![The knowledge you need. i3
The commitment you expect. The value you deserve.
career profile: blogger
It’s tough to
make a career
as a blogger.
CELESTE
LINDELL No one pays
Social Media
for content, and
Strategist
Barkley competition for
advertisers and readers is fierce. Celeste Lindell knows this. “It’s
pretty unusual for people to make a living just by blogging,” she
says. However, blogging for Lindell is more than a hobby.
Lindell is a social media strategist for Kansas City-based mar-
keting firm Barkley. Her job consists of two main responsibilities.
The first is setting up and monitoring profiles for clients on popular
networking sites Facebook, MySpace, YouTube and Flickr.
The other part of her job involves marketing her clients and their
products or services to various bloggers in the hope they will write
For more than half a century, RubinBrown has been making a lasting mark
something positive about the organization. Lindell says the second
on business. Our unique, one-firm approach means you benefit from the
part can be tricky, but if the product is good, bloggers are often
best of both worlds – specialized expertise and comprehensive services. All
designed to deliver the kind of insights and solutions you need to succeed. more than happy to write positively. “Sometimes information itself is
compelling enough [to generate a blog],” she says.
A passionate, professional team. A one-firm approach to service excellence.
Lindell also says that free product samples and discounted ser-
It’s how we bring real value to our clients. And it’s why they remain clients
for decades, not just years. That’s the RubinBrown difference. vices are often very useful in leveraging positive PR from bloggers.
Some companies take it even further. “I’ve actually been on a trip
sponsored by a company,” Lindell says. Before she had assumed
Overland Park, KS ♦ 913.491.4144 her current position at Barkley, Lindell was one of about a dozen
www.RubinBrown.com bloggers (she blogs at averagejane.com and kckitty.blogspot.
Certified Public Accountants and Business Consultants Knowledge. Commitment. Value.
com) selected by Ford Motor Company to receive a free trip to
Los Angeles. There, the bloggers were given the royal treatment
Assurance | Internal Audit | Litigation Support | Qualified Plan Audit | SEC Advisory | Small Business
State and Local Tax | Tax and Compliance | Valuations | Wealth Management and exposed to new Ford products—all in an attempt to generate
positive buzz about the company.
Blog marketing is not solely about boosting profits, Lindell says.
Non-profit organizations also have a lot to gain from pitching them-
selves to bloggers. “It’s just a way of giving those [organizations] a
1 CLIENT - 1 TRAINER - 1 GOAL presence online,” Lindell says.
Although Lindell’s profession is still a relatively new one, it
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there appears to be a legitimate alternative.
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26 | K C B U S I N E S S](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/cdocumentsandsettingsadministratoranthemdesktopkcbmaypdf-12529453372031-phpapp01/85/KCB-May-2008-Cover-28-320.jpg)
![behind the curtain
thanks to DVRs—as much as a five-percent
increase from 11 p.m.-midnight, which is
when people settle in to watch shows they
missed. Nielsen’s Live-Plus ratings, which
track DVR use, show that for programs like
“Grey’s Anatomy” and “Heroes,” the audi-
ence might jump as much as 20 percent when
the DVR numbers are factored in. Viewer-
ship for “The Office” increased by more than
30 percent in some markets when DVR users
Economic momentum starts here! were included in the ratings.
At Johnson County Community College, But many advertisers still refuse to use
our workforce-based education starts the Live-Plus numbers when they buy
a reaction that carries economic commercial time. “If [DVRs] bump up the
development forward. audience but those people are skipping the
Companies and jobs locate or remain ads, it doesn’t do me any good,” Anderson
productive where they find the best says. Early estimates suggest 75 percent of
JCCC
and brightest people. By meeting this DVR users skip commercials. “I think 75
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motion for Kansas City companies. mean the other 25 percent don’t know
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New research by Nielsen of minute-by-
minute DVR viewing habits showed only
a five-percent decrease in the audience for
commercials, but there is lingering skepticism
about the accuracy of the research. Equally
debated is the impact of when a DVR user
watches a program—some watch within
three days, some may wait seven days. A stu-
dio opening a movie on Friday may not be
thrilled about running an ad on Thursday
night if a chunk of the audience is going to
wait a week to watch the show.
While the analysts on a national level
sift through the data, local broadcasters
say they have yet to see a major impact on
their bottom line from the growing popu-
lation of DVRs. If anything, data showing
a growing TV audience is good news for
the local stations.
“From our perspective, it hasn’t created
the crisis that some people thought,” says C.
Wayne Godsey, general manager of the local
ABC affiliate, KMBC.
News programs are the main revenue driv-
er for local TV stations, and Nielsen num-
bers show few DVR users bothering to time
shift their viewing of local news. “Our crown
38 | K C B U S I N E S S](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/cdocumentsandsettingsadministratoranthemdesktopkcbmaypdf-12529453372031-phpapp01/85/KCB-May-2008-Cover-40-320.jpg)
![I N N O V A T O R
Start Small, Sell Big
Courting the American dream with memorable marketing.
STORY BY DAVID HODES
I
t was January 2008 when Taiwan native Benny Lee became a coin (shown in TV commercials in 1989). Those images contin-
an American citizen in a ceremony that he says “touched his ued to flash on TV sets in millions of homes across the country
heart.” Everything about the ceremony appealed to him, down through the 1990s.
to the folksy wisdom of the judge swearing in new Americans. What Lee’s story seems like a modern version of something Horatio
the judge didn’t know is that Lee had already been following the Alger might have written. In the late 1980s, from his base in Tai-
American dream for more than 20 years, finding success in develop- wan, Lee traveled extensively to the U.S. and conducted business
ing and marketing products that from an office on Troost Av-
have become household names. enue in KC. He began market-
One of the most famous of those ing small appliances from his
products is the Ginsu knife. company, Top Innovations,
Lee is quick to point out and soon hit pay dirt with the
that he was not the creator “Handy Stitch” sewing ma-
of the knife. Indeed, those fa- chine by Singer and other
mous early commercials show popular products. More than
a Ginsu knife company in 4 million units of Handy Stitch
Warwick, Rhode Island, as the alone were sold when the prod-
original creator of the product uct first hit the TV airwaves.
that could cut through a can In 1995, with his business
and then easily slice a tomato. going strong, Lee moved his
That company went bankrupt family to Kansas City and
in 1984. The Ginsu knife is decided to develop his own
now marketed through the product line. First was a
Douglas Quikut division of clothes steamer, which allows
Scott Fetzer Company in people to press and freshen
Walnut Ridge, Arkansas. their clothes much like a dry
“I had a friend in South Af- cleaner. He began marketing
rica who bought the business when it went bankrupt but didn’t have the product in 1999, and sales skyrocketed. Lee has since ex-
the TV rights to sell it in the United States,” Lee says. “Those rights panded with other steam-related products (the SteamFast line),
were owned by a friend of mine in Taiwan. My friend and I talked, the QuikStitch and the portable ZigZag sewing machines. He
and [we] made a deal to license the TV rights.” This was in 1988, also has a couple of new sports and wellness products.
and Lee wanted to do more to help market and sell the product. “What is the key to success?” he asks. “You must sit back and see
“We thought about how we could make something special because why you are special—why do people need you? So when I talk to
brand name is important, but the product is also important. So we my customers, they always say, ‘Hey Benny what is new?’ What is
developed a new type of the knife, which is the one piece Japanese new is very important. If you keep doing what you have been doing
chopper with serrated edges that don’t need to be sharpened.” in the past, you cannot make a change. When you really get a result,
Lee and his friend came up with the demonstration of cutting you must do something different.”
BENNY LEE, A TAIWAN NATIVE, HAS BEEN LIVING THE AMERICAN DREAM AS A SUCCESSFUL ENTREPRENEUR AND OWNER OF TOP INNOVATIONS FOR MANY YEARS.
I N S I G H T , I N N O V A T I O N , I N S P I R A T I O N | 45](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/cdocumentsandsettingsadministratoranthemdesktopkcbmaypdf-12529453372031-phpapp01/85/KCB-May-2008-Cover-47-320.jpg)
![G L O B A L M A R K E T
Vintage Kansas
Overland Park winemaker reaps Australian harvest.
STORY BY RUTH BAUM BIGUS
A
ustralia, the land “Down Under,” might seem like a distant are warehoused in underground caves in Kansas City. At any giv-
locale for a Kansas winemaker. But Marquee Artisan en time, there are 10,000-12,000 cases stored there, with another
Wines, headquartered thousands of miles from the Australian 2,000 in the production pipeline.
vineyards, has found a bountiful harvest there. Cribb says Marquee wines are now carried in 30 states. Ninety
Overland Park-based Marquee produces three wines from dif- percent of the domestic product is distributed from Kansas City. Ad-
ferent vineyards scattered across southwestern Australia. They ditionally, the wine is sold in four other countries: Canada, China,
represent different varietals, Japan and Sweden. Curiously,
“highlighting the regional differ- the wine is not yet available in
ences,” says Christopher Cribb, the land of its origin.
Marquee’s general manager. In 2004, the line went
Marquee was born from the through some rebranding with
personal and professional desires a new label design. “We’ve
of Mark O’Connell. As presi- been tripling our growth ever
dent of Multi Service Corp., since,” Cribb says. “We wanted
an Overland Park-based private- something that would showcase
label credit card services compa- [that] they’re new-world wines.
ny, O’Connell wanted to expand We wanted to distinguish our-
the company into overseas mar- selves as the producer of [a] so-
kets, including Australia. So he phisticated, small product, but
started looking for new growth in that new-world style.”
opportunities abroad. In 2004, the company sold
In 2001, Cribb, then a Multi 4,000 cases with $350,000 in
Service e-commerce staffer, was sales revenues. By 2007, Mar-
tapped up by O’Connell and quee had sold 12,000 cases, and
Multi Service CEO Christo- it is looking to take that number
pher Combest to research busi- to 15,000 this year. Hot markets
ness opportunities in Australia. Cribb did three months of research, include Miami, Cleveland, Virginia and Kansas City.
resulting in the recommendation to import Australian wine. Additionally, Marquee was recently wooed by Argentina. The
“It had very nice profit margins to create a substantial business,” state of Mendoza approached Cribb, asking him to visit to attend a
Cribb says. “And Australian wines in the U.S. were becoming hot.” conference for importers. The company signed a deal with Gustav
Marquee launched its first wines in 2002. Through cooperation Caligiore, an organic winemaker in Mendoza, and now Marquee is
with a noted Australian winemaker, Keith Brien, the wines are producing five Argentine wines under the Caligiore label.
blended and bottled in Australia. All of the labels are produced “Understanding how to find the right partners at a global
in the States and sent to Australia to be placed on the bottles. The level is tough,” Cribb says. “We can’t afford to spend a lot of
wines are then shipped to the United States through California, time in those markets. It’s also challenging to understand cul-
where they undergo all kinds of testing and inspection. The wines tural differences between international markets.”
MARQUEE ARTISAN WINES GENERAL MANAGER CHRISTOPHER CRIBB, ABOVE WITH MEGAN BUBB, PRODUCES AUSTRALIAN WINES FROM OVERLAND PARK.
I N S I G H T , I N N O V A T I O N , I N S P I R A T I O N | 47](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/cdocumentsandsettingsadministratoranthemdesktopkcbmaypdf-12529453372031-phpapp01/85/KCB-May-2008-Cover-49-320.jpg)
![Angry shippers say the railroad com-
panies have been, in essence, double dip-
ping—building fuel costs into base rates
for customers and then tacking on the
additional fuel surcharge. Analysts for the
companies that use the rails say the over-
charges total in the billions. “The mar-
gins of error became enormous,” says
Jay Roman, president of Escalation
Consultants, which conducted one of
the studies.
The rail industry hotly denies the
charge. In a press release, the direc-
tor of the AAR mocked the American
Chemistry Council study as fundamen-
tally flawed. “I don’t know how much the
chemical industry paid for the study, but
they should ask for their money back,”
said AAR president Edward R. Ham-
berger, who called the study “extraordi-
narily misleading.” AAR spokesman Tom
White declined to comment, except to
say, “The revenue [from the surcharge]
did not cover the increase in fuel costs.”
Either way, there is nothing inherently ille-
gal about double-dipping. “Lying to customers
doesn’t mean you’re violating anti-trust laws,”
says Benjamin Brown, an antitrust practice
partner at Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld &
Toll, the firm named co-lead counsel on the
railroad cases, which have been consolidated
by a Washington, D.C., judge.
To make an anti-trust case, Brown and the
other plaintiffs must show a conspiracy—an
agreement between the railroads to work in
concert to fix prices and quash competition.
KC SOUTHERN, HEADQUARTERED IN DOWNTOWN KANSAS Brown’s firm knows the turf. In 2006, it suc-
CITY, MISSOURI, IS ONE OF THE FIVE “BIG RAIL COMPANIES
”
THAT CONTROL 90 PERCENT OF THE TRAFFIC ON U.S. cessfully prosecuted airline companies for im-
RAILROADS. THOSE RAILROADS ARE ACCUSED OF
PRICE FIXING IN SEVERAL LAWSUITS.
posing an unreasonable fuel surcharge.
I N S I G H T , I N N O V A T I O N , I N S P I R A T I O N | 55](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/cdocumentsandsettingsadministratoranthemdesktopkcbmaypdf-12529453372031-phpapp01/85/KCB-May-2008-Cover-57-320.jpg)
![“When you look at an industry [rail]
that is [a] classic oligopoly and you see a
break from traditional pricing and you see
huge new surcharges made in lock-step
and you see an industry entirely unrespon-
sive to a customer base loudly objecting,”
Brown says, “it is highly unusual.”
To prove price fixing, the suing compa-
nies don’t need a smoking gun—i.e. a memo
where all the companies agreed to work to-
gether. But they will have to show evidence
the rail companies collaborated together
to the detriment of their customers. “The
hardest thing for a plaintiff is proving the
agreement element,” says Thom Lam-
bert, associate dean of the University of
Missouri School of Law. “It’s not enough
that everybody is acting the same.”
According to the lawsuits, the railroads
“moved in uniform lock-step” when they
imposed the fuel surcharge on customers.
