Patrick Goebel — Star Lumber & Supply

87 Years and Thriving! How a Local Family Business Has Successfully Adapted

Star Lumber has had to change and reinvent itself several times over the last nine decades, and Patrick will highlight some of the key pivotal points, as well as share some of the unique ways Star Lumber has governed itself to maintain a happy and healthy family-owned business.

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Patrick Goebel grew up in Wichita and graduated from Bishop Carroll before running cross country at Kansas State University, where he earned a degree in accounting. After college, he worked for AGH CPAs for several years before returning to Star Lumber, where he worked his way through nearly every part of the company. In 2006, he earned his EMBA from Wichita State’s Barton School of Business and later served on the Dean’s Advisory Board.

Since 2010, Patrick has served as Star Lumber’s President and, following Chris Goebel’s retirement last year, also took on the role of CEO. He and his wife, Paulette, have been happily married for 32 years and have five children and three grandchildren.

Patrick has served on numerous Wichita civic boards, including those for the Catholic Diocese, Habitat for Humanity, Guadalupe Clinic and Exploration Place, where he recently completed two terms as board chair. He also serves as President of Pathway Captive Insurance Company and on the Kansas City Federal Reserve’s Economic Advisory Council. Patrick was named to the Wichita Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 Hall of Fame and recognized as an Industry Top Gun. In 2024, Star Lumber was named Large Independent Dealer of the Year by LBM Journal.

Star Lumber is a fifth-generation, 87-year-old family business serving professional builders throughout Kansas and Oklahoma, with locations in Wichita, Manhattan, Oklahoma City and Tulsa, as well as several sales offices. The company operates multiple manufacturing plants, including two truss plants, three door shops, a customer millwork shop and a countertop fabrication plant.

Outside of work, Patrick enjoys traveling, spending time with family at their backyard lake, smoking meat on the Yoder and taking on endurance challenges. His adventures have included running the Pikes Peak Ascent five times, biking the Dirty Kanza and 119-mile Hondo, and running several marathons.