The Family Behind The Beacon

The Owners of The Beacon (All Photos by Love in Kansas)

By Courtney Stemler
Dec. 21, 2023

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As a locally owned and operated business, we usually get asked who is responsible for The Beacon. The short answer is the Stemler and Irick families. More specifically, Shelby and Courtney (who are sisters) are the majority owners of The Beacon, along with their husbands Nic and Chris.

Shelby Irick

Shelby Irick is the younger of the sisters and attended Silver Lake High School and then went on to the University of Missouri-Columbia, majoring in Journalism with an emphasis in Strategic Communications. Shelby did some freelance work before beginning with jhP in Topeka. She later moved to Greater Topeka Partnership and then McElroy’s before becoming a mostly full-time parent, except when she’s working at The Beacon. Shelby really enjoys DIY projects of all kinds, hunting and dancing West coast swing. She is incredibly creative and always wows us with the ideas she brings to fruition at home and at The Beacon.

Courtney Stemler

Courtney Stemler is the older of the sisters and also attended Silver Lake High School and later finished her Elementary Education degree at Emporia State University. She later earned a Master’s Degree, also from Emporia State, while teaching at Scott Dual Language Magnet in Topeka. She became a full-time parent when her son was born. After about eighteen months, The Beacon was purchased, and her role shifted to include working at The Beacon. She loves traveling, good food, baking and planning fun outings and activities with her kids.

Nic Irick

Nic Irick is married to Shelby. He is from Tonganoxie and currently works for The Retirement Advantage, Inc. He is the facilities manager at The Beacon and knows the ins and outs of all the nooks and crannies that you didn’t know existed. Nic enjoys hunting, cooking and being a fun uncle.

Chris Stemler

Chris Stemler is married to Courtney and is from Canada originally. He went to Washburn Rural, later completing a Business degree at Fort Hays State University and then a Master’s in Business Degree at Baker University. Chris works for Cuna Mutual and is the finance and alcohol guy at The Beacon. He enjoys painting, cooking and board games.

You might have heard already, but we started The Beacon project with an eighteen month old, Beckett Stemler. He is our Chief Morale Officer. He is your best encourager, rule-follower and positive thinker. We added two girls along the way, Kevan Irick and Sutton Stemler. Kevan is our Chief Safety Officer. She knows all the ways things should not be done and makes sure to tell us “no” when it’s not a good idea, and even when it is sometimes. Sutton is six months younger than Kevan and is our Chief Experience Officer. She loves a good party, dances at any opportunity and almost always has a smile on her face.