Each of the companies has used the same
index to track costs and the same formulas Last December, the Surface Transportation Board (STB), which oversees the in-
to set rates, which were posted on the Inter- dustry, essentially agreed with shippers’ complaints, rejecting the railroad companies’ ar-
net for other companies to review. In a true gument that they were simply passing on fuel increases. The practice of charging on base
competitive environment, the suit charges, “it freight rates was deemed a “revenue enhancement measure,” and the STB required the
would be completely irrational to believe that companies to stop the “misleading and ultimately unreasonable practice.” The group also
defendants … facing myriad differences in decided to spend $1 million to conduct its own independent study to assess the state of
economic factors and business demands and competition in the industry.
requirements, would independently arrive at But the STB took no retroactive action against the railroad companies and did not specifi-
the same conclusions.” cally find that the companies “overcharged.” The railroad companies will certainly argue in
If this were a murder mystery, the court that the STB regulates the industry, and they’ve been following the rules, legal experts
railroad companies had motive, means say. But Brown argues “the STB doesn’t have jurisdiction to address anti-competitive cases,”
and opportunity—the meetings in the an issue the courts will likely have to adjudicate.
spring of 2003—to work together to The role of the STB, and its effectiveness regulating the industry, adds another
dictate new terms to their customers, layer of complexity to an already complex case. Shippers have long argued that the
Brown says. The railroads can deny STB is in the pocket of the rail companies. Several STB staffers have either come
it, but the defense “doesn’t pass the from the railroad industry or have gone to work for railroad companies after leaving
straight-face test,” he says. the STB. “It’s got to be rated as the worst regulatory agency in federal government,”
56 | K C B U S I N E S S](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/cdocumentsandsettingsadministratoranthemdesktopkcbmaypdf-12529453372031-phpapp01/85/KCB-May-2008-Cover-58-320.jpg)
KCB May 2008 Cover
- 1. 3-D MOVIE THEATER MARKETING| THE 8 CEO PERSONALITY QUIZ | AUSTRALIAN WINE FROM KANSAS K C B U S I N E S S KCBcentral.com LOCAL OIL WILDCATTER PROSPECTS FOR RESERVES WORTH BILLIONS IN CENTRAL AMERICA | PG. 48 | MAY 2008 $4.95 PRICE-FIXING ON THE RAILROADS | PG. 52 | KC ADVERTISERS STRUGGLE WITH THE TIVO EFFECT | PG. 37 |
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- 3. “Wellness has to be a solution for the future. There aren’t many other answers to escalating premiums. We also know that healthy employees are happier and more productive. More significantly, we appreciate the immeasurable human value in discovering even one, two or three serious health conditions before it’s too late.” Bill Morrison, Executive Vice President Automobile Dealers Association of Greater Kansas City Area Auto Dealers Steer Wellness to Drive Down Health Costs. T he Automobile Dealers Association of Greater Kansas City believes strongly in the importance of health screenings, early detection and prevention. of employees benefited from on-site, diagnostic health screenings scheduled and arranged at their conve- nience. A variety of health improvement classes are So they urged members of their Health & Welfare now also being offered to any interested employees. Trust to achieve at least 75 percent employee partici- No other health plan offers a program as exten- pation in Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City’s sive, convenient, personalized or hands-on as this A Healthier You program by offering each member a to improve employees’ health and employers’ costs. 5 percent premium discount incentive. So choose Blue for A Healthier You. It was an overwhelming success. Ninety percent of the dealerships earned the discount and hundreds 816 -360-1000 • bcbskc.com HH2445AD2/8
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- 8. Is the message your environment sends to its occupants consistent with the culture, values and goals of your organization? We can help! 48 KC Oil Widcatter Heads South Jim “Blacky” Pryor is the last of a dying breed. He’s an oil wildcatter. For years, he has explored untapped reservoirs of black gold, scanning the Midwest for the next big gusher. These days, Pryor spends his time prospecting in Central America, where Nicaragua and Honduras hold great promise of untold wealth. STORY BY DAVID CONRADS PHOTOGRAPHY BY SUSAN MCSPADDEN Knowledge Center 14720 West 105th Street Lenexa, KS 66215 913.888.7600 6 | K C B U S I N E S S
- 9. stories features columnists Global Wine, Local Label Business 47 19 Local entrepreneurs launch a popular Kansas City is growing ever Australian wine label from Overland Park. more attached to the global STORY BY RUTH BAUM BIGUS business world. COLUMN BY BOB MARCUSSE ILLUSTRATION BY NOLI NOVAK The New Rail Barons 52 BEHIND THE CURTAIN TiVo and the digital video Lawsuits allege that the big U.S. railroad Politics recorders that allow 21 viewers to program favorite companies, including KC Southern, shows and skip advertise- Development lawyers are the ments are rattling the TV entered into a wide-ranging conspiracy to world, including some thrust behind local political local players. 37 milk billions from shippers. campaigns. STORY BY KEVIN BRASS COLUMN BY TRACY THOMAS ILLUSTRATION BY NOLI NOVAK departments INNOVATOR The principals behind 10 Editor’s Note Cinema Scene Marketing are using 3-D technology 13 KCBcentral.com for cutting-edge displays in this month in i3 movie theaters. 43 14 Index 23 Event Photos: KCB’s Influential Women 17 Contributors KCB Quiz: 59 Kudos A Jack of Which Type? 61 Networking Calendar KC by the #s 63 The Grind Career Profile: Blogger 64 Goat Locker Tech: Wee Wonders Answer Key: CEO Type INNOVATOR A marketing career that involved the Ginsu knife has led Taiwan native Benny Lee to Kansas City in pursuit of the American dream. 45 I N S I G H T , I N N O V A T I O N , I N S P I R A T I O N | 7
- 10. W E’R E TA K I NG MAY 2008 VOL. 2 NO. 11 EDITOR A GR E AT STA Y R. SCOTT MACINTOSH ASSOCIATE EDITOR DAYNE LOGAN FASHION EDITOR TO THE CHADWICK BROOKS CONTRIBUTING WRITERS RUTH BAUM BIGUS, KEVIN BRASS, DAVID CONRADS, KEVIN FLEMING, DAVID HODES, BETSY LEE, BOB MARCUSSE, TRACY THOMAS NEXT LEV EL. GRAPHIC DESIGNERS LINDSY DUGAN, SARA STEFFENS, JACK WILSON CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS AND ILLUSTRATORS JEREMY COLLINS, SUSAN MCSPADDEN, NOLI NOVAK EDITORIAL INTERNS JESSICA WOODLAND VICE PRESIDENT AND PUBLISHER DARA MACAN API ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER, LIFESTYLE GROUP DENISE SUNDVOLD ADVERTISING SALES MANAGER KATHLEEN KRAUSHAAR VICE PRESIDENT AND PUBLISHER, LIFESTYLE GROUP SHANNON SHUMAN SENIOR ACCOUNT MANAGERS JON MILLSTEIN, HEATHER WARD ACCOUNT MANAGERS JESSICA BOKATH, CARLY SCHROEDER EVENT MARKETING JAMES GWYN, KRISTEN HAWKINS, LAURIE MENENDEZ ANTHEM CUSTOM PUBLISHING DAVID BLACKHURST, CHASE CROSS, MIKI MERRITT CLIENT RELATIONS MANAGER ANGELA PEARSON ANTHEM PUBLISHING INC. AN ANTHEM MEDIA GROUP COMPANY PRESIDENT BRIAN WEAVER VICE PRESIDENT & GROUP PUBLISHER RON CIANI DIRECTOR OF CONTENT & CREATIVE ERIN BENDA Whether you’re planning a vacation, a business trip, a meeting or an VICE PRESIDENT—HUMAN RESOURCES & ADMINISTRATION ANGELA WEAVER event, we can make it even more special. And now, we’re bringing a new CORPORATE ACCOUNTANT CORI FLYNN level of luxury to Kansas City with a total refurbishment of our entire CREDIT ANALYST JEANNIE CLEAVELAND hotel. But no matter when you stay with us, you’ll always enjoy the same EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT DEBRA WYATT level of quality and comfort you’ve come to expect. So let Kansas City’s EDITORIAL AND SALES OFFICES: 7101 COLLEGE BLVD., SUITE 400 premier hotel serve as your gateway to all the city has to offer. OVERLAND PARK, KS 66210 913-894-6923 | KCBCENTRAL.COM TO SUBSCRIBE CALL 913-894-6923 KC BUSINESS MAGAZINE (ISSN 1931-8731) is published monthly (12 issues) at 7101 College Blvd., Ste. 400, Overland Park, KS 66210, KCBcentral.com, 913-894-6923. All contents copyright ©2008 by Anthem Publishing Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction or use in whole or in part of the contents, without the Do you live an InterContinental life? prior written permission of the publisher, is prohibited. KC Business Magazine is a trade name of Anthem Publishing Inc. All rights reserved. Annual subscription $34.95. Postmaster: Send address changes to KC Business Magazine, P.O. Box 19519 Lenexa, KS 66285. Unsolicited photographs, illustrations, or articles are submitted at the risk of the photographer/artist/author. Anthem Media assumes no liability for the return of unsolicited materials and may use them at its discretion. Articles contained in the magazine do not constitute tax or legal advice. Consult your tax or legal advisor before making any tax- or legally related investment decisions. Articles are published for general informa- tional purposes only and are not an offer or solicitation to sell or buy any securities or commodities. Any For further information or to make a particular investment should be analyzed based on its terms and risks as they relate to your individual reservation, please visit www.kansascityic.com circumstances and objectives. All letters, photos and manuscripts submitted to Anthem Publishing Inc, either solicited or unsolicited, or call 1.866.856.9717 become the sole property of Anthem Publishing Inc, and may be used and published in any manner whatso- ©2007 InterContinental Hotel Group. All rights reserved. ever without limit and without obligation and liability to the author, photographer, artist or owner thereof. Most hotels are independently owned and/or operated. 401 Ward Parkway, 816.756.1500 BPA WORLDWIDE membership applied for May 2006. 8 | K C B U S I N E S S
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- 12. editor’s note Kansas City is the pretty good place to ride out a recession. At press time, it cost about $3.10 for a gallon of regular gas—about as low as it gets in the U.S. these days. The national average was $3.33, and it was $3.68 in California. Imagine paying 50-cents more for each gallon of gas, or $5 extra for every 10 gallons. If that’s the price for a trip to the beach, no thanks. (This month, KCB looks at the impact that the price of oil is having on a local wildcatter, as well as the shipping industry.) The job market in KC also has remained relatively stable. In the KC region, nonfarm employment rose 1.7 percent in the one-year period ending February ‘08, nearly three times the national increase of 0.6 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor. Also consider the average price of a single-family home in Kansas City, which was $148,200 in the fourth quarter of 2007, according to the most recent data available at press time by the National Association of Realtors. That was only a slight dip from the second quarter ‘07 high of $157,700. Meanwhile, the national average for all of ‘07 was $217,800, after hitting a high-water mark of $221,900 P HO TO G RAPHY BY SUSAN MCSPADDEN for ‘06. To further illustrate the point, consider that the median price of a home in Los Angeles was $509,700 in Q4 ‘07, falling from $593,000 in Q2 ‘07. That’s an $83,000 drop, compared to the $9,500 drop in KC for the same period. While the mortgage crisis has affected markets everywhere, the damage in Kansas City has been less pro- nounced. Real estate in Kansas City has always been affordable—a so-called “safe market.” Chances are that even if you bought a home in Kansas City at the peak of the market, it’s probably unlikely that you’re too far underwater on your investment. And for the price of an average single-family home in Los Angeles, you could have bought at least two in some nice Kansas City neighborhoods. To be sure, times have been tough. Some neighborhoods are hit harder than others. Job growth has been slowing. There’s a budget crunch in KCMO. But the Kansas City region doesn’t experience the booms and busts like cities on the coasts. There’s no single industry by which we thrive or die. It’s a stable economy where the necessities, and amenities, are affordable. Living in Kansas City is a qual- ity of life investment—you get a lot more with a lot less. Consider that it costs $44 for a dugout box at Kauffman Stadium for a game against the New York Yankees. Compare that to the $325 price tag for a single-game dugout box in Boston. Yes, you can ride out a recession in Kansas City in relative comfort … that is until speculators start driving up the price of real estate or the Royals win another World Series. R. Scott Macintosh Editor rsmacintosh@KCBmagazine.com 10 | K C B U S I N E S S
- 13. tivol diamonds. a cut above. COUNTRY CLUB PLAZA HAWTHORNE PLAZA BRIARCLIFF VILLAGE
- 15. this month @ http://www.kcbcentral.com now on metrostew At Anthem Publishing’s new interactive Web site, MetroStew.com, you’ll find not only the extra KCB content that we didn’t have room for in the magazine, but also news, features and high-end photography for all of the company’s publications. At MetroStew, you can read unabridged Drinks With interviews with business leaders. Use our new interactive feature that lets you flip through virtual copies of the past issues of all our publications— check out KC Magazine’s April profile of the city’s hottest bands or reread the profiles of KCB’s 50 Most Influential Women from the March edition. MetroStew is Kansas City’s new source for all things work and play. poll results WILL THE KANSAS CITY ROYALS HAVE A WINNING SEASON THIS YEAR? goat locker What’s a goat locker? Go to KCBcentral.com to learn about the origins of the term. Also look at our photo outtakes, like the shot above of Brian Alexander, the new president and CEO of the World War I Museum. Also online are outtakes from our photo shoots with Linda Friend of SuperFlea, L.C. Richardson of LC’s Bar-B-Que, artist David Ford, James Carver of YES Aesthetica and Timothy O’Leary of Shughart Thomson & Kilroy. 45.59 % read it on the blog Want more? Delve into cutting edge business news that just couldn’t wait on KCB’s blog, bizblog.kcbcentral.com. We keep a finger on the pulse NO of Kansas City, delivering unexpected, under-the-radar news items that 54.41 % entertain and inform. stock options Keep up with the biggest local stock moves on the Metrostew.com Web site. Our scrolling stock ticker Share your opinion on this month’s poll question at KCBcentral.com. THE QUESTION: Is the Kansas City economy in recession? tracks the latest ups and downs of local, publicly held companies. It’s updated with the latest market move- quotable ments every 15 minutes. Also, you can create your own personalized ticker “This is the biggest change to a submitted city with the stock picks of your choice. To create your customized stock ticker and watch it scroll, simply click “edit” on the bottom left-hand side of the Metrostew budget in the last 30 years. ... With this budget, we home page and make a selection. have made significant strides toward restoring our fund balance. We’ve planned for the actual costs we anticipate cover- quick links SUBSCRIBE ing in the coming year. And, most significantly, we’ve worked together Sign up for a subscription to KCB. Twelve issues for $34.95. to make strategic choices in order to fund those services that are most KCB UPDATES To receive news about the next issue of KCB and when it will hit important to our citizens.” the local newsstand, sign up for our e-mail notices by contacting — STATEMENT MADE MARCH 28, 2008, BY KCMO MAYOR MARK FUNKHOUSER ON THE editorial@KCBmagazine.com. ADOPTION OF THE FY 2008-2009 BUDGET. I N S I G H T , I N N O V A T I O N , I N S P I R A T I O N | 13
- 16. index: people and companies in this issue HERE YOU’LL FIND A LISTING OF Bridging the Gap ...................................... 61 Enterprise Financial Services Corp. ......... 59 Holloway, Lael .......................................... 59 ALL OF THE COMPANIES AND PEOPLE MENTIONED THROUGHOUT THIS ISSUE OF KCB, INCLUDING Brien, Keith ............................................... 47 Entrepreneurial Development Center....... 59 Holmes, Michael ...................................... 43 OUR ADVERTISERS. Broadway Across America ....................... 28 Environmental Protection Agency ............ 50 Hospital Corp. of America ........................ 59 a ABC .......................................................... 38 Action Coach ............................................ 27 Advertising Icon Museum .................. 17, 28 Brown, Benjamin ...................................... 55 Brown, F. Peter ................................... 24, 28 Brown, G. Michael .............................. 24, 28 Ericson, Vaughn ....................................... 40 Ernst & Young........................................... 59 Escalation Consultants ............................ 55 i IdentiGEN ................................................. 19 Industria Oklahoma Nicaragua SA........... 51 Information Resources Inc. ...................... 39 Aesthetica..................................................13 Brown, Michael ................................... 24, 28 Euronet Worldwide ................................... 24 Information Technology of Iowa ............... 59 AIESEC ..................................................... 19 Brown, Peter ....................................... 24, 28 European Motorsports ............................. 40 InterContinental Hotel ................................ 8 f Alexander, Brian ....................................... 64 Bryan Cave Law ....................................... 44 Facebook ................................................. 26 International Association Alger, Horatio ............................................ 45 Bubb, Megan............................................ 47 Fanning, Monica....................................... 59 of Administrative Professionals ................ 61 Allison, Craig ............................................ 39 Bussanmas, Corita ................................... 61 First National Bank .................................. 42 Ironhorse Golf Club .................................. 61 AMC Entertainment Inc. ..................... 24, 59 American Century Investments ................ 59 c Caligiore, Gustav ...................................... 47 Carnegie, Dan .......................................... 61 First National Bank of Kansas .................. 23 First Watch ............................................... 61 IRS ............................................................ 21 ISSN ......................................................... 64 j American Chemistry Council............... 54-55 Cates Auction ........................................... 41 Fitness For Life ......................................... 26 Jefferson Wells Inc. ............................ 41, 59 American Restaurant, The........................ 46 Central Exchange ..................................... 61 Fitness Gallery.......................................... 21 Job Match ................................................ 39 Amini’s Galleria .......................................... 2 Cerner Corp........................................ 19, 24 Flickr ......................................................... 26 Johnson County Community College ........ 3 k Anderson, Jan-Eric ................................... 37 Chateau Avalon ........................................ 