Your Chamber at Work - April 15, 2024

FROM THE KC CHAMBER'S PRESIDENT AND CEO

What can we do? How can we help? Where should my business engage in the crucial community work of public safety and violence reduction? The KC Chamber is hearing these questions from our members with more frequency, and we’d like to offer you an opportunity this week to learn about ways that you can actively participate.

Please join us on Friday, April 19, at the Kansas City Convention Center, 301 W. 13th St. for the KC United Taking Collective Action Public Safety Symposium from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. You can register here. Attendance is free and open to schools, businesses, non-profits, police, neighborhoods, churches, and others working to reduce violence in Kansas City. The agenda includes Director Karhlton Moore, with the Bureau of Justice Assistance of the U.S. Department of Justice, and Dr. Thomas Abt, Founder and Principal of the National Violence Reduction Center. The event is facilitated by The Empowerment Network of Omaha, Nebraska. (Why Omaha? Because Omaha experienced only 29 homicides for the entire year of 2023 and there is plenty to learn from their 17 years of experience in working to reduce that number.)

The Symposium may also be a good fit for you if your business or organization provides services that align with this public safety work. Perhaps you offer mental health services, youth programs, services for entrepreneurship and wealth-building, or skills training and employment assistance. If so, please register for this event at the link above and select vendor instead of attendee so that you can host a share table and visit with folks who are interested in learning more about what your business or nonprofit can do to make our community safer.

It is so important to keep in mind that the challenges of crime and violence in our community will never be solved by any one person, or one organization. It’s going to take all of us together. Please sign up to join in this collective effort on Friday.

SMALL BUSINESS CELEBRATION: FAN FAVORITES AND TOP 10 ANNOUNCEMENTS

It’s an exciting week for the Small Business Celebration as the KC Chamber prepares to reveal the small businesses voted to be the 2024 KCNSC Fan Favorites. Honeywell FM&T manages the U.S. Department of Energy’s Kansas City National Security Campus that is proud to be the CEO level sponsor for the Small Business Celebration and will join us to make the announcements during a Facebook Live segment on Tuesday, April 16, at 4 p.m. You can watch from the Chamber’s Facebook profile to be among the first to celebrate this year’s honorees.

Then, throughout the morning of Friday, April 19, this year’s Top 10 Small Businesses will be announced on KC Chamber social media beginning at 9 a.m. These small businesses are selected as part of a highly competitive judging process, so be watching for the unveiling. From this group, one will be named the Small Business of the Year and receive the coveted Mr. K Award, named for Ewing Kauffman, entrepreneur and philanthropist, at the Small Business Awards Luncheon on June 13. Help us amplify their achievement by liking, commenting and sharing each Top 10 announcement this Friday.

NEIGHBORHOOD NETWORKING – THE BIG BISCUIT: WESTPORT

Our next Neighborhood Networking event is this Friday, April 19, from 8:30 to 10 a.m., at The Big Biscuit: Westport (4039 Mill St., Kansas City, MO), a locally owned and operated restaurant serving breakfast and lunch. Their menu resonates with the types of food many of us grew up enjoying. They love good home-style cooking and cannot wait to share their food with all of you. This is a terrific opportunity to make professional connections in a comfortably casual environment. Neighborhood Networking is free for members and $15 for non-members, so register now!

MEMBER STANDUP

KC Chamber members are invited to our Boardroom at Union Station (30 W. Pershing Rd.) on Thursday, April 25, from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m. to network with their fellow members. The evening includes Members at the Mic, giving everyone the chance to introduce themselves. This member-focused event helps you connect with new members and the Chamber staff who support our programs and committees. The new business relationships that you have been looking for may just start at the Member Standup. This is a free event, but reservations are required. Learn more and reserve your spot now!

BE AN ENGAGED CITIZEN

The Kansas City Public Schools (KCPS) Board of Directors is currently accepting applications from individuals interested in serving as the school system’s representative and alternate on the Jackson County Board of Equalization. This is an independent board composed of citizen taxpayers of Jackson County with the mission to fully and fairly equalize the value of all real and tangible personal property in the county for the purpose of taxation and to provide an appeal forum for taxpayers to correct perceived inequalities in the assessment value. Individuals interested in serving on the Board of Equalization need to complete and submit a resume and application by the Wednesday, May 1, 2024, 3 p.m. deadline. To be considered, individuals must: 1) Reside within the KCPS district boundaries; 2) Have some level of experience as a real estate broker, real estate appraiser, home builder, property developer, lending officer, or investor in real estate before their appointment to the board; 3) Able to show proof of current tax record and not owe money to Jackson County. Learn more here.