Not long ago, Jay Justin, president and CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Mississippi Valley, had this to say about his friend Lynsey Engels: “Lynsey is without a doubt one of the most generous, insightful, strategic and passionate leaders I have worked with. … “
“I count on her to be a valued mentor, advisor and friend as we work together to help vulnerable children in our community,” Mr. Justin wrote in nominating Ms. Engels for the QCBJ’s first Women of Influence honorees.
“I’m very appreciative. I’m fortunate to have the opportunity to be involved in the community,” said Ms. Engels, who is president of the Real Estate Brokerage Division of the Mel Foster Co. in Davenport.
A Davenport resident almost her entire life, she has been involved with many business and community organizations for the past 20 years. She’s served on a number of groups and in various roles including: Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Mississippi Valley, John Deere Classic, Children’s Therapy Center of the Quad Cities, UnityPoint Health Foundation, GreenState Community Credit Union and City of Bettendorf Flood Appeals Board.
Ms. Engels said she gets involved with these community organizations – and many others – because it’s great to help people and be a community steward.
“We all need to get involved. … We need to work with people who support us,” she added.
The Davenport woman’s volunteer and professional work in the region goes back more than 20 years. She left the region briefly to attend Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, and graduated in 2002. She returned to the Quad Cities and became a Realtor at Mel Foster, and has been president of the company’s Real Estate Brokerage Division since 2013. Her duties as president include managing nine residential offices, a commercial division and a team of 40 employees.
She said the best part of her job is “working with the agents” to help customers and fostering new ideas.
As a leader at Mel Foster, she has also helped get agents and other employees involved in various community efforts. For instance, as part of Mel Foster’s 100th anniversary celebration in 2021, Ms. Engels invited agents and staff members to nominate their favorite charities to receive part of a $100,000 anniversary donation. Agents and staff also donated more than 4,000 hours of community services to area organizations.
Also, she was behind the launch of the Think.Buy.Be.Local Small Business Week challenge. In this event to promote small businesses, Mel Foster agents and staff helped encourage the community to shop at local small businesses.
People who have worked with Ms. Engels have called her a role model for colleagues, employees and members of the community. In nominating her for the Women of Influence Award, one person put it this way” Simply put, she is ordinarily extraordinary. Many in our community are proud to call Lynsey a friend and are inspired to be better and do more professionally, personally, and for our community because of her.”
When she’s not busy with work and community projects, Ms. Engels has a busy family life. She and her husband Marc Engels have three daughters.
Mr. Justin said that Ms. Engels’ passion for family, work and community has made her a great part of the region.
“Working closely with her in her leadership role with our organization, one can easily see the incredible balance and value system she has – serving as a volunteer coach for her kids’ sport teams, serving on other community organization boards, rallying her employees to be engaged in the community, and consistently leading record performance of her company,” he wrote.
This profile was originally published in the QCBJ’s 2024 Women of Influence publication. The QCBJ is excited to introduce this new awards program to the Quad Cities. Our inaugural class of Women of Influence are an inspiring group of trailblazers, role models and leaders in their workplaces and in their communities. They have overcome adversity, taken chances and committed themselves to making the Quad Cities community a better place for all of us to live, work and play.
The QCBJ will present the 2024 Women of Influence awards on Thursday, May 23, from 5:30-8 p.m., at the Quad Cities Waterfront Convention Center in Bettendorf. Tickets are still available to the event, which includes networking, dinner and remarks from the winners, by visiting quadcitiesbusiness.com.
