Michelle Reiter was a great role model and ambassador as a Kansas City Chiefs cheerleader

I had the great pleasure and fortune to write features on some Chiefs players and cheerleaders in the late 1990s. I had a wonderful long sit-down interview with offensive lineman Glenn Parker at a car dealership as he talked about his charity work with Special Olympics and what being named Chiefs MVP meant to him. He couldn't have been any nicer to me.

The cheerleaders I interviewed were great ambassadors and role models as well who did so much service work in the community. They credited then-Cheer Director Elaine Hart for shaping them and the influence she had on their lives.

My favorite interview and feature was on Michelle Reiter in 1999 for Kansas City Sports & Fitness. We had a great interview at the old Borders in Lawrence. I was immediately impressed with Michelle. She smiled throughout the interview and was just such a genuine and kind person. I loved how she talked about how her upbringing by her parents in Beloit helped shaped her as a human being, how they taught her to respect “all people, no matter if it’s someone who owns a large corporation or is a janitor for that building.”

That’s the kind of values Michelle has. She treats other people how she’d like to be treated, something that I believe all people should do but don’t always. I reconnected with Michelle many years ago on Facebook when she lived in California. We’ve corresponded ever since from time to time, and she now lives and works in Kansas City. I can honestly say Michelle is one of the kindest, genuine and positive people I’ve ever met. I'm proud to call her my friend. I love how she always wishes me a Happy Birthday on Facebook each year, and that makes me feel special.

I was also humbled by the very kind testimonial Michelle wrote about me on LinkedIn in 2016 regarding how she pleased she was with my story on her in 1999 and the way I conducted the interview:

"I had the privilege to be interviewed by David for a story he wrote on me as a Kansas City Chiefs Cheerleader for the Kansas City Sports & Fitness magazine. David did a great job interviewing me and made the conversation flow easily. He was very professional, asked great questions that were portrayed well in the article, and had a nice, easy-going personality which made people feel very comfortable. I enjoyed reading the article and felt that it was an excellent representation of myself and the Kansas City Chiefs Cheerleading organization. I highly recommend David for his professionalism, creative writing talents, and his strong work ethic." 

She also completely flattered me when she wrote on Facebook in 2018 that I was an “inspiration” and thanked me for “sharing your talents.”

Thanks so much for your kindness Michelle and for our interview back in 1999. Meeting and knowing great people like you has made my longtime writing career much more rewarding and gratifying!

Here is that story I wrote on Michelle in 1999 for Kansas City Sports & Fitness.

...

Michelle Reiter’s life changed forever when she was selected as a Kansas Chiefs cheerleader five years ago.

Reiter, who didn’t even think she’d make the team, feels blessed to be representing the Chiefs on and off the field. She loves lending a hand to the community and helping such worthy causes as the Fox 4 Love Fund for Children.  

“We do hundreds of appearances each year,” Reiter said. “There’s way more to it than just dancing and performing. That’s what I thought it was when I first got into it. But as you do it more and more, you just realize what a life-changing event it is.” 

Reiter credits Elaine Hart (Chiefs Cheerleader Director and owner of HARTBEAT Productions) for help shaping her identity and challenging all the cheerleaders to “find our own inner strength and spirituality.”  

“I think that’s good because it relates well to us in what we do in being servants to the community and ambassadors for the Chiefs,” Reiter said. “She’s a wonderful person.”

Reiter, 25, can certainly identify with the significance of HARTBEAT Productions’ motto — “Leadership from the Heart.” She mentioned that Hart actually had a little analogy this year in saying “High Five from the Heart.”  

“Each finger represents something that we do, like integrity or reaching out to the community,” Reiter said. “It’s all from the heart.”  

Reiter, who smiles when saying the cheerleaders sometimes give each other high-fives, now uses the leadership skills she’s developed with the Chiefs in her job as interim fitness director of the KU FIT program at Kansas University. Reiter receives a “real high” in seeing people adopt fitness as a way of life, and is constantly encouraging her staff of instructors and personal trainers to raise the self esteem of each participant.  

“I stress that not everyone is at the same aerobic level,” Reiter said. “I tell them just to encourage each and everyone in the class to hang in there if they’re not doing so well. Maybe it’s just a glance or touching someone’s shoulder during class and saying, ‘You can do it.’ Just taking the extra time to touch the most people in class as possible.”

As the youngest of six children growing up in Beloit, Reiter has always made time for others. Her parents taught her to respect “all people, no matter if it’s someone who owns a large corporation or is a janitor for that building.” She was also impacted throughout the years by such mentors as her two older sisters, Shannon Bollman (former director of KU FIT and ex-Chiefs cheerleader), college professors, Dr. Kenneth Cooper (he first coined the term “aerobics” in 1968), and, of course, Hart.  

 

Thus, it shouldn’t be surprising that Reiter keeps the following inspirational quote in her office: “In the end, leaders are much like eagles...they don’t flock, you find them one at a time.”

And what does this personally mean to Reiter? Her voice now grows soft with meaning:

“In your life, lots of people come in and out. But there are certain ones that really influence you and change your life.”