Katie Grover and Damon Zick

Damon (D) and Katie (K) explain why they wanted to participate in today’s interview.

D speaks about deciding to raise his children in Wichita. He says it was important to him and his wife to raise their children in a smaller community and to be near family.

D says he got a passion for business from his dad who is a CPA. He says he’s been fortunate enough to be in a job that he considers a dream job, although it took him nearly twenty years to get there.

K shares more about the death of her dad. She says it was five weeks from diagnosis to death. D says his mother had a three-year battle with ovarian cancer. He says he feels like in the past three months, God has been challenging him to embark on a grief journey.

K says she grew up in the church, her mom was Lutheran and her dad was Methodist. She says after her dad died, she found the use of the church more of a crutch and found herself continuing to distance herself from it over time.

K details how the 2008 election spurred her to be more involved in politics.

K says she is a registered Democrat but has voted Republican. She says she has been approached about running for office and always says absolutely not. K says she is looking for politicians that are human.

D says that he is a Republican. He says that he does not place a lot of value on politics because he sees so much divisiveness that he does not feel motivated to participate and looks for other ways he can make an impact on people’s lives.

K says she is an election worker and emphasizes the importance of people going out to vote.

K says her dad has been the most influential person in her life. K says it’s been seventeen years since her dad passed away yet every year there are old students who reach out to say how much of an impact her dad had on their lives.

D says his first boss, Phillip, was very influential on his life. D says he had a very rare combination of high intellect but also high empathy. D says he was always impressed with how Phillip balanced what he could do with what he chose to do. D says in the last several years he has been trying to hone in on his emotional side.

D says living in Wichita reminds him of his hometown in Mobile, Alabama and he enjoys raising his kids here. K says her hometown is 3,500 people.

K says she is grateful to work for a family-owned bank in Wichita. D says he is finding some wonderful people to lean on in Wichita.