29 Ford Motor Company ............................... 26 Kansas Biosciences Organization ........... 23 Applebee’s ............................................... 59 Child Health Coalition .............................. 61 Fortune Magazine .................................... 25 Kansas City Area Development Archer Daniels Midland ............................ 54 Association of American Railroads .......... 54 Aureus Group ........................................... 46 Cinema Scene Marketing ......................... 43 Collins, Jeremy ................................... 37, 63 ColoradoBiz Magazine ............................. 28 g Gail’s Harley Davidson ............................. 23 Garmin.......................................... 19, 24, 28 General Services Administration .............. 61 Council ................................................19 Kansas City Chiefs ................................... 19 Kansas City Council of b Barkley................................................ 37, 26 Combest, Christopher .............................. 47 Gentle, John ............................................. 57 Women Business Owners .................. 19, 23 Bayer Corp. ........................................ 24, 28 Conrads, David ........................................ 48 Ginsu Knife ............................................... 45 Kansas City Royals....................................10 Beckloff, Michael ...................................... 23 Consumers United for Rail Godin, Seth .............................................. 21 Kansas City Southern............................... 53 Bell Atlantic Corp. ..................................... 57 Equity ............................................54, 57 Godsey, C. Wayne.................................... 38 Kansas City Symphony .............................. 4 Bennett, Kathy .......................................... 23 Credit Union of Johnson County .............. 61 Greater Kansas City Chamber Kansas Information Technology Benskin, Audrey ....................................... 23 Cribb, Christopher .................................... 47 of Commerce ..................................... 16, 59 Association ..........................................59 h Bernstein, Bob.................................... 24, 28 Czinege, Mike........................................... 59 Hallmark ................................................... 19 Kansas Technology Enterprise Corp........ 59 d Bernstein-Rein ........................ 17, 24, 28, 40 Derusseau, Brad ...................................... 43 Hamberger, Edward R.............................. 55 Kao, E. Min ......................................... 24, 28 Bentley-St. Louis ........................................ 9 Dietrich, Bill............................................... 61 Handy Stitch ............................................. 45 Kauffman Foundation............................... 19 Birch, Mary ............................................... 21 DLR Group ............................................... 44 Harley Davidson ....................................... 23 KCADC ..................................................... 19 Black & Veatch ......................................... 19 Dost, Linda ............................................... 23 Haverty, Michael ....................................... 54 Kemper, D. Mariner ............................ 24, 28 Black Star 231 .......................................... 50 Dreiling, Mark ........................................... 23 Heit, Mary ................................................. 59 Kepner-Tregoe Inc. .............................. 24-25 Blue Cross Blue Shield............................... 1 BMW ......................................................... 28 Brass, Kevin ....................................... 37, 53 e Embarq Corp............................................ 28 Embrace Smiles LLC................................ 22 Employee Advisory Committee ................ 59 Hendrikse, David E. ................................. 59 Hereford House .................................. 63, 61 Hesse, Dan......................................... 24, 28 KMBC ....................................................... 38 Krass, Todd .............................................. 59 Kreps, Angela ........................................... 23 Brenner, Daniel L. ..................................... 21 Enterprise Bank ........................................ 59 Historic Annapolis Foundation ................. 64 KSHB ................................................... 39-40 14 | K C B U S I N E S S
- 17. index: people and companies in this issue KTEC ........................................................ 59 Nielsen Company, The ............................. 37 Rosemann & Associates P C. .................. 59 . Surface Transportation Board ............. 56-57 l L.C.’s Bar-B-Que.......................................13 Nintendo ................................................... 63 RubinBrown .............................................. 26 Szabo, Bob......................................... 54, 57 t Lambert, Thom ......................................... 56 Noble, Melissa A. ..................................... 61 Russell, Rebecca ..................................... 61 Take Two Productions............................... 23 Lathrop & Gage........................................ 21 Leawood Chamber .................................. 61 Lee, Benny ............................................... 45 Noles, Samantha...................................... 61 Norfolk Southern ...................................... 53 North Kansas City Hospital ...................... 61 s Sahni, Jyotsna .......................................... 61 Sailer, Berta .............................................. 61 Sales Professionals International ............. 61 Time Warner Cable................................... 24 Tivol .......................................................... 11 TiVo ..................................................... 37, 43 Lindell, Celeste ......................................... 26 Northeast Johnson County Chamber ...... 61 Samsung .................................................. 27 Top Innovations ........................................ 45 Lucas, George.......................................... 43 Northland Chapter, The ............................ 61 Scheels All Sports .................................... 21 Trozzolo, Angelo R. .................................. 59 m Majestic Resource.................................... 25 March of Dimes ........................................ 61 Northwest Missouri State University..........17 Norwood Resources Ltd. ......................... 51 Schlitterbahn ............................................ 21 Scott Fetzer Company ............................. 45 Trozzolo, Pasquale ................................... 59 Trozzolo Communications Group ............ 59 Mark O’Connell ........................................ 47 Mark One Electric Company .................... 39 Marquee Artisan Wines ...................... 17, 47 o Ohle, Joerg ......................................... 24, 28 On Demand Technologies ....................... 12 OncImmune.............................................. 19 Scott Rice Officeworks ............................... 6 Securities and Exchange Commission ........................................57 Tymosko, Paul .......................................... 59 u U. S. Bank................................................. 59 U.S. Department of Labor..........................10 Matthews, Lisa ......................................... 23 OQO ......................................................... 27 Sheahan-Strain Associates Inc. .............. 24 Ubben, Miriam.......................................... 59 McDonald’s .............................................. 43 Organisation for Economic Cooperation Shelburne Museum .................................. 64 UMB Financial Corp. ................................ 24 McSpadden, Susan ........................... 64, 48 and Development .....................................19 Shot Bee ................................................... 59 Union Pacific ............................................ 53 p Menendez, Ann ........................................ 23 Outpost Broadcast Communications ...... 23 Shughart Thomson & Kilroy ..................... 59 Union Station ...................................... 61, 21 Mid-America Minority Business Panama Canal Railway Company............ 54 Sign Pro of Kansas City ........................... 61 University of Kansas................................. 19 Development Council ............................... 42 Patterson, Neal ................................... 24, 28 Singer ....................................................... 45 University of Missouri ......................... 19, 56 Mini, Martin ............................................... 23 MoneyGram.............................................. 28 Peterson, Mary Beth ................................. 59 Pittsburg State University ......................... 60 SKC Communications Systems ............... 20 Sloss, Jim ................................................. 61 v University of North Texas...........................17 Vibe Marketing ......................................... 25 Moore, Pat ................................................ 61 Morgan, Hali ............................................. 23 Multi Service Corp. ................................... 47 Power On Technologies Inc. .................... 29 Poynter Institute for Media Studies............17 PQ Media ................................................. 40 Software and Information Technology of Iowa .................................. 59 Spangler, Laura ........................................ 23 w WDS Marketing ........................................ 23 Webster House......................................... 23 Wendlandt & Stallbaumer ........................ 38 MySpace .................................................. 26 Pryor, Jim .................................................. 48 Spangler, Marga ....................................... 23 Wheeler, Charley ...................................... 21 n National Association of Realtors................10 Pryor Oil Company ................................... 50 Spangler, Rich .......................................... 23 White, Tom ................................................ 55 National CineMedia LLC .......................... 28 Pstrada ..................................................... 59 Spangler, Sara .......................................... 23 Wilson, Becky ........................................... 23 National Freight Transportation Quikut, Douglas ....................................... 45 Spidertel ................................................... 40 Winfrey, Oprah.......................................... 39 Association .........................................53 National Golf Club of Kansas City, The ..................................19 r Rebar Business Builders .......................... 28 Referring Entrepreneurs and Professionals .......................................61 Sprint Nextel ............................................. 24 Staffing KC ............................................... 27 Star Group, The ........................................ 19 Witcher, Harold ......................................... 51 Womack, Cheryl ....................................... 19 World Figure Skating Museum ................. 64 National World War I Museum ........... 13, 64 Regal Entertainment Group ..................... 28 SteamFast ................................................ 45 Worth, Gail ................................................ 23 NBC ..................................................... 39-40 NBC Universal .......................................... 40 Nebraska Furniture Mart .......................... 21 Regnier, Bob ............................................. 61 Research Belton Hospital ........................ 59 Ria Envia................................................... 28 Sterling Steel Company ........................... 54 Stillwell, Arthur .......................................... 54 Strnad, Sarah ........................................... 23 y YouTube .................................................... 26 YRC Worldwide ........................................ 19 Zerkel, Sherri ............................................ 61 Neifert, Marianne ...................................... 61 New York Yankees......................................10 Rogers , Teri ............................................. 23 Roman, Jay .............................................. 55 Sughart, Thomson & Kilroy........................13 SuperFlea...................................................13 z Zucker, Jeff ............................................... 40 Zurbuchen, Nancy.................................... 23 I N S I G H T , I N N O V A T I O N , I N S P I R A T I O N | 15
- 19. contributors RUTH BAUM KEVIN DAVID KEVIN DAVID BETSY SUSAN BIGUS BRASS CONRADS FLEMING HODES LEE MCSPADDEN Ruth Baum Bigus writes about Marquee Ar- month for KCB. Fleming’s work also has ap- Susan McSpadden is one of those lucky peo- tisan Wines in this month’s Global Market col- peared in such publications as Modern Bride, ple who has always known what she wanted to do umn. Bigus also contributes to sister publication Maxim, Successful Farming and Mental_Floss. with her life: Take pictures for the likes of KCB and Commercial Journal-Kansas City. David Hodes is a Kansas City native and free- other publications. A contract photojournalist in In this month’s Behind the Curtain column, lance writer who also has worked as a news pro- the Kansas City area, her credits include The New writer Kevin Brass investigates the impact that motions writer/producer for local television news York Times and The Washington Post. Previously, digital recording devices (DVRs) are having on stations. He is a field producer for nationally syn- McSpadden worked for The Kansas City Star for TV advertising revenues. He also writes a feature dicated news programs for NFL Network, VH-1 eight years as a photo editor and photographer. story about the allegations of price-fixing in the and CBS. He is the former editor of Video Sys- ANTHEM MAY PREVIEW railroad industry. Brass is a longtime contributor tems, a video trade publication. Feature articles What’s in our other issues? to a lengthy list of publications, including The by Hodes have appeared in Billboard magazine In the May issue of Commercial Journal-Kan- sas City, read about the construction of the New York Times, International Herald Tribune, as well as other national business and entertain- West Edge project on the Country Club Plaza. People and San Diego Magazine. He has also ment magazines. He also writes for the KCB’s When completed next spring, the building will serve as the new headquarters of Bernstein- been a regular contributor to the business sec- sister publication Commercial Journal-Kansas Rein advertising and home of the Advertis- tion of the Los Angeles Times and served a stint City. This month, Hodes writes about entrepre- ing Icon Museum plus a boutique hotel. Also learn about two major intermodal hubs that are as executive editor of Video Store Magazine. Be- neur Benny Lee. coming online and will boost the region’s pro- hind the Curtain appears each month in KCB. A native of Lawrence, Betsy Lee earned a bach- file as a shipping and transportation hub. A frequent contributor to KCB, David Conrads elor’s degree in journalism from Northwest Mis- Just in time for Mother’s Day, the May edition has written for numerous national and local pub- souri State University and pursued graduate jour- of KC Magazine examines what motherhood means to a variety of our city’s most interest- lications, including the Christian Science Monitor, nalism studies at the University of North Texas. ing and vibrant women and offers a gift guide USA Today, Commercial Journal-Kansas City and She completed a writing and reporting fellowship that’s sure to please. KC Magazine. He is also co-author, with Steve Wulf, with the Poynter Institute for Media Studies in KC Home Design welcomes May’s flowers of I Was Right On Time, the autobiography of Buck St. Petersburg, Florida. Her work has appeared in with the debut of its new columnist, Heather Clawson. The “chic” behind the design blog O’Neil. This month, he writes the profile of Kansas the Dallas Morning News, Missouri Lawyers Weekly Habitually Chic on metrostew.com, Clawson City-based Jim “Blacky” Pryor, one of the last of and, closer to home, in the St. Joseph News-Press shares her New York interior insights. This spring’s issue also reveals two very differ- the old-school oil wildcatters, and his search for oil as well as KCB’s sister publication, KC Magazine. ent yet equally sophisticated homes: a Mid- reserves in Central America. Lee lives in Kansas City. This month, she writes the Century Modern River Market condo and a eclectic art home in Mission Hills. Kevin Fleming writes The Grind column each CEO quiz in the i3 section of the magazine. I N S I G H T , I N N O V A T I O N , I N S P I R A T I O N | 17
- 21. business philosophy BOB MARCUSSE | president and CEO of the Kansas City Area Development Council ILLUSTRATION BY NOLI NOVAK Global KC E arly this month, the Kansas City area will host a very appointments in India and Chile. MU journalism students will be influential group of international economic develop- covering the Beijing Olympics this summer, and the university has ment leaders. The Organisation for Economic Co- research partnerships and training programs in China as well. operation and Development (OECD) is sending its Working • The University of Kansas’ global vision includes a nation- Party on SMEs and Entrepreneurship to Kansas City for several al No. 8 ranking for the percentage of students studying abroad, days of meetings with the Kauffman Foundation. 440 students certified in the university’s Global Awareness pro- The visit offers a rare opportunity for Kansas City to en- gram, and the world’s largest student chapter of the AIESEC, gage and make an impression on more than 100 international which arranges internships worldwide. government dignitaries and global entrepreneurial leaders Significant international outreach also takes place in both the from 30 different countries in Western Europe and Asia. The Kansas and Missouri governor’s offices, and through many of the OECD Working Party will be meeting in the U.S. for the first region’s city governments. time in its 40-plus-year history. As has been true in the corporate and political world for quite The OECD is an international organization that collects and some time, the economic development community also is realizing analyzes data that is used to make recommendations on interna- that competition is no longer limited to the United States or even tional economic policy. Membership is made up of international just North America. More and more, companies are conducting government dignitaries representing economic development, tour- global searches for manufacturing plants, research & development ism, industry, labor, energy, transportation, science and technology, centers, datacenters and customer contact facilities. and small business. The organization’s Working Party on SMEs The KC region has worked with at least nine overseas companies and Entrepreneurship focuses specifically on issues and policies at in the past two years. It has seen interest, in particular, from com- the national and international levels pertaining to SMEs (including panies in Germany, Ireland and England. micro-enterprises) and entrepreneurship. When the KCADC worked with the team from IdentiGEN, an The KCADC is hosting the group, along with key corporate, early-stage animal health company based in Ireland, their interest civic and elected leadership from across the region and both states in the U.S. stemmed from their ability to more easily get funding for a special dinner highlighting KC’s global reach and interests. for their research and product development. There was a similar The Kansas City region is fortunate to have the resources it does opportunity with London-based OncImmune, a company that is in the Kauffman Foundation, as well as innovation and leadership at now developing an early detection test for breast and other cancers companies like Garmin, Hallmark, Black & Veatch, Cerner, from its new office in Kansas City. YRC Worldwide and many others. These organizations are bring- The decisions made within the OECD could potentially influ- ing significant international prestige to the KC region. ence companies’ interest in investing in markets outside of their Many of the regional universities have strong ties to interna- country of origin. Whether it becomes easier to do business abroad, tional governments and universities abroad. more cost-effective or more competitive, the KC region needs to be • The University of Missouri has a variety of global outreach in the spotlight. (For more information on the OECD, visit www. efforts, from student study abroad programs in 60 countries to faculty oecd.org.) Bob Marcusse, president and CEO of the Kansas City Area Development Council; Nancy Zurbuchen, president of Motional Multimedia and co- founder, director of the Kansas City Council of Women Business Owners; Cheryl Womack, president and CEO of the Star Group and VCW Holdings; and Carl D. Peterson, president and general manager of the Kansas City Chiefs rotate in writing this column. To respond to this column, email rsmacintosh@kcbmagazine.com. I N S I G H T , I N N O V A T I O N , I N S P I R A T I O N | 19
