Your Chamber at Work - April 24, 2023

FROM THE KC CHAMBER'S PRESIDENT AND CEO

The community is invited to the first of several quarterly “Listening Sessions” with Kansas City, Missouri Chief of Police Stacey Graves on Thursday, May 11 from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. at United Believers Community Church, 5600 East 112th Terrace, KCMO 64137.

The Listening Sessions are a partnership between the Public Safety Coalition and the Police Department and facilitated by KC Common Good. Both the Chamber and KC Common Good are one of the 16 organizations that make up the Public Safety Coalition – a group of business, civic, and faith-based organizations.

The Listening Session with Chief Graves will be modeled after the community listening sessions the Coalition held prior to Graves’ selection as Chief. She’ll open the session by sharing her ideas on ways to reduce KCMO’s high rate of violent crime and then community members will engage in world café style conversations around tables, reporting out their thoughts and concerns following what has usually been robust discussion (if our previous listening sessions are any example). The Chief tells us she’s eager to hear what the community has to say.

Admission to the Chief Graves Listening Session is free, but we kindly ask you to register by clicking here (that’ll let us know how many seats we need!) We appreciate Chief Graves’ willingness to meet with the community, and we hope to see you there.

TOP 10 SMALL BUSINESSES ANNOUNCED

Some KC businesses are starting their week with a new highlight to add to their collection: they are a 2023 Top 10 Small Business! We announced this year’s Top 10 this past Friday. It was a solid mix of familiar names and newcomers. The Top 10 Small Businesses are BASYS Processing, Crema, DMC Service Inc., Quantum Resource Professionals, and The Running Well Store, along with Crux  and Parrish & Sons Construction, as well as Resolve Counseling and  Walz Tetrick, and J. Rieger. Congratulations to our incredible Top 10, and a special thank you to all 80 businesses that applied for the Small Business Awards this year. Find out which of the Top 10 will be named Small Business of the Year, and who will win the Equity Award, Legacy Award, Emerging Business Award, and Weida Award for International Small Business at the Small Business Awards Luncheon, Wednesday, June 14 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Marriott Muehlebach Tower, 1213 Wyandotte in Downtown Kansas City. Special thanks to our Top 10 Announcement Event Presenting Sponsor UMB Bank. The Awards Luncheon Presenting Sponsor is Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. Our Small Business Presenting Sponsor is Evergy. Our Small Business CEO Sponsor is Kansas City National Security Campus, managed by Honeywell FM&T.

HEALTHY KC NETWORKING FORUM

The KC Chamber wants to help companies achieve 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. Thanks to our Presenting Sponsor Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City.

NEIGHBORHOOD NETWORKING: UNBOUND

Register now for our next Neighborhood Networking Friday, May 12 at Unbound, 1 Elmwood Avenue in KCK. Doors open at 8:30 a.m. Learn how Unbound partners with families living in poverty to empower them to fulfill their desired potential. Neighborhood Networking is always free for KC Chamber members and $15 for non-members. Unbound is a 2023 Neighborhood Networking Sponsor, along with Rock CFO and Southwest Airlines. Our 2023 overall networking sponsors are Delta Dental and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City.

APPLY FOR THE CHAMPION OF DIVERSITY AWARD

There’s still time for your workplace to apply to be the Champion of Diversity! This award celebrates businesses and nonprofit organizations that are advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace. The Award recognizes those that have each made an impactful commitment to embrace diversity in their workplace, diversity supplier partnerships, and the community. Applications are due May 12. The 2022 recipient was Commerce Bank, and the non-profit recipient was GEHA Health. 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.