Kansas City, Missouri
JP moved to the Kansas City area from Chicago 23 years ago to take a position as Food Service Director for Sodexho at University of Missouri Kansas City. Growing up in Bloomington Indiana, JP developed a love for college basketball and enjoys being in Big 12 country. JP is married to his wife of over 10 years, Liz Mendez-Gilmore. Both are the proud parents of their daughter Dahlia Rose Gilmore.
Sean loves to spend time with his wife Carla and his two amazing kids, Dylan and Jada. When Sean isn’t working, his passion is cooking. Thai dishes, pasta, and beef bourguignon are just a few of his go-to specialties.
Aaron received his Bachelor of Music in Classical Guitar Performance at the UMKC Conservatory of Music. While teaching and performing music in Kansas City, Aaron also worked as a bartender and server at some of Kansas City's finest restaurants including EBT, Grand St. Cafe and Lidia's.
David has called Kansas City his home since 1989. He and his wife of almost 19 years, Enid, are very proud parents of 16-year-old daughter, Emma. When he isn’t working, David is an avid golfer, playing as often as he can.
Tom has been married to his wife Barb for over 25 years. They have three wonderful daughters and one crazy Wheaten Terrier. In his spare time, Tom enjoys a passion for cooking, Royals baseball, and Kansas basketball.
Jasen and Courtney have three children: two daughters and a son. When he isn’t working, Jasen enjoys going to concerts, travelling as much as possible, and enjoying the quality, family time that they get when they all go on camping trips together.
The restaurant was one of Vintegrity’s first customers. She has always been impressed with not only the portfolio Vintegrity had, but the amazing customer service of the team. JP always had integrity. When she decided she was ready to leave the restaurant business, she learned about an office coordinator opening and immediately reached out to JP. 5 years later the company has grown and she is now the Assistant General Manager. Courtney says that the best part of working for Vintegrity is working for owners that not only have insight for the growth of the company, but are very employee driven and truly respect and value what every single person brings to the company.
Courtney is married to Jasen Foster, one of Vintegrity’s sales reps. Together they have three beautiful children Ashlin, Ella, and Max. She is a proud supporter of local arts and loves live music and dining out at the many of the amazing restaurants here in KC. She loves to travel and be outdoors. When her and Jasen are hanging out at home they enjoy opening up a nice bottle of wine and listening to records.
Food is her passion outside of work, and she loves cooking and trying out new and interesting restaurants wherever she goes. She also enjoys concerts and stand-up comedy shows with her boyfriend when they’re not deciding which TV show or movie to watch!
Mike and his wife Renee are very proud parents of four children. Ranging in ages from 2 to 18, they are Zoe, Ryan, Blake, and Oliver. Mike’s passions outside of work include motorcycles, art, and “chasing those kids!”
Now at Vintegrity, Morgan says she’s glad to have made the move. “I really like Vintegrity because the portfolio is vast, and everyone seems to have the same end goal – to be the best at what we do. It’s what I really like most about the company.” Morgan continued, “The team at Vintegrity is especially knowledgeable about the products we carry – and, they really care about the people who buy and sell them.”
Morgan is newly married to her husband Brian and are proud owners of two Bernese Mountain dogs. Said Morgan, “They have tons of personality and really keep us on our toes!” When weather permits, the couple are either outside hiking and camping – or working in their extensive garden. Morgan is a self-described foodie at heart and says most weekends you’ll find her experimenting in the kitchen. Both Morgan and her husband’s families live in the Kansas City area – making it easy to enjoy a lot of time together with them as well.
St. Louis, Missouri
In 2001, while working at Remy’s, Michelle completed Level One of the Court of Master Sommeliers (back when there were only 3 levels). Michelle went on to spend 12 years with Missouri Beverage Company (which later became Major Brands), advancing to the role of lead sales rep where she created many deep and lasting relationships with many of the area’s finest wine shops and independent restaurants.
