Your Chamber at Work - April 10, 2023

FROM THE KC CHAMBER'S PRESIDENT AND CEO

Congratulations to Brown Suga Bakes and Caresticks Mobile Phlebotomy – both winners of the “KCNSC Fan Favorites Award” at last week’s Small Business Celebration Candidates’ Showcase. The Fan Favorite Award is sponsored by Kansas City National Security Campus, managed by Honeywell FM&T, and their CEO Eric Wollerman made the announcement with the Chamber.

Brown Suga Bakes is an Olathe-based bakery founded by Ebony Paul-Harris during the pandemic. It has both a brick-and-mortar location as well as several pop-ups throughout the region. Her motto is, “Find the Sweetness.” (Think cookies with names like Red Velvet, Lemon Crinkle, and Cookies ‘N’ Cream.)

Caresticks Mobile Phlebotomy was founded by LaVita Green, providing its patients with on-site phlebotomy services. The company serves business professionals, specialty laboratories, assisted living homes and individual patients who require personalized care.

The two companies were chosen in on-line voting following the Candidates Showcase. Both companies are Black-owned businesses. As part of the overall candidates for Small Business Celebration, 35 percent of Small Business Awards Applicants are minority owned; 57 percent are women owned; and 28 percent are BIPOC & woman owned.

More than 1000 people attended last week’s Showcase, which featured 67 candidates for the Chamber’s annual Small Business Awards – the ultimate of which is the Mr. K Award for Small Business of the Year.

This year’s Showcase also featured a number of entrepreneurial support organizations, connecting the small business owners with resources to help them grow their companies.

Attendee reviews tell us a good time was had by all. You can check out the Facebook photo gallery here.

Next up for the Small Business Celebration: we’ll announce the 2023 Top 10 Small Businesses on April 21, with the Awards Celebration Luncheon set for June 14 when we’ll announce this year’s Mr. K Award winner, along with a number of other awards.

The Chamber’s Small Business Celebration is the nation’s largest celebration of this critical sector of our economy – and it’s one of my favorites. The candidates are always creative and committed, each with their own unique story of challenge and success.

NEIGHBORHOOD NETWORKING: G.I.F.T

Save your spot for our upcoming Neighborhood Networking. Join us at Kansas City G.I.F.T., Friday April 14, 8:30 a.m. at their 5008 Prospect location. G.I.F.T. works to close the racial wealth gap, reduce poverty related crime, and reverse the effects systemic racism across KC. Learn how they’re providing grants to Black-owned businesses in KC and leveraging community relationships while doing it. Register here free for Chamber members and $15 for non-members. If you can’t attend this Friday, then we’ll see you in May for our Neighborhood Networking at Unbound. The KC Chamber's 2023 overall networking sponsors are Delta Dental and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City. The KC Chamber's 2023 Neighborhood Networking Sponsors are Rock CFO, Southwest Airlines & Unbound.

APPLY FOR THE CHAMPION OF DIVERSITY AWARD

Celebrate companies advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace by applying for the Champion of Diversity Award by May 12. The Champion of Diversity Award recognizes both a for-profit business and a nonprofit organization that have each made an impactful commitment to embrace diversity in their workplace, diversity supplier partnerships, and the community. This Champion of Diversity business will demonstrate their organizational practices are inclusive of all people. Award winners will be honored at the POWER of Diversity Breakfast this summer. The Chamber’s 2023 Diversity Sponsors include Presenting Sponsor CommunityAmerica Credit Union; and Cornerstone Diversity Sponsors American Century Investments, Bayer, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, JE Dunn Construction, Lockton Companies, REACH Healthcare Foundation, Saint Luke’s Health System, T-Mobile, and The University of Kansas Health System.

HEALTHY KC NETWORKING FORUM

The Chamber wants to help companies achieve the Workplace Wellness Certification. This year Healthy KC will focus on each of the four Workplace Wellness pillars at their networking forums. The first Healthy KC Networking Forum is May 11 at 7:30 a.m. at CommunityAmerica Credit Union’s Hickman Mills Community Access Center, 11501 Blue Ridge Blvd. First up: Enterprise Community Involvement, which focuses on social responsibility. Hear how business leaders in our region engage with the local community and how it impacts their business and the health of their employees.

WE DON’T SAY THAT ANYMORE: THE LANGUAGE OF ALLYSHIP

One of the big fears of allies is saying the wrong thing. Language is fluid, meanings and subtexts change over time. Register now for the next in our DEI series We Don’t Say That Anymore: The Language of Allyship, May 23 from 9 to 10 a.m. in the KC Chamber Board Room on the first floor of Union Station. Attendees will hear some of the reasons behind evolving language and begin to understand some of the nuances and important considerations informing their word choice – and to create a more productive and engaged workforce. Our Presenting Diversity Sponsor is CommunityAmerica Credit Union. Our Allyship Series Presenting Sponsors are Evergy and Hallmark. The DEI Allyship series is presented in partnership with AllyLab.