List of Participants
Frank Adler, administrative director emeritus, Temple B’nai Jehudah, historian, and author (Roots in the Moving Stream: The Centennial History of Congregation B’nai Jehudah of Kansas City, 1870-1970 (1972))
C. Richard Belger, ceo, Belger Cartage Service and co-founder, John and Maxine Belger Family Foundation and Belger Arts District
Eliot Berkley, founder and chair, International Relations Council (1954-present)
Walt Bodine, Kansas City’s most renown television and radio personality: host, The Walt Bodine Show, KCUR-FM
Mary Shaw Branton, award winning civic leader and community volunteer
Alvin Brooks, Kansas City mayor pro tem (1999-present), founder, Ad Hoc Group Against Crime, and former Kansas City police officer
Richard Brown, professional actor seen often on the stage of the Missouri Repertory Theater
Olga Bruner, German WWII immigrant and war bride who settled in Kansas City
Myron Calkins, engineer and former Kansas City director of Public Works
Kay Callison, granddaughter of J. C. Nichols, daughter of Miller Nichols, board director, Highwoods Properties Inc., and community volunteer
Dianne Cleaver, civic leader, consultant, Kansas City school district, Missouri governor appointee (mental health and children/family issues) and Kansas City first lady (1991-1999)
Emanuel Cleaver, United Methodist minister, first African-American mayor of Kansas City (1991-1999) and city council member (1979-1991)
Richard Coleman, professor emeritus, Kansas State University and author of work on social status and social leadership in Kansas City
Joanne Collins, Kansas City city council member (1974-1991) and community outreach officer for federal agencies and private corporations
Carol Comer, singer, songwriter, and co-organizer, Kansas City Women’s Jazz Festival
Chuck Curran, former president, Kansas City Association of Trusts and Foundations
Sister Olive Louise Dallavis, president, Avila College (1952-1996)
Lloyd Daniel, assistant department director, Missouri Department of Economic Development, Missouri state representative (42nd District, 1994-1998), poet, educator, and community activist
Dory DeAngelo, writer of Kansas City history (What About Kansas City! (1995))
Angelo Diaz, native of the West Side of Kansas City, Missouri
Jay Dillingham, business and civic leader including former president, Kansas City Stockyards, Co. (1937-1975), New York Central Railroad (1925-1935), former chair, Kansas City, Missouri, and Kansas City, Kansas, Chambers of Commerce, and key player in Missouri State Highway and Transportation Commission and the American Royal Association
John Dillingham, president and director, JoDill, Inc. and Dillingham Enterprises, Inc., Kansas City civic leader, and north-of-the-river advocate
Carolyn Elman, executive director, American Business Women’s Association, founded by her father, Hilary A. Bufton, Jr., in Kansas City in 1949
Robert Farnsworth, professor emeritus, department of English, University of Missouri-Kansas City and former president, Kansas City CORE
Brad Finch, photographer and historic researcher
Jane Fifield Flynn, Kansas City historian and preservationist
Suellen Fried, mental health advocate and author, speaker, and consultant on child abuse and bullying prevention
Mary Harris Francis, co-founder, Toy and Miniature Museum, honorary vice-chair, Francis Families Foundation, and community volunteer
Robert Freilich, attorney, consultant on growth and development of cities, and author (From Sprawl to Smart Growth)
Samella Gates, director, Kansas City Model Cities program and Urban Affairs Department (1972-1983) and charter member, Bruce R. Watkins Board of Governors
Sue Gentry, former editor, Independence Examiner (1929)
Steven Glorioso, political analyst and consultant, radio talk host (Friendly Fire), and television commentator (Ruckus)
Dianne Gregg, arts administrator, Kansas City Young Audiences, and co-organizer, Kansas City’s Women’s Jazz Festival
Adele Hall, award winning national and regional civic leader and community volunteer
Donald Hall, civic leader, philanthropist, and chair, Hallmark Cards and Hall Family Foundation
Barnett Helzberg, Jr., former chair, Helzberg Diamonds (1956-1995), philanthropist, educator, and creator and chair, University Academy