- 23. political commentary TRACY THOMAS | former president of the Shawnee City Council ILLUSTRATION BY NOLI NOVAK Vote With Your Wallet I ’ve never bought one thing at Nebraska Furniture Mart, All local governments funnel money and zoning privileges and I never will. I hate that it ruined KC’s furniture and ap- to favored developers, engineers, homebuilders and bankers. pliance industry. Instead of Lenexa, it was built at taxpayer They cover every number on the roulette wheel; any politician expense in KCK. The minute the STAR bonds for infrastructure who asks gets a check. Then it’s payback after election time. are paid off, this vulture is free to migrate to where it should have I know. I was elected for five years in Johnson County, and I gone all along: Denver. All that will remain is a shell no company cut my political campaign teeth in KCMO in the post-Wheeler will ever fill—a Kemper Arena of big-box stores. years. (And do you really believe Charley Wheeler wants to I also won’t be riding the 65-foot subsidized Schlitterbahn be a state treasurer—something he knows nothing about? Of Ferris Wheel or saluting the animatronic U.S. Presidents at Scheels course not. He’s running for a bigger state pension. It’s based All Sports. I’ll get my treadmill at locally-owned Fitness Gallery on the average of your last three years of public salary.) instead. And you won’t find me paying $10 to park downtown in or- In the past, campaigns for development scams seeking tax der to drink a $9 Mojito at any Cordish Co.-subsidized bar. Nope. I subsidies, including BiState II and Big Soccer, were financed dine in Westport or in Johnson County, where parking is free and easy, illegally. More than half of the proponent money was mysteri- and the businesses self-supporting. Prediction: In three years, when the ously “in-kind,” because consultants told big business to write novelty of the Power & Light District begins to wane with the crowds, checks directly to the TV stations and deduct the cost as adver- Cordish will bail on the city. tising. That’s illegal. I am in the process of turning them in to Maybe the only way to stop the tax abatement insanity is to hoist the IRS. Advertising is only deductible when it’s for your own a George Bush “Mission Accomplished” banner and then quietly let business, not a political campaign. some of these boondogles fail by refusing additional bailouts. Must All business owners and employees need to vote with their Union Station survive by selling $24 tickets to view peeled cadav- wallets. It’s a matter of enlightened self-interest: support local ers? And despite the $29 million in subsidies over the years, the business and no more taxes. Email all elected officials this week 18th & Vine Jazz District is still singing the blues. The Peachtree before you have to fire anyone in this recession. Restaurant picked up and decided to relocate where there will be The joy of entrepreneurship is in risk-taking. But let’s learn some at least some short-term traffic—the Power & Light District. lessons from history. Don’t you imagine your parents and grandpar- Developments, like marriages, fail more than 50 percent of the ents wished they’d made some different decisions, say in 1929 and time. You need an exit strategy. Impending blight? How about five 1938? Let’s not wake up whining, “Why didn’t someone tell me that vacant grocery stores in Shawnee? Empty storefronts are the har- was gonna happen?” binger of Troost. Wake up, voters! Vote against all tax increases Read Web icon Seth Godin’s book, Meatball Sundae: Is Your and the developers’ lapdog politicians who support them. And Marketing Out of Sync? He urges us to stop adapting and start when Lathrop & Gage fundraisers solicit you to write campaign reinventing. I say, do this politically as well. Godin helps cut- checks for Johnson County’s Research Triangle this November, just ting-edge businesses with 14 new-media marketing trends. But say NO. If it’s such a viable project, they’ll build it anyway. even if you run an old-fashioned “meatball” business, selling From Funk to the JoCo Commission to every council race in the average goods to average Kansas City people, this book will metro, all local campaigns are financed by development attorneys. wake you up. Consider yourself told. Tracy Thomas, former president of the Shawnee City Council; Mike Shanin, veteran Kansas City broadcaster, host of Ruckus; Tim Carmody, attorney with Berger & Carmody P .A., former Kansas State Representative and; Kris W. Kobach, Daniel L. Brenner/UMKC Scholar and Professor of Law, former counsel to the U.S. Attorney General, rotate in writing this column. To respond to this column, e-mail rsmacintosh@kcbmagazine.com. I N S I G H T , I N N O V A T I O N , I N S P I R A T I O N | 21
- 25. i3: insight, innovation and inspiration kcb’s influential women To recognize KCB’s 50 Most Influential Women of 2008 (highlighted in the March issue), a celebration was hosted at the Webster House. In attendance were: 1) (Clockwise from left) Kathy Bennett; ‘08 Honoree Teri Rogers of Take Two Produc- tions; Nancy Zurbuchen, KCB columnist and co-founder of Kansas City Council of Women Business Owners; Gail Worth of Gail’s Harley Davidson; Linda Dost; and ‘08 Honoree Becky Wilson of WDS Marketing. 2) Ellen D’Amato of Central Exchange, R. Scott Macintosh and Dara Macan of Anthem Publishing, and Marc Maun of Bank of Kansas City; 3) ‘08 Honoree Angela Kreps, president of Kansas Biosciences Organization, Michael Beckloff and Martin Mini. 4) Au- drey Benskin and Ann Menendez. 5) Rich Spangler, ‘08 Honoree Marga Spangler of First National Bank of Kansas, Laura and Sara Spangler. 6) ‘08 Honoree 1 Sarah Strnad of Outpost Broadcast Communications and Mark Dreiling. 2 3 4 5 6 I N S I G H T , I N N O V A T I O N , I N S P I R A T I O N | 23
- 26. i3 available In-state c alling now $29.95/mo kcb quiz: a jack of as low as which type? Though CEOs are each ultimately responsible for the suc- cess of their organization, each wears the hat differently. Some In business, delegate, and others dive into the minutiae headfirst. Some have a mix of various leadership qualities. However, accord- one size doesn’t fit all. ing to Kepner-Tregoe Inc., an international consulting and training services firm, there are eight easily recognizable CEO leadership types. Can you match these local CEOs with the eight CEO leadership types? CEOS: A. Neal Patterson, Cerner Corp. B. Joerg Ohle, Animal Health Division, Bayer Corp. C. Bob Bernstein, Bernstein-Rein D. Mariner Kemper, UMB Financial Corp. E. Min Kao, Garmin Feeling cornered into buying more than your business needs? F. Peter Brown, AMC Entertainment Inc. Get a tailored solution with this great offer. Save up to G. Michael Brown, Euronet Worldwide Your business deserves communications solutions that suit your needs. That is why Time Warner Cable Business Class offers Phone, high-speed Internet, Cable 33% a month! Order high-speed internet H. Dan Hesse, Sprint Nextel 1) VISIONARY – Visionaries are the creative thinkers, often TV, and Managed Security solutions designed to grow with your business. and either cable TV or producing big ideas. Ideas can range from an unusual product Business Class Phone. to a new way of doing business. Visionaries have a knack for Get the best fit for your business by taking advantage of this offer today. And see what finding ways into untapped markets with an existing product. Products and services not available in all areas. Some restrictions apply. a difference a custom solution can make. ©2008 Time Warner Cable. All rights reserved. Offer valid for new business customers in Time Warner Cable Business Class Phone serviceable areas. 2) STRATEGIST – Working behind the scenes, strate- Call 816-303-1822 today or visit 33% savings applies to 2 year term 5x384 High Speed Data pricing when combined with either cable TV or Business Class Phone. Savings based on kc.twcbc.com retail pricing of products when purchased individually when subscribing gists’ strengths include choosing the company’s market, to Business Class high-speed internet and either cable TV or Business Class Phone service. Offer not transferable and may not be combined with selecting the appropriate marketing emphasis and finding any other offer. Excludes applicable taxes and fees. Standard installation fees apply. Business Class Phone does not include back-up power and competitive advantages. Strategists also create strong should there be a power outage, Business Class Phone, including the ability to access 911 services, may not be available. Additional charges apply for taxes, fees, Directory Assistance, Operator Services and calls business models and will likely be adept at recognizing to International locations. All trademarks the property of their respective owners. In-state calling refers to unlimited calling in Kansas and Missouri acquisitions and alliance opportunities. for $29.95 with 2-year contract term. 3) IMPLEMENTER – CEOs with an implementer leader- ship style work hard to ensure operational excellence. Implementers streamline work processes and create structures to support their efforts. They create goals and do everything they can to reach them. Not only do these characteristics apply to cost reduction, implementers also focus on employee safety, consumer satisfaction and organizational adherence to regulations. 4) MOTIVATOR – Focused on meeting the needs of consum- 24 | K C B U S I N E S S
- 27. ers and employees, motivators spend most of their time working with people. A motivator’s expertise is building his or her team. Motivators work to rally their troops, establishing a culture that is a magnet for the best and brightest. 5) RAINMAKER – Rainmakers are salespeople at heart. Their expertise is the art of establishing customer relationships and making the big deals. According to Kepner-Tregoe Inc., a rainmaker CEO’s key question should be, “Do I have a unique talent in this area or is it merely a preferred activity that could also be carried out by others?” 6) MARKETER – Like any strong marketing representative, marketer CEOs spend a great deal of time serving as their organization’s “face.” Often, these individuals completely embody the brand. As a result, they play a role that no one Treading water with the same soggy else in the organization can play. messages? Make a splash and have fun doing it with integrated campaigns and 7) DEAL MAKER – Deal maker CEOs spend their time on refreshing creative. Suit up. Grab your alliances and acquisitions. They are much like strategists, but white board. Ride the wave with Vibe. deal makers focus on finding partners. They spend most of • Full-Service Marketing • Graphic Design their time searching for partners and conferring about busi- • Competitive Analysis • Public Relations ness arrangements. • Strategic Planning • Web 8) AMBASSADOR – Stakeholders are the focus of ambassa- • Branding • Media dor CEOs. These CEOs work to please consumers, give fod- der to financial analysts, sway lawmakers, compel regulators and satisfy board members. They are community connectors. According to Kepner-Tregoe, these CEOs could be referred to as “lobbyists in chief.” (For the Answer Key see page 28.) INTUITIVE • INTERACTIVE • INNOVATIVE YOURVIBETEAM.COM • 816-795-6067 kc by the #s KC SOUTHERN’S RANK ON FORTUNE MAGAZINE’S LIST OF THE 100 FASTEST- 20 GROWING COMPANIES IN 2007. THE RAILWAY LINE POSTED REVENUES IN EXCESS OF $1.6 BILLION FOR THE YEAR. RISING FUEL AND FREIGHT COSTS HAVE BOOSTED THE BOTTOM LINE FOR THE RAIL COMPANY. I N S I G H T , I N N O V A T I O N , I N S P I R A T I O N | 25
- 28. The knowledge you need. i3 The commitment you expect. The value you deserve. career profile: blogger It’s tough to make a career as a blogger. CELESTE LINDELL No one pays Social Media for content, and Strategist Barkley competition for advertisers and readers is fierce. Celeste Lindell knows this. “It’s pretty unusual for people to make a living just by blogging,” she says. However, blogging for Lindell is more than a hobby. Lindell is a social media strategist for Kansas City-based mar- keting firm Barkley. Her job consists of two main responsibilities. The first is setting up and monitoring profiles for clients on popular networking sites Facebook, MySpace, YouTube and Flickr. The other part of her job involves marketing her clients and their products or services to various bloggers in the hope they will write For more than half a century, RubinBrown has been making a lasting mark something positive about the organization. Lindell says the second on business. Our unique, one-firm approach means you benefit from the part can be tricky, but if the product is good, bloggers are often best of both worlds – specialized expertise and comprehensive services. All designed to deliver the kind of insights and solutions you need to succeed. more than happy to write positively. “Sometimes information itself is compelling enough [to generate a blog],” she says. A passionate, professional team. A one-firm approach to service excellence. Lindell also says that free product samples and discounted ser- It’s how we bring real value to our clients. And it’s why they remain clients for decades, not just years. That’s the RubinBrown difference. vices are often very useful in leveraging positive PR from bloggers. Some companies take it even further. “I’ve actually been on a trip sponsored by a company,” Lindell says. Before she had assumed Overland Park, KS ♦ 913.491.4144 her current position at Barkley, Lindell was one of about a dozen www.RubinBrown.com bloggers (she blogs at averagejane.com and kckitty.blogspot. Certified Public Accountants and Business Consultants Knowledge. Commitment. Value. com) selected by Ford Motor Company to receive a free trip to Los Angeles. There, the bloggers were given the royal treatment Assurance | Internal Audit | Litigation Support | Qualified Plan Audit | SEC Advisory | Small Business State and Local Tax | Tax and Compliance | Valuations | Wealth Management and exposed to new Ford products—all in an attempt to generate positive buzz about the company. Blog marketing is not solely about boosting profits, Lindell says. Non-profit organizations also have a lot to gain from pitching them- selves to bloggers. “It’s just a way of giving those [organizations] a 1 CLIENT - 1 TRAINER - 1 GOAL presence online,” Lindell says. Although Lindell’s profession is still a relatively new one, it Private Training Rooms | No Crowds No Waiting for Equipment seems likely that professional blogging is here to stay. It may be tough to make a living as an independent blogger, but at least 11 on the Mall | Prairie Village, KS there appears to be a legitimate alternative. 913.236.8383 26 | K C B U S I N E S S
- 29. tech: wee wonders Providing Kansas City Companies with In a society where giant SUVs, houses and waistlines reign supreme, it is odd to think that the trend in technology is to shrink everything. Of course, no one wants a 500-pound computer, but some recently released machines are so WHY USE STAFFING KANSAS CITY? small that they seem, well, downright un-American. Independently Owned & DBE Certified Take the Samsung Q1 Ultra for instance. This little (and 35 + years Experience in the Staffing we mean little) gem gives a whole new definition to the word Industry Over 50% of our Clients are from Client featherweight, tipping the Referrals! scales to an intimidat- No Staffing Coordinator Turnover in 6 years! ing 1.5 pounds. The Hands On Owners slogan behind the You Will Always Talk with Someone You Know & TRUST! micro machine 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed!!! is, “imagine a laptop you don’t need a lap for.” But don’t let its size fool you; in many ways, the Q1 Ultra can hang with laptops five times its size. The Q1 is completely compatible with Windows Vista or XP has a battery life of just more than three hours, , comes standard with a one-gigabyte memory, and is at the cheap end of the Ultra Mobile PC (UMPC) spectrum, going for about $1,199. Another good bet in the UMPC world is the OQO Model 2. Even smaller than the Q1 (believe it or not), this tiny tot of Call Shelley, Roses, Jaye, or Jamie for ALL your Staffing Needs! the technological universe weighs just a pound. The sleek sliding keyboard design makes the OQO one of the more aesthetically appealing UMPCs on the market and gives it surprisingly good functionality (if one doesn’t mind typing with thumbs). Another handy feature is a zoom option, which is useful when Web surfing or sifting through documents. Want to build a better future for your company? Although similar to the Q1 in terms of operation, the OQO has about half the memory (512 megabytes) and a shorter Let’s make plans together! battery life (about two hours). Business owners, register NOW at KCBusinessCoach.com to see if you qualify for a complimentary business coaching session. But the selling point here is the For more information on ease of use. The Model 2 can building plans for your be yours for $1,849. business call Caroline Smith Caroline Smith at 913-648-4711. Business Coach I N S I G H T , I N N O V A T I O N , I N S P I R A T I O N | 27
