Each year, the UMKC Alumni Association recognizes outstanding alumni achievements. UMKC is honoring the Tedrow/Selders/Hogerty family with its Class of 2024 Legacy Award.
The family legacy dates back more than 100 years, when Joseph Herbert Tedrow graduated from the Kansas City School of Law (now UMKC School of Law) in 1922. The next family members to attend UMKC, then known as the University of Kansas City, were brothers Loyd Selders (B.A. ’39) and David V. Selders, who attended but did not finish due to World War II.
The story extends several more generations. Alumni include Joseph’s granddaughter, Martha Hogerty (B.A. ’75, J.D. ’79), and grandson, Eugene (Pat) Selders, Jr. (B.A. ’72). Martha’s daughter, Mary (Hogerty) Needham (B.A. ’88) and her cousin Joan (Tedrow) Gilson (M.A. ’83, Ph.D. ’94), David’s daughter Dianne Selders Hogerty (B.A. ’78) and her son David Michael Hogerty (B.A. ’89) are also esteemed alumni.
“I don’t remember a time when the campus was not a part of the essential fabric of my life,” Needham said. “It was thrilling to think that I was writing the next chapter in a very long legacy.”
Members of the family have contributed greatly to the Kansas City community and beyond, both in their careers and volunteerism. Their philanthropic endeavors cross the city and region, including the Junior League of Kansas City, League of Women Voters, St. Mary’s Medical Center, South Plaza Neighborhood Association, Jackson County Historical Society, UMKC Neighborhood Advisory Council and more.
Joseph Herbert Tedrow was a member of the Kansas City, Missouri Chamber of Commerce from 1915 until his death in 1951. Most of those years were spent as transportation commissioner; he testified before the Interstate Commerce commission in Washington, D.C. on numerous occasions and authored a book of transportation regulation.
Martha Hogerty served as Missouri public counsel for 12 years, where she advocated for Missouri residents and small businesses in matters of utility services. She served as the consumer advocate representative on the Federal Communications Commission’s Joint Board, which made recommendations to preserve and advance universal telephone service, and as a president of the National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates. Now retired, but a lifelong learner, Martha returned to UMKC to audit classes.
In 1974, David V. Selders founded Family Features Editorial Syndicate to deliver branded food content directly to consumers; the company provided high-quality content and photography to local magazines and newspapers free of charge. Selders and Family Features pioneered the use of formatted content and the commitment to tracking content placements. Fifty years later, Family Features is still headquartered in Mission, Kansas, and works with top brands to deliver food, lifestyle, and home and garden content. Dianne Selders Hogerty and David Michael Hogerty joined the family business during their careers. Dianne co-founded a chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier International in Kansas City, a philanthropic organization of women leaders in the food, beverage and hospitality industry. She served as president of the international organization in 2004-05.
“I married after my freshman year of college and stopped my education to begin our family,” Dianne said. “At the ripe old age of 29, I returned to school and finished my degree at UMKC. If UMKC hadn’t been here so I could continue my education, I wouldn’t have become the ‘me’ I am today. I will be forever grateful.”