Welcome the North Kansas City Business Council's Newest Members!
ATCAP Partners is one of North Kansas City's newest businesses and has joined the North Kansas City Business Council at the President Level. ATCAP Partners is the Dallas-based firm that recently purchased nearly all the former Northtown Devco properties. Bryan Parker is the Asset Manager. Joy Knust and her team at Cedar Ridge Property Management are handling the day-to-day management and lease renewals of those properties. To learn more about ATCAP Partners, click here.
Cedar Ridge Property Management is one of the North Kansas City Business Council's newest members. From AirBNB Rentals to vacation and residential properties, they manage it all. They have joined us at the Executive level. Joy Knust and her team are ready to help you with all your property needs. To learn more about Cedar Ridge Property Management, click here.
Classic Blends Cigar & Coffee Bar is the newest attraction to join the North Kansas City Business Council. The lounge looks to provide Kansas Citians an unmatched cigar lounge experience. They offer a luxe atmosphere, exceptional client services, and premium selections. Their goal is to be the areas go-to cigar lounge. They not only offer cigars, but coffee, premium whiskeys, and locally crafted Pale Ales & stouts as well. To learn more about Classic Blends Cigar & Coffee Bar, click here.
Fastest Labs of North Kansas City joined the North Kansas City Business Council towards the end of November and has been making great strides to be active within the North Kansas City Business Community ever since! They are a locally owned and operated testing facility committed to providing accurate and reliable drug testing services as fast as possible. From pre-employment drug testing to personal health, Fastest Labs can help you with a wide range of testing services! To learn more, click here.
Check 'n Go recently joined the North Kansas City Business Council! For over 25 years, Check 'n Go has provided millions of hardworking people financial assistance they need when their circumstances changed. They understand that everyone needs a little help sometimes and above all, they are here to help people. They also work hard to give back to the communities as often as they can through outreach programs, foodbank donations, and child well-being initiatives. To learn more, click here.
DIVVI Wealth Management is the newest member with the North Kansas City Business Council. They are a Midwest-based wealth management firm co-founded by Matthew Waldman and Kirby DeMoss. Together, they have 43 years of experience in finance and started Divvi out of a desire to do wealth management differently. From financial planning to asset preservation, Divvi specializes in delivering smart, forward-thinking solutions that are anything but old school. To learn more, click here.
We want to give many thanks to the following North Kansas City businesses and organizations that had some fun and helped to spread some Christmas cheer by sponsoring and decorating a North Kansas City Winter Wonderland Christmas Tree.
We would also like to extend a very special thanks to the City’s Municipal Services Department for their hard work and dedication for installing, lighting, and maintaining the trees each year, and the North Kansas City High School National Honor Society, Asian Student Union, Pathway Ambassadors Club, and the Health and Occupation Students of America (HOSA) Club for serving as “Elves” to help decorate trees for businesses that were unable to decorate their own trees.

We had 43 businesses participating this year mean creativity and decorating talents were at an all-time high! The competition was extremely stiff and it was a very difficult task for our panel of judges, “Local Legend” Jim Chappell, local Time-Coach, Jen Roberts, and the one and only, Paula Brooks.

2022 Winners
NKCBC "Big Event" a Big Success!
The North Kansas City Business Council “Big Event” Holiday Reception & Silent Auction was held last Thursday, December 1st at Harrah’s and it was a “Big Success”! Following the success of last year, we held the "Big Event" in-person, with the silent auction being available online as well. This provided everyone in the community an opportunity to participate in the silent auction even if they were unable to attend in-person. Year after year, this event provides an important and very welcome opportunity to gather together to commemorate and celebrate the accomplishments our members, as well as our organization, made throughout the year.

In addition to being a very fun and festive way for our members to gather and usher in the holiday season, the “Big Event” is one of the Business Council’s most important fund-raising events. Funds raised through sponsorships, table and ticket sales, proceeds from the silent auction, and donations are critical for our ongoing efforts to achieve our mission “to be an advocate for businesses and quality of life in North Kansas City” and to provide a high level of service and support to our members.

Sponsorships are always critical to the success of any event, and we received tremendous support from our 2022 Sponsors. We deeply appreciate and thank each of them for their exceptional generosity in supporting this event and the ongoing efforts of the North Kansas City Business Council.
2022 Sponsors
Tnemec Company – Underwriting Sponsor
North Kansas City Hospital – Investor Sponsor
Harrah’s – In-Kind Investor Sponsor
NOCIX and KC Fiber/liNKCity – Technology Sponsor
Hunt Midwest – Executive Sponsor
Midwest Aortic and Vascular Institute – Executive Sponsor
Garney Construction – Executive Sponsor
Mid-America Contractors – Executive Sponsor
Country Club Bank – Holiday Sponsor
The four 2022 Award Recipients included:
Spirit of Giving: Maxx Tittone, Community Impact Coordinator for Greater Kansas City, Chicken N Pickle
This year, the North Kansas City Business Council's Spirit of Giving award goes to Chicken N Pickle. Chicken N Pickle has become famous for a lot of things, whether it be to play pickleball or other yard games, or just a fun place to have lunch, they seem to be making the news every week announcing new locations across the country. We are proud to have the original location and the corporate headquarters here in North Kansas City.

