EDCKC selects 2019 Cornerstone Awards finalists; May celebration to honor Emanuel Cleaver

March 4, 2019  |  Startland News Staff

Conerstone-Awards

Innovators and leaders in new construction, redevelopment, capital investments, job creation and expansion projects in Kansas City, Missouri, are set to be honored in late May at the 2019 Cornerstone Awards.

[pullquote]

The Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City, Missouri, is a 501c4 agency that works to retain and grow its resident businesses, attract high opportunity companies to locate in the city, and attract and retain a skilled and diverse workforce all to ensure a vibrant community and growing, self-sustaining economy.

[/pullquote]

The Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City, Missouri, (EDCKC) announced 22 finalists for the honors today.

“The Cornerstone Awards are a chance to take time out of our busy schedules to come together as a community to celebrate individual leaders and leading organizations that are propelling Kansas City, Missouri forward,” said Bob Langenkamp, president and CEO of the EDCKC, which selects the Cornerstone Award winners. “Without big thinkers, dreamers and doers, we wouldn’t be seeing the civic and economic progress we’re seeing in Kansas City, Missouri. There’s always more work to do, but this year’s finalists are truly inspiring.”

Cornerstone Award finalists include:

The number of honorees varies from year to year, with 10-12 typically selected. Winners are expected to be announced at the EDCKC’s annual Cornerstone Awards event 4 p.m. May 29 the Kansas City Marriott Downtown, Imperial Ballroom, a new venue for the celebration.

Click here for more on the Cornerstone Awards or to purchase tickets.

Congressman Emanuel Cleaver

Congressman Emanuel Cleaver

In keeping with Cornerstone Award tradition, a Lifetime Achievement award will be presented to an outstanding local leader who has been tirelessly dedicated to philanthropy, civic endeavors and the economic prosperity of Kansas City, Missouri. The 2019 Lifetime Achievement recipient is U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Missouri.

In addition, the event will highlight and elaborate on EDCKC’s three main initiatives:

  • EDCKC’s new minority business accelerator, which is set to launch this spring.
  • The Blue River Valley Industrial Corridor, a multi-year effort to unlock the development potential in more than 3,000 acres on the eastern edge of Kansas City, Missouri.
  • The EDCKC Loan Corp Program, dedicated to providing working capital to minority-owned, for-profit businesses in Kansas City, Missouri, who have previously been turned down by a financial institution.

Click here for more on the Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City, Missouri.

 

startland-tip-jar

TIP JAR

Did you enjoy this post? Show your support by becoming a member or buying us a coffee.

2019 Startups to Watch

    stats here

    Related Posts on Startland News

    Frustrated by the fit, this traveler-turned-swimwear founder crafted 10 pairs himself; now his trunk show is going global

    By Tommy Felts | December 3, 2025

    Opening a popup swimwear store in one of Atlanta’s most upscale malls represented a surge of momentum for Tristan Davis’ high-end brand that began not on a beach or a runway, but in Kansas City’s tight-knit startup community. “We’ve gone from an idea in a handmade bathing suit to a high fashion mall in less…

    Harvesting opportunity: How a KC chicken chain turned a strip of parking lot into its latest ingredient

    By Tommy Felts | December 2, 2025

    Months before snow blanketed Kansas City this week, Todd Johnson transformed a weed-filled, unusable portion of parking lot at his Lenexa restaurant into a flourishing garden that serves up fresh produce used in kitchens at all three of his Strips Chicken and Brewing locations in Johnson County. In its first season, Moonglow Gardens — as…

    AI evolved faster than rules to protect people; this founder wants to code ethics back into the tech

    By Tommy Felts | December 2, 2025

    Amber Stewart sees what many overlook in artificial intelligence, she said: the human cost of unregulated technology that can manifest as anything from sexist and racist outcomes to outright theft from willing and unwilling members of the public. “I’m not afraid of the tech,” said Stewart, founder and CEO of GuardianSync. “I’m afraid of unfettered…

    A romantic hideaway (for you and a book): Entrepreneur’s heart for reading opens store on Independence Square

    By Tommy Felts | December 2, 2025

    America Fontenot didn’t plan to launch her new Independence bookstore on national Small Business Saturday — the busiest shopping weekend of the year — but renovation delays just kept pushing back the opening, she said. So while many small shops were offering Black Friday-adjacent deals to get customers in the front door, Fontenot’s The Littlest…