Mayor Lucas, Visit KC appoint new board members, 2020 officers

KANSAS CITY, Mo.—Visit KC announced today the late December confirmation of 19 appointments to its Board of Directors, including 13 nominees by Mayor Quinton Lucas and six put forth by the organization. Visit KC also confirmed a new slate of executive officers, appointing Cindy Circo as the new chair for the hospitality and tourism organization, effective Jan. 1.

Circo, Senior Manager at Evergy, ascends to the position of Board Chair after serving two years as Vice Chair. She succeeds CiCi Rojas, President of Tico Productions & Tico Sports, whose tenure was accentuated by the successful hire of the organization’s new President & CEO, Jason Fulvi, in addition to strong gains in convention sales and community partnerships.

Joining Circo as executive officers are Vice Chair Jeanette Prenger, President of ECCO Select, and Secretary Jim Snow, General Manager of the Westin/Sheraton Crown Center Complex. Randy Wisthoff, Executive Director & CEO of the Kansas City Zoo, ascends from a director position to the Treasurer role.

The organization’s Board of Directors is comprised of up to 30 civic and business leaders from the greater Kansas City area. The Mayor of Kansas City, Missouri, appoints half of its members and the Visit KC Board appoints the other half.

Appointees made by Mayor Lucas include:

• Councilwoman Teresa Loar, 2nd District-At-Large, City of Kansas City, Missouri;
• Councilwoman Melissa Robinson, 3rd District, City of Kansas City, Missouri;
• Councilman Kevin O’Neill, 1st District, City of Kansas City, Missouri;
• Earnest Rouse, Acting City Manager; City of Kansas City, Missouri;
• Rodney Bland, General Manager, Staffing Impact, LLC;
• Mike Cappo, Associate, Shook, Hardy & Bacon, LLP;
• Alan Dietrich, Chief Operating Officer, Sporting Kansas City;
• Nia Richardson, Assistant to the Director for Small Business and Entrepreneurship, KC Bizcare;
• Kris Riddell, Legal Administrator, German May PC;
• Maria Salcedo, Attorney, Shook, Hardy & Bacon, LLP; and
• Lylette Utz, Managing Partner & President, Global Green Solutions, LLC.
• In addition, existing directors Riccardo Lucas (N. STRIDE Consulting) and Kevin Pistilli (Raphael Hotel Group) were appointed to serve an additional term.

In an earlier statement, Mayor Lucas said, “Visit KC is central to crafting and promoting Kansas City’s national tourism brand and encouraging tourism for domestic and international travelers alike. Kansas City has a rich history in the arts, music, diversity and acceptance. I know that these new board members will help highlight and build on these unique qualities enjoyed by our community—and will help promote them to visitors, as well, so that they may experience all the great things Kansas City has to offer.”

Nominated by the organization, Brian Johnson, Managing Director of Loews Kansas City Hotel, joins the Board as a new member. Existing directors re-elected by Visit KC for new terms include:

• David Lopez, General Manager, Manny’s Mexican Restaurant;
• Pat Macdonald, Senior Philanthropic Advisor, Greater Kansas City Community Foundation;
• Stacey Paine; President, Crown Center Redevelopment Corp.;
• Jeanette Prenger, President, ECCO Select; and
• Philip Strnad; General Manager, Hilton President Kansas City.

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Outgoing board members include former City Manager Troy Schulte, Councilman Lee Barnes, Jr., Councilman Dan Fowler, Arzelia Gates of Gates Bar-B-Q, Belinda Harrison of B.L. Harrison Law, Gloria Jackson-Leathers of Kauffman Foundation, Jenny Kincaid Julian of Socialworx PR, Rachel Merlo of Google Fiber, Clayton Reid of MMGY Global, Angie Stanland formerly of Cerner, Jon Stephens of Port KC, Jeffrey Stewart of Loews Hotels & Co., and Keli Wenzel of O’Neill Marketing & Event Management. Former directors Amy Jordan Wooden of AJW Consulting and Rosemary Salerno of The City Market transition to ex-officio status.

