Your Chamber at Work - September 28, 2020
FROM THE KC CHAMBER'S PRESIDENT AND CEO
One of my favorite events is coming up this week and you’re invited: a panel discussion of CEOs from the Chamber’s Top 10 Small Businesses. They’ll share their challenges and successes, how they’ve dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic, and what their plans for their futures are for their companies. It’s always a fascinating discussion.
We’ll start out with 30 minutes of virtual networking using a new platform that lets you stroll from virtual table to virtual table to talk with the Top 10, meet old friends, and make new ones. Networking has always been one of the best parts of a KC Chamber event and that’s been stifled by the pandemic. This will be our first time using the platform and we’re anxious to “test it out.”
The Top 10 CEO panel is free – register by clicking here. And while you’re in our Chamber calendar, register as well for the Top 10 Awards Luncheon set for October 15. That’s where we’ll honor the Top 10 Small Businesses and announce the 2020 Mr. K Award winner, our Small Business of the Year. Click here to register for that event.
SMALL BUSINESS CELEBRATION VIRTUAL AWARDS
Thursday, October 15, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. is the Small Business Celebration Virtual Awards event, the final event in the 2020 Celebration. We hope you’ll be with us to show your support for the Top 10 Small Businesses: Amply Media, Cherry, Chicken N Pickle, J. Rieger & Co., McLain’s Markets, Messenger Coffee, Prairie Elder Care, ProAthlete, Signal Theory and Traders Insurance. One of them will take home the Mr. K Award as Small Business of the Year. We have other awards too! Legacy of Kansas City, Emerging Business of the Year, the Weida Award for International Small Business of the Year, and Diverse Small Business of the Year will also be presented.
In addition, thanks to the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, Virtual Awards Event presenting sponsor, for helping the KC Chamber secure speaker and business journalist David Sax. He’ll talk about building resilience during times of crisis, and making sure entrepreneurship is open and accessible to all.
Thanks to our 2020 Small Business Programming Presenters Sponsors Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City and Evergy, and our Presenting Sponsor for the Top 10 CEO Panel Bank Midwest.
WHAT COVID MEANS FOR YOUR VOTE
COVID has changed almost everything about our lives, and now it may change how we cast our vote. Join us Thursday, October 1, 11:00 a.m. to noon for What COVID Means for Your Vote. Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab and Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft answer questions about early voting, absentee, in-person and more. Register here for this free event open to everyone, and don’t forget to register to vote. The Missouri registration deadline is October 7 and Kansas registration deadline is October 13.
NEIGHBORHOOD NETWORKING: UNBOUND
Join the Chamber for virtual Neighborhood Networking, Friday October 9, 9 to 10 a.m. We welcome Tara Hefner, Channel Development Director for Chamber member Unbound. Unbound is a Kansas City-based nonprofit serving families in 19 countries as it works to end poverty in innovative ways. You’ll have the chance to engage with her and learn how to support Unbound, while connecting with fellow Chamber members over coffee and conversation. Register here. Thanks to the KC Chamber's 2020 networking sponsors: Delta Dental, Mazuma, SS&C, and T-Mobile.
THE 133RD ANNUAL DINNER
Begin your Thanksgiving week with a holiday tradition: Annual Dinner! The KC Chamber is proud to host our 133rd Annual Dinner as an exciting virtual daytime event this year, on Tuesday, November 24, from 3 to 5 p.m. Just because we can’t get together in person doesn’t mean we can’t get together for one of the most anticipated events of the year. We’ll announce the 2020 Kansas Citian of the Year, and for the first time ever, Annual Dinner is fully open to everyone, including non-members. Early bird tickets are just $20 for all through October 27, then $35 thereafter. Register now to get the special rate. Thank you to presenting sponsor Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City. Additional sponsorships are still available – contact Laura Dryden at annualdinner@kcchamber.com for more information!