Longtime community leaders Alvin Brooks and Carol McClure were among those honored at the First Annual South Kansas City Alliance (SKCA) Awards Breakfast on May 24.
Brooks, former Kansas City Mayor Pro Tem and 6th District City Councilman, received the Lifetime Service Award from the SKCA. He is the founder of the AdHoc Group Against Crime and a former president and current member of the Board of Police Commissioners.
Carol McClure, co-chair and a longtime leader of the Southern Communities Coalition, was honored with the Judy Swope Good Neighbor Award. The award is named after former 6th District City Councilwoman and neighborhood leader Judy Swope.
About 250 persons, including many elected officials and neighborhood and community leaders, attended the breakfast at the Avila University Athletic Pavilion. The event had to be moved to a larger facility since it outgrew its original location.
“Numerous people like Alvin Brooks and Carol McClure have volunteered thousands of hours to help make this a better community,” said John Sharp, SKCA Awards Committee Chair. “Honoring them for their community service is long overdue.”
Properly recognizing neighborhood and community leaders, outstanding government employees and good corporate citizens will be an annual event, according to Stacey Johnson-Cosby, SKCA President.
“We are seeing tremendous progress in south Kansas City,” she said, “and much of it wouldn’t have been possible without the cooperative efforts of neighborhood, government and business leaders. We want to make sure they know the community appreciates their efforts.”
Other award recipients were:
Outstanding Neighborhood Organization – Marlborough Community Coalition
Outstanding Community Service – Trailside Center Co-Director Ann O’Hare and United Services Community Action Agency
Good Corporate Citizenship – Morgan Miller Plumbing and Kissick Construction
Outstanding Government Service – Kansas City Codes Inspector Brandi Champ and Kansas City Parks and Recreation Department Parks Planner Richard Allen
Outstanding Public Safety Service – Kansas City Fire Fighter John Mesh who died in the line of duty and Kansas City Police Department Sergeant Corey Carlisle
Outstanding Educational Achievement Program – the Compass Program at Burke Elementary School and the Triple A Program at Hartman Elementary School
The Awards Breakfast was sponsored by CenterPoint Properties; Cerner Corporation; the City of Kansas City, MO; Lane4 Property Group; KCMO Councilman Kevin McManus; and Metropolitan Community College (Longview).