Joe Sauer

Joe A. Sauer — Board President

Personal History

Born in Wichita, KS in 1953. I have two sisters who also live in Wichita.
Graduated from Chaplain Kapaun Memorial High School in 1971.
Attended WSU for six years: Graduated with a BBA (emphasis in Marketing) in 1975. Earned an MBA in 1977.
Married Karol O’Donnell in 1976. She also earned a BBA from WSU. She recently retired from a career in Human Resources Management.
We have two sons, John and Joe, who also graduated from WSU. We have 11 grandchildren who live in Sedgwick County.

1976-1977 — Intern in the Marketing Department of Pizza Hut, Inc. My mentor, Don Hackett, PhD helped me gain this internship and changed my life.
1977-1997 — Marketing Management with Pizza Hut, Inc, RMC, Sirloin Stockade and International Pizza Hut Franchise Holder’s Association.
1997-2007 —COO Papa John’s NorCal, Sirloin Stockade and RMC
2007-2017 — Talent Management at RMC (Pizza Hut, KFC and Long John Silver’s franchises)
2017 — Retired at age 63.
2017-2022 — Realtor. Retired again.

My father played the accordion and harmonica. When I was 10, he gave me lessons. On February 9, 1964, I watched The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show along with 73 million other Americans. My parents rented me a guitar and I started lessons. Once I had conquered “Pipeline”, I knew I was ready.
My first band won a talent show when I was 13. For the next 3 years, I lost every battle of the bands I entered.
1969-1972 — Played 130 one-night stands in gyms, bars and fraternity/sorority houses in Kansas.
1972-1974 — Played 4 to 6 nights/week in nightclubs. During this period, I took lessons from Jerry Hahn. I also taught 40+ students.
1975-1992 — Sabbatical while finishing school and starting a family.
1993-2024 — Performed in local and regional acts in theatres, conventions, concerts and clubs.

Currently, I perform with two acts:

I play guitar and sing with And Then There Were 2, an acoustic duo
I play keyboards and guitar with Steely Express, a 9-piece Steely Dan tribute band.