photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

The local chapter of Junior Achievement announced the newest inductees into the Lawrence Business Hall of Fame. Pictured from left: Father Mick Mulvany, Bonnie Lowe, Douglas Girod, and Kevin O'Malley.

From a provider of good times to a teacher of the good book, the Lawrence Business Hall of Fame has selected its newest inductees.

The class includes Kevin O’Malley, president of Lawrence-based O’Malley Beverage — one of the larger beer and liquor wholesalers in the region — and Father Mick Mulvany, who was the longtime leader of Lawrence’s Corpus Christi Catholic Church. Also included in the group are two of the more active leaders on the Lawrence business scene — University of Kansas Chancellor Douglas Girod and Lawrence chamber of commerce President and CEO Bonnie Lowe.

Girod — a medical doctor by training who is now into his ninth year as KU’s chancellor — said induction into a business hall of fame never seemed likely in his line of work. However, KU in recent years has turned into the biggest developer in the community, with Girod’s office having a hand in approximately $1 billion worth of development in Lawrence alone, with the Gateway District around KU’s renovated football stadium coming in at nearly $800 million by itself.

Then, there is the Crossing project on KU’s West Campus that is being led by the KU Endowment Association that aims to convert the area immediately northwest of Iowa Street and Clinton Parkway into a live, work and play development anchored by KU research entities. That development recently landed a Dillons grocery store, has an Olive Garden restaurant under construction, and has dirt work underway for a new cybersecurity and national security research center. A development to provide apartments and condos is likely to come soon, too.

Girod told a crowd gathered at the Lawrence Country Club for a Thursday afternoon announcement ceremony that it made great sense for the leader of KU to also try to boost the Lawrence community.

“It was obvious to me early on that Lawrence is the biggest recruiting asset we have as a university,” Girod said. “Our community really is what draws a lot of our families and students . . . They just fall in love with the community, which makes our job a lot easier on the recruiting side.”

Mulvany said that if Girod was confused about how a chancellor became a member of a business hall of fame, that he should try wrapping his head around how a priest became an inductee.

The organizer of the Lawrence Business Hall of Fame — the Lawrence chapter of Junior Achievement — has long said it is not just looking for traditional business success but also community leadership attributes. On that front, Mulvany has not only led one of the larger faith communities in Lawrence, but also has played a role in helping raise more than $50 million for area charities, according to nomination information provided to Junior Achievement.

Mulvany, who now serves at Eudora’s Holy Family Catholic Church, said his 16 years of service at Lawrence’s Corpus Christi Catholic Church gave him a good look at what made Lawrence businesses and the community as a whole special.

“My life in parish ministry has taught me that the strength of any community comes from the people who give of themselves, their time, their gifts, their patience, and their care,” Mulvany said. “What I’ve seen again and again in Lawrence and Douglas County is remarkable spirit of generosity among its people.”

Lowe also highlighted the impact that Lawrence residents have had on her life. Lowe has been involved in a number of business deals in multiple ways, first as a community banker in Lawrence and also as a mayor and city commissioner before joining The Chamber in 2019.

Lowe unexpectedly became a widow late last year upon the death of her husband, longtime Lawrence businessman Jamie Lowe. Lowe said on Thursday that she saw firsthand the generosity and compassion that helps Lawrence thrive.

“I am so honored to be part of this community, a part of my friends who are here, my family, my work family,” Lowe said. “I love you all. You’ve been such a strength for me this past year, and been so understanding. I just wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.”

O’Malley has been in Lawrence since 2005 when he was part of the family group that bought Lawrence’s Anheuser-Busch distributor, after having owned and operated a similar business in St. Joseph, Mo. since 1985.

The Lawrence distribution company became one of the top performers in Anheuser-Busch’s national system. In 2019, O’Malley Beverage of Kansas won a “national championship” award from the St. Louis-based beer company for its business performance and customer service.

O’Malley said he’s been fortunate to find a business that is largely about bringing people together, but he said he never thought it would land him in a hall of fame.

“I don’t really deserve this recognition, but I do appreciate it,” O’Malley said. “I think I’m getting it because I have a lot of really big trucks running around the street with my name on it.”

All the new inductees will be honored at gala event on the evening of May 7 at the Burge Union on the KU campus. The ticketed dinner and recognition ceremony is a major fundraiser for Junior Achievement, which is a nonprofit that provides volunteer teachers to go into local classrooms to provide lessons on business, free enterprise and other consumer issues. During this current school year, the Lawrence chapter is expected to provide lessons to more than 5,000 children in the area.