contents

Welcome from the
Executive Director 6

List of Sponsors 8

A sound Investment in the
Local Community 12

A Jolt to the Kansas City
LGBTQ Scene 16

Driving Change in the
Kansas City LGBTQ
Community 20

A Supportive Space for
Everyone 24

Serving the Community and
Saving Lives 28

Mid-America LGBT Chamber of Commerce

PO Box 5961, Kansas City, MO 64171

(816) 474-3558 | www.maglcc.org

This is a Town Square Publications, formerly MetroMedia
(since 1997), publication created and produced for the
Mid-America LGBT Chamber of Commerce

Copyright © 2023 Town Square Publications

P.O. Box 280, Arlington Heights, IL 60006

(847) 427-4905 | marketing@tspubs.com
www.TownSquarePublications.com

Every effort has been made to ensure the Accuracy of the information in this publication. The Chamber and Town Square assume no Responsibility for misinformation. Please contact the Chamber with any additions or corrections. Reproduction in whole or in part without Permission of the Chamber and Town Square Is prohibited.

Chairman, CEO and Publisher | Douglas K. Ray

President and Chief Operating Officer | Scott Stone

Vice President / Director | Scott Ray

Managing Director | David Small

Director of Production | Ryan Moore

Senior Account Executive | Tammie Easson

Editor | Mia Katz

Our Affiliation To The National LGBT Chamber of Commerce

The Mid-America GLCC is a proud affiliate of the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce. The National LGBT Chamber of Commerce is a long established business advocate and a direct link between lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender business owners, corporations and governments. There are 52 National LGBT Chamber of Commerce affiliate chambers across the United States and Internationally.

Executive
Director’s Message

As we celebrate Pride’s vibrant and empowering month and move into brilliant summer days with their infectious energy, I am delighted to introduce our spring and summer edition of Business Pride! We created this edition with great enthusiasm, aiming to highlight our remarkable community's achievements, stories, and the invaluable contributions of our members.

At the Mid-America LGBT Chamber of Commerce, we firmly believe in fostering an environment of support, advocacy, and inclusivity for all our members. This magazine represents our ongoing commitment to amplifying the voices and successes of LGBTQ+ professionals, entrepreneurs, and businesses across our region. It is a powerful platform to showcase our collective impact and embrace the spirit of Pride.

As business leaders, we have a unique platform and responsibility to drive change and shape the future. By embracing diversity, championing inclusivity, and standing against discrimination, we can create an environment where every individual can thrive and contribute to our region's prosperity.

I extend my deepest appreciation to all our members for their continued support and contributions. Together, we will continue to build a region where LGBTQ+ professionals and businesses thrive, excel, and leave a lasting impact.

With pride and
gratitude.

Suzanne

A Sound Investment in the Local Community

By Steven Craig Lindsey

Delivering investment results to clients tops the list of goals at American Century Investments, a Chamber member since 2022, but the company does a world of good beyond providing people and their families with financial stability. American Century distributes more than 40 percent of its dividends to the Stowers Institute for Medical Research, a nonprofit biomedical research organization working on scientific breakthroughs. Since 2000, Stowers has received more than $2 billion directly from American Century Investments dividends.

Within the LGBTQ community, the 65-year-old Kansas City-based company strives to make an impact, too.

"Being a member of the LGBT Chamber is consistent with this vision that sharing our experience and expertise – and learning from other members – will make us all successful,” says Diane Gallagher, Co-Chief People Officer. “Being part of the LGBT Chamber helps us build inclusive networks, provide opportunities and share experiences for mutual success. The LGBT Chamber helps us promote diversification and inclusivity in our workplace as we use the Chamber’s job board to post job openings.”

Additionally, American Century Investments has strong workplace policies in place to protect all employees from harassment, discrimination, and bullying related to sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression.

“Beyond protecting our employees, we also offer inclusive employee benefits such as family formation assistance and health coverage that includes gender-affirming care,” Gallagher adds. “For more than 20 years, we have offered our comprehensive benefits package to our employees' plus ones, whether that is a spouse, domestic partner, or someone else with whom they share a home.”

The company’s CEO Jonathan Thomas and CIO Victor Zhang are both executive advocates, earning recognition from LGBT Great as two of its Top 100 Executive Allies. Zhang is also one of the executive sponsors of Pride.

“The Pride Business Resource Group represents members of the LGBTQ community and their colleagues, family members, and friends and fosters an inclusive environment to ensure LGBTQ employees feel safe, welcome, and valued in the workplace,” says David Livingston, Director of Compliance.

Recently, American Century’s Pride group held fundraisers for Children’s Mercy Gender Pathways and the Matthew Shepard Foundation, as well as organized the company’s participation in the May 6 AIDS Walk Kansas City.

