Getting to know Lee Schnyder

Schnyder’s job at Fidelity Management continues his string of working for “a lot of local companies,” he says.

“That’s something I’ve always looked to do.”

The corporation, a branch of Fidelity Companies, owns and operates 10 apartment complexes in Wichita and one in Topeka.

Schnyder, 46, was born and raised in Wichita, graduating from Southeast High and then Wichita State University with a degree in business administration. He worked for Brite Voice, the nonprofit Mental Health Association of South Central Kansas and then Lange Real Estate.

Schnyder said managing government-subsidized apartments for the elderly and low-income residents of the mental health association was particularly rewarding.

“You were doing something really needed by the community,” he said.

Schnyder joined Fidelity Management in September as executive vice president and was promoted to his current role last month. He will focus on marketing the properties and maintaining good occupancy as well as long-term planning.

Plans call for upgrading interiors and exteriors of some of the properties and making Wi-Fi part of the rental package.

“It’s one less thing people have to worry about when they move in.”

Schnyder says his best job was working as a college student in the sports department of The Wichita Eagle, “because I love sports and that’s where I met my wife,” MeLinda, a writer specializing in travel stories.

The couple have watched baseball games in every city with a major league team and completed a 30-day road trip in a small SUV “packed to the hilt.”

“If you can make it 30 days in a car, that’s how you know you’ve married the right woman.”

Joe Stumpe

This story was originally published June 15, 2017 at 10:09 AM with the headline "Getting to know Lee Schnyder."