- 30. 08-09 SEASON i3 answer key: ceo type 1. E) MIN KAO. A decade after it was founded, Garmin, has dominated its obvious markets. In 2008, Garmin partnered with BMW to bring Garmin products to the luxury automobile market. 2. F) PETER BROWN. Pioneering new revenue streams in the struggling movie exhibitor industry, Brown spearheaded the 2005 formation of National CineMedia LLC, a joint venture with Regal ©Disney Entertainment Group that focuses on the marketing and sale of OCT. 2 - NOV. 9, 2008 cinema advertising and promotions, reaching 11,200 screens. 3. H) DAN HESSE. In a short time, the former Embarq Corp. CEO has taken drastic steps to turn the company around. In early 2008, Sprint announced plans to cut 4,000 jobs and close retail stores. Hesse implemented cell phone plans with a flat rate for unlimited calls—a move that would shake up the industry. PHOTO BY JOAN MARCUS 4. D) MARINER KEMPER. Known for visiting UMB branches to motivate employees, the ever-eloquent Kemper also seeks to DEC. 30, 2008 - JAN. 4, 2009 FEB. 24 - MAR. 1, 2009 motivate his clients. In a 2006 interview with ColoradoBiz magazine, he said bankers and other corporate leaders have failed American consumers by not coaching savings. 5. A) NEAL PATTERSON. Under Patterson’s leadership, Cerner has expanded into Canada, France, Germany and India. In Febru- ILLUSTRATION BY PETER SYLVADA ary 2008, the company announced its expansion into Ireland, further illustrating Patterson’s rainmaker traits. 6. C) BOB BERNSTEIN. This Kansas City native is not only the MAR. 25 - APRIL 19, 2009 APRIL 28 - MAY 3, 2009 namesake of Bernstein-Rein, he also is most certainly the face of 08-09 Group Tickets On Sale Now! the company. Bernstein demonstrated how much he embodies All shows presented at the newly renovated Kansas City Music Hall Call 866-928-7469 or email KC.GROUPS@BROADWAYACROSSAMERICA.COM advertising when he formed the Advertising Icon Museum. 7. G) MICHAEL BROWN. It seems deal making is what Brown Visit www.eventusher.com and enter in "luxurykc" to see special Hotel Packages with this years Season. does best. In November 2006, the CEO struck a deal with Ria Envia, the third-largest money transfer company in the world. More recently, Brown courted rival MoneyGram, which ultimately didn’t pan out. You win some, you lose some, as any deal maker knows. 8. B) JOERG OHLE. As board chairman of Kansas City’s recently formed Animal Health Corridor initiative, Ohle has been central to positioning Kansas City as a center for animal health research and innovation. His division of Bayer Corp. granted the initiative a $300,000 gift in 2006. Ohle serves in a number of other civic organizations and is perhaps the most likeable executive in town. 28 | K C B U S I N E S S
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- 32. T he Kansas City Economic Development Corpo- ment and new jobs, but on the project’s effect on issues such ration initiated the Cornerstone Award program as education, quality of life and the project’s impact on the more than 28 years ago to recognize investments community and surrounding neighborhoods. by companies in Kansas City, Missouri. Originally, a theme Because projects are chosen based on their positive im- of “Commitment to Kansas City” prevailed in the awards pact on the greater community, the Cornerstone Award program, and generally, only new business construction program reflects the complexity of issues surrounding eco- and renovation projects received awards. The selection nomic growth and development. committee has since expanded the award categories to The Cornerstone Awards were recently presented at include Entertainment, Public Projects, Redevelopment, a springtime luncheon. Different from years past, of this Residential, Small Business and Special Recognition. year’s 30 nominees, only one winner from each of the The selection committee, made up of EDC board mem- five categories was recognized as the 2008 Cornerstone ber’s, now selects winning projects based not only on invest- Award Winner. James C. Denneny Spirit Award Goes to a Long-Time Economic Development Supporter Jim Denneny was a longtime Economic economic development goes back even farther than that. Development Corporation board member, In keeping with the Denneny spirit, the extent of Malouff’s community volunteer and friend. When he passed community service work is staggering. He is commissioner of the away six years ago, the EDC created the James C. Global Kansas City Commission, and sits on the board of the Liberty Denneny Spirit Award to recognize one Kansas Citian Memorial Museum Association and United Nations Association of James M. Malouff III each year who is active in many service endeavors. Greater Kansas City, among many other activities. This year’s award winner, Jim Malouff, helped form the He said that he is proud of his work with the EDC and honored to EDC 21 years ago. He served as vice chairman of the EDC, win the award. and chairman of the Planned Industrial Expansion Authority, “I was surprised and honored particularly because it bears Jim the Industrial Development Authority and the Kansas City Denneny’s name,” Malouff said. “I served with him and he was a Redevelopment Authority. But his interest in Kansas City’s friend of mine.” Special Advertising Section
- 33. Public Projects Transforming a Collection of Buildings into a Community of Students Before the University of Missouri-Kansas City Health Sciences Building opened, nursing and pharmacy students were scat- tered in classrooms all over the place. Now, they are part of a community. The project also created a true campus in the UMKC hospital hill area rather than just a collection of buildings. With pedestrian pathways and urban green space, the grounds are a relaxing place for students, faculty and neighbors to walk. The north courtyard, with its sweeping walkway connecting the Health Sciences Building to the School of Medicine and its abun- dant shaded lawn, gives students a place to study and hang out between classes. Of course, the main focus of the building is to prepare students for a health science career. To that end, the $50.2 million facil- ity includes state-of-the-art research labs and nursing simulation teaching labs with robotic patient simulators. One robo-patient even gives birth. For many students, classes in this building will be the beginning of a beautiful career in science and service. The 27th Street Development Brings People Back into the Neighborhood When Bryan Jones, owner of Mid-Continent Equity Holdings, built 24 houses at 27th Street and Jackson Avenue, he employed about 50 workers from the neighborhood. Many of the workers needed training in construction before they could work. That made the project more expensive. But it was important to him to keep the money from the $2.4 million project in the neighborhood. That wasn’t the only good thing about the 27th Street Development. It also transformed an overgrown plot of land into a neighborhood street. Until this project, the area had not seen a new housing investment in the last 20 years. Today the homes are fully occupied, with 100 people on the waiting list. Jones said it was one of his company’s toughest jobs, but also one of the most rewarding. Special Advertising Section
- 34. Entertainment Sprint Center Offers a Vacation at Home When you go to Sprint Center for the first time, you feel like you’re on vacation. From the sunlight streaming through the transparent walls to the surrounding restaurants and bars, the project creates a festive atmosphere in downtown Kansas City. With the new arena came 800 jobs, not including those generated It has also attracted acts such as Garth Brooks, who performed a by nearby businesses. The unique public private partnership record-breaking nine sold-out shows, Van Halen, and, for the younger between Kansas City, Missouri, and AEG should attract 1 million set, Disney on Ice Princesses Wishes. The arena seated its biggest crowd guests in its first year. during the men’s Big 12 basketball championship game in March. Shani Tate Ross, spokesperson for Sprint Center, said that many of those The Downtown Arena Design Team, comprised of HOK Sport + Venue visitors would be Kansas Citians. + Event, Ellerbe Becket, 360 Architecture and Rafael Architects Inc., “It’s great for people to feel like they’re on vacation in Kansas City, but completed the $276 million project on time and on budget. we also want people to feel ownership,” she said. “This is their arena.” Don’t Just Learn About Basketball...Experience It Warning! This is Not a Museum. You may sweat. That’s what it says on the Web site for The College Basketball Experience & National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. Here, you can test your jump shot and three-point accuracy, play a pickup game or dunk the ball. But you may be especially glad you used deodorant when you shoot free throws in a hostile are- na. A simulated crowd tries to throw you off your game. Will they succeed? You’ll have to see for yourself. Already, 44,000 visitors have been to The College Basket- ball Experience, and the museum projects 200,000 by year’s end. One visitor was legendary college basketball star Ka- reem Abdul-Jabbar, who said after touring the building, “It’s a great thing they’ve done here, giving college basketball its own hall…It makes this so meaningful.” Created by The National Association of Basketball Coach- es, the College Basketball Experience has created 20 new job opportunities for full and part-time staff. Helix was the ar- chitecture firm for the interactive museum, which is part of the Sprint Center. Special Advertising Section
- 35. Redevelopment He Was at the Crossroads When the Crossroads Wasn’t Cool Nate Accardo believed in the 1960s and 70s that someday there would have to be a connection between downtown and Crown Center. So he started buying buildings in the Crossroads, the first being to house his own Custom Color Corporation. His friends agreed that the crossroads would boom — just not in Accardo’s lifetime. Architects, J.E. Dunn Construction and Zimmer Real Estate Services, the On the contrary, the Crossroads grew bigger — and certainly faster district has attracted more than 319 employees — and plenty of lunch — than Accardo ever imagined. He describes it as undergoing 25 years break options. of development in just five years. With eateries ranging from the old classic, the Hereford House, to the Today, the Accardo Arts & Design District is comprised of 11 buildings hamburger joint Town Topic, and art galleries springing up on all sides, the that house businesspeople ranging from attorneys to Coffee Girls. With area is now more than just a stopping point between downtown and the combined efforts of the Accardo family, Gastinger Walker Harden Crown Center. It’s a destination all its own. Small Business They Don’t Build Parking Garages Like This Anymore The Studna Building in the River Market, one of Kansas City’s first parking garages, caught Jeff Benz’s eye several years ago. At that time, he thought the $90,000 price tag was too high. But 10 years later, a lot had happened in the River Market, and he and his brother John Benz wanted to do a historic rehab. So even though the crumbling and dilapidated property now cost five times more, the brothers decided to buy it. They hoped the building, with its truss roof, open floor plan, huge skylights and original wide-plank flooring, would attract a hip,young business as the tenant. But they took a gamble, beginning the renovation before landing Tetra Tech Company as a tenant. Now, Jeff believes the $2.3 million project was worth it. He said the consulting, engineering and technical services company, which employs 82 people at the new location, surpassed his wildest dreams of who should be their tenant. “And as happy as we are to have them there, they’re just as happy to be there,” he said. Special Advertising Section
- 36. Special Recognition The Bloch Building at the Nelson-Atkins Lights up the Art World It was called “an aviary for fireflies” by the Washington Post, “a work of haunting power” by the New York Times and “enchanting” by the Chicago Tribune. But when the Bloch Building at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art opened, it not only garnered national attention; it also made the museum known all over the world. The London Telegraph, for instance, heralded the Nelson-Atkins for having one of the best collections in America. Locally, the new building created 71 new jobs at the museum and tripled attendance. Barbara Justus, associate director of planning for the museum said that architect Steven Holl was chosen for the project because of his innovative plan for the new building and respect for the beloved old building. “His design became the clear choice for its architectural The Crossroads Shields achievement as well as its physical expression of the Nelson- Itself from the Effects of Atkins’ mission and philosophy,” she said. Gentrification You see it happen in cities across America. Artists move into a neighborhood. They make it beautiful in an artsy way. People like artsy beauty. Businesses and residents move in. Property values and taxes increase. The neighborhood is gentrified. And artists are priced out. Neighborhood leaders and arts proponents were determined not to let that happen in the Crossroads. After more than four years of discussions with artists, art organizations, businesses, the EDC and the PIEA, the City Council approved the Crossroads Arts Planned Indus- trial Expansion Area in late March 2007. Now, a total of $984,782 is being invested in 39 projects in the Crossroads PIEA. The project is unique in that art-related business or organizations must own or occupy 51 percent of properties that receive assistance. One such organization is the Mid-America Arts Alliance, which has its offices in a 15,000-square-foot building at 20th Street and Balti- more. With the support of the Crossroads PIEA, the alliance is convert- ing private offices into an exhibition and performance space, which both staff and the public can use. It is just one way that the PIEA is keeping art in the Crossroads. Special Advertising Section
- 37. Residential Today, Cold Storage Lofts Offers Affordable Living in the River Market Many developers considered renovating the KC Cold Storage Building at 416 E. 3rd St. Gary Hassenflu actually did it. Built more than 80 years ago as a cold storage and ice pro- duction warehouse, the historic structure needed $39 million in renovations to make it what it is today: a 224-unit mixed income apartment development with office and retail space. The 450,000-square-foot building project provided 300 con- struction jobs and added 15 permanent positions in Kansas City. Today, Cold Storage Lofts offers affordable living for workers in That includes the relocation of Garrison Companies, the umbrella the River Market. It also provides a playground for children and company that owns the building, from Johnson County to Kansas landscaped walkways and green space along the river. All said, City, Missouri. this project is ice cold. 2008 Cornerstone Award Finalists One winner from each category announced at the awards luncheon on April 22, 2008 Entertainment Residential College Basketball Experience Single Family Sprint Center 27th Street Development II Olive Street Homes Public Projects Multi-Unit Kansas City Convention Center 46 Jefferson Grand Ballroom 4646 Broadway City Center Square Parking Garage Cold Storage Lofts KCI Consolidated Rental Car Facility Graphic Arts Lofts UMKC Health Sciences Building Parkway Apartments Plaza West Condominiums Redevelopment Accardo Arts & Design District Small Business Crossroads Parking Structure FishNet Security’s: Security Operations Holiday Inn Aladdin Hotel Center Expansion Kansas City Wizards Training Facility Kansas City Café Meers Advertising Los Tules Mexican Restaurant National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Pediatric Care North Sheraton Kansas City Sports Complex Studna Building Sponsors: Special Recognition Bloch Building – Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art Crossroads Arts PIEA Area Special Advertising Section
- 38. Congratulations KCB’S 50 MOST INFLUENTIAL WOMEN Thank You to KCB’s Most Influential Women Sponsors Presenting Sponsor: Amelia’s Women’s Finishings From Trendy to Timeless
- 39. B E H I N D T H E C U R T A I N The TiVo Effect DVR devices rattle TV advertising. STORY BY KEVIN BRASS | ILLUSTRATION BY JEREMY COLLINS W hen TiVo launched in 2000, industry pundits pre- is taking place in how people watch television, sending tremors dicted it would mean the end of the conventional throughout the industry. Twenty-six percent of Kansas City commercial-driven television business. Freed from the households now have digital video recorders, according to The chains of the network-dictated schedules, viewers would use digital Nielsen Company, and they are almost certainly breezing video recorders like TiVo to watch programs whenever they wanted through those commercials. and, most shockingly, to skip through commercials. “I spit on your “Anybody not addressing it or trying to change the way they’re corpse, advertiser-supported TV,” cartoon dad Homer Simpson doing business is missing the mark,” says Jan-Eric Anderson, vice proclaimed when he installed TiVo (with daughter Lisa’s help). president and group planning director for Barkley, a KC-based Eight years later, it is actually happening. As more and more advertising agency. DVRs (digital video recorders) enter homes, often through the The actual impact of DVRs is a hotly debated topic. A recent services of local cable and satellite providers, a dramatic shift study by Nielsen found that people are watching more television MORE TELEVISION VIEWING IS OCCURRING AS A RESULT OF DVR DEVICES. BUT THE ABILITY TO SKIP OVER ADVERTISING IS CHANGING THE BUSINESS SIDE OF TELEVISION. I N S I G H T , I N N O V A T I O N , I N S P I R A T I O N | 37
- 40. behind the curtain thanks to DVRs—as much as a five-percent increase from 11 p.m.-midnight, which is when people settle in to watch shows they missed. Nielsen’s Live-Plus ratings, which track DVR use, show that for programs like “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Heroes,” the audi- ence might jump as much as 20 percent when the DVR numbers are factored in. Viewer- ship for “The Office” increased by more than 30 percent in some markets when DVR users Economic momentum starts here! were included in the ratings. At Johnson County Community College, But many advertisers still refuse to use our workforce-based education starts the Live-Plus numbers when they buy a reaction that carries economic commercial time. “If [DVRs] bump up the development forward. audience but those people are skipping the Companies and jobs locate or remain ads, it doesn’t do me any good,” Anderson productive where they find the best says. Early estimates suggest 75 percent of JCCC and brightest people. By meeting this DVR users skip commercials. “I think 75 12345 College Blvd. need, JCCC training sets success in percent is low,” Anderson says. “Does that Overland Park, KS 66210 motion for Kansas City companies. mean the other 25 percent don’t know 913-469-3803 Learning Comes First at JCCC www.jccc.edu how to use the remote?” New research by Nielsen of minute-by- minute DVR viewing habits showed only a five-percent decrease in the audience for commercials, but there is lingering skepticism about the accuracy of the research. Equally debated is the impact of when a DVR user watches a program—some watch within three days, some may wait seven days. A stu- dio opening a movie on Friday may not be thrilled about running an ad on Thursday night if a chunk of the audience is going to wait a week to watch the show. While the analysts on a national level sift through the data, local broadcasters say they have yet to see a major impact on their bottom line from the growing popu- lation of DVRs. If anything, data showing a growing TV audience is good news for the local stations. “From our perspective, it hasn’t created the crisis that some people thought,” says C. Wayne Godsey, general manager of the local ABC affiliate, KMBC. News programs are the main revenue driv- er for local TV stations, and Nielsen num- bers show few DVR users bothering to time shift their viewing of local news. “Our crown 38 | K C B U S I N E S S
