work side by side—creating space for meaningful, often life-changing breakthroughs.
For Khalid Mundwiller, choosing to build his life in Eldon, Missouri, had nothing to do with convenience or career strategy. It had everything to do with family, especially his grandparents, J.R. and Nina Atwell. “Grandpa and Grandma are the reason I moved here,” he says—a simple truth that shaped his early years. Week after week, his grandmother drove to Rolla to pick him up so he could spend weekends in Eldon. Those visits became the rhythm of his childhood—days spent helping, learning, and absorbing the presence of the man who would become his greatest influence.
Brad Ekstam is the founder and owner of FASS Diesel Solutions, a Missouri-based company that has become one of the most trusted names in the diesel industry. Known throughout the trucking, military, and diesel performance industries as a forward-thinking innovator, Brad has spent decades building a brand that stands for reliability, durability, and real-world problem solving.
Not many people have lived through horse-drawn wagons, world wars, the invention of televisions, man on the moon, the internet, and smartphones, but Tennyson AJ-royd DeGraffenreid did just that and more. His life was not only long, but also rich in purpose, community, humor, and as one of the Lake of the Ozarks’ first pioneers.
In 1975, Mack Amini opened a modest store in Oklahoma City with just five pool tables and a handful of bar stools. Having emigrated from Iran in the 1960s, Mack was driven by a vision of entrepreneurship and a desire to build a better life for his young family. Over the next five decades, that small venture grew into Amini’s Galleria, a premier destination for luxury home furnishings, game room essentials, and outdoor living, with locations in Chesterfield, Kansas City, Tulsa, and Oklahoma City.
At 36, Kyle Robinson, Vice President of Sales at Econo Lift, brings passion, family pride, and a love for helping others to the generational boat lift company his grandparents founded. Raised in Camdenton, Missouri, Kyle never imagined himself back in his hometown, much less leading the next generation of the family business.
Lawrence Martin, the owner of Martin Structures, Inc., has built more than just structures. He has built a legacy of hard work, perseverance, and family values. From a young age, Martin was immersed in the construction world, learning the trade from his father, Edward Martin. Now, as the head of a successful business, he reflects on his journey, his challenges, and the joys of
Ironically, the one place Melissa Hunter dislikes the most is behind her desk. “I do think that it’s kind of ironic. It’s my least favorite place to be. When I get tired of the administrative side of things, I just love to go around and talk to patients and staff and see what’s going well and what’s not going well. This reflects the essence of who Melissa is in the workplace. She thrives on being hands-on and creating in-depth relationships with patients and colleagues alike.
Jeff Tegethoff knows what it means to build something permanent. That was his goal when starting Tegethoff Development, but what he didn’t know is how his career journey would eventually bring him home to Lake of the Ozarks to develop one of the largest future landmarks the area has ever seen, besides the construction of the physical Lake itself.
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