About Us
Cindy Skola has been one of the top Real Estate Agents in the Old Kinderhook area for the past 24 years. She and her husband Jan, came to the Lake in 1994 at which time they were looking for a vacation home, after having spent 25 years in the banking and insurance business. As it turned out, they ended up purchasing 640 acres along Lake of the Ozarks with rolling hills and beautiful views. After interviewing numerous golf course designers that included the likes of Tom Fazio, Jack Nicklaus, and Robert Trent Jones, Jan hired Tom Weiskopf to build a golf course on the property, and named it “Old Kinderhook”. In 2001, after getting the golf course built, roads completed, Patio Homes and Golf Cottages constructed, Jan and Cindy sold the project to Robert Smith. Bob eventually had some financial problems and the bank then took over the project. Jan proceeded to put together an investment group and tried to purchase the project, but was eventually outbid by the current owners, Lone Star Funds, a large Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) located in Dallas, TX. In early 2018, the project was purchased by four individuals who work for or has worked for Lone Star Funds in the past. It’s now probably one of the very few golf, hotel, and residential projects in the Country that is truly debt free. This should be one of the most important things on a home buyers list when looking at purchasing property in a golf course development.
Cindy was the real estate broker for Old Kinderhook from 1994 until 2001, at the time it was owned by Jan and Cindy. Cindy was not only in charge of the Real Estate sales, but she was also the logistics coordinator for the staff and members of the Old Kinderhook team, the Director of Marketing, and the buyer for the Pro Shop during the development of Old Kinderhook.
Cindy’s focus now as being her own Real Estate Broker (“OK Realty), is helping her buyers find the home of their dreams, but it doesn’t stop there. As you drive through Old Kinderhook, you will see her real estate “For Sale” signs in front of the properties she has listed and “SOLD” signs on ones that she’s sold as well. She protects her buyers by making sure the buyer understands who their local services are and what they provide. She’s what you would call a “full service Buyer’s Agent”. She also helps her clients sell their property as well. Her 20+ years as owner and resident of Old Kinderhook, she’s obtained the knowledge both buyers and sellers look for in a top broker/agent. Her clients, sellers or buyers, chose to work with her because of her integrity, her honesty, and her knowledge of Old Kinderhook and the Lake in general. She truly cares about her clients. Many have become her life long friends. This is what has made her successful as a Real Estate Broker here at Old Kinderhook.
Cindy and Jan raised their five children at Old Kinderhook and all five graduated from Camdenton High School. They all have been involved in Camdenton athletics programs and all have gone off to become successful in their own skilled careers. They included; Natalie, Phoenix (nurse), Andrea (Austin, TX) Teacher of Autistic Children, Blake (Lees Summit, MO) Fireman and Army Drill Sergeant, J.R. (Toulouse, France) Aerospace Engineer, Gage (Marion, IA) Master Certified Welder.
Because she and Jan owned and developed the Old Kinderhook and still live here, there’s no one that knows more about the history of Old Kinderhook than they do. This is extremely helpful to a buyer (and a seller for that matter) of any Old Kinderhook and adjacent property. in addition, because she is part of the community and has been for 24 years, she will be here for the long term while other real estate agents are here today and gone tomorrow.
Cindy now is the grandmother of thirteen (15) beautiful grandchildren. We’re not quite sure what caused this, but one of our first grandchildren wouldn’t stop calling her “Beauvais” when he was just starting to talk (Beauvais is now Cindy’s grandmother name). We kept telling him to call her Grammie, but he wouldn’t for some reason. So hence, the name “Beauvais” was born.
Old Kinderhook-THE NAME
In 1994, while we were looking for the perfect name for the project, we came upon the fact that the Southern half of Missouri had been named Kinderhook County back in the 1830’s, (eventually divided into various counties), hoping for political favors from the then President of the United States, Martin Van Buren. Martin Van Buren was from Kinderhook, N.Y. and if you were a follower of his during those “wild and woolly” campaign days, you were known to be “O.K.”. That phrase is the most commonly used phrase in the English language. Therefore, “Old Kinderhook” was the choice name of the project. Old Kinderhook wasn’t our first choice. At first we were going to call the development “Wild Wings”, but in our research, we found numerous copyrights and patents on that name. We’re proud of Old Kinderhook and while many golf courses and golf course projects are now closed because of major financial shortfalls, Old Kinderhook remains one of the better and more financially stable projects. With the recent construction of the beautiful 84 room boutique hotel, the activity level here at Old Kinderhook is steadily increasing. The new amenities include an outside and inside swimming pool, with hot tub and workout room, sand volleyball courts in the summer, and an Ice Skating Rink in the winter months. The Trophy Room restaurant continues to be one of the best restaurants at the Lake.
