Speakers

ShelterBox is an international nonprofit effort to provide shelter and vital supplies in response to disasters and humanitarian crises. The program is most known for the distinct green plastic boxes containing tents, blankets, ground covers, water storage and purification devices, solar lamps, cooking supplies, a basic tool kit, mosquito netting, and a children’s activity kit.  ShelterBox response is tailored to each unique situation as only the supplies that are needed are distributed.

https://www.shelterboxusa.org/

The Grooming Project is the pilot program of Empowering the Parent to Empower the Child (EPEC),  a 501c3 nonprofit in Kansas City, MO devoted to helping impoverished families become self-reliant through job training in the high-demand, high-pay trade of pet grooming.

New York Times best selling author Andra Watkins lives in Charleston, South Carolina.

A non-practicing CPA, she has a degree in accounting from Francis Marion University.

She’s still mad at her mother for refusing to let her major in musical theater. Her mom was convinced she’d end up starring in porn films.

Hard to Die is Andra’s latest novel. It’s an afterlife story of Theodosia Burr Alston, tragic daughter of Aaron Burr and subject of the song “Dear Theodosia” from the Tony-award-winning smash Hamilton: An American Musical. Read more about it HERE.

She’s the author of four books and counting. Her acclaimed first novel To Live Forever: An Afterlife Journey of Meriwether Lewis was published by Word Hermit Press on March 1, 2014. Not Without My Father: One Woman’s 444-Mile Walk of the Natchez Trace is a memoir about her dysfunctional family adventure; it is a National Book Award nominee and a New York Times best seller. Natchez Trace: Tracks in Time is a book of photography, shot during her 15-mile daily hikes on her 444-mile Natchez Trace walk.

Photo credit Jonathan Boncek.

Tired of reading? Check out more Andra facts in pictures.

Pat O'Neill is the author of From the Bottom Up: The Story of the Irish in Kansas City. The Irish, Kansas City's largest ethnic immigrant group ever, hauled stones to build foundations and buckets of water to put out fires. They cut the throats of a million cattle, laid miles of bricks and rails, drove the streetcars, kept and distrubed the peace, organized the working poor and kicked down barriers at City Hall and the courthouse for themselves and many generations and nationalities to come.

July marked my third anniversary as CEO at Ronald McDonald House Charities of Kansas City, and I feel profoundly lucky and honored to serve in this role for such an extraordinary charity.

For a while now, our amazing director of marketing Emily has been encouraging me to write periodic blog posts from my perspective as CEO of RMHC-Kansas City. I’m not one to “toot my own horn,” but because I do want to share with you some of the behind-the-scenes magic at RMHC-KC…I agreed. So here we go.

I received a Master’s in Social Work from the University of Kansas in 1998 and have spent my entire career in the nonprofit sector, from roles helping abused/neglected children and people living with HIV/AIDS to serving in organizations like the National MS Society and United Way of Greater Kansas City.

To read more, click here.

http://www.easterseals.com/midwest/connect-locally/service-center-locations/midwest-kc-mo-vivion-office-community-living-employment-community-services.html

https://lifeequals.com/pages/kyle-fitzgerald-ceo

There’s an old adage that “history doesn’t repeat itself, but it does rhyme.”

From the vantage point of history — 100 years later — there is consensus: “The Great War” changed everything. From 1914-1918, more than 65 million served. Nearly 30 million became casualties. Empires were lost. National boundaries were reshaped. Economies were devastated. The Spanish flu pandemic of 1918, which affected 500 million people and killed tens of millions, was spread largely through movements of soldiers across the world.

At home in the U.S., World War I changed America. Going from isolationist to global leader, the U.S. fought to secure liberty abroad in order to sustain freedom at home. Among the results: broader freedoms, a new era in women’s and civil rights, the dawn of the “American Century” and much more.

In a world of increased globalization, radicalization and national tensions, it’s clear that the lessons of the Great War endure to this day. The world today is more like the world of 1914 than it has been for the past 104 years. As we mark the 100 years since the Armistice, it is essential that we not sleepwalk into catastrophe.

It is our collective responsibility to have these conversations, to reflect and learn. And we have a sacred responsibility to remember those who served in defending our liberty and freedom. The enduring impact of the Great War continues to be felt today, continues to influence the lives of men and women through the world. This is the story told uniquely at the National WWI Museum and Memorial in Kansas City. And, it’s as important now as it’s ever been.

https://www.peacecorps.gov/

Kareem Richardson enters his sixth season at the helm of the UMKC program in 2018-19 and has led the Roos to unprecedented success during his tenure. He was named the head coach at UMKC on March 19, 2013, becoming the sixth in the Division I era at UMKC.

During the 2017-18 campaign, Richardson's fifth at UMKC, the Roos finished with a quarterfinal appearance in the WAC tournament and a 10-22 overall record.

Richardson guided the 2016-17 UMKC squad to the second-most victories in a season (18) in school history. The Roos were selected for a postseason tournament for the first time in the program's 30-year Division I history, which included a victory over Green Bay in the opening round of the College Basketball Invitational. In 2016-17, UMKC set program records for points (2,691), field goals (911), rebounds (1,213), defensive rebounds (860), 3-pointers (315) and free throws (554). The Roos finished second in team history in assists (451) and third in steals (236). UMKC posted the longest winning streak for the program in 12 years from Jan. 31 – Feb. 18, 2017. The Roos got off to the program's best start in 15 years and advanced to the semifinals of the WAC Tournament for the third straight year.

Click here to read more.

Entering 2018-19, Jacie Hoyt is in her second season as the UMKC women's basketball head coach. During her first season at the helm in 2017-18, Hoyt compiled a 11-17 record, including tying for the best Western Athletic Conference (WAC) finish (fifth) in program history. The 7-7 league slate was the program's first .500-or-better record in seven seasons. Her squad swept a pair of games against Grand Canyon and UTRGV for the first time in Roo annals. Statistically, Hoyt mentored a team to lead the conference in steals (9.2) and the club ranked second in scoring offense (67.8), assists (13.5) and 3-point field goals made per game (6.8).

Click here to read more.