The Annual Southtown Beautification Awards Dinner held at Benjamin Ranch on May 12 honored 12 area organizations and individuals: Small businesses- Mad Jack’s Restaurant and Hall’s Sales and Service; Medium businesses- Soil Service Nursery and Greg Patterson & Associates (revitalization of storefronts within the 5500 block of Troost); Institution- Stowers Institute- Support Facility and UMKC’s Oak Place Apartments; and Good Housekeeping Award- Center High School, thanks to the student and faculty work on the green house and growing of plants. Volunteers from the UMKC Office of Student Life and UMKC Alumni Association were recognized for the planting of 75,000 tulips this past year. Bill Kalahurka, Capital Consultants, received the Southtowner of the Year Award for his many hours of volunteerism and Jackson County Legislative Chairman Scott Burnett was selected for the Public Achievement Award after he assisted the Council in the formation of the Public Affairs Committee as well as many other community projects, locally and nationally.
Special thanks to the following sponsors of the event: BKS Properties/Cosentino’s Food, Commerce Bank, Kansas City Parks Department, Missouri Gas Energy, Muehlebach Funeral Home, Research Medical Center, Rockhurst University, Top Innovations, and UMKC.