The Tabor College Dean A. and Carol Nachtigall Lecture Series on Entrepreneurship is designed to bring high-profile, nationally or regionally recognized, guest lecturers to Tabor. Through sharing their business experience and activities with students, the lecturers inspire undergraduates to succeed in their careers and communities.
2023-24 Upcoming Speakers
Stay tuned for additional speakers!
Tom DeKorne
April 2, 2024
7 p.m., Franz Family Heritage Lobby
Tom was Jeff Roberts Agency’s first Intern and Agent Assistant. My, the things he has seen since then! He grew up in Kalkaska, MI, and initially went to school to study civil engineering at Michigan State University. During his studies at MSU, Tom was getting tired of classes like calculus and had friends pursuing degrees in the music industry. Not realizing this was an industry he could make a living in, he decided to change his college and major to complete a Bachelor of Science in Music Business at Ferris State University. He has served many years leading as an elder in his home church. In his free time, things like home projects, chasing the kids, and woodworking keep him busy but also bring him a lot of joy.
Previous Speakers
Mitch Friesen
February 22, 2024
Mitch is co-founder and chief operating officer at JackBe, a grocery chain based in Oklahoma City, Okla. The store specializes in fulfilling many of its app or web orders in less than 10 minutes. The company has eliminated pickup reservations, allowing customers to pick up orders at their leisure by the end of the next business day. Before JackBe, Friesen spent eight years at Cargill in roles such as strategic pricing specialist, decision support analyst, plant controller, cost accounting supervisor, professional accountant, and accounting associate.
Jason Toevs
January 22, 2024
Jason is the co-founder of Quicc, an AI video search platform; Shift-Conferences, the first Wichita-based regional tech conference; and Alyss Analytics, AI detecting soft skills in candidate interviews. He is also the founder of Mossvale Ventures, which works in technology consulting and investing. Jason has built, sold, and mentored companies across the globe. From Kansas farm boy to mathematician, to Technical Founder, his keen eye for product innovation comes from his early days just making things work on the farm. Most recently he was CTO and Co-Founder at Quicc, spearheading engineering and product teams and driving the growth of their B2B SaaS product across 120+ countries.
Tyler Raye & Josh Franks
October 26, 2023
What is done in the dark, will come to light.
Ghost Cat is an emerging group of creatives based in Oklahoma that travel nationally and abroad producing storytelling and brand content. We believe that work undertaken when no eyes are on you will eventually come to the forefront, where it’s meant to be seen. We know it to be true that beautiful things don’t ask for attention. So, we align ourselves with brands, personalities, coworkers, and friends who give us the arena to work behind the scenes to shine a light on their talents, products, and through the defining moments of their lives.
Damon Carson
October 25, 2023
Damon Carson is the owner and president of repurposedMATERIALS. Their strategy for landfill diversion is called “repurposing.” Damon, and his “repurposing” concept, have been featured in such media outlets as the Chicago Tribune, CNN Online, the Dallas Morning News, and in Oprah Winfrey’s magazine amongst many others. repurposedMATERIALS is Damon’s second foray into the waste stream of America albeit with a very different and unique business model. Several years back, he sold a garbage company he had co-owned in the Colorado ski resorts of Vail and Breckenridge to Waste Management. His company currently has locations in Denver, Chicago, and Atlanta.
Rhett Laubach
October 24, 2023
Rhett Laubach works with associations, corporations, and student organizations interested in developing leadership potential. Rhett is a professional keynote speaker, trainer, author, leadership expert, owner of YourNextSpeaker, LLC and PLI, Inc., and a brain tumor survivor. His 25+ years of experience have taken him to 48 states, the Bahamas, Canada, and over two million audience members.
Daniel Friesen
September 21, 2023
Under Daniel’s leadership, IdeaTek continued to expand its offerings, adding a hosted phone service in 2017 and a high-speed, fixed-wireless product in 2020 in an effort to reach more of Kansas’ underserved population. Also during this period and stretching into 2023, the company was awarded three major grants to help expand reliable fiber internet to rural Kansas. Today, IdeaTek has more than 135 employees, serves 90 Kansas communities, and has deployed over 4,000 miles of fiber optic network. During his tenure, Daniel has gained unique experiences in rural markets, emerging technology, government policy, telecommunications law, and business strategy. He continues to find ways to bridge the digital gap and bring internet freedom to residents, businesses, and schools from across Kansas.
Warren Harshman
April 11, 2023
Warren Harshman grew up in a rural setting in the Flint Hills of Chase County, Kansas with his parents and two brothers. Living on a farm, he learned a strong work ethic at a young age. After attending Hutchinson Community Junior College for two years, he came home and began working with his family members on the farm. It was soon apparent there were not enough resources at the farm to provide for the needs of the four families. Out of necessity and opportunity, Warren, with the help of other family members, started a rock-crushing company that has successfully grown and has allowed him to start multiple companies, most of which he continues to own and operate today with other family members and employees.
Jalen Coleman-Lands
October 27, 2022
Coleman-Lands founded Athelites House, which sets out to redefine the financial cultural atmosphere and experience for fifth-grade and higher student-athletes. Their vision is to be the primary economic system that mends the relationship between unbanked/underbanked communities and financial institutions. Coleman-Lands was a member of the 2022 national championship team at the University of Kansas and also played basketball at Illinois, DePaul, and Iowa State.
Fayola Oyatayo
October 25, 2022
Oyatayo is a media personality and entrepreneur, partnering with some of the most recognizable, nationwide brands. He is a talk show host and founder of Kansas’ No. 1 social media talk show. He is also the official in-game host of the University of Kansas Athletics.
MaryKate Morse
February 25, 2022
Morse, the keynote speaker at the 2022 Business Symposium, is the Executive Dean of Portland Seminary at George Fox University and is a professor of Leadership & Spiritual Formation.
Ryan Hall
March 8, 2021
Hall and his wife, Sara, formed the Hall Steps Foundation to empower the running community in social justice efforts. He won the marathon at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trails and placed 10th in Beijing.
Jeff Riggenbach, Ph.D.
October 16, 2020
Riggenbach, a Tabor College graduate, is a best-selling author and speaker/trainer/coach with the John Maxwell Team. He has conducted seminars in all 50 U.S. states, Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.
Jeremiah Randall
January 23, 2018
Randall, a Tabor College graduate, was named head athletic trainer of the Houston Astros in November 2015. He spent the previous three seasons working for the Pittsburgh Pirates as the Major League Rehab Coordinator and PT/Assistant Athletic Trainer.
Ben Kubassek
October 24, 2017
Kubassek has two best-selling books, “Succeed without Burnout” and “Five F-Words That Will Energize Your Life.” He has dedicated his life to helping young business people and seeing them reach their goals.
Jose Munoz
March 9, 2017
Munoz, the former CEO of Chicken of the Sea, has more than 35 years of international consulting and executive management experience. He has conducted business in 81 different countries.
Mark Holden
March 1, 2017
Holden is the president and chief operating officer of the legal division of Koch Companies Public Sector, LLC. He is involved in numerous leadership roles, including boards of two Koch Industries subsidiaries.
Dan Crumb
September 29, 2016
Crumb has spent six years as the chief financial officer for the Kansas City Chiefs. Crumb has been instrumental in strengthening the club’s business operations. He previously worked for the New Orleans Hornets.
Brad Elliott
March 29, 2016
Elliott is the chairman and chief executive officer of Equity Bancshares. With 20-plus years of experience in banking, sales, and marketing, Elliott was named to Wichita Business Journal’s 40 under 40 in 2015.