Visit KC’s 2019 achievements and a forecast of industry trends will serve as the focuses of its 2020 Annual Tourism Outlook, scheduled for Feb. 12 at the Kaufman Center for the Performing Arts. Tickets and more information are available at VisitKC.com/RSVP.

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2020 Visit KC Board of Directors

Leadership

• Chair - Cindy Circo, Senior Manager, Customer Solution Business Center, Evergy*
• Vice Chair - Jeanette Prenger, President & CEO, ECCO Select*
• Secretary - Jim Snow, Complex General Manager, Westin Crown Center/Sheraton KC Hotel*
• Treasurer - Randy Wisthoff, Executive Director & CEO, Kansas City Zoo*

Members

• Vic Allred, President, Jazz, A Louisiana Kitchen*
• Rodney Bland, General Manager, Staffing Impact, LLC
• Mike Cappo, Associate, Shook, Hardy & Bacon, LLP
• Carla Chavarria, Senior Vice President of Human Resources and Chief Human Resource Officer, AMC Theatres
• Alan Dietrich, Chief Operating Officer, Sporting Kansas City*
• Brian Johnson, Managing Director, Loews Kansas City Hotel
• Bob Kendrick, President, Negro Leagues Baseball Museum
• Steve Klika, Commissioner, 3rd District, Johnson County, Kansas
• Teresa Loar, Councilwoman, 2nd District-At-Large, City of Kansas City, Missouri*
• David Lopez, General Manager, Manny’s Mexican Restaurant
• Riccardo Lucas, President & CEO, N.STRIDE Consulting, LLC
• Pat Macdonald, Senior Philanthropic Advisor, Greater Kansas City Community Foundation*
• Kevin O’Neill, Councilman, 1st District, City of Kansas City, Missouri
• Stacey Paine, President, Crown Center Redevelopment Corp. 
• Kevin Pistilli, President, Raphael Hotel Group*
• Nia Richardson, Assistant to the Director for Small Business and Entrepreneurship, KC Bizcare
• Kris Riddell, Legal Administrator, Rouse Hendricks German May PC
• Melissa Robinson, Councilwoman, 3rd District, City of Kansas City, Missouri
• Earnest Rouse, Acting City Manager, City of Kansas City, Missouri*
• Maria Salcedo, Attorney, Shook, Hardy & Bacon
• Philip Strnad, General Manager, Hilton President Hotel Kansas City
• Lylette Utz, Managing Partner & President, Global Green Solutions, LLC

* Denotes members of Executive Committee

Ex-Officio Members

• Gregg Givens, Consultant
• George Guastello, President & CEO, Union Station Kansas City
• Amy Jordan Wooden, President & CEO, AJW Consulting, LLC
• Pat Klein, Director of Aviation, City of Kansas City, Missouri
• Kurt Mayo, Executive Director, Hotel & Lodging Association of Greater Kansas City
• Oscar McGaskey, Director of Convention & Entertainment Facilities, City of Kansas City, Missouri
• Kathy Nelson, President & CEO, Kansas City Sports Commission and Foundation
• Rosemary Salerno, Vice President & General Manager, The City Market, KC Commercial Realty Group
• Bill Teel, President, Greater Kansas City Restaurant Association

Executive Committee Ex Officio Members

• Bill George, President, KCTG*
• CiCi Rojas (Immediate Past Chair), President, Tico Productions & Tico Sports*
• Troy Stremming, President & CEO, AdAstra Strategies*
• Brenda Tinnen, Senior Vice President & General Manager, AEG-Kansas City, Sprint Center*

About Visit KC

Visit KC is a non-profit organization whose mission is to ignite global passion for Kansas City. Through marketing, sales and service of the convention and tourism industries, Visit KC supports a vital and growing component of the local economy—generating nearly 48,000 jobs and $5.6 billion in economic impact annually. For more information about Kansas City, go to VisitKC.com.

For more information:
Derek Klaus, 816-691-3849
Toni Alexander, 816-691-3848