Volunteerism builds a further sense of community within the company because employees can choose organizations they wish to support and American Century donates $25 per volunteer hour to those specific nonprofits.

“Employees share their treasure and participate in our Dollars for Donors matching gift program at a rate three times higher than the national average, producing more than $1 million in matches in a single year,” Gallagher says. “We match each employee’s donations up to $7,000 annually to 501(c)(3) organizations and up to an additional $5,000 annually for contributions to disaster relief.”

So working with American Century can give you peace of mind regarding both your investments and a better community—and world—in which to live.

A Jolt to the Kansas City LGBTQ Scene

Anchor Island Coffee has been caffeinating the community since 2020

By Steven Craig Lindsey

Opening a new business can be a scary endeavor even in the best of times, but launching a coffee shop mere days before lockdowns from the Covid-19 pandemic had to be truly terrifying. Yet business and life partners Armando Vasquez and Mike Hastings never gave up and rather than scale back, they have actually expanded their space and menu offerings three times since opening.

“Anchor Island is your in-town tropical getaway for specialty espresso, coffees, and the best breakfast burritos in town, inspired by Latino cultures on both southwest and southeast U.S. coasts,” says Hastings.

Colorful seascape murals add to the vacation-inspired escapism the business offers its customers. The second-story room has multiple seating areas, perfect for meetings or secluded places for remote workers to conduct business.

Hastings says they rotate through a handful of Kansas City-based roasters about every 10 days, and the business also features artwork on display and for sale from several talented local creators, as well as hosts local vendors on Saturdays and Sundays. This provides a chance for the public to get to know local talent and buy items truly made in KC.

As a 100 percent gay-owned business with 100 percent of their full-time employees identifying as Lesbian, Trans or Gay, Hastings and Vasquez have worked hard to create a space that welcomes everyone whether they are LGBTQ+, straight, People of Color, or White. Their hiring practices are based on the best-qualified person with the most ambition to grow in the company, not on gender identity, skin color, or sexual orientation.

Anchor Island Coffee joined the Chamber in 2021.

“Being part of the Chamber helps to get our name out that we are LGBTQ+. Attending different Chamber events has allowed us to meet business leaders in the city that now recommend us to their clients and often choose Anchor Island as a meeting destination,” Hastings says. “Being a member links our customers to vital LGBTQ+ resources and businesses in town, across many fields of business. Often the daily things we do as part of the LGBTQ+ community are discriminated against so having a trusted resource that we can refer people to, or work with ourselves, gives the LGBTQ+ community a fighting chance.”

In addition to the weekend vendor markets, Hastings and Vasquez are sponsoring Stonewall Sports in Kansas City this year. Each Sunday, they host a men’s healing group, as well as the KC LGBTea support group so that the members have a place to build a queer community in a sober setting. They also work with the "I Got Mine Program" through the KCMO Health Department to offer free condoms, and the Health Department pops up from time to time to offer free vaccinations and HIV and STI testing.

“We are nothing without our community,” Hastings says. And it’s clear they are a strong partner on the LGBTQ scene.

Driving Change in the Kansas City LGBTQ Community

By Steven Craig Lindsey

When the time comes to purchase a new, pre-owned, or certified car, truck, or SUV, thousands of people turn to McCarthy Auto Group, the largest family-owned auto group in Kansas City. Operating a total of 11 dealerships throughout the region, the business prides itself on being the best place to purchase or service a vehicle in the Kansas City area. McCarthy Auto Group proudly employs over 650 employees and continues to expand its services and add jobs.

General Manager Tyler Gray has been with McCarthy Auto Group for four years and joined the Chamber a year ago.

“We are a member of the LGBT Chamber because we pride ourselves on being an inclusive and diverse organization that welcomes all employees and customers regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation,” Gray says. “We celebrate our differences and believe they make us a stronger team and business.”

Gray adds that joining the Mid-America LGBT Chamber of Commerce will give his company the exposure to programming and networking that he believes will help them to grow internal programs to ensure they are being as inclusive as possible to their amazing LGBT team members and customers.

“Being an openly gay dealer General Manager, it was important that we join an organization such as the LGBT Chamber in order to show our support for those who work with us, and choose to do business with us,” he says. “Making us a fully inclusive organization.”

McCarthy Auto Group gets involved in a large variety of philanthropic partnerships across the region.

“We specifically chose to partner with charities and organizations where our dealerships are located,” Gray says, adding that they are heavily involved with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Kansas City, Lawrence, and Western Central Missouri; the American Cancer Society, Lawrence Humane Society; Jadon’s Hope Foundation; Heroes for Hospice; and Make-A-Wish. They also provide high school and college football scholarships to deserving student-athletes.

