I had the honor and privilege as serving as master of ceremonies for the event and I thoroughly enjoyed the evening. Although the air conditioning in the Members Club decided to take the evening off, it was a wonderful event from start to finish.
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| Over 400 attendees enjoyed a great evening in the Members Club of Sporting Park. |
Community Housing of Wyandotte County (CHWC) is a non-profit 501(c)3 community development corporation that has served the urban core of Kansas City, Kansas since 2002 (Facebook page). CHWC has provided more than 200 new and renovated homes to families living in the many neighborhoods that surround the downtown area.
In addition, CHWC has provided millions of dollars in financial assistance to new and existing homeowners, has fought against crime and blight, and has encouraged community engagement in urban core neighborhoods.
The many people who work for and work with CHWC do much more than simply build houses. By promoting housing improvements and home ownership, they help breathe new life and new energy into many of our older neighborhoods.
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| Three families who have purchased homes from CHWC shared their stories and helped the crowd appreciate the positive impact of CHWC on neighborhoods. |
The Center Circle Award was first given in 2012. It honors people who have worked hard to make a positive difference in Kansas City, Kansas. The inaugural award was given to Monsignor Tom Tank who was one of the founding members of CHWC when he was the pastor of St. Peter's Catholic Church.
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| Monsignor Tom Tank presents Joe Reardon with the 2013 Center Circle Award. |
Joe Reardon was honored this year for his many years of work to improve housing for all families in the downtown area of Kansas City, Kansas... first as Commissioner of District 2 and then as Mayor/CEO of the Unified Government.
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| Joe Reardon was joined on stage by his wife Amy (left) as he shared his appreciation for the award. |
During his remarks at the event, Reardon encouraged everyone in attendance to challenge "conventional wisdom" and push for innovation and excellence even when you are told it can't be done.
He said that if the city had followed "conventional wisdom" over 10 years ago, Sporting Park wouldn't exist for the award event because the Village West area would have never been created. Likewise, he said that the "conventional wisdom" of a little over 10 years ago said that you can't be successful building houses in the urban core. Yet, the dedicated employees and volunteers of CHWC have proved that conventional wisdom wasn't true.
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| Attendees congratulate Joe Reardon for his award. |
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| Monsignor Tom Tank checks in with Susan Carroll. Susan is a CHWC volunteer and was the primary organizer for the event. |
If you'd like to support the work of CHWC, visit the "Donate" page of their web site.
Thanks to Donny Smith, Susan Carroll and everyone from CHWC for hosting a celebration of past achievements and future hope!
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| After the formal program concluded, attendees continued the celebration and enjoyed top notch music from Fairfax Four. |
~ Brian
bmckiernan@wycokck.org
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