This year’s keynote speaker at the Waddell & Reed shareholder appreciation dinner in Great Bend was company President Derek Burke.At the dinner held Sept. 6 at the Great Bend Convention Center, Burke thanked shareholders for their business and talked about the Waddell & Reed financial advisors’ philosophy of looking at years, rather than quarters, when investing.Overland Park-based Waddell & Reed Inc. was started in 1937, and is now a publicly traded company (NYSE: WDR), with offices in 49 states. Next year the company will celebrate its 80th anniversary.“I want to thank you for your business and confidence in us,” Burke said.“We’ve seen the good times and the bad times; you have to take the long-term perspective. Our whole investment philosophy is not based on the short term.”District Manager Randy Bahe, who worked for Waddell & Reed in Great Bend before moving to the division office in Salina in 2013, also attended the dinner.