So next time you’re in the market for a vehicle, consider this Chamber member organization that’s doing a lot of good in the community.

A Supportive Space for Everyone

The Kansas City Center for Inclusion brings people together

By Steven Craig Lindsey

In the heart of Kansas City’s Midtown neighborhood, The Kansas City Center for Inclusion (KCCI) offers a vast array of resources and services to the local LGBTQIA+ community. Currently located inside Plexpod Westport Commons, the organization got its start back in 2012 as LikeMe Lighthouse before being rebranded in 2017.

Emily High, Director of Community Engagement, got their start as a volunteer, then elected as a board member in the summer of 2021. They were hired as a KCCI employee in October 2021.

“KCCI is an affirming and supportive space for LGBTQIA+ people. We offer community resources, peer-led support groups, events and programs, education, and a welcoming space for queer folks to have fun, learn, grow, connect, build community, and live authentically,” they say. “As a queer community center, I'd say we go beyond including and welcoming LGBTQ+ employees and volunteers because we were designed by and for the LGBTQIA+ community.”

KCCI, a Chamber member organization, works in tandem with the organization to be a light in the darkness for so many who are often marginalized.

“We appreciate all that the Chamber does to uplift queer people in the community. Our missions are very much aligned,” High says. “I think we are particularly grateful for the Chamber’s ability to focus on supporting queer businesses, as it enables us to provide for other aspects of the community at large.”

Among the services KCCI provides are a Binder Exchange Program for Trans people who want flatter chests, a clothing closet stocked with seasonally appropriate clothes for any queer person in need, an annual prom for queer teens each spring, and a vast database of queer-supportive businesses and organizations in the area, from affirming therapists to hair salons and everything in between. It’s a lot of work for a small organization, but with continued support, they hope to expand their reach.

“We are a tiny operation with one full-time employee. Our board members work other full-time jobs and devote huge amounts of energy to KCCI in their free time. Our dreams are so much greater than our capacity at the moment, but we need support. We can only grow through the support of our community,” High says. “We would love to explore new ways to partner with LGBTQIA+ owned businesses, and we would hope that such a partnership would prove to be mutually beneficial.”

KCCI serves some of the highest needs individuals within the KC community, and can only sustain their work when more privileged members of the community show their support. Opportunities exist for needs large and small, from paying for pizza, to feed members of support groups to sponsoring gender-affirming surgeries.

Those interested should contact High at KCCI for these and other ways to help the organization thrive.

Serving the Community and Saving Lives

An inside look at last year’s
“Nonprofit of the Year”

By Steven Craig Lindsey

Opened in 1985 as Good Samaritan House, the first AIDS-specific hospice in Missouri, SAVE, Inc.’s roots trace directly back to the HIV epidemic. Renamed in 1987 as SAVE Home before landing on its current name in 1995, the organization has continued adding services throughout its nearly four-decade existence.

Today, the nonprofit serves nearly 2,000 individuals per year, providing supportive housing and tenant-based rental assistance (housing vouchers) for people living with HIV, mental illness and/or substance use disorders. They also operate Pride Haven, Kansas City’s only emergency shelter for LGBTQ youth ages 18-24 facing homelessness.

SAVE’s community campus occupies nine buildings spanning three square blocks and includes multiple residential components, including managed apartment properties for clients. Because the need is so high, a waitlist often exists.

Blaine Proctor, Chief Executive Officer, got his start with SAVE, Inc. as a volunteer and board member for 10 years before joining the staff, which he’s been a part of for eight years and counting.

“As a nonprofit housing provider, giving back to the community is our mission,” he says. “We work with some of the community’s most vulnerable and marginalized members and whether we refer them to another organization or provide services ourselves we make sure that they can connect to the resources they need.”

SAVE, Inc. has been recognized for its work through various awards, including the Missouri Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers Agency of the Year, and the US Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Community Planning and Development Spotlight on Excellence. Last year, SAVE, Inc. was awarded Nonprofit of the Year by the Mid-America LGBT Chamber.

“Being recognized for what you do is always amazing, but being acknowledged by your peers and members of the community you serve makes it all that more special,” Proctor says.

Proctor praises the work of the Chamber and the opportunities it provides for businesses and nonprofit organizations to network within the community.

“We have opportunities to advertise and recruit within a community that is supportive of our mission. The membership of the LGBT Chamber is incredibly supportive of the people we serve,” he says. “The Chamber helps provide unique exposure to a focused audience. There is an opportunity to excel.”

To learn more about SAVE, Inc., make a donation, or volunteer your time and talents, visit www.saveinckc.org.