Your Chamber at Work - July 15, 2024

Public safety is a vitally important topic to ensuring a thriving region and you’ll hear me talk a lot on the subject, particularly when progress is made toward creating a safer community for those who live and work in Kansas City. After years of advocacy by dedicated individuals, the state of Missouri took steps to enhance safety last Tuesday when Governor Parson signed Blair’s Law. This legislation increases legal penalties related to irresponsible celebratory gun fire, and the bill signing was the culminating effort to honor Blair Shanahan-Lane who was killed by such gun fire in Kansas City when she was just 11 years old. Thank you to Michele Shanahan DeMoss, Blair’s mother, Missouri Representative Mark Sharp and Senator Tony Luetkemeyer for their steadfast commitment in getting this public safety legislation passed. 

I also want to invite you to join the Public Safety Coalition, of which the KC Chamber is a member, at The State of Public Safety event on Tuesday, July 23, from 3:00 to 4:30 p.m., to learn more about the collective efforts of public safety organizations as they work together to reduce violence in Kansas City. Speakers include KCPD Chief Stacey Graves, KCFD Chief Ross Grundyson, Deputy Chief Laura Ragusa who oversees Emergency Medical Services as well as leaders of community organizations who are spearheading public safety initiatives in neighborhoods throughout the area. Making real, sustainable change to the public safety challenges in our community will take all of us working together, and I hope you’ll take this opportunity to join us in our efforts to realize a safer Kansas City. Register today by clicking here. If you’d like to join us in person for this discussion, email Melanie at mattes@kcchamber.com to register and get further details.

NEIGHBORHOOD NETWORKING – CAFÉ CORAZON

The coffee will be muy delicioso and the conversations lively for attendees of Neighborhood Networking at Café Corazon (110 Southwest Blvd., KCMO) on Friday, July 26, from 8:30 to 10:00 a.m. Meaning, the coffee will be very hot and the conversations lively at this Latino & Indigenous family-owned business here to make your coffee experience a nourishing and memorable one. Imbibe the finest local and artisanal ingredients, Latin American fair-trade coffee roasted by Café Corazon – the only coffee house in the Midwest that serves Yerba Mate the traditional way. This premier networking event is free for chamber members or $15 for non-members. Register now!  

Thank you to our 2024 Neighborhood Networking Sponsors: Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City, Delta Dental, Southwest Airlines, UMB, and Unbound.

MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID TRAINING

There are just SEVEN spots left for Healthy KC’s Mental Health First Aid Training on Wednesday, July 31, from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., in the KC Chamber Board Room (30 W. Pershing Rd., KCMO). This is an interactive course that teaches you how to identify, understand and respond to signs of mental health and substance use challenges among adults. Participants will learn the skills needed to help someone who is developing a mental health problem or experiencing a mental health crisis. The cost to participate is $50. Learn more and register today!

POWER OF DIVERSITY

On Friday, 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 $1,050 for non-members. Reserved tables include seating for 10, company table signage, and preferred table placement. Learn more and register here!

ALLYSHIP IN KANSAS CITY: LATINX COMMUNITY

The Latinx community in Kansas City is diverse and rapidly growing. From KCK to Northeast KC to Olathe, Latinx communities are an integral thread in Kansas City's cultural fabric. Despite the diversity, many members of KC's Latinx communities share common concerns. In this session on Tuesday, August 6, from 9:00 to 10:30 a.m., in the KC Chamber Board Room (30 W. Pershing Rd., KCMO), we'll explore some of these common concerns and ways that we can be better, more active allies to our Latinx colleagues, neighbors and friends. Learn more and register now!

The Allyship in KC Series is presented in partnership with ALLY LAB. And thank you to all our 2024 Diversity Equity and Inclusion sponsors, including our Presenting Diversity Sponsor CommunityAmerica Credit Union.