Nominations for the Centurions Alumni Board are due in March. We welcome all new and existing alums to participate on the Alumni Board. There are board positions open as well as committee positions, include president elect, secretary, treasurer, and active liaison. Space is available for participants on the Projects, Social, and Membership & Communications committees. Please send nominations to President-Elect Paul Fogel.



Upcoming Events

Mark your calendar for these events open to Centurions alumni.

Women's Forum I | 4:30 p.m. | Wednesday, March 10, 2010 | Sunlighten
All Centurions women are cordially invited to the Centurions Women’s Leadership Forum, an exclusive event sponsored by Sunlighten and designed to celebrate our community’s strong female leadership while inspiring women in Kansas City to become even more effective leaders in the years ahead. Join us in sharing candid conversations, learning new leadership skills, and hearing inspirational stories from some of Kansas City’s most influential and successful women. This event is open to active Centurions and alumni. RSVP to Catherine McComb.

Women’s Forum II | 4:30 p.m. | Tuesday, May 4, 2010 | Lathrop & Gage, LLP
Please save the date to attend Centurions' second women's forum on the year. Look for more details in the coming months.

Spring Alumni/Active Project
Centurions alumni take on one project each spring and fall. Please join us for this important and meaningful opportunity to support this year’s legacy project, the MLK School!

As this year’s legacy project the Centurions actives have identified the Martin Luther King School at 42nd Street and Indiana Avenue. Groups of actives have “adopted” a classroom, and the alumni are adopting a classroom as well.

The classroom needs to be cleaned up and painted. We will talk to the teacher and the kids about what type of environment and supplies will be most beneficial.

Please contact Christine Murray to indicate your willingness to join other alums in sprucing up this learning environment for Kansas City’s kids.

If you are unable to help with the classroom makeover but can contribute financially for paint, supplies, books, or other items, please click here.

Kansas City Day | 6 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. | Monday, April 5, 2010
We still need a couple of corner captains for Greater Kansas City Day. Plus there is plenty of space for volunteers! E-mail Sean Wheeler to get involved.

Centurions will be organized into groups of five or six and will be asked to solicit donations for Rotary Youth Camp and another charity to be selected for Centurions alumni.

Donations may be collected for opening day game tickets. We will know more about the tickets once we have the kickoff meeting.
This is a rain-or-shine event. Dress warmly and be prepared to get wet! Bring umbrellas and ponchos.

Awards

Nominations for Centurions Leadership Award
Deadline: Friday, February 26
Please send to: Christine Murray

At the Centurions Awards Reception we will award the 24th annual Centurions Leadership Award. Not only is this reception an excellent recruiting opportunity, but it also recognizes individuals in the community who exemplify the ideals and goals of the Centurions program.

The Centurion Leadership Award is presented to a community leader who embodies the spirit of Centurions. Last year's recipient of this award was Bernard Franklin. Individuals such as Henry Bloch, Crosby Kemper, Bill Dunn, and Adele Hall are past award recipients who have embodied the Centurions spirit. Nominees need not be members of the Centurions program.

Please send your nominations for the 2010 Centurions Leadership Award to Christine Murray by February 26. Please provide a description of the characteristics that qualify your candidate for this award as well as a brief biography if possible.

Thank you for your attention to this request.

Past Centurions Leadership Award Recipients:
2009 – Bernard Franklin
2008 – Lee Derrough
2007 - Shirley & Barnett Helzberg
2006 - The Honorable Kay Barnes
2005 - Jeffrey W. Comment
2004 - James E. and Virginia G. Stowers
2003 - The Honorable Carol S. Marinovich
2002 - Thomas A. McDonnell
2001 - The Honorable Fernando Gaitan, Jr.
2000 - Henry W. Bloch
1999 - Buck O’Neil
1998 - Jack C. Craft
1997 - William Nelson
1996 - Dr. Samuel Rodgers
1995 - R. Crosby Kemper
William H. Dunn
Alvin L. Brooks
Anita Gorman
Adele Hall
Mayor Emanuel Cleaver
Albert P. Mauro
H. Marshall Chatfield

Bernard Powell Award Nominations
The Bernard Powell Award was established in 1980 in memory of the award’s namesake, who was a renowned community activist in Kansas City. It is in that spirit of community involvement and activism that we seek nominations for the 2010 award. We ask that all Centurions give thoughtful consideration to a Centurions alumnus who has exemplified these traits.

In the interim, please take a few moments and complete the nomination form to nominate a deserving Centurions alumnus for the 2010 Bernard Powell Award. The selection committee, consisting of all previous award winners, will meet to make their selection. Please send your nominations to Christine Murray by March 1.

Thank you for your help in recognizing a deserving colleague by participating in the nomination process.

Profile

Doug Kramer
U.S. Department of Justice, Antitrust Division
Class of 2009

What do you do? I’m counsel to Christine Varney, assistant attorney general for the Antitrust Division at the Department of Justice; currently on detail to the White House.

What do you really do? Ask very powerful and famous people really embarrassing questions.

Favorite movie: Just one? No way. Let’s start with “Into the Wild,” “Waiting for Guffman,” and “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.”

A must-read: Cormac McCarthy’s “The Road” (or anything by Milan Kundera).

The one thing you brag about in Kansas City: Obviously BBQ, but also the arts scene.

What was your favorite part of Centurions? The friendships, the really amazing friendships.

Looking back on the program, the one thing you would have done differently is: Stolen Christine’s job.

Maximize Your Centurions Alumni Association Membership

Now is the perfect time to resolve to join or renew your membership to the Centurions Alumni Association. Your hard work and dedication to the program as an active means you have all the rights and responsibilities of a Centurions alumnus. This one-of-a-kind network of your fellow movers and shakers in Kansas City was never more valuable than right now, when keeping in touch can make a big difference in your career. Or maybe you are looking for a nonprofit board to join or for a qualified and motivated Centurion alum to join your favorite nonprofit board. Or perhaps you’re just looking for the friendly faces and social scene that seems to follow Centurions wherever they go.

Being a paid member of your Centurions Alumni Association helps pave the way for alumni communications, events, and projects like:
• Membership directory
• Annual holiday social
• Quarterly socials for alumni
• Mayor’s breakfast
• Annual alumni event (at which current Chamber Chairman and UMB Bank, n.a., CEO Peter deSilva spoke last year)

Plus, a portion of your dues goes toward scholarships for active Centurions who are employed at small businesses.

So take time now, to join or renew your Centurions Alumni Association membership, and make the most of your alumni status. Call Catherine McComb at 816-374-5464 or e-mail Catherine to request an invoice. Do it today!