Throughout her lasting career in the wine and spirits industry, Michelle has had the opportunity to travel throughout many of the major wine and spirit regions of the world including Burgundy, Bordeaux, Rhone Valley in France, the wine regions of Germany, Australia and Scotland, as well as top U.S. vineyards including many in Oregon and California. Michelle also earned the Certified Specialist of Wine designation from the Society of Wine Educators in 2009.
Michelle joined the Vintegrity Wine and Spirits team in 2015 and enjoys sharing her passion for fine wine and craft spirits with St. Louis area restaurateurs, proprietors of wine and spirit shops and, of course, all of the wonderful growers, vintners and distillers Vintegrity represents.
In her spare time, she enjoys golf and fishing with her husband Kevin, a middle school industrial arts teacher. Michelle and her husband love to travel and one of their favorite spots is Hilton Head, South Carolina. When they’re not strolling the beach, they’ve been known to compete in barbeque competitions around the country.
Aaron went on to become the Sommelier and Assistant General Manager of Girl & the Goat, the award-winning restaurant of James Beard Award-winning chef Stephanie Izard. Concurrently, he opened Gather, a neighborhood restaurant in Lincoln Square with David Breo and Chef Ken Carter. Aaron moved on to St. Louis, joining Gerard Craft’s group as Beverage Director, later joining Ben Poremba as Bengelina Hospitality Group’s Wine Director and Director of Operations. In June of 2016, Aaron joined Vintegrity, bringing his vast restaurant experience to the sales side of the business in the St. Louis market.
Aaron has been awarded a diploma from the International Sommelier Guild (ISG) and the rank of Certified Sommelier for the Court of Master Sommeliers, and was subsequently asked to be a faculty member for the ISG, where he conducted wine education classes in Chicago. Aaron’s writing has been featured in Today’s Chicago Woman and on the National Public Radio’s website. Aaron lives in St. Louis with his wife, Jelena, a professional musician, and their dog, Bear.
In his spare time, Steve likes to run, listen to the latest music from indie bands, and cheer the St. Louis Cardinals and Blues on to victory. He also enjoys exploring new restaurants and films with his wife, Caren, a teacher at Maryville University. Their son Alex keeps the two busy with music performances and cross-country training and the whole family enjoys traveling around the country to visit their many friends and family.
Shannon has her Level One from the Court of Master Sommeliers and is planning on becoming a Certified Sommelier in the near future. Shannon’s favorite wine regions include Piedmont, Alto Adige, Alsace, Oregon, Beaujolais, Pfalz, and Champagne.
When Shannon isn’t working, she loves to play soccer, travel, go on hikes, play a round of golf, and spend time with her partner, Jaimie, and their cat, Roxy.
David’s passion for wine extends from his work to his personal life as he’s always on the hunt for high quality in both wine and in food. David also enjoys ice hockey and live music – both being a life staple in St Louis! At one point in his career he even contemplated parallel careers in both ice hockey and percussion instruments back in Nashville. We’re glad to say David ventured back into wine and a home with Vintegrity.
Springfield, Missouri
When Roy’s not building positive working relationships with the Vintegrity team, he loves to be outside riding vintage bikes, cruising his boat with his life partner, Alexis, or simply barbecuing with family and friends. Frisbee golf and wine also go hand-in-hand through Roy's eyes. Then again, most things seem to go hand in hand with a glass of fine wine!
Lenexa, Kansas
Courtney is married to her wonderful husband Levon, and together they have two sons who she absolutely adores, Jack and Charlie. She loves being outside in nature and having trees over her head. She also has a love of cooking and likes to spend time growing veggies in their community garden. Courtney says, “It’s harder to find time while chasing two little boys around these days, but when I can, I also love to read, do yoga, and see live music.”
While in Kansas City, Sean attended the University of Missouri-Kansas City, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. Sean was one of the founding members of Project Wake Up, a non-profit raising awareness around mental illness and suicide prevention. Sean is a big outdoors guy who’s also very passionate about golf and loves to spend time hanging out with his German Shepherd, Bella. Now with Vintegrity for over a year, Sean is excited about the future as a Sales Representative for Vintegrity Kansas.
