Victor L. Regnier was born in Carthage, Missouri in 1917. In high school he developed an interest in science, a passion that would continue throughout his life. He joined the Navy in 1943 and while stationed near Chicago, he often wandered the halls of the Museum of Science and Industry, feeding his passion for learning. While in the Navy in Gulfport, Mississippi, he fell in love with Helen Benning, the naval base librarian.
Vic and Helen were married in 1945 and shortly after, Vic fueled his entrepreneurial spirit by forming a construction crew, building houses and developing subdivisions in the suburban Johnson County, Kansas. His next venture led into commercial building and he was elected a trustee to the newly formed International Council of Shopping Centers.
Beyond business, Vic and Helen showed a strong commitment to education and philanthropy. After their deaths, the Regnier children carried on their parents’ legacy by establishing the Regnier Family Foundation. Today, the Regnier Family Foundation continues to support organizations that reflect the values of Vic and Helen: entrepreneurship, innovation, education and science.
The public face of the Foundation, Robert “Bob” Regnier, is president of the Bank of Blue Valley and an entrepreneur in his own right. The Foundation has funded many Kansas City projects and entrepreneurial initiatives, including the Regnier Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at UMKC’s Bloch School of Management.