October Feature Profile – John Kortum

John attended Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff where he graduated with a degree in Advertising and Marketing.  Having grown up with the love for the outdoors, John felt that Flagstaff was the perfect playground for college.  While there, John continued to pursue his interest in camping, hiking, mountain biking and snowboarding. Although very much interested in pursuing higher education, he enjoyed the fact that the University’s campus was located right at the base of a great ski slope. He only had to walk a short distance to a chairlift.

The summer of John’s freshmen year, he felt a need for a great adventure, so he and a buddy from high school headed “North to Alaska.” With backpacks and a tent they headed to Ketchikan, Alaska. Because it was so far north, they flew to Seattle, sailed to Bellingham, Washington, and took a 40 hour ferry boat ride to Ketchikan. Once there, John lived in a tent for 8 weeks and accepted a job packing dynamite to be able to buy groceries.  As the fishing season began, John and his buddy found great paying jobs working in a cold storage for a fishery.   This was just the job that John had been looking for: 10 to 12 hours a day, 7 days a week.  It was hard work but great pay. After working such long and hard hours, the rest of their time was spent sleeping. This was great, for he was able to save a lot of money for the next school year and all the fun it would bring.

John graduated in 2001 and got a job with NBC, working the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah.  That was the perfect job to follow the snow and pursue his love for the great outdoors.  John’s next stint with NBC took him to Denver, Colorado, working the NASCAR Circuit.  John did this for 2 more years.

In 2004, John moved back to St Louis and back to his roots.  John has an older sister and one younger brother. In high school he attended Parkway South High. There he enjoyed playing soccer on the varsity team as well as being a member of The Busch Soccer Club. He graduated in 1997.

Having moved back to St. Louis,  John went to work for Pingel Displays for 2 years.  During this time, friends introduced John to his future bride, Megan.  They dated for about 6 years and found many common interests including hiking, biking and skiing.  They married in July 2010 and were blessed to be on a honeymoon for 9 days in beautiful parts of Costa Rica.  There they hiked the volcanoes, enjoyed zip lining, as well as lazy days on the beaches.

In March of 2009, John joined The Keane Insurance Group.  He is very excited to be part of the sales team and is dedicated to making this a successful and long lasting career.