Month: September 2015

BPU’s corporate social responsibility program wins award

The Kansas City, Kan., Board of Public Utilities was presented with a Silver Stevie Award for Best Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Program at the 13th Annual American Business Awards in Chicago.

The American Business Awards are the nation’s premier business awards program, with a panel of judges recognizing BPU for its ongoing efforts to better the community and the environment. BPU was named a finalist in May, competing with several other organizations until being named a Silver winner.

As a municipally-owned utility, BPU is committed to maintaining, investing in, and protecting the local community, its customers, and the environment, according to a spokesman.

In efforts to be a socially responsible organization, BPU and its employees support and continually give back to Wyandotte County in three core areas – community giving, volunteerism, and environmental education-advocacy, a spokesman said.

“We are pleased to be recognized as one of the most socially responsible organizations in the country,” stated David Mehlhaff, chief communications officer for BPU. “Giving back to the community and working to protect the environment has always been a key part of our employee culture and utility operations, and we will remain committed to making Wyandotte County a better place to live as we have for the last 100 years.”

BPU’s community giving efforts include raising over $450,000 for local children through its annual golf tournament, and helping more than 150 at-risk youth through the annual Summer Youth Program.

New pickup truck for ace at KCKCC scholarship tourney Sept. 21

by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC

A hole-in-one will win a new pickup truck at the 12th annual Keith Lindsey Scholarship Golf Tournament Monday, Sept. 21.

A fund-raiser for the Kansas City Kansas Community College men’s basketball scholarship program, the tournament will be played at Dub’s Dread Golf Course. Registration will begin at 11 a.m. with a shotgun start scheduled for 1 p.m.

The grand prize for a hole-in-one will be a new 2015 GMC Canyon pick-up truck from Randy Curnow GMC at 7707 State Ave. Other prizes will include a set of golf clubs, vacation voucher and a gift card worth $500.

“There will be a chance to win a prize on every par 3 hole,” said KCKCC men’s basketball coach Kelley Newton.

A four-person scramble, the entry fee is $100 per person or $400 for a team and will include golf cart, prizes and a post-tournament dinner. Persons may enter online by contacting Kelley Newton at [email protected]; by mail to KCKCC Men’s Basketball, 7250 State Ave., Kansas City, KS., 66112; or in person in the Athletic Department office in the KCKCC Field House.

Alan Hoskins is the sports information director at KCKCC.

Harlem Book Fair coming to KCK in October

Two community advocacy organizations are joining to bring the Harlem Book Fair to Kansas City, Kan., to promote literacy and cross-cultural dialogue.

The Kansas City, Kan., NAACP and El Centro, which are African-American and Hispanic community advocacy organizations, the Harlem Book Fair will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 24, at the Reardon Civic Center, 5th and Minnesota Avenue, Kansas City, Kan.

The day-long event will feature nationally acclaimed writers and community-based Kansas City authors and artists in author readings, music, children’s storytelling, and art presentations.

It is a follow-up to an anticipated 500,000 free book distribution event scheduled in September in the Greater Kansas City area with First Book.

The Harlem Book Fair Midwest will open with a series of Spoken Word poetry competitions throughout the Greater Kansas City area on Sept. 5, 12, Oct. 3 for high school students, and Sept. 11, 18 and 26 for everyone else, with a semifinal on Oct. 16 and the final on Oct. 23 at the Vision Building, the former YWCA building, at 1017 N. 6th St., Kansas City, Kan.

“Reading is all-important for anything you do in life,” said Irene Caudillo, director of El Centro Inc. “To have an event showing how important and relevant reading is to every culture benefits both Kansas City, Kansas, and the diverse communities who live and learn here. This cross-cultural event shows how collaboration and harmony can bring communities together through the adventure of reading and the beauty of the arts.”

“We are constantly told that the many of the problems within our urban communities are due to a lack of education and opportunities,” said Richard Mabion, president of the KCK NAACP. “The Harlem Book Fair Midwest is the Kansas City, Kansas NAACP Branch and El Centro Inc.’s contribution towards that missing link.”

The Harlem Book Fair Midwest, in partnership with the KCK NAACP, El Centro Inc., and their community advocates, is a highly anticipated and inclusive cross-cultural literary event in the Midwest, a spokesman said.

The Harlem Book Fair Midwest is open to the public and all programs at the Reardon Civic Center are free.