Living Legend Leadership Award

March 7th 2013

The Living Legend Award was created to recognize a female leader who has exhibited exemplary leadership in their professional, business, and community involvement.

The first annual Living Legends Award Luncheon, held on November 12, 2010, honored Ms. Joanne Collins. Ms. Collins has held Presidential, Gubernatorial, Regional, County and Local appointments. Previously, Joanne served as a KCMO City Council Member-at-Large for 17 years. The HWLC chose to honor Ms. Collins because of her many years of energetic civic engagement and volunteer service to the community.

In 2011, HWLC chose the Hon. Kay Barnes to receive a Living Legends honor. Barnes was elected Kansas City’s first female mayor in 1999, and re-elected in 2003. She is largely credited with the revival of downtown Kansas City, Missouri, having enthusiastically encouraged the construction of key developments such as the Sprint Center Arena (built in 2007) and the neighboring Kansas City Live! entertainment district. She now serves at Park University’s Hauptmann School for Public Affairs as the founding Director of the Center for Leadership.

The Emerging Leader award was established in 2011 to highlight a emerging female professional who best exemplifies the traits of volunteerism, community service, and achievement in her chosen profession. The HWLC’s first Emerging Leader award recipient, Theresa Garza Ruiz, was elected to the Jackson County Legislator for the 1st District At-Large in 2006 and re-elected in 2010. She has demonstrated her commitment to improving Jackson County through her extensive involvement with a myriad of community, civic, and political organizations.

2013 Ticket Purchase $35.00

5:30 – 8:00 pm
National Airline History Museum

201 NW Lou Holland Dr Kansas City, MO 64116

Keynote Speaker: JEANETTE PRENGER

Jeanette Hernandez Prenger is founder and CEO of ECCO Select, an award-winning technology and human enterprise provider. Prenger, while working for a Fortune 100 Company in 1995, saw a gap in needs for IT consulting. She initially ran her company out of her bedroom and today has offices in Kansas City and DC. ECCO is recognized as one of the top Kansas City MBE/WBE IT firms and one of the top 500 Hispanic Businesses in the US. ECCO Select, having survived and thrived through a variety of economic and industry climates, serves a distinguished list of Fortune 500 clients and government agencies. Jeanette and ECCO Select are grounded in giving back to the community. Since 1997, ECCO Select has been the proud supporter of various not-for-profits in Kansas City. Beneficiaries include organizations that help children, provide assistance to those in need, advocate for business and support the arts. Prenger and her staff are happy to have made meaningful contributions and positively impacting our community by supplying time, talent and treasures.