Bloch Alumnus Earns Henry Bloch Human Relations Award
Release Date: Nov 04, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Nov. 4, 2008
Contact: Victoria Prater, 816-235-5295
praterv@umkc.edu
Bob Regnier
The Jewish Community Relations Bureau/American Jewish Committee recently announces that Bloch friend and alumnus Robert D. Regnier (MBA ’76), president of the Overland Park-based Bank of Blue Valley, will be the recipient of the2008 Henry W. Bloch Human Relations Award. The Award honors a person who lives a life of justice and selflessness and who makes the community a better place to live.
The award will be presented by Henry Bloch, co-founder of H&R Block, Inc. and benefactor of the Henry W. Bloch School of Business and Public Administration at UMKC at the annual dinner on Nov. 23 at The Westin Crown Center.
According to Bloch, “Bob Regnier gives immeasurable time and energy on behalf of education, health care, civic improvement and the arts. He has certainly made this a better community in which to live, and I am delighted to see him honored for his contributions.”
Regnier displayed his foresight and initiative when he organized and developed investors for a newly-chartered bank in Johnson County. The Bank of Blue Valley opened for business on Dec. 18, 1989. It has since grown from the original location at 119th and Metcalf to six locations and was recognized by Ingram’s magazine as one of the fastest growing companies in Kansas City from 1996 through 2004.
Regnier has noted on more than one occasion that his father had phenomenal respect for education, and he has carried on the family tradition by serving the Blue Valley School District as a member of the School Board and an officer in the Educational Foundation.
In addition to being an alumnus, Regnier has served with the Bloch School Alumni Association and was named a Bloch School Outstanding Alumnus. An avid supporter of the Bloch School’s Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Regnier became the inaugural sponsor for the Institute’s New Venture Challenge Competition in 2007, committing to a three-year sponsorship of the entrepreneurial showcase through the Regnier Family Foundations.
The community has benefitted from his leadership on the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, Civic Council, United Way of Greater Kansas City, Union Station, Kansas University Hospital Authority, and the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art.
The Henry W. Bloch School of Business and Public Administration at the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) is Kansas City’s only institution fully-accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International (AACSB) and the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA). The Bloch School is home to nationally renowned faculty and research centers as well as cutting-edge curricula in entrepreneurship, financial services, leadership, accounting, and public administration. The Bloch School offers degree programs at the undergraduate, graduate, Executive MBA, and PhD levels.
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