Alex Gottlob named recipient of Outstanding Tiger Alumni Award

Alex Gottlob, the 2006-2007 Student of the Year at Cowley College and the recipient of the college’s Young Achiever Award in 2014, was recently named the recipient of the Outstanding Tiger Alumni Award.

As a Cowley graduate Gottlob has been an active Alumnus supporting various events and also assisting with several landscape projects.

Gottlob, who went on to receive a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Southwestern College in 2009, decided to give back to Cowley College by donating $28,000 worth of landscaping to the Travis Hafner Training Center capital campaign.

Gottlob’s Lawn and Landscape company donated native plants, boulders, and grass.

As a student at Cowley, Gottlob was involved in Phi Beta Lambda, Campus Christian Fellowship, and was a Cowley Ambassador.

Representing Cowley’s Phi Beta Lambda organization at the National Leadership Conference in Nashville, TN. in June, 2006, Gottlob became the first Cowley student to place first at the national level as he placed first in job interview.

Gottlob looks back fondly on his time at Cowley.

“Our communities in the area have such a valuable asset in Cowley College and I find that it is largely due to the people that not only lead the college but those that support it,” Gottlob said. “I am no different than anyone else and enjoy being a part of good things and my connection with Cowley is a reflection of me simply wanting to be a part of a good thing. It’s because of previous and current college leadership and community members that made Cowley such a great place for me as a student. I take great pride in knowing that in some small way my connections with the College hopefully have a positive impact on students that have come after me.”

Following the examples of family members and other inspirational business leaders, many of which are also Cowley Alumni, Alex is passionate about nearly everything he does.

Gottlob Lawn and Landscape has 20 employees and operates a full lineup of Design, Landscape Construction and Maintenance Services coupled with a Retail Nursery and Garden Center located in Winfield. Their service area includes Wichita and Ponca City.

His adventure business and second start up is called Prairie Outfitters and Excursions which provides everything you need to have a successful trip on the water offering guided and non-guided trips.

His most recent endeavor is Frontier Investment Group which was formed when he and two friends decided to purchase the Cowley County National Bank Building at Ninth and Main in Winfield.  After purchasing the building, they immediately went to work making improvements after 30+ years of deferred Maintenance. They have successfully received funding from the state which has allowed them to bolster their preservation efforts and maintain the unique history of this building which was built in 1886. While also investing in residential property Gottlob and his partners are also wrapping up new construction of an upscale duplex with plans to expand in this market by building additional duplexes in the future.

Gottlob is also civically involved and values his role as a community member. He has served on numerous boards including the Young Professional of Cowley County, Winfield Chamber Board of Directors and Cowley County Salvation Army. He is currently serving on the Legacy Regional Community Foundation as well as the Kansas Nursery and Landscape Association.

“I encourage everyone to find a way to contribute to your community,” Gottlob said. “Being a part of an organization that contributes to the success of others is and will always be one of the most satisfying feelings for my wife Laura and I. Civic involvement is a huge factor in what makes so many organizations in our area excel at their goals and as a community member I can’t help but want to be a part of making our community even better than it already is.”

The Gottlob name is not unfamiliar to Cowley College, as along with Alex, several of his family members can lay claim to Cowley College as their alma mater. Alex’s sister, Angela, was the Student of the Year at Cowley College in 1994 and was named the 1994 Kansas Junior College Student of the Year. Prior to that, his cousin Brett was named the school’s 1991 Student of the Year as well as the 1991 Kansas Junior College Student of the Year.

His cousin, Kristy, was crowned Queen Alalah during her time at the school and later worked in the school’s admissions department. The college is fortunate to hold endowed scholarships honoring a pair of his relatives – the Estelle Hamilton Gottlob Endowed Scholarship and Jerre Gottlob Memorial Scholarship.

Gottlob is honored to be named the recipient of the Outstanding Tiger Alumni Award.

“I attribute much of my success to a decision I made as a senior at Winfield High School and that was the decision to attend Cowley College,” Gottlob said. “I feel as though this award should also be shared with so many of my family members who have called Cowley home and excelled in their lives also in part due to their time spent at Cowley.  Receiving this award means a lot to me and will no doubt strengthen my commitment to all things Cowley.”