Tag: Mr. K Award

KC Chamber adds honor for artists, creatives to its awards lineup; emphasizing arts’ impact on economy, culture

By Tommy Felts / February 21, 2024

A new award planned for the KC Chamber’s Small Business Celebration in June is expected to honor an entrepreneur who has put their artistic talent to work as a small business, said Vicky Kulikov. The first-time Luminary Arts and Creative Small Business Award is set to be announced alongside four other high-profile specialty small business…

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Dave Johnson and the Chicken N Pickle team at the 2022 KC Chamber Small Business Celebration

Chamber awards ‘Small Business of the Year’ to trendsetter that caught ‘lightning in a bottle’

By Tommy Felts / June 15, 2022

In its third match as a Top 10 Small Business, Chicken N Pickle earned the Chamber’s coveted Mr. K Award — signifying the North Kansas City family entertainment experience as the Small Business of the Year. Dave Johnson, founder of Chicken N Pickle, accepted the honor Wednesday during the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce’s…

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Myron McCant, KD Academy, celebrates after being named a finalist for the 2022 Small Business of the Year honor

Meet the KC Chamber’s Top 10 for 2022: One will be the next ‘Small Business of the Year’ 

By Tommy Felts / April 29, 2022

From a rapidly expanding restaurant chain to a 24/7 daycare facility to a workforce training and information technology leader building a statewide footprint, the finalists for the 2022 Small Business of the Year award run the gamut of forward-thinking Kansas City ventures, said Joe Reardon. “Every year I become more and more impressed with our…

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Chase McAnulty, Charlie Hustle; Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce Small Business Celebration

Mr. K winner: Charlie Hustle wears heart on its sleeve as it accepts Small Biz of the Year honor

By Tommy Felts / June 24, 2021

Civic pride continues to pay off for Kansas City-stitched Charlie Hustle, winner of the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce’s 2021 Mr. K Small Business of the Year Award.  Chase McAnulty, founder and CEO, accepted the coveted award Thursday afternoon during a KC Chamber-hosted luncheon — a successful end to the vintage-inspired apparel company’s third run at…

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Andrew Dowis, Pro Athlete

Pickleball pickup: Why KC’s top small business is launching JustPaddles amid sports slowdown

By Tommy Felts / January 16, 2021

Pro Athlete’s secret to success: going against the grain, Andrew Dowis said.  “We’re known to do things that aren’t the norm,” said Dowis, who serves as the CEO of Pro Athlete. “I think that’s why we pursued JustPaddles [during the COVID-19 pandemic]. We said, ‘Let’s look at this [pandemic] from another angle. This may be…

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