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Big 5: Progress Report on KC Chamber Initiatives

The Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce launched its Big 5 initiatives to help reinvent Kansas City. We bring together some of the key decision makers to find out what progress has been made.

What began in the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce Board room in July 2011 with 100 business, civic and elected leaders and 182 ideas for creating a greater Kansas City has become five initiatives which seek to to bring better health, improved education, more jobs, increased investment and a better quality of life to everyone in the region. The Local Show gathered key decision makers from each of the Big 5 initiatives to find out how much progress has been made.

Our Think Tank of Experts:

Jim Heeter, President & Chief Executive Officer, Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce
Russ Welsh, Current KC Chamber Chair; Chairman & CEO, Polsinelli Shughart
Greg Graves, Past (2011) KC Chamber Chair; Chairman of the Board & CEO, Burns & McDonnell

Big 5 Representatives:

Moving UMKC’s World-Class Arts Programs to a New Downtown Location
Leo Morton: Champion; Chancellor, University of Missouri – Kansas City

Revitalizing Our Urban Neighborhoods Through the Urban Neighborhood Initiative
(Champions Brent Stewart and Terry Dunn were unavailable.)
Mark Jorgenson: Chairman, Urban Neighborhood Initiative Board; President & CEO, US Bank, Kansas City Market
Dianne Cleaver: Executive Director, Urban Neighborhood Initiative

Making Kansas City America’s Most Entrepreneurial City
Peter deSilva: Champion; Chairman & CEO, UMB Bank
Cliff Illig: Entrepreneurship Steering Committee; Co-founder, Cerner Corp.

Hosting the Global Symposium on Innovation in Animal Health
(Champion Gary Forsee was unavailable.)
Robert Marcusse: President & CEO, Kansas City Area Development Council

Growing Kansas City’s Medical Research, From Discovery to Cure
Dr. Patrick James: Champion; Senior Managing Director, Quest Diagnostics- Kansas Business Unit.

Keep the conversation going:

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#Big5KC
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Big 5: Moving UMKC’s World Class Arts Programs to a New Downtown Location

We get an update on the Chamber's Big 5 initiative to create a UMKC Arts Campus downtown. The Kansas City Public Library will be hosting a panel discussion about this project on September 5 at 6:30 pm.

They’ve narrowed it down to three. Three sites that is for UMKC to build a new downtown arts campus that would include room for its Conservatory of Music and Dance, but also space for its theater and other arts programs. This was one of the Big 5 Ideas advocated by the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce last fall.

Even though the UMKC Conservatory has been a part of Kansas City’s cultural life for over one hundred years, many of us still know little about this hidden jewel, working hard to raise its profile both here and across the country. In fact, our story starts on a March night in New York City.

What would a UMKC Downtown arts campus mean culturally and economically to this city?
You can join UMKC and top civic and arts leaders in a panel discussion at the downtown library on Wednesday, September 5 at 6:30 pm.

Ad for panel discussion at KC Public Library called Vision Of A Downtown Arts Campus

Graphic giving thanks to Big 5 underwriters Burns & McDonnnell, UMB, Kansas City Area Life Sciences Institute and Swope Community Enterprises

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The Sound of History: Mutual Musicians Foundation & Marr Sound Archives

Michael Feinstein's PBS Series American Songbook recently featured the Mutual Musicians Foundation and Marr Sound Archives. We share an excerpt and talk to Chuck Haddix about the musical treasures housed at UMKC.

It’s a national historic landmark. Some say it is truly sacred ground in the annals of jazz history. It’s the Mutual Musicians Foundation in the 18th and Vine Jazz District where musical giants like Count Basie and Charlie Parker played long into the night. Grammy award winning singer and musical history enthusiast Michael Feinstein just brought his national PBS series to Kansas City to experience our town’s musical treasures and he stopped by the foundation to experience a jam session for himself.

It wasn’t just the Mutual Musician Foundation capturing Feinstein’s interest here in town. While he was here, Feinstein also headed to another Kansas City sound treasure on the campus of UMKC…the Marr Sound Archives.

You can see the next chapter in Feinstein’s series Friday night at 9 here on KCPT.  Since you just got a peek inside the Marr Sound Archive,  Sound Recording Specialist Chuck Haddix sat down with Randy Mason to give a bit more insight into the music history treasure trove at UMKC.

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Zip, Zip and Away: UMKC’s Zipcar Program

Nick Haines talks to Bob Simmons, UMKC's Associate Vice Chancellor of Administration, who is heading up the Zipcar program on the UMKC campus.

Forget the bus or hailing the cab. There’s a new way to zip around
town. UMKC and Rockhurst University are taking part in a new car sharing program known as Zipcars. Designed for students, but available for anyone in the community, Zipcars let you rent a car for just seven bucks an hour, gas and insurance included.

The company, which started in 2000 at Harvard and MIT, has grown to
include 250 colleges and universities in 16 big cities. Until now,
the closest it came to KC was Chicago. Nick Haines talks to Bob
Simmons who is heading up the Zipcar program on the UMKC campus.

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