- 41. jewel is local news, and it has been relatively unaffected by this,” Godsey says. Television ad time is “sold on a supply and demand ba- sis,” he says. And demand remains high for a limited number of spots. While broadcasters acknowledge DVRs twist the game, they don’t concede that DVR users skip all the commercials. The local sta- tions typically want advertisers to pay rates based on the total size of the audience, in- cluding DVR viewers. “From a station’s point of view, we want to get the full value for what we’re selling,” says Craig Allison, general manager of KSHB, the local NBC affiliate. But the advertising community is not nec- essarily buying it. Nielsen research found that “heavy shifters” are primarily middle-income women between the ages of 18 and 49, which is a prime target demographic for many ad- vertisers. Talk shows like “The Oprah Win- frey Show” and soap operas are among the mostly heavily recorded programs. In many ways, DVR users represent a core of the audi- ence. According to Nielsen’s data, 60 percent of DVR households were headed by what the study termed “professionals.” Even more tell- ing, 51 percent of DVR households posted an income of more than $75,000, compared to 30 percent of the entire TV audience. A recent three-year study of DVR users by Information Resources Inc. found that 20 percent of the brands tracked in the study “lost statistically significant vol- ume in households with DVRs.” The study added that some brands did better in DVR households, suggesting “ad-skipping and widespread DVR penetration won’t hurt all brands.” However, even though TV- watching increased among DVR users, it “still wasn’t enough to eliminate the nega- tive impact on sales from ad-skipping,” the study concluded. In response, many advertisers are trying to “DVR-proof ” their marketing dollars. Some are shifting money to product place- ment and sponsorships, trying to get “in” the shows. Others place a premium on the “A and Z spots”—the first and last ads in I N S I G H T , I N N O V A T I O N , I N S P I R A T I O N | 39
- 42. behind the curtain a cluster of commercials, where research shows DVR users are more likely to see an GET RICH. Catering to the Quality minded-owner ad. There is also a push to make commer- cials more compelling to grab the atten- GUARANTEED. and driving enthusiast! tion of a scatterbrained audience. “Everybody is experimenting,” says Vaughn Ericson, vice president of Bernstein-Rein, a KC advertising agency. “What can we do to catch the viewer’s eye?” The networks are also reacting. Some Subscribe online to KC Business Magazine Today! Celebrating are shortening commercial “pods”—the Only $34.95 for a full year - 12 issues! 25 Years clusters of commercials—to try to sneak www.metrostew.com of Service in a quick hit of two or three commercials before DVR users can react. Additionally, the networks are increasingly focusing on the Internet and video on demand, which bypasses the DVR effect. Networks are also starting to tweak their Your Alternative to the Dealer programming with an increasing focus BMW • Audi • Mercedes • VW • Mini on “event” programs like awards shows 913.236.8008 and sporting events, which people tend to 7302 W. Frontage Rd. • Merriam, KS www.europeanmotorsportscentral.com watch live. Event programming will be “the backbone of broadcast network TV,” NBC House_KCB_Apr08_sixthv.indd 1 4/15/08 12:38:19 PM Universal CEO Jeff Zucker recently said KCB_Eurpean_MotorsportsMay08.ind1 1 4/10/08 11:01:08 AM at an industry gathering. That will mean fewer scripted shows, he acknowledged. “I do think there will be a broadcast network in 10 years. But it will not be like the broad- cast network of 1975,” he said. Industry executives know this is only the beginning. DVR penetration is at about 20 percent in many markets; what happens when it is 50 percent? As advertisers grow frustrated trying to woo this new breed of viewer, they may simply shift more marketing dollars to emerging media, a trend with dark ramifica- tions for broadcasters. Spending on so-called “alternative media” jumped 22 percent in 2007, according to research firm PQ Media. But TV is still the grand poobah of media, the most powerful force ever created for ad- vertisers. There is a sense within the industry that the playing field is changing, but no one is quite sure what the end result will be. “The bottom line on all this is we’re go- ing to be in trouble if advertising becomes ineffective,” says Allison of KSHB, “and that hasn’t happened yet.” 40 | K C B U S I N E S S
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- 44. We proudly and professionally promote supplier diversity by linking minority and majority businesses through the MidAmerica Minority Business Development Council (MAMBDC). The result? Mutual business success. MAMBDC is good business for corporations. 777 Admiral Blvd, Kansas City, MO 64106 p 816.221.4200 f 816.221.4212 MAMBDC is good business for Minority Business Enterprises (MBEs). 209 East William, Suite 104, Wichita, KS 67202 MAMBDC is good business for communities. p 316.303.1703 f 316-425-0339 Let MAMBDC be and build good business relationships for you. www.mambdc.org First National Bank of... Influential Women Marga Spangler, our Private Banking President, has been chosen as one of 50 Kansas City area women who are “shaping and inspiring Kansas City.” No surprise there. Marga has always been an inspiration to us. Not only does she do a superb job overseeing our Private Banking Group and assisting clients, she also finds time to stay actively involved in the community and supports a wide variety of charitable projects. We’re proud of Marga’s accomplishments and proud to have her represent First National Bank. Find out what it’s like to have a bank of your own 913.266.9000 fnbk.com MEMBER FDIC 42 | K C B U S I N E S S
- 45. I N N O V A T O R Popcorn Marketing Holographic technology gives local firm an edge in theaters. STORY BY DAYNE LOGAN | PHOTO BY AUSTIN WALSH A lthough Wookies may never grace the galaxy, George broaden its scope. “We came up with a formula, I’d say, at the end Lucas, nevertheless, got at least one thing right in his 1980s of 2006,” Holmes says. portrayal of what the future might look like. R2-D2, the The formula involved creating promotional tools such as digitized trash-can-shaped sidekick of Lucas’ protagonist, gave moviegoers one-sheet movie posters; digital, interactive kiosks; 3-D televisions a glimpse of some then-conceptual technology that an Overland (no glasses necessary); and 3-D billboards. The 3-D devices give Park-based company has turned into a reality and made an integral movie promotions and trailers a holographic pop. Additionally, the part of its business plan—holo- machines can be programmed grams (which America’s favorite to change promotions through- droid depicted so brilliantly on out the day depending on the the silver screen). And Cinema expected audience demograph- Scene Marketing plans to ic. Holmes says that during the bring them to a theater near you afternoon, children can see the in the not-so-distant future. latest “Speed Racer” promo. Michael Holmes, a founding In the evening, the machine partner of Cinema Scene, says can switch over to give adults a he and his partners (now four in glimpse of an upcoming horror total) several years ago identi- film. He adds that the devices fied a niche in the movie mar- can play advertisements for keting industry that their busi- non-film-related companies. ness could thrive in—in-lobby On January 18, after a little marketing. According to Hol- more than a year of tooling mes, while there are a number and retooling the technology, of film production companies Cinema Scene launched its that employ marketing firms to first installation of the digital do on-screen promotions, only promotions tools at a theater a few of those firms actually do in Los Angeles. Although the promotions in theater lobbies and at concessions stands. Addition- technology is still very new, Holmes says Cinema Scene has already ally, with the advent of TiVo and other recording technologies, attracted interest from a slew of potential clients, including some of Holmes says film studios are desperate for new ways to reach po- the leading film production studios. “We are negotiating to be the tential viewers. “Who watches television ads anymore?” he asks. exclusive in-lobby marketing firm,” Holmes says. With that in mind, Cinema Scene hit the drawing board and Holmes is not shy to admit that there will be competition for in- came up with some ideas for improving in-lobby advertising. Ini- lobby promotions, but he says Cinema Scene has a leg up. While tially, the extent of the innovation was higher-resolution graphics competitors have been dabbling in all avenues of the movie adver- and peel-off contests (similar to McDonald’s Monopoly promo- tising world, Holmes and his company have remained focused on tion) on drink cups and popcorn tubs. While Cinema Scene is still becoming the best within their specific niche and have placed more heavily involved in concessions advertising, it decided in 2006 to of an emphasis on taking technology beyond the big screen. (FROM LEFT TO RIGHT) BRAD DERUSSEAU. BRUCE SIMMS, JOE ROSS AND MICHAEL HOLMES HAVE BROADENED THE SCOPE OF MOVIE THEATER MARKETING WITH 3-D TECHNOLOGY. I N S I G H T , I N N O V A T I O N , I N S P I R A T I O N | 43
- 46. Bryan Cave LLP has a diversified international legal practice. The firm represents a wide variety of business, financial, institutional and individual clients, including publicly held multinational corporations, large and mid-sized privately held companies, partnerships and emerging companies. Affiliated entities, Bryan Cave International Trade LLC and Bryan Cave Strategies LLC, provide trade and customs consultancy and government relations and strategic counsel, respectively. Aided by extensive investments in technology, Bryan Cave's more than 880 PROUDLY SERVING lawyers and nearly 30 non-lawyer consulting professionals in 21 offices across the United States, United Kingdom, Continental Europe, the Middle East KANSAS CITY and Asia efficiently serve clients' needs in the world's leading business and financial markets. For more information, please contact: Robert M. Thompson at rmthompson@bryancave.com or 816.374.3200 Bryan Cave LLP One Kansas City Place 1200 Main Street, Suite 3500 Kansas City, Missouri 64105 The choice of a lawyer is an important decision and should not be based solely on advertisements. 44 | K C B U S I N E S S
- 47. I N N O V A T O R Start Small, Sell Big Courting the American dream with memorable marketing. STORY BY DAVID HODES I t was January 2008 when Taiwan native Benny Lee became a coin (shown in TV commercials in 1989). Those images contin- an American citizen in a ceremony that he says “touched his ued to flash on TV sets in millions of homes across the country heart.” Everything about the ceremony appealed to him, down through the 1990s. to the folksy wisdom of the judge swearing in new Americans. What Lee’s story seems like a modern version of something Horatio the judge didn’t know is that Lee had already been following the Alger might have written. In the late 1980s, from his base in Tai- American dream for more than 20 years, finding success in develop- wan, Lee traveled extensively to the U.S. and conducted business ing and marketing products that from an office on Troost Av- have become household names. enue in KC. He began market- One of the most famous of those ing small appliances from his products is the Ginsu knife. company, Top Innovations, Lee is quick to point out and soon hit pay dirt with the that he was not the creator “Handy Stitch” sewing ma- of the knife. Indeed, those fa- chine by Singer and other mous early commercials show popular products. More than a Ginsu knife company in 4 million units of Handy Stitch Warwick, Rhode Island, as the alone were sold when the prod- original creator of the product uct first hit the TV airwaves. that could cut through a can In 1995, with his business and then easily slice a tomato. going strong, Lee moved his That company went bankrupt family to Kansas City and in 1984. The Ginsu knife is decided to develop his own now marketed through the product line. First was a Douglas Quikut division of clothes steamer, which allows Scott Fetzer Company in people to press and freshen Walnut Ridge, Arkansas. their clothes much like a dry “I had a friend in South Af- cleaner. He began marketing rica who bought the business when it went bankrupt but didn’t have the product in 1999, and sales skyrocketed. Lee has since ex- the TV rights to sell it in the United States,” Lee says. “Those rights panded with other steam-related products (the SteamFast line), were owned by a friend of mine in Taiwan. My friend and I talked, the QuikStitch and the portable ZigZag sewing machines. He and [we] made a deal to license the TV rights.” This was in 1988, also has a couple of new sports and wellness products. and Lee wanted to do more to help market and sell the product. “What is the key to success?” he asks. “You must sit back and see “We thought about how we could make something special because why you are special—why do people need you? So when I talk to brand name is important, but the product is also important. So we my customers, they always say, ‘Hey Benny what is new?’ What is developed a new type of the knife, which is the one piece Japanese new is very important. If you keep doing what you have been doing chopper with serrated edges that don’t need to be sharpened.” in the past, you cannot make a change. When you really get a result, Lee and his friend came up with the demonstration of cutting you must do something different.” BENNY LEE, A TAIWAN NATIVE, HAS BEEN LIVING THE AMERICAN DREAM AS A SUCCESSFUL ENTREPRENEUR AND OWNER OF TOP INNOVATIONS FOR MANY YEARS. I N S I G H T , I N N O V A T I O N , I N S P I R A T I O N | 45
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- 49. G L O B A L M A R K E T Vintage Kansas Overland Park winemaker reaps Australian harvest. STORY BY RUTH BAUM BIGUS A ustralia, the land “Down Under,” might seem like a distant are warehoused in underground caves in Kansas City. At any giv- locale for a Kansas winemaker. But Marquee Artisan en time, there are 10,000-12,000 cases stored there, with another Wines, headquartered thousands of miles from the Australian 2,000 in the production pipeline. vineyards, has found a bountiful harvest there. Cribb says Marquee wines are now carried in 30 states. Ninety Overland Park-based Marquee produces three wines from dif- percent of the domestic product is distributed from Kansas City. Ad- ferent vineyards scattered across southwestern Australia. They ditionally, the wine is sold in four other countries: Canada, China, represent different varietals, Japan and Sweden. Curiously, “highlighting the regional differ- the wine is not yet available in ences,” says Christopher Cribb, the land of its origin. Marquee’s general manager. In 2004, the line went Marquee was born from the through some rebranding with personal and professional desires a new label design. “We’ve of Mark O’Connell. As presi- been tripling our growth ever dent of Multi Service Corp., since,” Cribb says. “We wanted an Overland Park-based private- something that would showcase label credit card services compa- [that] they’re new-world wines. ny, O’Connell wanted to expand We wanted to distinguish our- the company into overseas mar- selves as the producer of [a] so- kets, including Australia. So he phisticated, small product, but started looking for new growth in that new-world style.” opportunities abroad. In 2004, the company sold In 2001, Cribb, then a Multi 4,000 cases with $350,000 in Service e-commerce staffer, was sales revenues. By 2007, Mar- tapped up by O’Connell and quee had sold 12,000 cases, and Multi Service CEO Christo- it is looking to take that number pher Combest to research busi- to 15,000 this year. Hot markets ness opportunities in Australia. Cribb did three months of research, include Miami, Cleveland, Virginia and Kansas City. resulting in the recommendation to import Australian wine. Additionally, Marquee was recently wooed by Argentina. The “It had very nice profit margins to create a substantial business,” state of Mendoza approached Cribb, asking him to visit to attend a Cribb says. “And Australian wines in the U.S. were becoming hot.” conference for importers. The company signed a deal with Gustav Marquee launched its first wines in 2002. Through cooperation Caligiore, an organic winemaker in Mendoza, and now Marquee is with a noted Australian winemaker, Keith Brien, the wines are producing five Argentine wines under the Caligiore label. blended and bottled in Australia. All of the labels are produced “Understanding how to find the right partners at a global in the States and sent to Australia to be placed on the bottles. The level is tough,” Cribb says. “We can’t afford to spend a lot of wines are then shipped to the United States through California, time in those markets. It’s also challenging to understand cul- where they undergo all kinds of testing and inspection. The wines tural differences between international markets.” MARQUEE ARTISAN WINES GENERAL MANAGER CHRISTOPHER CRIBB, ABOVE WITH MEGAN BUBB, PRODUCES AUSTRALIAN WINES FROM OVERLAND PARK. I N S I G H T , I N N O V A T I O N , I N S P I R A T I O N | 47
- 50. Black Gold South of the Border Story by David Conrads Photo by Susan McSpadden JIM PRYOR COUNTS HIMSELF AS ONE OF THE LAST OF A DYING BREED: THE INDEPENDENT OIL WILDCATTER— one of those rare and rugged individuals engaged in speculative drilling in unexplored terrain. Part geologist, part entrepreneur and part cow- boy, Pryor (universally known by the nickname “Blacky”) shuns established oil fields. He launched his career in the early 1980s wildcatting in eastern Kansas and, over the years, yielded enough success to expand operations to four other states. He operates from the historic Livestock Exchange Building in Kansas City’s West Bottoms, though his newest frontier is Central America. In Nicaragua, Pryor and his partners have drilled the first productive oil wells in decades. Pryor believes Nicaragua could be a multi-billion dollar operation when fully developed. And he’s looking to replicate that success elsewhere in the region. In fact, he’s close to completing a deal with the Honduras government. “I’ve always been a wildcatter,” Pryor says. “I’ve never bought a lease that was already producing. Drilling practically in the shadow of somebody else’s well where you know you’ll hit something—that just never appealed to me.” A Kansas City native, Pryor never went to college and never formally studied engineering or petroleum geology. While in his mid-20s (in the late 1970s), Pryor was running a successful construction company when he happened to notice a prospectus from an oil company resting on the front seat of a friend’s car. The friend explained that he was thinking about investing in oil wells. Pryor said, “Count me in.” It was love at first sight the day he went to inspect what he had sunk his hard-earned money into. “I just happened to see the sun setting behind the rig, and that’s all it took,” Pryor recalls. He spent the next five years studying geology and engineering, and he put all of his disposable income into drilling. 48 | K C B U S I N E S S