One of the things Chicken N Pickle is most proud of is their intentional effort to support non-profits and charities. All of their locations stress the theme "Our Hearts are Local". They partner with local organizations for charitable events and with local vendors when possible. They also host fundraisers and often make charitable donations. They do this through their Chicken N Pickle Foundation and occasionally have events where 10% of purchases goes to the foundation.
Workforce Development: Tracy Wakeman, Director of Human Resources, Tnemec
One of the most important things the North Kansas City Business Council does is to support workforce development initiatives as much as possible. With this is mind, the Workforce Development award goes to the Tnemec Company. We have always been active with the Northland CAPS program and in the past few years, we have been very supportive of the North Kansas City School District's College and Career Pathways program.

The goals of the Business Council could not be accomplished without the cooperation of business partners in North Kansas City. One of the most consistently involved business partners in workforce development is the Tnemec Company. An example is the recent manufacturing day plant tours, which they willingly took on. Whenever we ask for their help, the are always willing to do it and they do it well.
Community Service: Kim Nakahodo, Deputy City Administrator, City of North Kansas City
Kim Nakahodo is the receiver of this year's Community Service award. The North Kansas City Business Council has many opportunities to interact with the excellent staff as City Hall. With this year's staffing issues, Kim has done triple duty as they worked through transitions to bring on new staff.

Kim is the Deputy City Administrator but for almost a full year, she was the interim City Administrator and then for a few months, she also served as the de facto interim Community Development Director. She also stepped in as the City Finance Manager while he was on family leave, right in the middle of budget season. She has preformed like an All-Star and made sure City Operations ran smoothly with little evidence to the short-staffed situation.
Problem-Solving: John Miller Jr., Managing Partner at Stor-Safe/iWerx
The North Kansas City Business Council's Problem-Solving award goes to Stor-Safe Warehouses this year. As business owners normally only have time to deal with their own business problems, Stor-Safe Warehouses works closely to solve problems for all North Kansas City businesses. Most recently, for example, they worked with the city to ensure space for the new parking lot, extending from 16th Ave. to 18th Ave. (Close to Chicken N Pickle and other attractions). As this challenging situation arose, so did the two John Millers, as this required the acquisition and tearing down of another adjacent building, to make room for more parking spaces. Their quick thinking and hard work solved this problem for many North Kansas City residents and businesses.
If you were unable to attend the event this year, we hope you will be able to join us in 2023!
The North Kansas City Hospital received a $3 million donation, the largest donation in its history! Nancy Botham, a patient that received neurosurgery and other care at the hospital, left the gift as part of her estate, following her unfortunate passing. She donated it in honor of the physicians, nurses and staff who cared for her. The hospital plans to use the money to advance it's philanthropy program, established earlier this year. North Kansas City Hospital was also ranked No. 4 on U.S. News & World Report's latest "Best Hospitals" list for the Kansas City area.
For 22 years, the name Dan Clemens has been well known in the North Kansas City School District. Serving as principal of Nashua Elementary School, Crestview Elementary and Eastgate Middle School, he later moved up to serve as the assistant superintendent of administrative services before filling the role of district superintendent. He has made it his goal to provide access to extraordinary educational experiences for all children. As of August, the district announced Dan's plan to retire following the 2023-2024 school year. Applications for the position of North Kansas City School District Superintendent are currently being accepted. Dan will be greatly missed and we wish him a happy retirement as well as a successful final school year!
C&C Produce Thanksgiving Giveaway
Everyone could use a little help around the holidays. With that in mind, C&C Produce wanted to do something special this year to show solidarity between North Kansas City Businesses and the North Kansas City Police Department! They provided produce baskets for the entire police station just before the Thanksgiving holiday, to show their support and appreciation.

We love to hear heart warming stories like this one, all year long. If you have anything you want us to share in our next eNewsletter, please reach out to Alexis Brown, North Kansas City Business Council's Events & Member Services Coordinator.
Upcoming Events & Activities
NKCBC
Calendar of Events

Due to the holidays, there will be no NKCBC Monthly Luncheon in December.

Visit the North Kansas City Business Council Events Calendar for more information and to register for NKCBC events and activities.
Have information you'd like to share? Call or send an email to Alexis Brown, North Kansas City Business Council Events & Member Services Coordinator.

(816) 548-3112
There are lots of holiday events and activities taking place during the holiday season in North Kansas City! Check out the RiverNorth Calendar of Events for all the details!
The North Kansas City Parks and Recreation Board is committed to providing the residents and business community of North Kansas City with the best possible environment for family recreation and leisure time enjoyment.
Click the image above for the North Kansas City Parks and Recreation Department full fall catalog of programs for all ages.
Alexis Brown | (816) 472-7700 | 405 E. 19th Avenue | alexis@nkcbusinesscouncil.com