Kansas City-Plaza Rotary Club
Interested in Visiting the Kansas-City Plaza Rotary Club?
Please contact our membership chair, Lucy Betteridge in Contact Us in the menu bar.
     Plaza Rotary Club members are interested in both community and international services. 
     Current community service projects are focused on sponsoring a refugee family, microlending for urban entreprenuers, and social justice issues.   The Plaza Rotary Club's Satellite Rotary Club, Vets4KC, is a cause-focused club that works to support veterans and focuses activities with St. Michael's Veterans Center.
     International projects include working with Panama Rotarians to increase the use of technology in schools, working with the Bwaila-Llongwe Malawi Rotary Club to develop a global grant application which would address the shortfalls of the Bwaila Maternity Hospital Network’s “Surveillance” (diagnostics) Department.
Home Page Stories
Weave Gotcha Covered!  Receives Business Award from Kansas City Plaza Rotary Club
Weave Gotcha Covered!, an inner-city Kansas City business that fabricates soft goods for the home, has received the Kansas City Plaza Rotary Club’s RISE Business Award, presented to minority and women-owned businesses that practice high ethical standards as espoused by the Four-Way Test followed by Rotarians worldwide.  Twelve Kansas City businesses were nominated for the first annual award.
 
“We actively work to empower women to break the chains of generational poverty, addiction, homelessness and related stigmas through employment, training, and mentoring,” Kelly Wilson, president of Weave Gotcha Covered!, said in describing her company’s focus.  In 2015 the company moved from Gladstone to the urban core to be a part of the community where its employees lived.  The move also eliminated the number one barrier to women’s employment - transportation.  
 
Wilson will receive a free promotional video produced by Curious Eye Productions, a professional video company in Kansas City, and a free one-year membership in the Kansas City Plaza Rotary Club.  
 
Arvelisha Woods and India Pernell, sisters and co-owners of Mattie's Foods, received the second-place award.  Woods will receive a six-month Kansas City Plaza Rotary membership.  Mattie's is a vegan restaurant/catering business.
 
Other nominees for the awards were:
  • Suzanne Gunn, Tivona Naturals, creates ethically sourced and up-cycled jewelry, bags, accessories, etc.
  • Chrystal Truss, IEC Partnership, personalized business coaching for minority-owned firms
  • Jackie Nyugen, Cafe Ca Phe, Vietnamese cafe
  • Laura Treas, Fashion Tech, coaches clients who create sewn products for the market
  • Charline Gray, The Cleaning Crew of Kansas City, commercial cleaning/janitorial company
  • Annie McGinnis, co-owner Vine Street Brewing
  • Armando Vasquez and Mike Hastings, partners & co-owners of Anchor Island Coffee, a shop serving food and specialty coffees
  • Sherry Lumpkins and Ken Lumpkins, spouse co-owners of Blue Symphony, web design and digital media marketing firm
  • Chris King, King Promo / T-Shirt King, custom printed T-shirts and promotional items
  • Vania Soto, Monarca Art Space, gallery and boutique, with studio space for artists
Five persons served as judges in the initial round of judging for the nominees.  They were:  Past Kansas City Mayor Sly James; Joe Dandurand, former CEO of Legal Aid of Western Missouri; Andrea Alilson-Putman Chief Development and Equity officer, YMCA of Greater KC, and a member of the board of directors of the First Federal Bank of Kansas City, Paige Fowler an investment advisor and Denise Holt, a retired business owner and Rotarian.  Rotary Club members voted final selections.
 
The RISE Award was originated by the Kansas City Plaza Rotary Club's Justice Committee, which sponsors several initiatives under the RISE acronym, Rotary Investing in and Supporting Equity.  In addition to this award focusing on values and ethics, the Club has instituted a microloan project for small, inner-city entrepreneurs in partnership with Alt Cap and CHES, Inc.
 
Pictured above are Kansas City-Plaza Rotary Club President Frank Bales and Kelly Wilson, Owner of Weave Gotcha Covered!
 
For more information, contact Nancy Shawver at nancy@nancyshawver.com
 

 
Club Members Were at Harvester’s Food Bank for Giving Tuesday
Community Service Chair Ralph Foiles, organized a Giving Tuesday for our club members and families for November 28.  Fourteen Rotarians and family members worked the two-hour shift packaging Back Snack food items for children.  Several hundred Back Snack pages were filled, sealed and boxed.  Back Snacks are distributed through the school systems in 26 counties to children who don’t have sufficient food over the weekend or who may prepare their own meals. 
 
Packers, lifters, sealers and boxers included:  Melynn and Dan Sight, Frances Reddis, Dan Margolies, Ralph Foiles, Bob Latz, Jerry Venters, Cassy Venters, Bill Schmidt, Ted Towman, Bo Steed, Austin Fisher, Rhonda Dolan and Vets4KC Satellite Club member Bryant King.
 
 
Club Information
Kansas City-Plaza Rotary Club
We meet In Person & Online
Fridays at 7:15 AM
Classic Cup Restaurant
301 W 47th St
Kansas City, MO 64112
United States of America
We are meeting in person and offer a ZOOM option.
December 2023
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Upcoming Events
Speakers
Melesa Johnson
Dec 15, 2023
Kansas City Director of Public Safety
No Meeting - Holiday
Dec 22, 2023
No Meeting - Holiday
Dec 29, 2023
Barry. Heiman
Jan 05, 2024
Little Houses
Interested in speaking to Plaza Rotary?
If you'd be interested in presenting to the Plaza Rotary Club, please contact Program Chair, Bill Moran via the Contact Us form in the menu bar.
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Mailing Address:  Kansas City Plaza Rotary, P.O. Box 30359, Kansas City, MO 64112