About
Empowering the Entrepreneurial Spirit
HEMP is dedicated to strengthening entrepreneurial leaders through excellence in mentoring.
The Helzberg Entrepreneurial Mentoring Program (HEMP) was founded in 1995 by Barnett Helzberg, Jr., former owner and president of Helzberg Diamonds. Inspired by his twenty-three year mentoring relationship with Ewing Kauffman, HEMP matches seasoned, successful entrepreneur mentors with less-experienced entrepreneur mentees. Considerable mentoring is also fostered through peer-to-peer relationships derived from involvement through HEMP.
Components of the program include a one-on-one mentoring relationship, networking opportunities with peers and veteran business owners, exposure to mentoring skills which can be applied to any professional or personal situation, business education discussing greatest successes and lessons learned from peers and top CEOs in the community, and field trips outside of Kansas City to businesses such as Tesla (San Francisco), Zappos (Las Vegas), Starbucks (Seattle), Dave Ramsey (Nashville), Marel (Iceland) and 3M (Minneapolis).
HEMP's Spirits of the Big Guy
To perpetuate the culture of HEMP, the Board formalized HEMP's Core Values. When we think about our Core Values, they really encompass the essence of our founder, Barnett C. Helzberg, Jr., so we call them the The Spirits of the Big Guy. HEMP's Spirits of the Big Guy are:
HEMP Board of Directors and Staff
Board of Directors
Barnett Helzberg, Jr. | Chairman
Gordon Harton | President
Dave Cacioppo | President - Elect
Dave Perky | Finance Chair
Dan Holmgren | Marketing Chair
Jeff Kreutz | Fellows Chair
Matt Denney | Recruitment Chair
Kay Julian | Programs Chair
Walt Rychlewski | Innovation & Historical Perspective Chair
Dr. Michelle Robin | Nurture Bucket Chair
Craig Novorr | PIF Chair
Laura Lee Jones | Mentor Chair
Bill Hartnett | Past President
Tracy Lockton | Past President
Staff
