Your Chamber at Work - June 17, 2024

FROM THE KC CHAMBER'S PRESIDENT AND CEO

Most of what hear about the work of the KC Chamber involves convening people to collaborate on regional issues, but we also love to celebrate. And since the start of the year, we’ve been celebrating Kansas City’s small business community – first by honoring all the Small Business Superstars across the area before showcasing 70 candidates in anticipation of announcing the Top 10 Small Businesses. Last Thursday, we reached the pinnacle of our Small Business Celebration by revealing Walz Tetrick Advertising as the 2024 “Mr. K” Small Business of the Year award winner. The advertising agency has been in the Top 10 for three consecutive years and awarding them top honors was the perfect conclusion to this annual celebration. Congratulations to Charlie Tetrick and his team for representing the ideals of Ewing Kauffman by putting premium value on employee relations, community involvement and inclusive practices that create environments of belonging.

The Small Business Celebration also recognizes specialty award winners and I hope you’ll join me in congratulating the following on well-deserved honors:

• Emerging Small Business of the Year Award: Cyphr
• Legacy of Kansas City Award: Pro Athlete
• Weida Award for International Small Business of the Year: Shark OFF
• Small Business Equity Award: Taliaferro & Browne
• Luminary Arts & Creative Small Business Award: Wandering Bud

These award-winning businesses – and hundreds more like them – reflect the vibrancy of our small business community and the visionary talent that settle in Kansas City as they commit to starting and growing a dream in a supportive place that helps them thrive. I encourage you to learn more about this year’s honorees who will be featured in the June issue of GROW e-Magazine, so be watching for it to arrive in your email inbox soon.

NEIGHBORHOOD NETWORKING JUNE 21

Bliss Books & Wine promotes the reading culture by encouraging curious readers, endorsing local arts, and connecting great pastimes of social drinking and introverted reading. They exist to build a community gathering place and to create experiences by bridging the gap between books and wine. It will be a great place for networking on Friday morning, June 21, that’s why we’re meeting you there at 3502 Gillham Road for Neighborhood Networking from 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. This event is free for KC Chamber members and $15 for non-members. Please register here. Thank you to the KC Chamber’s 2024 Neighborhood Networking Sponsors, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City, Delta Dental, Southwest Airlines, UMB, and Unbound. 

EDUCATION DATA FOR ACTION SUMMIT

The KC Chamber's Business for Education Committee invites you to attend the KC Chamber Education Data for Action Summit on July 11 at 3 p.m. in the KC Chamber Board Room at Union Station, 30 W Pershing Road. This convening is designed to collectively inform and collaboratively inspire our business community into dialogue and action that prioritizes student success and improved outcomes across the Kansas City Public Education System (KCPES). We’re talking about your workforce pipeline! This event will include valuable new data and information about KCPES student outcomes and a platform for meaningful dialogue with area business leaders about the data, local and statewide trends, and opportunities to collaborate on policy and strategies to address student performance issues including the literacy crisis, chronic absenteeism, learning gaps, and other topics imperative to student outcomes. Our goal is to ensure area business leaders have the most up-to-date data to strengthen dialogues on student achievement and set the stage for community-wide action to support data-informed policy and advocacy toward improving outcomes for our students and families. This event is free; please register here. 

MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID TRAINING

Join us for the second event in the Behavioral Health Action Team's 2024 series: Empowering Conversations. Healthy KC is proud to offer Mental Health First Aid Training to the KC Chamber community. Spots are limited, so reserve yours now. Cost is $50 per person and lunch is provided.

Mental Health First Aid is an interactive course that teaches you how to identify, understand and respond to signs of mental health and substance use challenges among adults. MHFA gives people the skills to help someone who is developing a mental health problem or experiencing a mental health crisis. The evidence behind the program demonstrates that it builds mental health literacy and helps participants understand warning signs of mental health challenges and gain an understanding of their impact and explore common interventions. Participants must complete 2 hours of pre-work using a computer with an internet connection prior to the live session. After this pre-work is complete, participants will be able to attend the live training from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on July 31 at the KC Chamber’s Board Room in Union Station, 30 W Pershing Rd., next door to Pierponts. Register here. 

SAVE THE DATE: POWER OF DIVERSITY, AUGUST 2

On August 2, from 8 to 9:30 a.m. at the Muehlebach Tower downtown, you can join us for the POWER of Diversity celebration. The KC Chamber will present Ace Awards and a Champion of Diversity Award. 

In addition, you’ll be delighted by the Where Are They Now panel conversation, which features four past Ace Award winners talking about their leadership journey in the DEI space, and how the landscape has changed since they won their award. The featured panelists include:  Dr. Andrea Hendricks, of Authentico and Walz Tetrick Advertising; Michael Gonzales of NE&E Consulting; Edgar J. Palacios, of Latinx Education Collaborative and Revolucion Educativa; and Drew Eanes, of JE Dunn Construction and the KC People’s Fund. This panel will be moderated by the KC Chamber’s Board Chair Lisa Ginter of CommunityAmerica Credit Union, the presenting sponsor of this event. 

If you’d like to attend, individual tickets are $80 for KC Chamber members/$100 for non-members, and Reserved tables are $850 for members and $1050 for non-members. Reserved tables include seating for 10, company table signage, and preferred table placement. You can register here.