Lamar Hunt Jr.
Lamar Hunt Jr
Born (1956-10-20) October 20, 1956 (age 68)
Alma materUniversity of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music
OccupationFranchise Owner & President of Kansas City Mavericks Founder Loretto Companies
Known forOwner of the Kansas City Mavericks ice hockey team, advisory board member for the Kansas City Chiefs
Spouse
Rita Mae Hammerschmidt
(m. 2003)
Children7

Lamar Hunt Jr. (born October 20, 1956) is an American businessman and sports promoter. Lamar is president and owner of the Kansas City Mavericks professional hockey team. He is the son of Lamar Hunt, grandson of oil tycoon H. L. Hunt, and part of the founding and operating family of the Kansas City Chiefs NFL team.[1]

Lamar Hunt Jr. played flute[2] for the Kansas City Symphony, and worked as a Licensed Professional Counselor.[3] He uses his sizeable inheritance[4] to fund and run Loretto Companies.

Early life & education

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Lamar Hunt Jr. was born to Lamar and Rose Mary Whittle Hunt on October 20, 1956.[5] He grew up in Dallas, Texas, where he spent the first 11 years of his life. Lamar and Rose Mary Hunt separated when Lamar Hunt Jr. was five years old and divorced In the summer of 1963. His childhood was spent between both parents, his father and his father's new wife, Norma Knobel, whom he married in 1964[6] and his mother and her new husband, a Texas businessman named John David Carr.

As a young man, Lamar Hunt Jr. attended private school at St. Mark's School of Texas, an all-boys school located in North Dallas. During his tenure at St. Mark's, Lamar Hunt Jr. played football, basketball, track, and tennis. After graduating from high school, Lamar Hunt Jr. auditioned for five different colleges that were known for their music programs, ultimately choosing the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (UCCCM). He would return to school as a graduate student at Dallas Baptist University from 2001 through 2003, where he studied cognitive-behavioral therapy and received a Master of Arts in Counseling in May 2003.[7]

Music career

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While in high school, Hunt Jr. studied with David Vornholt, a flutist from the Dallas Symphony. After graduating from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music in 1979, Lamar Hunt Jr. auditioned for the Kansas City Symphony and became second flute in the orchestra.[8]He also recorded an album at St. James Catholic Church in Liberty, MO of Bach's flute sonatas in 1990.[9]

Lamar Hunt Jr. is an active board member with the Kansas City Symphony.[10]

Professional career

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As a founder of Loretto Companies, Lamar Hunt Jr. has four distinct ventures.

The Loretto Foundation helps to build families and encourage spiritual growth by focusing on Catholic grade schools[11][12] and high schools[13] in the greater Kansas City area. Other organizations, including the Bright Futures Fund, Ozanam,[14] Children's Center for the Visually Impaired, and Variety KC are also active charities.[15] The Loretto Foundation also contributes to the Bluegrass Heritage Foundation.[16]

Under Loretto Commercial, Hunt Jr. works to develop commercial projects in Kansas City.[17]

Loretto Sports Ventures is closely tied to the Kansas City Mavericks ECHL hockey franchise,[2] with a current overall goal of growing the game of ice hockey in Kansas City and engaging more young people to pick up the sport.[18] Loretto Sports Ventures also purchased the Topeka RoadRunners, a junior hockey team, that was then renamed Topeka Pilots in 2018.[19]

Loretto Properties is a commercial and residential real estate development company[17] dedicated to building projects of all types.

Sports teams

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Lamar Hunt Jr. purchased the Missouri Mavericks ice hockey team in January 2015,[20] which became the Kansas City Mavericks in June 2017.[21] He later purchased the Topeka RoadRunners in 2018.[19]

In addition to owning the Mavericks, Lamar Hunt Jr. is part of the founding and operating family of the Kansas City Chiefs NFL team.[1]

Controversy

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In 2000, Lamar Hunt Jr. settled a lawsuit in which he was accused of sexually assaulting his mentally disabled sister-in-law.[22]

References

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  1. ^ a b Teicher, Adam (March 18, 2015). "Kansas City Chiefs Ownership at a Glance". ESPN.com.
  2. ^ a b Adler, Eric (January 21, 2016). "Lamar Hunt Jr. | Faith, Forgiveness and Hockey". Kansas City Star. Retrieved 2017-06-08.
  3. ^ "Lamar Hunt Jr., Professional Counselor | NPI 1457531329". npino.com. Retrieved 2017-06-08.
  4. ^ "Hunt family". Forbes. Retrieved 2020-01-22.
  5. ^ "Lamar Hunt Jr.: Faith, forgiveness and hockey". Kansas City Star.
  6. ^ Eskenazi, Gerald (2006-12-15). "Lamar Hunt, a Force in Football, Dies at 74". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331.
  7. ^ "Lamar Hunt Jr., Counselor - Professional in Leawood - NPI 1457531329, Contact and Address". NPI NO. November 8, 2007. Retrieved June 10, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. ^ "Lamar Hunt Jr. To Perform with Symphony". Irving Daily News. November 28, 1979.
  9. ^ "Lamar Hunt Jr. - Sonata for Flute | Johann Sebastian Bach". SoundCloud. October 26, 1990.
  10. ^ "Board of Directors". www.kcsymphony.org. July 13, 2016.
  11. ^ "Lamar Hunt, Jr. Family Field Dedicated and Blessed". The Highlands School Org. May 25, 2017.
  12. ^ Sukraw, Josh (October 31, 2016). "Bishop Ward Fund to Receive $400,000 Gift From Lamar Hunt Jr., Loretto Foundation". Wyandotte Daily.
  13. ^ "Rita and Lamar Hunt, Jr, present cash gift for Aquinas 2020". www.stasaints.net. Retrieved 2017-06-08.
  14. ^ Brockton (October 23, 2015). "Lamar Hunt Jr. and Loretto Foundation Support Ozanam". SB Wire.
  15. ^ "Loretto Foundation and Variety KC Team Up for "We Can Play 2!"". The Northland News. December 6, 2016.
  16. ^ Lewis, Lauren (September 21, 2015). "Bluegrass Heritage Foundation Supported by Lamar Hunt Jr. and the Loretto Foundation". DigitalJournal.com.
  17. ^ a b Roberts, Rob (June 2, 2014). "Lamar Hunt Jr. kicks off downtown KCK revitalization effort". www.bizjournals.com.
  18. ^ "Lamar Hunt Jr. enjoys 'the great disease of sports investing'". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2017-06-08.
  19. ^ a b "Loretto Sports Ventures Purchases NAHL's Topeka RoadRunners". OurSportsCentral.com. April 18, 2018.
  20. ^ "Lamar Hunt Jr. Buys Missouri Mavericks Hockey Team". KCTV 5 News. February 6, 2015. Retrieved June 10, 2017.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  21. ^ Althaus, Bill (March 11, 2017). "Mavericks to change name to Kansas City Mavericks on June 1". Examiner.
  22. ^ "Lamar Hunt Jr. Settles Assault Case". AP NEWS. Retrieved 2020-01-22.
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