Your Chamber at Work - May 2, 2022

FROM THE KC CHAMBER'S PRESIDENT AND CEO

Congratulations to the KC Chamber’s 2022 Top 10 Small Businesses! We announced them Friday online, and here they are:

• Chicken N Pickle – an indoor/outdoor entertainment complex featuring a restaurant and sports bar that boasts pickleball courts and a variety of yard games.
• Crux KC – provides simple, smart, and affordable full-funnel marketing solutions for their clients.
• DEMDACO – offers handcrafted artisan gifts to lift the spirit in celebration, for comfort, or to make someone smile.
• KD Academy – Kansas City’s only 24-hour early learning/child care facility, able to serve 450 students every 24 hours.
• Midwest Recovery Centers – provides compassionate and affordable recovery support services to those struggling with alcohol and drug dependence and their families.
• Parrish & Sons Construction – a first-generation family-owned general contractor specializing in excavation and grading.
• Resolve Counseling and Wellness – a private practice and community service organization the provides outpatient mental health services.
• RK Contractors – a commercial and residential roofing and remodeling company.
• SnapIT Solutions – an innovative technology services, solutions, and training company.
• Walz Tetrick Advertising – works to ignite connections evolving brands such as Hard Rock, KC Royals, KC Symphony, and others.

The criteria for the Top 10 reflect the principles of iconic entrepreneur Ewing Kauffman: business growth, employee relations, and community service with an emphasis on diversity, equity and inclusion. One of the Top 10 will be chosen as the 2022 Small Business of the Year and receive the coveted Mr. K Award. We’ll honor the Top 10 and announce the Mr. K Award winner at this year’s Small Business Celebration Awards Luncheon on Wednesday, June 15 beginning at 11:00 a.m. at the Marriott Muehlebach Tower Imperial Colonial Ballroom (in-person for the first time in three years!). Click here to register and join us!

As always, our thanks to the Kauffman Foundation, once again the Luncheon’s Presenting Sponsor.

CHAMPION OF DIVERSITY APPLICATIONS ARE OPEN

The Chamber will present two Champion of Diversity Awards this year – one to a for-profit business and one to a nonprofit. Apply now! This award honors organizations that are role models in their internal DEI culture, their supplier diversity efforts, and their work supporting diversity in the community. You have until May 2 to apply – one week. Review the application guide here. Last year’s winners were Cerner and Troost Market Collective. These awards will be presented at the Chamber’s POWER of Diversity event July 20.

ATHENA GLOBAL CAFE: ADVOCATE FIERCELY

Join the Executive Women’s Leadership Council for Advocate Fiercely, Thursday, May 12, 11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m., in the Chamber Boardroom located on the first floor of Union Station. This event is part of ATHENA International’s Global Café Series and expands on one of ATHENA’s Eight Principles of Enlightened Leadership. Keynote Speaker Polo REO Tate will discuss her past experiences at the U.S. Air Force Academy, including the harassment she endured and the resilience she developed. Tate now uses those experiences to uplift and empower women leaders. Past recipients of the ATHENA Leadership will be honored at this event, and attendees will also hear information about the 2022 ATHENA Leadership Award application process and timeline. Register here.

POLICE CHIEF COMMUNITY LISTENING SESSION SURVEY

There’s still time to make your voice heard when it comes to selecting the next Kansas City, Missouri Chief of Police. Read more to Take the Community Listening Survey and give your feedback now on what you want to see in the next Chief. You don’t have to be a resident of KCMO to take the survey. This survey was developed by a collation of business, civic, and interfaith groups of which the KC Chamber is a part. The goal is to make sure the community’s voice is shared. The coalition plans to use the responses to prepare a report and present it to the Board of Police Commissioners at an upcoming meeting. The survey will close May 15.

NEIGHBORHOOD NETWORKING: ARTISAN TECHNOLOGY GROUP

The Chamber just announced the 2022 Top 10 Small Business. Now is your opportunity to connect with a 2021 Top 10 Small Business. Join us for our next Neighborhood Networking session at Artisan Technology Group, this Friday May 6, 8:30 – 10 a.m. at Artisan’s KCMO location, 9237 Ward Parkway, Suite 300, for Neighborhood Networking! You’ll connect with your fellow Chamber members for some of the best morning networking in the region. See why Artisan has a reputation for solving the most complex business challenges with innovation, quality, and creativity. Neighborhood Networking is free for Chamber members, and $15 for non-members. Register here. Our 2022 Neighborhood Networking sponsors are Unbound, Bardavon Health Innovations and Kansas City Current. The KC Chamber's 2022 overall networking sponsors are Delta Dental and Mazuma Credit Union.