While working in Wichita at the Bistro, Chase developed a sincere passion for wine. Chase learned of the job opportunity at Vintegrity when his stepfather saw an advertisement in the Wichita Eagle Beacon. The timing was right for a career move, so Chase applied for the job. One thing led to another and Chase joined Vintegrity. Today Chase serves as a Kansas sales representative for Vintegrity.
Chase is a graduate of Wichita State University where he studied business with an emphasis in marketing. His business and marketing education combined with his years in fine dining provided Chase with the tools he would need to service and grow Vintegrity’s book of business in southeast Kansas. Chase says his favorite part of working at Vintegrity has been expanding and sharing his ever-growing knowledge of wine and spirits with his clientele.
Chase is the third of four children and says his mother serves as a major inspiration to him. Chase also shares his father’s love of sports and his dad taught him the fine points of the game of baseball. Chase said he has fond memories of his family traveling to and from Manhattan for Kansas State football and basketball games while growing up. Today Chase considers himself an avid sports fan and enjoys live sporting events, golfing, and playing pickleball.
Kerry has witnessed the process of “Farm-to-Table” in its entirety. While working on the goat farm, Kerry managed the acclaimed Pachamamas Restaurant and Star Bar in Lawrence, Kansas for two and a half years. From there, she moved to manage another Lawrence favorite for five years, 715, the Tuscan-themed neighborhood bistro where many ingredients were sourced from Kansas farms.
Kerry took a short sabbatical from her Lawrence restaurant career to help her grandmother in Michigan. That 10-month sojourn included working at Ann Arbor’s legendary Zingerman’s Creamery – an establishment dedicated to using old world methods to craft handmade cheeses with milk from small-scale regional farmers. According to Kerry, “My job there combined nearly all of my previous experience into one job - managing people, selling specialty cheeses and other fresh goods, great customer service, learning, teaching – and more growth in the hospitality industry.”
Kerry’s move to Vintegrity was not planned but she says, “It was the perfect job at the perfect time.” A former employer knew JP Gilmore and that he was looking for just the right person to join the Vintegrity team. Kerry was put in touch with JP and, after a few rounds of meetings and interviews, the rest was history.
About interviewing and then accepting a sales position at Vintegrity Kerry said, “Right away, I knew I would love Vintegrity because I knew I was joining a company who puts their employees first and clearly has a passion for what they do. I’ve always been passionate about wine and spirits, so this has been a chance to expand my knowledge base and work closely with all my friends in the restaurant industry.”
As for home life, Kerry and her husband Jake have adopted an adorable American Bulldog/Cattle Dog mix named Murph last year who keeps them very busy. The couple loves to travel and cook – in fact, last year they took a two-week trip to Spain and France, eating and drinking their way through as many natural wine and pintxos bars as they could find. When not travelling, they support the restaurant community in both KC and Lawrence – finding friends and inspiration at every turn. Kerry and Jake recently bought a house, so they are spending their time getting settled and dreaming up projects for their new abode, including building their own garden this year.
Keeping consistent with his career aspirations, Michael found his way to Vintegrity, “It was a natural next move, the culture just fit.” His favorite part of being on-the-job is sharing his passion and knowledge of fine wines and craft spirits with customers.
Michael says his love for the work comes from the great brands he and his colleagues represent, says Michael, “The book we represent is awesome!” Michael believes the reason Vintegrity is so successful is because he and his coworkers are all very team oriented.
Michael is a proud parent of “two awesome kids” who are quite active in sports “and make great grades!” In addition to his kids’ academic and extracurricular commitments, Michael really admires their thoughtfulness and caring.
When he’s not enjoying his professional vocation as a sales representative for Vintegrity, Michael enjoys running his ornamental fish breeding business. According to Michael, “It’s a really a fun hobby!”