Hide Article Text (OCR)
and have kids, shesaid. ‘‘Ottawa was goingto be close enough to where we could driveto Lawrence easily, andI was, of course, veryfamiliar with the area,moved to Ottawa, she wasworking in Law rence. Then, around the timeBut then, after I had my daughter, the position of Director of Materi*her son was born, she be- als Management camegan working at Ransom Memorial Hospital.It was a differentnshe said.open,Graves has found a44home at Ransom, sheacross her face. “Youwalk dow n the hallway, and it’s not even thepeople you work with,and you say, ‘Hi.’ Evenif you don’t know them.G ra venjoysintrodinology old. anmake teverybody says, ‘Hi.’ It’s betwetARMY VET FINDS SUCCESS THROUGH PERSEVERANCEBy JOHN HAWKSHerald Staff WriterIt takes a lot of hardknocks to achievepersonal grow th, David Kobel said.44We dothingslike, wego to wa r, we deploy :to other•places that •arehos--tile to us.Kobeltwhich are challenging.he said. “ButtAnd scary, the biggest thing we ever do is grow personally. That’s the hardest thing we ever do.ftiAfter a rocky start. Kobel overcame the odds, he*said, in a story of growththat led to his business.Ship-It Express, 223 W23rd St., Ottawa.Born in Butler, Missouri, Kobel was raised*in various places acrossthe country until theage of 14.“I was kind of a wildIteenager. No grades%over an F. Rarely wentJto school, and eventually dropped out, he •said, thinking back with Jan amused smile. AfterDAVID KOBELAge: 41Hometown:Butler, MissouriTime in Franklin County: 4yearsJob: Owner/President, Ship-It ExpressFun Fact: Kobelis close to securing a bachelor’s degreewhile runningShip-It Expressing out his duties, but also learned lessons ona more personal level.My biggest challengew as probably learning toask for help. I’d never had the desire, or the knowrhow, to ask for help, he said. “That’s what leadsto a lot of failures: notasking for help.’’Kobel was deployed to Iraq twice, his team eventually being the last of his unit to leave•dropping out, he worked the country. But then.at a dog food plant. He later drove a truck for♦West-Central Ag services after attending truck •driving school.* Then Kobel made aKobel experienced a big setback, and like before, buckled dow n to face it.cess has been far fromeasy, Kobel noted thesatisfaction of filling a“I was medically retired in 2012,” he said.4444I had really had my heart set on a lifetimein the Army, but thatcommunity need.The part I enjoymost is knowing that I'm providing a service that is needed in the commu-wasn’t going to happen. So, after I retired wenity, has been neededmoved back here so [my wife] and the kids couldbe closer to her dad.Kobel stuck to school-for many, many years, and knowing that I'm the lucky one w ho gets to provide that service,he said.ing and obtained his Associates from ITTKobel offered adviceto those looking for per-Technical Institute insonalgrowth.Overland Park, find-If it's something youing steady work in theprocess. Yet, as thew'ant to do, then stick with it,” he said. “It’stime of his schoolinglike any other dream,approached its termina- if you give up on yourtion, Kobel was hit with dream, then your dreamanother challenge.I knew that the endis going to give up onof my time in school was coming up, and I thought, ‘What am I going to do?’’’ he said.you. If you are puttingin 100 percent effortinto something, you’regoing to succeed.“I had a job in information technology, then got asked to leave, whichItgot me to thinkin maybe it isn't for me to be working for someone else. After many discussions between me andFranklin CountyDevelopment* KCouncilmy wife, we decided we would start this store.And so, Ship-It Ex-THE FRANKLIN COUpress was born. Andwhile the start-up pro- THE OTTAWA ARE*•decisionironicrepercussions.In 2002,1 joined theAIR CONDITIONING HEATING; Army, and they said I had to have a high school! diploma, that a GEDResidential Commercial • Service Installation‘.wasn’t good enough. So M went back to school atall$ea$on$-ac~hea t.cornthat point, and finishedYou Are Like Family to Us!• high school. he said.Licensed Mechanical ContractorWORKING TCTHE OTTAWA FRReach the IBy CallirJohOttawa Area i
Newspaper Details
Ottawa Herald
Ottawa, Kansas, US
Sat, Feb 20, 2016
Page 23
Full Page
Clipped by
Misty C.
NA, 17 Feb 2022
Other Publications Near Ottawa, Kansas
Ottawa Campus
Ottawa Daily Republican
Ottawa Herald
