2025 – A Year in Review
1 2025 was a special, momentous year for the Chamber as it celebrated not one but TWO
Annual Banquets! In February, we honored our Northlander of the Year, Sabin Yanez with CFS Engineers.
Additionally, in November, for the first time ever, we combined our Annual Auction and a bonus Banquet
into one epic evening! Our Wicked-themed event honored retired Executive Director of Platte County EDC
Alicia Stephens as our Northlander of the Year, along with several other individuals and businesses
that contributed to the Northland in 2025. Stay tuned for our next Annual Banquet and Auction in
November 2026!
2 Chamber staff members were busy at work this year hosting more than 100 committee
meetings. To get the most benefit from joining the Chamber, we encourage members to get involved in any
of the following committees: Ambassadors, Education, Golf Tournament, Leadership Northland, Legislative
Affairs, Northland Transportation, Parks & Recreation, and Planning & Development. Pictured: The Martin
T. Rucker Development Golf team flexing with their first-place victory at the Chamber’s 34th
Annual Golf Tournament.
3 Our membership continued to grow, and in 2025, we saw record-number attendance at
our annual and monthly events. Members can attend, host and/or sponsor any of our events including our
Annual Banquet and Auction, Golf Tournament, Pickleball Tournament, Excellence in Education Banquet and
the Battle of the Brains Trivia Tournament; along with our monthly networking events that include After
Hours, Luncheons, Morning Brews and 5th Friday Coffees. Pictured: The team at Summit Heating & Cooling
became the reigning champions at our 2025 Battle of the Brains Trivia Tournament.
4 You may have noticed a new committee in the Northland Chamber: the Northland
Transportation Committee. The mission of this newly formed group is to effectively move goods, people
and services across our region through safe, reliable and efficient transportation and infrastructure.
The committee is comprised of three working sub-committees that focus on legislative advocacy, MARC
representation and project prioritization through site-readiness. The committee has already seen
tremendous momentum and success in getting projects funded, started and finally completed. One milestone
in 2025 was the ground breaking for North Oak Trafficway between Briarcliff Parkway and N. 42nd Street.
This project has been 25 years in the making, struggling to get the attention it deserves, that finally
made it to fruition last fall. This transit-oriented corridor will improve road safety and
accessibility, add sidewalks and bus stops and serve as a functional roadway for drivers, pedestrians,
homeowners and businesses.
5 Last year, a celebration was held for another highly anticipated, and long-awaited
public amenity. In October 2025, the Kansas City Northern Miniature Railroad celebrated the grand
opening of its new expansion track! This amazing family-friendly Northland gem added more than 1,500
feet of new track, two new bridges, a diamond crossing, additional wooded areas and new picnic grounds
for family and friends to gather and make memories. This was all made possible by the many donors and
volunteers who helped raise awareness and funds for this campaign to match a generous grant donation by
KC Philanthropist Frank Thompson. We enjoyed several rides on the new track and can’t wait to go
back again!
6 The staff at the Northland Chamber loves nothing more than celebrating the
achievements of our members! As a benefit of your membership, you can host a ribbon cutting or
groundbreaking ceremony for any occasion. We had a record-breaking year for new members, and we’re
looking forward to another year of special ribbon-cutting and groundbreaking ceremonies. Pictured: A
special ribbon-cutting ceremony was held to celebrate the grand opening of Cooper’s Hawk Winery &
Restaurant.
7 While 2025 was certainly the year for historic ribbon cuttings and grand openings,
it was also a year for momentous groundbreakings! Last June, the Northland Chamber, the City of
Riverside and the Kansas City Current celebrated the groundbreaking of Riverside Stadium, a Performance
Center and Pitch Expansion project. Located south of the KC Current’s existing Training Facility
on NW Canal Street, these new facilities will include a 2,000-seat stadium, a state-of- the-art facility
focused on player development, agility and strength and the addition of four new grass soccer pitches
dedicated to youth play. When combined with the team’s previous sports-focused projects in
Riverside Horizons, the KC Current has invested more than $50 million in Riverside since 2021.
8 Our mission of supporting our business community, economic growth and quality of
life remains strong, as the Chamber staff continues to promote and support our members. One of our most
popular events, our monthly luncheons, remained strong with record-breaking attendance and positive
feedback. We are still in consistent communication with our businesses and remain committed to serving
our members and keeping our region strong! Pictured are two of our largest monthly luncheons in 2025:
Negro Leagues Baseball Musuem President Bobby Kendrick discussing the history of the museum and plans
for its new expansion and Visit KC and Greater Kansas City Sports Commission and Foundation CEO Kathy
Nelson providing updates about the world’s largest soccer event coming to Kansas City in summer
2026.
9 The Northland Chamber prides itself in being a resource for visitors, newcomers,
businesses and area residents. Every day the Chamber receives requests for goods, services and
legislative advocacy in the Northland region. Pictured: Several members of the Northland Chamber
traveled to Washington, D.C., to discuss our legislative priorities with our Senate and House
leadership, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
10 Finally, we want to give a sincere thank you to our Board of
Directors and our wonderful members for their support. We can honestly say we wouldn’t be here at
this moment without the leadership of our board, and the generosity of our members. We’re ready to
build upon the legacy of this Chamber, with 34 more years of successful projects, initiatives and growth
of our region. As we look ahead, rest assured we’ll still be here working for you to make our
region the safest, strongest and healthiest place to live, work and play. Pictured: The Northland
Chamber was invited to present at the Missouri Highway and Transportation Commission meeting in November
about the I-29/I-35 split. Last year, the Northland Chamber successfully received $1 million in federal
funding for this project and is applying for more grants to improve those interchanges and corridors.
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