Once again, it’s election time, as you can tell by the proliferation of political signs, letters to the editor, and junk mailings filling up our mail boxes. There are politicians who say they represent our interests, politicians who say they aren’t politicians, and opinion column writers, current and former politicians. How do we weed out the facts from the spin and make good decisions in selecting our next leaders? It’s difficult if not impossible to effectively verify the statements made by politicians in a timely manner. We often believe what we read or hear, especially if we know or trust the source.

As I read the letters to the editor and added my own comments to several, it occurred to me that those letters have been written with the best of intentions, usually to help friends with their efforts to win an election. Letters of support to express our own individual opinion of the person, not necessarily that the person we are supporting will in the end vote the way we think they should. Our elected officials surprise us at times with their comments, and their votes not always in sync.

So how do we as voters figure out whom to cast our vote for? Whom do we believe? The answer is simple and hard at the same time. We should make every effort to learn more about the people we are supporting, and we should dig more deeply than just our personal relationship with that person. Friendship is one thing; voting is another.

I really wasn’t surprised when I read Ron Fowler’s letter to the editor supporting Sheila Solon, as they are longtime political friends with similar positions on local issues. Ron wrote about how Sheila voted against multi-family housing complexes. What he didn’t mention is that she votes for them as well. Right or wrong, she is inconsistent on this issue. Once in February 2003 she voted to put multi-family zoning on Adams Dairy Parkway and twice that I recall in 2007 while I was on the council serving with her.

Ron also talks about Sheila voting against sales taxes. Those votes were actually against the new retail development on Adams Dairy Parkway. The next time you sit down for dinner at Olive Garden or shop at Target or Gordman’s, consider that she fought hard to stop Adams Dairy Landing from coming to town. Just before she left city office, she worked very hard to scale back Missouri Innovation Park from its original 500 acres to just 100 acres. Her actions would have restricted job growth in Blue Springs at a time when we need more high-quality jobs. Again, she is inconsistent after making “real jobs” a focal point of her council campaign.

Former Councilman Solon, as pointed out by Mayor Ross in a recent article, was very ineffective as an elected official while on the City Council. I expect it would be no different in Jefferson City. Fortunately, the voters have a choice on Aug. 3. I would recommended giving strong consideration to Mike Parker. I’ve spent some time getting to know him and believe that he will best represent the interests of his constituents and will be an effective leader.

Contact: Dr. Aston Goldsworthy, D.C. Blue Springs Chiropractic Health Center

1127 West Main St. Blue Springs, MO 64015 Phone 816.229.1941 Fax 816.229.7085

Blue Springs Chiropractic Health Center

Press Release

A local Chiropractic office makes the adjustment in adding a wide variety of new medical services.

Blue Springs, MO, June 28, 2010: Blue Springs Chiropractic Health Center announces the launch of several new medical-related service offerings. At their state-of-the-art facility on Main St. in downtown Blue Springs, the father-son chiropractors excel at being able to understand and treat a wide variety of patient needs.

Serving residents of Eastern Jackson County for over 35 years, Blue Springs Chiropractic Health Center has always been a leader in the healthcare industry. Dr. Patrick Goldsworthy and Dr. Aston Goldsworthy have helped thousands of patients experience relief from back pain using their innovative techniques. Now patients can see the doctors at Blue Springs Chiropractic Health Center for the following, in addition to pain relief:

· Department of Transportation (DOT) physicals

· Drug Testing (employer required or personal)

· Affordable Paternity Testing (court Admissible)

· Micro nutrient testing

· Blood-work for a wide range of purposes (physician requested or personal)

· Hormone, thyroid or adrenal panels

· Lifestyle, nutrition, and exercise counseling

To learn more about the Doctors, staff or any of the service offerings at Blue Springs Chiropractic Health Center, please visit www.bluespringschiro.com or call 816.229.1941.

Click more below to read entire press release!

More...

The past few weeks have been an adventure, one that I have dreamed of for 30 years. Last summer we purchased a Gold Wing motorcycle from Dell’s Powersports, setting the stage for a touring vacation.

We spent 12 glorious days exploring North and South Dakota, culminating in the Smidt family reunion in White, S.D. My two great aunts, 96 and 101 years young, along with many members of my maternal grandfather’s family, enjoyed a great reunion. Our travels took us to the Crazy Horse Memorial, Mount Rushmore, Needles Highway, Spearfish Canyon, Standing Rock Indian Reservation, the Corn Palace, Laura Ingalls Wilders’ Homestead and Pageant, and the cities of Brookings and White. What a truly remarkable country we live in!

When we arrived in Brookings, a city of about 20,000, we spent a little time seeing the sights and discovering hidden treasures. Tree-lined streets with sidewalks set far back from the right of way enhanced the walk-ability and attractiveness of the community. Their downtown is vibrant and focused on local business, dining, and entertainment. Like many cities along an interstate highway, their business community also included national chain stores and restaurants at their interchanges. Similar to Blue Springs, Brookings has its own economic development corporation collaborating with the city to achieve balance, as it pursues opportunities for growth and development.

