As the leader of one of the most prominent real estate development companies in Kansas City, Ora Reynolds is well known to many.
But her personal story — including her Jewish upbringing — is less well known. For other Jewish real estate professionals in the community, it was a treat to hear Reynolds share her story, what’s happening now with Hunt Midwest and a glimpse into future projects at a Jewish Real Estate Professionals (JREP) happy hour event last month, says Scott Zigler, JREP committee member.
“I really appreciate the opportunity to network with other real estate professionals and to talk with those who have built successful careers and lasting relationships in this business,” Zigler says. “Jewish Federation organizing this has been meaningful for those of us in and around commercial real estate, and I invite others to join us at future events.”
Reynolds, president and CEO of Hunt Midwest, was interviewed by Lisa Ruben, head of the Lisa Ruben Team — ReeceNichols Real Estate. Reynolds spoke of her family’s history, her Jewish experiences, her mentors and her path to success.
Reynolds’ grandfather was born in Poland and worked for the Soviet Red Army supplying firewood in the winter and fruits and vegetables in the summer. Reynolds said at the event that as the Nazi army was poised to invade Poland, her grandfather’s Russian friends helped him get a Soviet passport, allowing her father and grandparents to flee Poland. They survived the war while running, encountering a train bombing, typhus and malaria.
Post war, Reynolds’ father and grandparents lived in a displaced persons camp in Germany for three years before being sponsored by a Chicagoan when her father was 13 years old. They traveled to and stayed in Chicago, where Ora Reynolds was born. She spent her childhood mostly in West Rogers Park, a historically Jewish neighborhood on the north side of Chicago.
“It was an immigrant neighborhood — Jewish, Asians, Greeks — and there were enough Jews that they shut down the elementary schools for the Jewish holidays,” she said. She attended Hebrew school, learned to read and speak Hebrew, and was bat mitzvahed, growing up in a “traditional” Jewish household.
After graduating from Indiana University in 1985 with a degree in finance, Reynolds eventually moved to Kansas City at age 27. She was hired by Hunt Midwest Enterprises as a manager of new business development in 1991. In 1993, she launched Hunt Midwest’s residential division.
Reynolds’ career developed rapidly. By 2007, she was vice president in charge of residential and commercial/industrial divisions. She was promoted to president of Hunt Midwest Real Estate Development in 2010, then president of Hunt Midwest Enterprises in 2014. She gained her title of CEO in 2015.
Hunt Midwest chairman Lee Derrough wrote in a 2015 press release that Reynolds increased and diversified the company's development business. Reynolds considers Derrough, the past president and CEO of Hunt Midwest Enterprises, a mentor and dear friend.
“He’s still a special person in my life. I was fortunate that I really worked for the same person for so many years,” she said. “[He’s an] ultimate mentor in my life.”
In addition to her career, Reynolds is also immediate past chair of the board of Starlight Theatre, an executive committee member of the Kansas City Area Development Council, an advancement board member at the University of Kansas Medical Center, and an advisory board member at Commerce Bank.
The May JREP Happy Hour was held at Corrigan Station II, located in the Crossroads Arts District in downtown Kansas City, because a satellite office of Hunt Midwest will soon occupy its second floor. Attendees of the JREP Happy Hour toured the facility prior to the Q&A with Reynolds.
Lisa Ruben (left), head of the Lisa Ruben Team — ReeceNichols Real Estate, interviewing Ora Reynolds at the May JREP happy hour event at Corrigan Station II.
JREP, a Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City affinity group, brings together a diverse body of leaders and professionals in Kansas City commercial real estate and related industries. The May JREP Happy Hour was sponsored by Federation and Hunt Midwest. Information about JREP is available at jewishkansascity.org/get-involved/jrep and through Annie Glickman at .