Shirley Bush Helzberg, award winning civic activist, philanthropist, and chair, Arts Council of Metropolitan Kansas City
Bill Hickok, grandson on Napoleon Dible, co-founder, The Writers Place, and real estate developer
Laura Rollins Hockaday, reporter (1962-1975), travel editor (1975-1982), and society editor (1982-2000), Kansas City Star
Irvine O. Hockaday, civic leader, president and ceo, Kansas City Southern Industries (1968-1983), and president and ceo, Hallmark Cards (1983-2000)
Sylvester Holmes, president and ceo, Black Economic Union of Kansas City and assistant treasurer, National Congress for Community Economic Development
Mamie Currie Hughes, civic activist, ombudsman, Bruce R. Watkins Drive (1986-present) and president and ceo (1982-1986) Black Economic Union of Greater Kansas City
Ann Reisner Jacobson, social worker, community organizer, founder, Panel of Americans, and director of Kansas City volunteers
Dorothy Johnson, civic leader, activist and former reporter, The Call
Herman Johnson, civic leader, former branch president, NAACP, and real estate appraiser
Larry Joiner, Kansas City police officer (1960-1983), Kansas City chief of police (1984-1990) and United States marshall (1991-1994)
Norman Kahn, civic leader and chair, Kahn Steel Corporation
Gertrude Keith, civic activist, first African American women, Kansas City school board, first manager, Wayne Miner Housing Project, and deputy director, Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority
Rose Kemp, women’s advocate and regional administrator, Women’s Bureau, United States Department of Labor
R. Crosby Kemper, Jr., civic leader, philanthropist, chair and ceo, UMB Financial Corporation (1972-2000) and UMB Bank (1971-1997), and founder, Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art
James Kemper, civic leader chair, Commerce Bankshares (1946-1991), chair and ceo, Tower Properties Co., and founder and first chair, Downtown Council
Whitney Kerr, Kansas City area real estate broker and developer (Corporate Woods)
Gordon Kingsley, ph.d., author, speaker, vice president of development, Health Midwest, and former president, William Jewel College
Jim Leedy, artist, professor, Kansas City Art Institute, and founder and co-director, Leedy Voulkos Art Center
Linda Lighton, artist and art activist
Jack Lindberg, newspaper reporter, Coffeyville Journal, Kansas City Star/Times, and Belton Star Herald
Ceferino Lozano, native of Armourdale, Kansas, and employee, Swift Meat Packing Company
Ruth Margolin, woman activist and director, Women’s Center, University of Missouri-Kansas City (1983-1999)
Barbara Hall Marshall, consultant, Hallmark Cards, and co-founder, Toy and Miniature Museum
Albert Mauro, civic leader, president, Kansas City board of education (2000-present), and executive consultant, Kansas City Southern Industries (retired-1995)
Lillian McKittrick, officer, International Ladies Garment Workers Union
Robert Meneilly, founding minister, Village Presbyterian Church, and founder, Main Street Coalition
Myra Morgan, deputy director, Belger Arts Center, University of Missouri-Kansas City, and founder, Morgan Art Gallery
Far Ling Ng, co-founder and owner, Bo Ling’s Restaurants
Richard Ng, co-founder and owner, Bo Ling’s Restaurants
Clyde Nichols, son of J. C. Nichols and civic philanthropist
Jay Nichols, grandson of J. C. Nichols, son of Clyde Nichols, and ceo, Nichols Industries
Marty Nichols, leader of major civic endeavors
Jeanette Nichols, award winning civic leader and philanthropist
Gerry Niewald, artist manager and homemaker
Wilbur Niewald, Kansas City born artist and former chair (painting department) and professor emeritus, Kansas City Art Institute (43 years)
Vicki Noteis, director, City Planning and Development, Kansas City, Missouri
James Nutter, mortgage banker and key “behind-the-scenes” political player
Dorothy Ochsner, economist, Waddell and Reed (1963-1995)
Ralph Ochsner, ph.d., owner and principle-in-charge of projects, Ochsner•Hare & Hare, and former planning director, Kansas City, Missouri, and Independence, Missouri
James Olson, president, University of Missouri-Kansas City (1976-1984)
Louis X. Orozco, owner, Jose Gallos Tacqueria, general contractor, and artist