Blue Springs was again recently honored by Money magazine as one of the “Best Places to Live,” ranking us 49th out of a total 100 cities honored. Our low cost of living, nationally recognized schools and low tax rates helped us stand out among the 746 cities considered for recognition.

It is a blessing to live in one of the best cities in America, but that blessing requires commitment from our residents and our elected leaders. One of our long-standing challenges is the revitalization of our downtown. The city has adopted a blueprint for that revitalization that will allow our downtown to grow to a size that is appropriate in relationship to our current population. Our downtown business owners, city government and Chamber of Commerce continue to work hard to provide and promote events that encourage residents and visitors to the downtown area. These events help to generate the synergy necessary to make our downtown thrive.

By working together, we have the ability to make this happen. There are those in our community with the available resources to bring more business opportunities into our downtown. However, they need the confidence that we will support those businesses once they open their doors. We need to focus on local innovation and creating a unique mix of businesses that will make our downtown a destination for residents and visitors alike.

Thought you might like to know that we recently signed a new lease for the former Steamin' Bean Coffee shop at 1875 NW Highway 7. Thus, the location didn't remain vacant for long. This free-standing building is located out in front of the Dickinson Theatre location.

The building will become a new Subway restaurant. Having a drive thru will be a relatively unique feature among area Subway units.
Sincerely,

Marty Hugo
Real Estate Dynamics, Inc.
6045 Martway, Suite 101
Mission, KS 66202
Phone: 913.432.8800

www.RealEstateDynamics.com

Buy a Brick and make a difference for the St. Mary's Medical Center Foundation A Great Father's Day Gift! The St. Mary's Medical Center Foundation is offering a new and unique opportunity to commemorate a loved one and support the mission and services of the medical center at the same time. For $50, donors can purchase a custom laser-engraved brick that will be placed in the Garden Walkway at St. Mary's Medical Center's Garden of Memories. $25 of the cost is a tax-deductible charitable gift.  Bricks can be customized with graphics as well as inscriptions.  Remember a loved one or honor a friend or colleague with this special gift that helps pave the way for the continuing healthcare ministry of St. Mary's Medical Center For more information or an order form, contact the St. Mary's Medical Center Foundation at 816-655-5366 or sdellstclair@carondelet.com.

St. Mary's Medical Center Foundation | 201 NW R.D. Mize Road | Blue Springs | MO | 64014

On June 17, 2010 New Landings is hosting a Business Summit involving area business leaders and our unemployed and employed professional workforce. If you plan to attend and have not registered, please do so as soon as possible.  We are opening this event to the public and would like to make sure our membership has available seating.

The focus of the Business Summit is on how businesses are sustaining momentum in this economic climate, the challenges our communities face, and how all of us can work together to find solutions.  For a detailed listing of our distinguished panelists, please view the attachment.  

At the Summit, we will unite business leaders and job seekers in a collaborative and productive dialog designed to identify new solutions to the challenges at hand. Simply stated, our state and nation is in desperate need of new and innovative ideas on how to effectively deal with the national unemployment rate of 9.7%. We believe our people are the finest, yet untapped resources we have to nationally address this issue.

Topics we will address include:

? How can we encourage business leaders and entrepreneurs to create new jobs?

? How do we empower people to more creatively engage and support employers who may be at a transitional place in terms of job creation?

? What are the issues that are mission critical to the business community’s ability to create and sustain new job positions?

? What can we do as a community to better support both the local businesses and job seekers, to enable a more efficient or effective process of job creation?

The event will be held June 17, 2010 in Yardley Hall** on the Johnson County Community College campus from 6:30 – 8:30 pm. It will be facilitated by Elizabeth Allen, a widely acclaimed business advocate and expert facilitator.

Note: Seating is limited for this event. There is no charge to attend and pre-registration is required.  RSVP at http://events.linkedin.com/New-Landings-Business-Summit/pub/326512 . Please click on” View Full Event Profile” to register.  If you do not have a LinkedIn account, please send your registration to nlbizsummit@yahoo.com. If you would like to submit a question for our panel, please send it to nlbizsummit@yahoo.com.

**   Directions – The Carlson Center is on the SW corner of the College and Quivira intersection in Overland Park. Yardley Hall is inside the Carlson Center on the North side of the campus. Parking is available immediately to the north of the building. Note that school is in session, so arrive early to ensure convenient parking.

Please note dress attire is business casual. 

 

New Landings Business Summit Panelists

Elizabeth Allen, Principal Consultant, MarketSmartz.  Elizabeth has developed a proprietary sales and marketing system called CODE^Ò. CODE^Ò is a highly effective sales system that teaches "technical experts" how to effectively sell like the entrepreneur.  CODE^Ò is being adapted for application to the unemployed: CODE^Ò for Free Agents is the subject of Elizabeth's forthcoming book Thriving In An Economy Of One.

