From Rock ‘n’ Roll to Fireworks Shows, Mike Ingram Knows How to Light Up a Crowd

PGA WEST Club Member Mike Ingram

If you were an avid live concert goer in the 70s and living in Springfield, Missouri, you owe a big thank you to longtime PGA WEST® Club Member Mike Ingram. In 1969, while a sophomore at Southwest Missouri State (now Missouri State) University, Mike began a venture as a rock promoter. Over the course of a decade until 1978, he curated an impressive lineup of iconic bands and solo artists, including The Turtles and The Grass Roots, Paul Revere and the Raiders, and The Eagles to perform at Shrine Mosque concert venue. Around the same time, Mike started a business in the fireworks industry. Now known as Fireworks over America, it stands as one of the United States’ largest importers and distributors of consumer fireworks.

Although Mike had a network and options to continue in the rock industry, he chose a more stable lifestyle that would allow him to remain close to his family. But he wasn’t yet finished with the role of rock impresario.

Mike and Barbara with their children and grandchildren

In 2008, Missouri State University opened the new 11,000-seat JQH Area (now Great Southern Bank Arena), and as a member of the MSU Foundation Board of Trustees, Mike and his friend, Les Garland, were instrumental in bringing in The Eagles to open the new arena.

“The concert sold out during the presale in a minute and 18 seconds,” he recalls, adding that it was an incredible show.

In 2012, Mike, J. Burton Gold, and Skip Klintworth produced “Surf the Musical,” incorporating music from the legendary Beach Boys that played at Las Vegas’ Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino.

Mike and Barbara Ingram: loving the PGA WEST lifestyle

Today, Mike and his wife Barbara split their time between their residence in Springfield and PGA WEST. They have had a home at PGA WEST since the Club’s earliest beginnings, drawn by the quality and number of golf courses.

Barbara, an avid golfer, is on the PGA WEST golf team. Busy with Fireworks Over America and other business activities including Fireworks Supermarkets—which has 20 retail locations around the country —Mike refers to himself as more of a “weekend golfer.”

As Distinguished Desert Golf Members, they enjoy the many amenities and activities at both The Club at PGA WEST® and The Citrus Club, including frequently dining at Kennedy’s.

“We have a great view from our home and PGA WEST has just incredibly beautiful settings,” says Mike.