the Skinny
News from the Lee’s Summit Economic Development Council - November 2015 INSIDE: Note from EDC President Rick McDowell... Kylie Lawson, Administrative Assistant....November Luncheon highlight....Upcoming Events...Investor Spotlight... Saint Luke’s Lands Chamber Award....Bushyhead, LLC Ribbon Cutting....Marketing and PR....KCADC Annual Meeting...Social Media 1-2-3....
President Update Seasons greetings! The holidays are typically the time that things slow down in economic development, but that is not what we are seeing these last two months of the year at the Lee’s Summit EDC. As 2015 winds down, we are seeing a flurry of activity and look forward to sharing some new project announcements with you in the coming weeks. On Nov. 9, I joined KCADC on its mission to promote data center development in the region. Hundreds of decision makers in the tech space attend the IMN Data Center conference each year. I spent three days selling the Kansas City region and Lee’s Summit as the premiere Midwest location for data center projects. I will be working with KCADC in the coming months to follow up with prospects from the conference. We anticipate sharing some exciting news in the first quarter of 2016! Over the past two months, I have been busy recruiting “Champions” in the local commercial real estate brokerage community to partner with LSEDC on promoting a Lee’s Summit location for business expansion and retention. Stay tuned for details about our new broker outreach program, which kicked off in October and will resume in January. Finally, LSEDC is thrilled to welcome Kylie Lawson as our new administrative assistant. Kylie joined our team in mid November. She will quickly jump into the daily routine so expect to see communication coming from her soon in your in-box. I want to thank all of you for your support of LSEDC in recent months, and we look forward to closing out 2015 on a strong note!
Yours Truly,
Kylie Lawson, Administrative Assistant Kylie is a military wife. Her husband Matt is stationed here and serves at the Reserve Office full time. He is scheduled to retire in a few years with 20 years active duty. They look forward to the next chapter in making this area their home with their 2 children, Pershing and Lucy Belle.
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Residential projects take center stage at November Luncheon Our monthly luncheon was held November 4 at the Gamber Community Center where Advisory level Investors received project overviews and updates on John Knox Village’s $90 million expansion program, as well as Northpoint Development’s 309-unit Residences at Longview multifamily project at Longview and Kessler. Mark Pomerenke, VP of Operations at Northpoint Development mentioned how easy it was during construction to do business with Lee’s Summit. They are looking forward to more opportunities to do so in the future. John Knox Village President and CEO Dan Rexroth shared detailed highlights about all of their expansion projects including notable amenities such as lake or golf views, an aquatics center and a movie theatre. “This expansion will redefine the Village experience, while enabling John Knox Village to continue to offer seniors the lifestyle, freedom and convenience they demand and expect for many years to come, “ Rexroth said. ~ Be sure to check our News Page for a link to the EDC article in the Lee’s Summit Journal We would like to thank Dan and Mark for their informative presentations!
Upcoming Events..... Holiday Party, December 2nd - 5pm to 7pm, Longview Mansion Investor Luncheon, January 6th - 11:30am to 2:00pm, Unity Village Real Estate Broker Networking Event, January 21st**, TBD Board Breakfast, January 28th - 7:30am to 9am, Emaline Ballroom Advisory Luncheon, February 3rd - 11:30am to 2:00pm, TBD
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Investor Spotlight New Printer Helps Bennett Packaging Roll Out The Right Stuff In October, Bennett Packaging Displays hosted city officials for a look at its new high-speed digital press. LSEDC assisted Bennett Packaging with securing financing for the capital investment and recently spoke with CFO Mark Edwards about the new equipment. LSEDC: What is so unique about your new high-speed digital press? Mr. Edwards: It enables us to print at a high rate of speed onto corrugate (boxes). In the digital world, in the past it has taken several minutes to print out a corrugate sheet, but with this particular machine, we can print about ten times faster than in the past. LSEDC: This digital press was actually created by accident. Tell us more. Mr. Edwards: The machine is made by Barberan, SA based in Barcelona, and Barberan’s claim to fame has actually been printing onto laminates, desks, paneling and doors. But during the economic downturn, their ink supplier asked them if they could try to print on corrugate, and so they tried it on their machine, and it worked perfectly. LSEDC: How many of these printing presses are there in the world? Mr. Edwards: We are the only company in the U.S. with this particular brand of printing press. There are only about three or four of them worldwide. We are fortunate to have the machine because it significantly improves our efficiency while maintaining high quality output. Bennett Packaging Displays Business Activity: Manufacturer, warehouse and distribution of corrugate boxes, displays, packaging supplies. Annual revenue: $72 million Employees: 241 (210 in Lee’s Summit) Headquarters: Lee’s Summit, MO. Additional Locations: Independence, Mo; Kansas City, Mo; Wichita, Kan.
