No Coast names finalists for KC’s premier tech champions; winners revealed Sept. 16
August 26, 2020 | Startland News Staff
Inspirational leaders impacting tech aren’t confined to the coasts — nor to a pre- or post-pandemic world, said organizers of the No Coast awards, pushing forward with plans to honor significant contributions to Kansas City’s tech community virtually this fall.
“We all know someone who makes waves everywhere they go — someone who, whether they’re working overtime or having a casual conversation with a coworker, is naturally disrupting, innovating and inspiring change,” said the KC Tech Council, organizer of No Coast, in an announcement of finalists. “As much as we love tech, they achieve something not even the most advanced AI could learn. They encourage people to create positive change.”
Finalists for No Coast’s top honors — Tech Champion of the Year, Tech Connector of the Year, Outstanding Contribution to Tech, and Tech Educator of the Year — were revealed Monday, recognizing a host of contenders from across Kansas City’s tech, government, education and nonprofit scenes.
Blake Miller, Homebase
Ed Lada, president and CEO of Goodwill of Western Missouri and Eastern Kansas, notably picked up finalist positions in two of the four major No Coast categories. Startup leader Blake Miller, CEO of Homebase.ai — a member of the recent T-Mobile Accelerator and one of Startland News’ Kansas City Startups to Watch in 2019 — also is up for consideration.
Click here to see the full list of candidates, bios and award descriptions, or keep reading.
Winners for the categories have already been selected and are expected to be announced Sept. 16 via short videos, said Haley Regan, manager of marketing and communications for the KC Tech Council.
An in-person celebration to mark the second annual No Coast awards fell victim to COVID-19, but KC Tech Council pivoted to a new model for 2020 in hopes of highlighting contributions despite the ongoing pandemic.
Virtual keynote addresses are expected to be released Sept. 15.
Haley Regan, Kara Lowe, and Ryan Weber, KC Tech Council
KC Tech Council also recently launched a new No Coast COVID-19 Community Response category to applaud the community’s resiliency alongside No Coast’s major, recurring awards.
“Once we decided to go completely virtual, we added a category to celebrate companies and individuals that created useful resources to help the community during the pandemic,” Regan said. “There will be no winner chosen for that category, but we will celebrate those nominated with a special shout out in one of the videos.”
Click here to nominate an individual or company for the recognition. Nominations close Friday.
Finalists for No Coasts top awards include:
- Ed Lada — president and CEO of Goodwill of Western Missouri and Eastern Kansas
- Elijah Haahr — speaker of the House, Missouri House of Representatives
- Kathy Busch — chair, Kansas State Board of Education
- Ed Lada — president and CEO of Goodwill of Western Missouri and Eastern Kansas
- Blake Miller — CEO of Homebase.ai
- Dale Werts — partner, Lathrop GPM LLP
Outstanding Contribution to Tech
- Frank Pflumm — Centriq Training
- Jenna Beckett — Centriq Training
- Scott Bromander — Prime Digital Academy
Click here to read more about the 2019 No Coast winners.
Featured Business
2020 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Founder of defunct Symptomly shares lessons from failure
Failure is a touchy subject. But for Derek Bereit — the former CEO and co-founder of mobile asthma tracking company Symptomly — his company’s failure was an opportunity shrouded in a difficult situation. Rather than sulking, Bereit sat down with Startland News to discuss Symptomly’s demise, the lessons it provided him and the possibilities that…
Founders discuss tough decisions entrepreneurs face
Two founders took the stage at Kansas City’s chapter of 1 Million Cups to discuss the vast variety of tough decisions entrepreneurs face when starting and running a business. Stuart Ludlow, co-founder of RFP 365 and Sarah Shipley, co-founder of BikeWalkKC, offered insights and advice for those launching a business. Read about RFP365’s recent funding…
Lenexa studio joins national coworking relief effort for Nepal
Despite the nearly 8,000 miles between them, a Kansas City-area coworking studio is helping with relief efforts in Nepal after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake destroyed hundreds of buildings and claimed thousands of lives. Lenexa-based Plexpod has joined the international “Coworking for Nepal” movement that has attracted dozens of studios to encourage fundraising for Nepal relief…
KC’s first innovation officer reflects on work, city’s tech future
After more than two years of service, Ashley Hand is leaving the driver’s seat of Kansas City’s innovation efforts. Hand, who soon will be departing as Kansas City’s chief innovation officer, was tasked with implementing innovative strategies to improve how city government can better serve Kansas Citians. The city will be accepting applications for the…