- 51. JIM “BLACKY” PRYOR, A RARE OIL WILDCATTER, HAS BEEN PLOTTING DRILLING SITES IN HONDURAS AND NICARAGUA, WHERE HE HOPES TO EXPLOIT UNTAPPED OIL RESERVES. I N S I G H T , I N N O V A T I O N , I N S P I R A T I O N | 49
- 52. B y the early 1980s, Pryor had start- disperse underground rather than collect in the reservoir and build up pressure. Using existing ed Pryor Oil Company and technology in a new way, Pryor designed and engineered a system to inject cross-linking polymers established himself as an inde- under pressure, which filled the underground fractures. The result was a recovery of oil that was pendent oilman, working heavily in Kansas among the best in eastern Kansas. (particularly the eastern part of the state). He founded Black Star 231 in 1995. To date, THE BLOWOUT Pryor Oil and Black Star have drilled more Drilling for oil is extraordinarily expensive and not for the financially faint-of-heart. It than 300 wells in four states, about half of costs between $150,000 and $250,000 to drill a well, and most attempts are not successful. them in Kansas. Wildcatters can average 24 dry holes for every producing well they strike. “From a technical standpoint, I have been “A lot of people think that oil companies know everything there is to know about finding successful at being self taught,” Pryor says. oil,” Pryor says. “They think that technology has gotten so sophisticated we know everything “My Ph.D. is in experience.” there is to know before we drill. It’s simply not true. We have an array of very sophisticated, In the early ‘80s, there were still some old- wonderful tools, but ultimately, we have to drill the well to find out if any oil is down there. time wildcatters working in Kansas. Pryor Anybody that wildcats drills a lot of dry holes.” remembers them as mentors. “I probably got Sometimes they drill down and find something very unexpected. That’s what happened to three or four hundred years of experience Pryor on July 19, 2002. He was drilling in Tennessee on what was the biggest reserve found just by following those guys around. I learned in that part of the country in decades. The well had a calculated flow of 12,000 barrels a most of what I know from old timers.” Even day, or 500 per hour. It was so big, in fact, that the drills hit a pressurized zone at a more today, while making full use of the latest in shallow depth than expected and the company couldn’t contain the pressure. The result, in high-tech equipment, he says some of the oil lingo, was a “well-control incident”—otherwise known as a blowout. old-time techniques are still the best way of “When you drill down into the earth, you don’t know what’s down there,” he says. “Some- doing certain things. times things go wrong and this was one of those times.” Pryor’s single biggest success was a find With oil gushing out of the hole at a furious rate, Pryor was instantly plunged into his in Anderson County, located in east-cen- biggest professional challenge, which was compounded when a spark from a bulldozer set tral Kansas. There, on a lease he held the oil on fire. But that wasn’t the worst of it. With the situation mostly under control, the from 1990 to 2002, he wound up drilling Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) showed up and took over the catastrophe’s a total of 57 wells. The wells produced management—or mismanagement, in Pryor’s opinion. about 100 barrels per day. After butting heads with the EPA and its on-site coordinator, Pryor sued the agency in When pressure in the Anderson County federal court in Knoxville, Tennessee. The suit consumed all of Pryor’s time, energy and field began to diminish and oil recovery financial resources until it was dismissed a year later. Today, Pryor is philosophical about the declined, Pryor decided to get into what’s incident. “Nobody wins a lawsuit against the United States government,” he says. “It cost us known in the business as secondary recovery. the wealth we had built up over the years, but we survived and we made our point.” This is a process where an oil field is repres- surized by injecting gas, water or some other NEW FRONTIER fluid into the reservoir and forcing the re- Although wildcatters are a small fraternity, the high price of oil today and the availability of maining oil toward production wells. advanced technology make the climate right for all oil producers. The easy money—the large oil Secondary recovery in the Anderson reserves in known areas—is long gone, but with crude oil selling for more than $100 a barrel, it is County field proved to be tricky because frac- worth going after the smaller pockets that were not as attractive when crude was selling for a frac- tures in the rock caused the injected water to tion of today’s price. Additionally, the high-resolution, 3-D seismic imaging equipment, which uses 50 | K C B U S I N E S S
- 53. CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: JIM “BLACKY” PRYOR JUNGLE MAPPING A SURFACE FAULT IN NICARAGUA. PRYOR, IN THE WHITE SHIRT, BY A CRUDE OIL TANK IN BELIZE. PRYOR AT A WELL SITE IN SOUTHEAST OKLAHOMA. THE FIRST DRILL SITE IN WESTERN NICARAGUA. the effort in Nicaragua in 1996, the new government was just writing a constitu- tion and enacting laws. Pryor and Witcher had to wait until 2002 for Nicaragua to adopt a hydrocarbon law under which foreign operators could legally extract and sell the country’s natural resources. They had to wait another two years to complete the first round of bidding for acreage on which to drill. But the time spent in the country, mapping the jungle, networking with officials and gen- sound waves to map underground structures, was available only to the large oil companies just 10 erally building trust and good will throughout or 12 years ago. The technology, which has gotten better and cheaper, is now accessible to small, Nicaragua paid off. Of five foreign bids, theirs independent oilmen like Pryor. was the only one accepted. Pryor struck a His newest frontier is Central America, and the untapped fields that he has been working pa- deal with Norwood Resources Limited, tiently for more than a decade. Pryor explains, “I wanted to do wildcatting the way they did before a Canadian energy company, to drill on the the turn of the century. I wanted to live that experience. I wanted to be the first one to go in there Oklanicsa Concession. So far, two wells have and find the very biggest anticlines with the very biggest surface expressions. And I looked around, been completed, each on a separate oil field. and those sorts of opportunities were gone, except in isolated areas of the world.” Pryor expects them to be producing by sum- Pryor has made progress in Nicaragua and set his sights on Honduras, where the government mer. A third well is being drilled now. in April accepted his proposal for drilling rights. With a compass, a GPS and a local guide, he and “They appear to be very big, very meaning- his partner, Harold Witcher, first headed into the jungles of Nicaragua and mapped large sections ful oil fields,” he says, noting that the geology of the country. Pryor believes Nicaragua and Honduras both hold great promise. He and Witcher lends itself to big reserves. “I believe our con- have convinced financial backers of that promise and formed a company, Industria Oklahoma cession in Nicaragua at some point will make Nicaragua SA (or Oklanicsa), which was awarded a lease on an 853,000-acre tract by the Nicara- several hundred thousand barrels everyday. guan government. Pryor hopes to have a final contract in Honduras by summer. I’m sure these oil fields will be producing, to “We’ve gone into the rankest frontiers, where there is no production for hundreds or thousands some degree, for the next sixty years.” of miles in any direction, and have looked for oil in these places,” he says. “Now, there is a lot of This year, Pryor has been exploring two interest in Central America, but we were way ahead of the curve in 1996.” oil reserves in Honduras and hopes to strike Pryor notes that wildcatting in Central America presents a very different set of chal- a deal following a positive environmental im- lenges. In Central America, he assumes a much higher degree of risk and also faces legal, pact report. Says Pryor, “You haven’t heard logistical and bureaucratic obstacles that don’t exist in the U.S. For instance, when he began the last of this ol’ wildcatter.” I N S I G H T , I N N O V A T I O N , I N S P I R A T I O N | 51
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- 55. A New Robber Baron Era For Big Rail? Story by Kevin Brass ON A SPRING NIGHT IN 2003, EXECUTIVES OF THE LARGEST AND MOST powerful railroads in the United States gathered at the Greenbrier, a secluded luxury resort in the mountains of West Virginia. Representatives of Kansas City Southern were there, along with the leaders of Union Pacific, Norfolk Southern and the oth- er companies that control 90 percent of the rail traffic in the United States. The stated purpose was a meeting of the National Freight Transportation Association. It was a chance for the company leaders to discuss industry issues and play a few holes on one of the resort’s three championship golf courses. I N S I G H T , I N N O V A T I O N , I N S P I R A T I O N | 53
- 56. B ut the executives did more than play golf and conduct Since 1980, there has been a wave of consolidation, with the roundtable forums, according to dozens of lawsuits filed big players getting even bigger. In 1976, there were 63 “Class 1” by companies around the country. At that meeting—or railroad companies; now there are five, including KC Southern. a similar one a few weeks later—the railroad companies entered Those five companies control 90 percent of the traffic on U.S. rail- into a wide-ranging conspiracy to milk billions of dollars from roads (largely without competition in some regions), giving them shippers, the suits allege. A few weeks after the meeting, all of the enormous power to raise rates. major railroad companies started to impose a new fuel surcharge KC Southern, considered one of the last large independents, on customers—all using similar methodologies. The fee soon was founded in 1887 by noted contrarian Arthur Stillwell, who became a profit maker for the companies, shippers say, helping bucked the trend of east-west lines by creating a north-south route stimulate a boom time for the “old economy” railroad industry. that connected the plains with the Gulf of Mexico. Port Arthur, The suits, filed by companies ranging from Sterling Steel Texas, is named for Stillwell. Company (headquartered in Carthage, Missouri) to agricultural But in the mid-1990s, KC Southern was “surrounded” by the giant Archer Daniels Midland, charge the rail companies with new conglomerates, and its “financial viability” was in danger, ac- price fixing and violating anti-trust laws, evoking images of the rob- cording to the company’s official history. At that point, instead of ber baron era when the rich monopolists dictated terms to their cus- getting absorbed by the big players, the company expanded into tomers. Decades after the industry’s abuses helped spur an age of Mexico, a move boosted by the introduction of the North Ameri- trust-busting government regulation, “Big Rail” is again defending can Free Trade Agreement, and bought up smaller lines to con- itself against charges it is operating as a “classic oligopoly.” solidate its position. It also took a 50 percent stake in the Panama “The great irony is that their excesses led to anti-trust laws,” Canal Railway Company, which runs parallel to the canal. says Bob Szabo, a lobbyist who runs a group called Consumers Since 2003, KC Southern, which aspires to be “the fastest growing United for Rail Equity. “It’s a huge irony.” railroad in North America,” has been a big part of the “rail renaissance,” Hundreds of companies around the country that use rail to ship an era of record revenues for the industry. With increasing volumes of their products are directly affected by the charges (as are consum- coal, cars, chemicals and containers hitting the rails, profits soared, and ers, who ultimately pay the price at checkout). According to a study hedge funds bought up shares in the big rail companies. by the American Chemistry Council, which represents chemi- In 2007, despite the weakening economy, KC Southern reported cal companies, the railroad industry overcharged shippers $6.4 bil- earnings of $134 million (up from $89.4 million in 2006) on record lion from 2003 through 2007. annual revenue of $1.74 billion. With the stock hovering near its KC Southern and the other railroad companies vigorously deny 52-week high, CEO Michael Haverty received a $5.2 million pay the claims, labeling the cases as fantasy. The Association of package for the year, a 63 percent bump from 2006. American Railroads (AAR), which is also named in the suits, Like most of the major rail companies, in its public filings, KC says all the group’s activities “have been carefully conducted with Southern attributes the surge in profits to growth in shipments, a antitrust laws foremost in mind. AAR is confident it has fully com- “strong pricing environment” and “increased fuel surcharges, con- plied with all antitrust laws and regulations.” sistent with increases in the cost of fuel.” There has been no at- By all accounts, the railroad industry is in the midst of a resurgence— tempt to hide the fuel charges or the positive impact they’ve had on a “rail renaissance.” But it was a different story 30 years ago. Stifled by the company’s ability to turn a profit. As demand for rail increases government regulation and soaring costs, rail was a decaying business and fuel costs soar, so has the value of the surcharge. All railroad with aging equipment and little hope for growth. Several companies companies base the fee on a percentage of the base rates they were heading toward bankruptcy when Congress passed the Staggers charge customers, which means the surcharge can be far greater Rail Act of 1980, which essentially deregulated the industry. than the actual cost of the fuel. 54 | K C B U S I N E S S
- 57. Angry shippers say the railroad com- panies have been, in essence, double dip- ping—building fuel costs into base rates for customers and then tacking on the additional fuel surcharge. Analysts for the companies that use the rails say the over- charges total in the billions. “The mar- gins of error became enormous,” says Jay Roman, president of Escalation Consultants, which conducted one of the studies. The rail industry hotly denies the charge. In a press release, the direc- tor of the AAR mocked the American Chemistry Council study as fundamen- tally flawed. “I don’t know how much the chemical industry paid for the study, but they should ask for their money back,” said AAR president Edward R. Ham- berger, who called the study “extraordi- narily misleading.” AAR spokesman Tom White declined to comment, except to say, “The revenue [from the surcharge] did not cover the increase in fuel costs.” Either way, there is nothing inherently ille- gal about double-dipping. “Lying to customers doesn’t mean you’re violating anti-trust laws,” says Benjamin Brown, an antitrust practice partner at Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll, the firm named co-lead counsel on the railroad cases, which have been consolidated by a Washington, D.C., judge. To make an anti-trust case, Brown and the other plaintiffs must show a conspiracy—an agreement between the railroads to work in concert to fix prices and quash competition. KC SOUTHERN, HEADQUARTERED IN DOWNTOWN KANSAS Brown’s firm knows the turf. In 2006, it suc- CITY, MISSOURI, IS ONE OF THE FIVE “BIG RAIL COMPANIES ” THAT CONTROL 90 PERCENT OF THE TRAFFIC ON U.S. cessfully prosecuted airline companies for im- RAILROADS. THOSE RAILROADS ARE ACCUSED OF PRICE FIXING IN SEVERAL LAWSUITS. posing an unreasonable fuel surcharge. I N S I G H T , I N N O V A T I O N , I N S P I R A T I O N | 55
- 58. “When you look at an industry [rail] that is [a] classic oligopoly and you see a break from traditional pricing and you see huge new surcharges made in lock-step and you see an industry entirely unrespon- sive to a customer base loudly objecting,” Brown says, “it is highly unusual.” To prove price fixing, the suing compa- nies don’t need a smoking gun—i.e. a memo where all the companies agreed to work to- gether. But they will have to show evidence the rail companies collaborated together to the detriment of their customers. “The hardest thing for a plaintiff is proving the agreement element,” says Thom Lam- bert, associate dean of the University of Missouri School of Law. “It’s not enough that everybody is acting the same.” According to the lawsuits, the railroads “moved in uniform lock-step” when they imposed the fuel surcharge on customers. Each of the companies has used the same index to track costs and the same formulas Last December, the Surface Transportation Board (STB), which oversees the in- to set rates, which were posted on the Inter- dustry, essentially agreed with shippers’ complaints, rejecting the railroad companies’ ar- net for other companies to review. In a true gument that they were simply passing on fuel increases. The practice of charging on base competitive environment, the suit charges, “it freight rates was deemed a “revenue enhancement measure,” and the STB required the would be completely irrational to believe that companies to stop the “misleading and ultimately unreasonable practice.” The group also defendants … facing myriad differences in decided to spend $1 million to conduct its own independent study to assess the state of economic factors and business demands and competition in the industry. requirements, would independently arrive at But the STB took no retroactive action against the railroad companies and did not specifi- the same conclusions.” cally find that the companies “overcharged.” The railroad companies will certainly argue in If this were a murder mystery, the court that the STB regulates the industry, and they’ve been following the rules, legal experts railroad companies had motive, means say. But Brown argues “the STB doesn’t have jurisdiction to address anti-competitive cases,” and opportunity—the meetings in the an issue the courts will likely have to adjudicate. spring of 2003—to work together to The role of the STB, and its effectiveness regulating the industry, adds another dictate new terms to their customers, layer of complexity to an already complex case. Shippers have long argued that the Brown says. The railroads can deny STB is in the pocket of the rail companies. Several STB staffers have either come it, but the defense “doesn’t pass the from the railroad industry or have gone to work for railroad companies after leaving straight-face test,” he says. the STB. “It’s got to be rated as the worst regulatory agency in federal government,” 56 | K C B U S I N E S S
