Yingst takes over family tax, popcorn businesses

Passing down the family business from one generation to another sometimes makes for an uneasy tran­sition.

Just ask Jacob Yingst (pictured at right), who, about six years ago, joined the tax prepara­tion business near Whiting that his grandfather, Gary Schlaegel, had built over half a cen­tury, then took over in 2020.

“The first couple of years were hard,” said Yingst, a 2012 graduate of Holton High School. “When I came in, there were some pretty skeptical people.”

But Yingst, who graduated from Kansas State University with a bache­lor’s degree in agriculture and some experience in accounting, was eager to prove himself just as good as his grandpa at tax preparation.

“Having to prove your knowledge and experience to them was actually kind of a fun experience, looking back,” Yingst said. “It’s kind of nice to look back and see some of the re­lationships I’ve built with some peo­ple who, initially, weren’t very hap­py to see me that first year.”

Yingst, son of Jon and Cheryl Yingst, grew up just a few miles down the road from his grandparents, recent Holton/Jackson County Chamber of Commerce Hall of Fame honorees Gary and Marian Schlaegel, and he always enjoyed getting to visit his grandparents’ farm, helping out with the Schlaegels’ other business of raising, growing and selling popcorn.

As a youth, Yingst was keen to follow in his dad’s footsteps as an educator. But as he got older, the tax side of his grandfather’s business be­gan to appeal more to him.

“By the time I got into college, I knew what I wanted to do,” he said. “I wanted to come back and run the popcorn and tax business.”

Yingst entered KSU majoring in accounting, but over time he changed his major to accommodate his inter­ests in agribusiness and took classes in agricultural economics. During his college years, he also started an in­ternship with Atchison-based Bartlett Grain that held a significant amount of career promise for him.

But there was also the call of the family business.

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