We would like to welcome: NEW INVESTOR Francie Terry, General Manager
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(continued....) Outstanding Growth Helps Saint Luke’s Land Chamber Award
Saint Luke’s East Hospital has been named one of eight 2015 Fast Track Award winners by the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The Chamber applauded Saint Luke’s for hitting nearly $900 million in gross revenues in 2014, an increase of nearly 50 percent over the last years. This is only the second time an acute care hospital has been named a recipient of the award in its 12-year history. ~ Be sure to check our News Page for the full news release
Bushyhead, LLC - Record-breaking Ribbon Cutting! Our very own Vice Chair, Christine Bushyhead co-hosted an Open House this month along with her shared residents, Land3 Studio and Fossil Forge Design in downtown Lee’s Summit. I believe it could’ve been mistaken for a red carpet event as “anyone whose anyone” was there! The law firm continues to work for both private and public sector clients in land use, development, economic incentives and real estate transactions. Bushyhead LLC is now located at 315 SE Main Street. Congratulations on the big move Christine! We look forward to having you so close. ~
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Marketing and PR picks up in November November was a busy month in LSEDC’s marketing and PR department. The local print media ran articles about growth in Lee’s Summit’s tourism and leisure industry and the Lee’s Summit Fellows program, as well as a metro-wide appeal to “Shop Local” in historic Downtown Lee’s Summit this holiday season. You can check out Rick’s tourism column, which was printed in the Eastern Jackson County Business Review, next month on our news feed and social media. Rick’s Thanksgiving holiday reflection about the Lee’s Summit Fellows from Cambodia and The Philippines was sent out in an E-Blast the day before Thanksgiving, but look for it to be published locally as well. And check out our “Shop Local” article, which ran in The Star and the Lee’s Summit Journal, through a link on our Facebook page.
Sponsoring the KCADC“Big Show” The Kansas City Area Development Council (KCADC) spared no expense this year for their Annual Meeting with the message of a FEARLESS KC and a continued hype from the World Series winning Royals. #BeDaringKC @ithinkKC Ron LeMay was the featured keynote speaker and enforced the entrepreneur spirit of working, living and growing companies here in KC. The LSEDC enjoyed it’s upgrade in table ranking this year with spots #14 and #15 located front row, right. Let’s just say it gave us a little “swagger” as we headed to our seats. Sponsorship allowed Lee’s Summit to be present on all advertisement including signage, program materials and website. This year’s big announcement is the retirement of Bob Marcusse who has spent the last 25 years as the CEO for KCADC. Shortly after the annual meeting it was made official that Tim Cowden, Senior Vice President of Business Development would be named as the new CEO & President for the organization effective January 31st. Tim will continue to lead efforts in the expansion and relocation of corporations to Kansas City along with his other responsibilities.
“We are especially delighted to hear this news. Tim is a long time friend and collegue of mine. I look forward to more great wins together.” - Rick McDowell
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Follow us on Social Media! We’re beefing up our social media presence! You can find us on Twitter @LSEconDevC. Please “Like” us on Facebook at Lee’s Summit Economic Development Council and be sure to tag us in your Instagram photos at LSEconDevCo. If you’ve got exciting news you want to share, reach out to Tina Chace at tchace@leessummit.org.
We love to hear from our investors and the Lee’s Summit business community on Twitter and Facebook. Share your good news with us on our Facebook page and on Twitter. And don’t forget the 3 P’s of Posting on social media: •
Props
- Give props to valued partners and a job well done
• Promote
- Use social media to spread the word about upcoming events, policy changes or newsworthy announcements
• Be Polite
- If you wouldn’t speak it into a microphone in front of a crowd, don’t post it.
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