Sam Atieh, President & CEO, American College of Technology (ACOT).  ACOT is dedicated to delivering high quality, innovative, affordable, and accessible educational opportunities and services that focus on skills and career building for students.  Mr. Atieh has developed various computer systems and applications for schools, airports, hospitals, military, retailers and manufacturers in various languages.  Mr. Atieh brings his practical experience and on-campus teaching skills to his online students.

Don Jalbert, VP Sales & Marketing, CTI Solutions, Inc., a leading provider of technology products and services for business, education, healthcare and retail. Don is responsible for developing and implementing both short and long-term strategic plans to grow the business, managing key customer relationships, and participating in the recommendation and development of new products and specialties.

Brad Justice is co-founder of Team Office, a full-service office furniture company with nationwide delivery.  He is also President of Justice and Associates, a personal development company and author of The Holy Grail of Selling, a how-to book on professional selling. During his 25 year career in sales, Brad has successfully sold clothing, advertising, furniture and more. He lives in Overland Park with his wife Cathie and their two children, Peyton and Cole.

Shawn Kinkade is a full time licensed Professional Business Coach and the President of Aspire Business Development, a business strategy, consulting and coaching company.  He works with business owners and professionals who have hit a ceiling on their business and are looking for traction and momentum to move up to the next level.  Shawn’s past experience has been a mix of Management Consulting at Accenture and as a Corporate Executive at Sprint PCS.  Both roles required extensive work on developing and fixing business processes, leadership, coaching and counseling, and a dedicated focus on solving business problems.

David Longstreet is a consultant with clients in every corner of the globe. His ideas are persuasive and thought provoking, yet he maintains the perfect mix of educator and entertainer. David blends his practical experience with academic research. He is a member of the Academy of Management, the American Economic Society, and has written numerous articles and two books. He is an adjunct professor of graduate level economics and statistics in both the business and psychology departments at Avila University.

Marquita Miller, President, Five Star Tax & Business Solutions.  At Five Star Tax & Business Solutions, Marquita equips clients to understand and play a positive role in their businesses financial future. Marquita has over thirteen years of accounting and tax experience in various industries. She has worked with non-profit, technology, engineering, travel, financial, healthcare, and small business firms, and is the host of a weekly small business radio show, “Market Place Ministries”.

Andrew Nave, Economic Developer with the Overland Park Chamber of Commerce / Economic Development Council.  The Overland Park Chamber Economic Development Council's (OPEDC) mission is to attract, expand and retain the Overland Park business base.   Andrew will be speaking to area business development and potential growth in the Kansas City area.

Jeff Oddo, President, Citywide Maintenance.  City Wide Maintenance is a “Total Solution” for building maintenance, offering commercial janitorial and many other building maintenance services needed by nearly every facility, business and commercial property.  In 1996, the company franchised, and Jeff shifted the company from being a local operational company to a national sales and management company.

Michael Rapken, COO, Genesis10.  Genesis10 is one of the fastest growing, privately-held business and technology firms in the United States and has brought over 150 jobs to the Kansas City area in support of Bank of America.

Jon Schram, President, The Purple Guys.  The Purple Guys have grown over 25% each year since its inception. They have been recognized by the Kansas City Business Journal every year as one of the “Top 25 Network Support Companies” and also one of the “Best Places to Work” in Kansas City. The Purple Guys provide managed services / outsourced IT support to over 70 locations representing over $1B in revenue in the local community.  It has been said of Jon: “Jon is the definition of an entrepreneur.  He is always thinking of new ways to accomplish the tasks at hand and continually trying to improve process.”

Dennis Thompson, COO, Walton Construction, a leader in pre-construction, general contracting, design-build, and construction management services.

Chuck Vanasse, CEO of Prio, Inc.  Chuck is a pessimistic optimist who believes that most people will be better because of our current economic situation. In Chuck’s words, “The benefits of character will far exceed the costs of the miserable times to get character. The payoff is clear. For a person or an economy, bad times season us.”

 

Article about the summit:

http://sunpublications.com/201006094419/news/group-evolves-from-job-club-sponsors-business-summit.html

Sometimes hope is found in the simplest of places. Monday evening, the Blue Springs City Council unanimously passed a consent agenda containing hope that the K-Mart building at 40 and 7 Highways may soon find new life and new opportunities.

Since 2003, the vacant building has been a frustration for residents and city officials, as many looked for ways to eliminate the blight that K-Mart’s closing brought to that intersection. One of the challenges in addressing the situation involved the bankruptcy proceedings that continued for several years after the store closed. It was not until late in 2006 those Tri-Land properties purchased the site and began the process of exploring options with the city regarding possible redevelopment. Several years have again passed, leaving people to wonder if anything is ever going to happen. More...

The Coffee Shack is a locally owned and operated coffee shop located at Bristol Park near the Grain Valley, MO airport. Offering FREE Wi-Fi, The Roasterie Coffee & Homemade Pastries. We are here to serve you Monday - Friday 6am to 3pm.