A mayor, two cops, two nuns, a bunch of librarians and an even bigger bunch of teens walk onto a campus.
And rather than being the set-up for a Dad joke, they are instead the honorees of the 2017 Civility Awards given by the nonprofit group Consensus for bridging the chasms that often divide us. Consensus will honor the award winners at a breakfast 7:30-9 a.m., Tuesday, November 7, in the Greenlease Library at Rockhurst University. Tickets are $30 or $210 for a table of eight, and may be purchased at
https://2017civilityawards-consensus.eventbrite.com
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“The Civility Awards happily remind us that we are united by a drive to cooperatively tackle important issues and solve them in ways that truly make our region a Greater Kansas City,” Michael DeMent said. DeMent is chair of the Consensus Civility Awards Committee.
The 2017 award winners include:
- Mark Holland, mayor, Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas, for his exceptional commitment to involve residents in decision-making on a range of topics, from police/community relations to how to spend a $12 million windfall and how to redevelop the Indian Springs Mall site. Nominated by Mayor Sly James.
- DEBATE Kansas City, for giving students the chance to learn evidence-based, reasoned discourse through policy debate. DEBATE-KC began in the 1990s when urban schools were eliminating their debate programs and now operates within 12 school districts. Nominated by Linda Collier.
- Anytown creates a safe space for high school students to engage in courageous conversation, and inspires them to continue those civility-generating conversations in their lives. Consensus honors the team that brought Anytown back to Kansas City after a hiatus. Nominated by AJ Crabill.
- Officer Orlando Singleton, an advocate for using Mental Health First Aid to shift the relationship between students and officers in the Kansas City, Kansas, Public Schools to one of respect and dignity. Nominated by Beth Yoder Stein.
- Officer Chato Villalobos, who has spent the last ten years in community policing in the Westside CAN Center. He has formed bonds and relationships of trust and is viewed as a partner in revitalizing the Westside. Nominated by Theresa Garza.
- Sister Berta Sailer and Sister Corita Bussanmas, Operation Breakthrough (pictured), will receive lifetime achievement awards. The co-founders of Operation Breakthrough have, since 1971, helped children in poverty reach their potential and empowered their parents. Nominated by Steve Millin and Pat McInerney.
- The Kansas City Public Library, for its work to promote civil dialogue, reduce the digital divide, and engage individuals who are immigrants, refugees or homeless. The library was self-nominated.
Consensus is a nonprofit organization that improves public policy by giving the public a meaningful voice in decision-making. The organization was founded in 1984, and launched the Civility Project in 2009 as a response to the health care town hall meetings, which reduced civility in public life.
Since then, the organization has devoted itself to raising awareness of how to engage people in ways that bring out the best in them through well-designed public meetings, and through awards for people who put principles of civility into practice.
