David Gotter is the owner and managing partner of D & R Machine and Alton Machine Works, two privately-held machine shops driving $1.5 million in annual sales through the successful servicing of two St. Louis-area steel mills, a brass mill, several steel processors, area farmers and others. D&R's renewable energy division, D&R Energy Services, operates in partnership with global product manufacturers and clean power design to provide full-service turnkey clean energy solutions.

Growing up, David and his two younger brothers helped a lot with their younger sister Carina, who was born with a muscle disease which kept her in a wheelchair throughout her 21-year lifetime. During high school, to help deal with mounting medical bills, David joined his father in an after-hours family business refurbishing and reselling used vehicles. At age 18, David took a retail job in auto parts sales. Several years later, after completing training and a union-accredited apprenticeship program, he began working as a machinist, ultimately rising to the superintendent level and working with numerous area machine shops. In 1997, David and his wife Rene' incorporated D & R, and since that time, the business has sustained spectacular growth and success. 

Together with Scott Darnell, David and Rene' incorporated Further OPTIONS in 2003 to develop innovative vehicle entry systems and other breakthrough products for wheelchair-bound individuals. 

Jimmy Lefler is the owner of Lefler Collision and Glass Repair Center, a one-stop shop for automotive collision repair, glass replacement and auto mechanical repair first established in Evansville, Indiana, in 1952 by Jimmy's grandfather, Leroy Lefler. Following in the footsteps of his grandfather and his father James, Jimmy is very proud to be the third generation of his family providing superior automotive collision repair and extraordinary customer service to area residents for over half a century. Across four area locations, Jimmy has grown Lefler’s sales to $8 million annually by focusing on "good repairs and good deeds." Among the community efforts he's most proud of are the Support Our Troops campaign, which provides free car maintenance and discounted repairs to local military spouses, as well as automotive maintenance classes for women, child safety seat fitting classes, and classes for teens, all for free. "We are in the people business," he says. "Repairing vehicles is just a part of what we do."

In November 2010, Automotive Body Repair News (ABRN) Magazine named Lefler its Top Shop in the U.S., and the shop is also honored among the Country's Finest in Collision Repair 2010 by FenderBender Magazine, the leading national resource for the collision repair industry.

This year, Lefler also joined forces with Uncharted International to help build an orphanage and provide other aid, benefits and services to the inhabitants of a village in Myanmar.