- 59. THE RAILROAD COMPANIES HAD MOTIVE, THE MEANS AND THE decision, Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, made it tougher for anti-trust OPPORTUNITY TO WORK TOGETHER TO DICTATE NEW TERMS TO THEIR CUSTOMERS, SAYS AN ATTORNEY REPRESENTING cases to move to the discovery phase. PLAINTIFFS IN A CONSOLIDATED LAWSUIT AGAINST BIG RAIL. Although a KC Southern spokeswoman declined comment, in its annual report to the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company vowed to “vigorously contest” the lawsuits “through trial and appeal, if necessary.” The lawsuits may only be the start of the rail company’s legal woes. The New Jersey attorney general’s office is investigating the fuel surcharge, and other states may follow suit. Twenty-one at- torneys general from around the country recently signed a letter of support for legislation (now working through Congress) that would limit the industry’s anti-trust exemptions. “We understand from our citizens that the Surface Transportation Board has failed in its responsibility to restrain railroad monopoly power,” the attorneys general noted in the letter. Congress may be the ultimate battleground for the dispute between the shippers and the railroad companies. At the same time that lobbying groups like CURE are supporting legisla- tion to regulate the industry, the railroad companies are push- ing their own legislation, which would give them a 25 percent tax exemption for money the companies are investing to up- grade their systems. The AAR estimates rail companies spent says Bob Szabo, executive director of Consumers United more than $9 billion last year, which could make the tax break for Rail Equity (CURE), the lobbying group representing worth more than $2 billion to the companies. shippers. “It’s a classic case of an agency being co-opted by the Many industry observers believe the railroads will settle the anti- industry it is supposed to be regulating.” trust suits rather than allow their dirty laundry to be aired in open More than anything, the lawsuits spotlight the long-simmering court. Typically, anti-trust damages are tripled, which means the animosity between the railroad companies and their customers. case could be worth $18 billion if the courts believe the shippers’ Many manufacturers have little choice but to deal with a single rail- overcharge estimates of $6 billion. “If anything goes through with road to ship their products over long distances, especially with gas this anti-trust case, there’s going to be a lot of pressure on Congress prices driving up the cost of long-haul trucking. to limit the power of railroads over shippers,” says Roman, the The railroads “really alienated a lot of people along the way,” industry consultant. says John Gentle, an industry consultant. And the system makes it But few believe the cases will slow down the railroad companies, difficult for shippers to complain, he says. “The only way they can which continue to prosper in tough times. In many ways, rising fuel get people’s attention is a lawsuit.” costs work in their favor, driving up the cost of the competition— It could take years for an anti-trust case to work through the courts. long-haul trucking. As international container traffic increases in The cases will likely face a key hurdle this fall, when the plaintiffs the big ports, so does the need for efficient long-haul rail. must show enough evidence of a conspiracy to convince the judge to “Today is the golden age of railroad,” Szabo says. “They are allow the case to move forward; a controversial 2007 Supreme Court making more money than ever.” I N S I G H T , I N N O V A T I O N , I N S P I R A T I O N | 57
- 60. For sponsorship opportunities, please contact Laurie Menendez at lmenendez@anthemmarketing.com Think - Plan - Win TM You have the ideas. You have the initiatives, but is your organization ready? Before you make costly missteps, talk to us at P/Strada. Patrice Manuel, Senior Principal Organizational Development Project Management Diversity Integration Leadership Development Training Coaching 360 Surveys Furniture Sales 8(a)SBD • Hub Zone • Service Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise (SDVBE) Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) • Women Business Enterprise (WBE) 816.256.4577 www.pstrada.com 58 | K C B U S I N E S S PStrada_KCBMay08.indd 1 4/10/08 10:59:17 AM
- 61. kudos kudos MIKE CZINEGE MARY HEIT LAEL HOLLOWAY PAUL TYMOSKO MIRIAM UBBEN AMC ENTERTAINMENT RESEARCH BELTON JEFFERSON WELLS ENTERPRISE BANK & KANSAS TECHNOLOGY INC. HOSPITAL INC. TRUST ENTERPRISE CORPORATION MIKE CZINEGE she has demonstrated teamwork and compassion. Heit his responsibilities will extend into the areas of financial AMC Entertainment has hired Mike Czinege as its new senior also shares her skills at many of Research Belton’s HCA management and business development. vice president and chief information officer (CIO). Czinege sister facilities, filling in as needed. PAUL TYMOSKO brings more than 30 years of experience in the technology and DAVID E. HENDRIKSE Enterprise Bank & Trust, the principal subsidiary of business consulting fields to AMC, having served most recently Rosemann & Associates P recently promoted David E. .C. Enterprise Financial Services Corp., has appointed Paul as CIO for Applebee’s International. Prior to working for Hendrikse, AIA and SAME, to vice president and partner in the Tymosko its chief administrative officer and senior vice president Applebee’s, he was a consulting partner with Ernst & Young. firm. Hendrikse, who has been with Rosemann since 2002, of the Kansas City region. Tymosko’s added responsibilities Czinege will oversee AMC’s technology and systems team, manages the staff and a wide variety of projects in the Kansas include overseeing the implementation of the region’s strategic which will attempt to deliver quality technology initiatives. City office. He has more than 22 years of architectural and action plan and managing new business development MONICA FANNING project management experience to bring to Rosemann. coordination of region-wide events and processes. He Shughart Thomson & Kilroy recently announced that LAEL HOLLOWAY continues to manage and develop his own client portfolio. Prior Monica Fanning, a practicing attorney in the Kansas City Jefferson Wells Inc. recently announced that Lael Holloway to joining the company, Tymosko served as the senior vice area, has been named a new shareholder. Fanning has has joined the firm’s internal audit and controls practice. president and commercial lender for U.S. Bank in Kansas City. been practicing law with Shughart Thomson & Kilroy Holloway has 13 years of experience in her field. Most recently, MIRIAM UBBEN since 2001. She focuses her practice on employment she served as an assistant director of internal audit at American Miriam Ubben has been named vice president of policy for discrimination and business litigation. Fanning is a member Century Investments. She continues to be an active member the Kansas Technology Enterprise Corp. (KTEC). In her of the Missouri, Kansas and American bar associations. of the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce. new role, Ubben will oversee the Come Home to Kansas MARY HEIT ANGELO R. TROZZOLO initiative as well as the recently created Kansas Information Mary Heit, a speech pathologist at Research Belton Trozzolo Communications Group has appointed Angelo R. Technology Association. She comes to KTEC after spending Hospital was named the hospital’s Employee of the Trozzolo to the position of president. He has been with the firm time at the Entrepreneurial Development Center (EDC) in Quarter at a recent employee service awards program. for 10 years and most recently served as senior vice president Cedar Rapids, Iowa. There, she served as vice president of Todd Krass, CEO of the hospital, and Mary Beth Peterson, and chief operating officer. Pasquale Trozzolo, the firm’s founder, capital formation. Ubben also previously served as president rehab director, presented the award to Heit. Heit has will continue to serve as CEO. Angelo Trozzolo will maintain of Software and Information Technology of Iowa (SITI). worked with Hospital Corp. of America since 2002. As a his current responsibilities, which include managing the firm’s An Iowa native, Ubben has served on various boards and member of the hospital’s Employee Advisory Committee, creative, advertising and public relations functions. As president, committees throughout the state. Have news or promotions that you would like to share with Kansas City? E-mail them to kudos@KCBcentral.com. Please include the name of the person you would like to applaud along with his or her formal job title and a 100-word biography and portrait. Submissions may take up to two issues to appear. I N S I G H T , I N N O V A T I O N , I N S P I R A T I O N | 59
- 62. Great Educators Never Stop Learning Whatʼs new at PSU-KC Metro? ESOL Endorsement MA in Teaching (Restricted License Emphasis) • Additional programs offered in the KC Metro area: MS in Educational Leadership Kansas City Metro Center MS in Special Education Teaching 12345 W. 95th, Suite 204 MS in Educational Technology (Online program) Lenexa, Kansas Building Level Licensure (2 blocks west of Oak Park Mall District Level Licensure on 95th Street) • Convenient evening, online and For more information contact web-enhanced classes Dr. Victoria White at vwhite@pittstate.edu • Courses taught by PSU faculty members and or 913-529-4487 veteran Kansas City area practitioners Visit the web site below for information regarding the 50 graduate programs such as Nursing, Reading, Print Management or Business available on the PSU campus: Pittsburg State University www.pittstate.edu/cgs 60 | S T L O U I S C E O
- 63. networking calendar MAY 6. Celebrating Healthy Motherhood—Hosted by the Maternal & Child Health Coalition and sponsored by Children’s Mercy Hospitals and Clinics, Marianne Neifert (pictured right), M.D., M.T.S., will discuss the balancing act it requires to be a good mother. 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Hyatt Regency Crown Center, 2345 McGee St. $50 per person or $500 for a table of 10. Register by calling 816-283-6242, ext. 249, or online at mchc.net. MAY 1 AND 15. Referring Entrepreneurs and MAY 7. Sales Professionals International—Monthly will present in the Hollywood Room, located next to the Hereford Professionals—Network with small business owners breakfast meeting with guest speakers Samantha Noles and House, 20th and Main St. Lunch is $15 with RSVP; $20 at the on the first and third Thursday of each month. 1 p.m. KU Dan Carnegie on the topic “How to Remember Anyone’s door. To reserve a spot, contact info@kcdowntowners.com. Bookstore. Membership is restricted to one person from Name.” 7-8:30 a.m. First Watch, 9912 College Blvd., a personal classification. Contact Rene, 913-685-4619 or Overland Park. $13. Contact Pat Moore, 913-219-4299 or MAY 20. Green Drinks—Bridging the Gap pres- renescafe@yahoo.com, or visit reapkc.com. salesproskc@gmail.com. ents this networking event that features a guest speaker and raffle on the third Tuesday of every month. 6-9 p.m. MAY 6. GSA Networking Breakfast—Sponsored by MAY 7 AND 28. Business Brain Food Weekly Contact greendrinkskc@communitymail.net. the General Services Administration, the breakfast offers Educational Series—Learn techniques to keep employ- companies the opportunity to introduce their products and ees engaged, motivated and productive. Programs include MAY 20 Lifestyle Enhancement Series—”Sleepless services. 7:15 a.m. Sheraton Sports Complex, 9103 E. 39th St., “Uncluttered Communication,” May 7, and “Leading Through Nights, Sleepy Days,” a lecture by Dr. Jyotsna Sahni hosted by Kansas City. Register online at r6.gsa.gov/breakfast, via email at Breakdowns,” May 28. 8:30 a.m. Chamber office, 911 Main St., the Central Exchange will focus on the importance of sleep. business.counseling@gsa.gov or by phone at 816-926-7203. Ste. 2600, Kansas City. Member price $15. Contact Rebecca 11:45 a.m. Central Exchange downtown facility, 1020 Central. Russell, 816-374-5472 or brainfood@kcchamber.com. Admission is free to members; $20 for non-members. Visit MAY 6. Networking Dinner—The Northland Chapter of centralexchange.org. the International Association of Administrative Profes- MAY 9. Philanthropy Awards Luncheon—The sionals hosts. 5:30-8 p.m. North Kansas City Hospital, Skyview Council on Philanthropy presents its 24th annual awards MAY 21. After Hours Networking—Join the Leawood Room, 2700 Clay Edwards Drive, Kansas City. $13. Contact luncheon. Honorees will include Bob Regnier of Commerce Chamber for networking. Register at leawoodchamber.org Melissa A. Noble, 816-513-0783 or Melissanoble@kcmo.org. Bank, Rose Bryant, Berta Sailer and Corita Bussanmas. The by May 19. 5 p.m. IRONHORSE Golf Club, 15400 Mission luncheon will run from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Registration Road, Leawood. MAY 6 AND 13. We’re Talkin’ Tuesday Network- starts at 11 a.m. Muehlebach Tower, 1213 Wyandotte. Visit ing—Join the Northeast Johnson County Chamber on the kcphilnet.org for details. MAY 22. Wine Fest—Raise a glass to raise awareness for second and third Tuesday of each month. 8:30-9:30 a.m. Credit healthier babies at the 20th Annual March of Dimes Wine Fest, Union of Johnson County, 6025 Lamar Ave., Shawnee Mission. MAY 14. Downtowners Luncheon—The lunch and featuring more that 200 wines. 6-9 p.m. Union Station. $45 for Contact Jim Sloss, Sign Pro of Kansas City, 913-962-7767 or program start at noon with social/networking time starting at main access; $130 for premier wine access. Contact Sherri jim@kcsignpro.com. 11:30 a.m. Guest speaker Bill Dietrich of the Downtown Council Zerkel, 913-387-3605 or szerkel@marchofdimes.com. Have an event that you would like to share with Kansas City? E-mail your event information to calendar@KCBcentral.com. Please include a brief description of the event as well as the location, date, time and how to get more information. Submissions must be received at least 60 days prior to the beginning of the month in which the event occurs. I N S I G H T , I N N O V A T I O N , I N S P I R A T I O N | 61
- 65. the grind THERE’S NO REASON TO GET DEPRESSED OVER GETTING A PINK SLIP IT’S YOUR TICKET . TO FREEDOM, A CHANCE TO PURSUE THAT LONG-HELD DREAM AND GROW THAT LONG, LUXURIOUS BEARD. AS TRUMP WOULD SAY… you have it, for they are fleeting. Do you really think you the momentum to become that person you have been By Kevin Fleming | Illustration by Jeremy Collins will be an unemployed loser forever? daydreaming about during meetings. Now is the time to go back to college and take the The days of the golden watch have been replaced with SLEEP IN drama classes you’ve always wanted to take. the brown cardboard box. Putting on suits, making small talk, working late, kiss- Pursue an honest, recession-proof and well-paid trade. Downsizing, cutting the fat, staying competitive in a ing ass and traffic jams—all those turnoffs are no longer I bet plumbers don’t stress themselves out in the middle of global marketplace, layoffs, buyouts—no matter how your reality. What a relief. Go out and celebrate. You the night worrying about achieved communality or monadic you slice it, getting the pink slip may initially sting and are free. It doesn’t matter how late you stay out or how evaluations. Do you really want to go back to being pinned somewhat suck, but it really doesn’t need to be the end much you drink. It’s not like you have anywhere to go in down by the thumb of the man. Trades like plumbing are a of the world. Just think of it as the beginning of your the morning. Go ahead and do what those working stiffs ticket to independence. new world. Think of the pink slip as white slip with a can’t, or won’t, do. You’ve always been meaning to do it. So go teach your rosy hue. Getting canned is a great way to get to the bottom of dog to catch a Frisbee. I bet it will make you happier than I know you feel professionally castrated, humiliated, life’s persistent questions: What do I look like with a beard? getting awarded new business for the remote framebuffer misled, emotionally fragile and frustrated that you dedi- What kind of television is playing at 3 a.m.? How many you engineered for Thankless Inc. cated seven years of your life to a high-maintenance, celebrity rumor rags does it take to lower my IQ? And what moody and egocentric boss who wears horrible, perva- is this Nintendo Wii all about? PROSPECTS sive cologne only to be unceremoniously severed like Unplug your alarm clock, take a yoga class, read for Yeeehaw! Options abound. I can hear you now: “But, it’s a wart from a body that you helped build and nurture. pleasure, connect with your children, and get your passport a recession, and I’m freaking out.” Don’t worry, there’s no This feeling is completely natural. (But as I like to tell out of the file cabinet for a jaunt to Belize. Think of your recession in France, China or Canada ... yet. The world is my therapist, so is anthrax.) severance package as a three-month scholarship to trophy your oyster, so start slurpin’ while you can. So you have been rendered nonessential. Still it’s not bride fantasy camp. Think big, and live small. Make your funds stretch. Drink essential that you get bummed out. Get over it. Becom- I’m reminded of a quote by the Dalai Lama: “Remember beer instead of scotch. Eat hamburgers instead of filets. ing the grand marshal of your own pity parade won’t do that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful Clear all the clutter out of your house and sell it on eBay. you any good. Take the high road. stroke of luck.” (Did you know that more than 250,000 people make a living Career monogamy is so last century. It’s the swing- Sure, you wanted a promotion, bonus and steak dinner on eBay?) If you start to feel desperate, just remember you ing ’00s, so post your resume on theladders.com, and at the Hereford House. But, instead, you got a kick in are not alone and that your old company’s competition may live. Savor your newfound freedom for the few moments the pants that sent you through the revolving door. Use find your experience quite interesting. I N S I G H T , I N N O V A T I O N , I N S P I R A T I O N | 63
- 66. goat locker: liberty memorial’s leader PHOTO BY SUSAN MCSPADDEN Brian Alexander is the new president and CEO of the National World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial in downtown Kansas City. He moved to town in January from Colorado Springs where he served as the executive director of the World Figure Skating Museum and Hall of Fame. Previously, he was the president and CEO of the Historic Annapolis Foundation and the Shelburne Museum in Vermont. Alexander’s respon- sibilities are akin to the duties of any high-level executive. He manages budgets, fundraises, handles public relations and holds board meetings. His job, he says, is to make it possible for others to work on the exhibits, displays and programs at the museum—to “move it forward.” While Alexander says he’s still in transit, he has already moved a few of his favorite possessions into his new office. The carved figures on his desk are replicas of a 4,000-character, hand-carved toy circus. The originals are on display at the Shelburne Museum, which is largely a folk art museum. The replicas are sold in the museum’s gift shop. Knowing the figures were a favorite, each staff member gave Alexander a replica before he left his job at the Shelburne. KC BUSINESS MAGAZINE (ISSN 1931-8731) is published monthly (12 issues) at 7101 College Blvd., Ste. 400, Overland Park, KS 66210, KCBcentral.com, 913-894-6923. All contents copyright ©2008 by Anthem Publishing Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction or use in whole or in part of the contents, without the prior written permission of the publisher, is prohibited. KC Business Magazine is a trade name of Anthem Publishing Inc. All rights reserved. Annual subscription $34.95. Postmaster: Send address changes to KC Business Magazine, P.O. Box 19519 Lenexa, KS 66285. Unsolicited photographs, illustrations, or articles are submitted at the risk of the photographer/artist/author. Anthem Media assumes no liability for the return of unsolicited materials and may use them at its discretion. 64 | K C B U S I N E S S
- 68. Mind Your Own Business. By investing in your people.