Janice Owens, community activist, employee, HUD, and past-interim executive director, Kansas City Housing Authority
Cruise Palmer, reporter and editor, Kansas City Star/Times (1832-1978)
Nedinne Parker, 100 year old citizen of Kansas City
Barbara Pendleton, civic leader and executive vice president, United Missouri Bancshares, Inc. and United Missouri Bank (1942 –1993)
Barbara Potts, civic leader, first woman mayor, Independence, Missouri, (1982-1990) and former executive director, Jackson County Historical Society
Leonard Pryor, teacher of art, Lincoln High School, first African American student and first African American dean, Kansas City Art Institute, and director of art and physical education, Kansas City Public Schools (1973-1986)
Gerald Randall, mechanic, Engine Overhaul Shop, TWA (1955-1992), and member (1950-1992), union steward (1977-1992), and legislative committee (1979-present), International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers
Patricia Uhlmann Rich, civic leader and community volunteer
Stephen Rose, newspaperman, Sun Publications, co-chair, Bistate I and II, and political commentator (Ruckus)
Dorothy Rosenwald, community volunteer and national and regional officer, National Council of Jewish Women
David Ross, award-winning humanitarian, senior vice president charitable trusts, Bank of America, and advocate, comprehensive mental health services and community resource network
Irene Hernandez Ruiz, teacher and librarian: Irene H. Ruiz Biblioteca de las Americas is named in her honor
Hal Sandy, marketing consultant, designer of the University of Kansas Jayhawk, and former mayor, Westwood Hills
Wilda Sandy, writer and historian (Here Lies Kansas City (1984))
Sandra Schermerhorn, attorney (first woman law partner in Kansas City), former Jackson County counselor, and community volunteer
Marjorie S. Sirridge, physician and professor of medicine at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Medical School
Beth Smith, award winning civic leader and community volunteer
Robert Soltero, civic and cultural leader of Kansas City’s West Side
Estelle Glatt Sosland, civic leader and arts parton
Morton Sosland, civic leader, chairman, Sosland Companies, Inc. and Sosland Publishing Company, Inc., and editor-in-chief, Milling and Baking News
Rheta Sosland, art patron and philanthropist
Frank Spurlock, former editor, Kansas City Star
Marilyn Strauss, founder, Kansas City Shakespeare Festival
Loren Taylor, attorney, police legal advisor, Kansas City, Kansas, and founder and editor/publisher, Wyandotte County Historical Journal
Betty Tillotson, dancer and teacher of dance
John Uhlmann, civic leader and chairman, The Uhlmann Company
Gina Valente, director, Scuola Vita Nuova, host/producer, An Adventure in Italy on KXTR, and director, Bisceglia Italian Cultural Center
Gloria Vando, poet, publisher/editor, Helicon Nine Editions, and co-founder, The Writers Place
Walter Vernon, attorney, Kansas City Board of Trade (1972-1984), executive director, National Agricultural Center and Hall of Fame (1990-1992) and Kansas City Consensus
Jack Wally, chief photographer, Kansas City Journal-Post, assignment photographer, LIFE magazine, family owned Western Blue Print Co. (1908-1980), and inventor and founder of Opti-Copy (1950–present)
Charles Wheeler, m.d., physician and mayor, Kansas City, Missouri (1971-1979)
Robert Wheeler, assistant superintendent, Division of Urban Education, School District of Kansas City, Missouri (1966-1971), associate commissioner for elementary and secondary education, United States Office of Education (1972-1974), and deputy commissioner for elementary and secondary education, United States Office of Education (1974-1977)
Harry Wiggins, attorney and Missouri state senator (1974-2002)
Sidney Willens, attorney and Kansas City activist and hellraiser
Clem Wittman, member and steward, United Auto Workers (30 years)
Esther Valladolid Wolf, civic leader, women’s activist, former secretary on aging, Kansas Department on Aging, and former administrator, Richard Cabot Clinic
Bob Wormington, television broadcaster (42 years-including general manager at WDAF and KSHB-TV)
Cecile Wu, writer and poet
William Wu, neuro-surgeon and professor, University of Missouri-Kansas City Medical School