OLATHE, Kan., January 18, 2013 —The Olathe Chamber of Commerce named Laurie Minard of Garmin International “Citizen of the Year” and Kansas State University – Olathe, “Corporate Citizen of the Year,” at its 92nd Annual Meeting today, Jan. 18, at the Holiday Inn-Olathe. The Chamber also presented its “Volunteer of the Year” award to Cathy Weaver, Miracles with Water. Award winner biographies and additional information can be found below.
Past chairman of the Chamber’s Board of Directors, Lori Tinkler, Applied Measurement Professionals, presented the awards and reviewed the year’s successes. At the conclusion of the meeting, she named Ramin Cherafat, McCownGordon Construction, the new chairman of the Board of Directors for 2013.
This year’s meeting also featured a panel discussion on public higher education, one of the key components to economic development in Olathe. Featured speakers were Dr. April Mason, Provost, at Kansas State University and Bernadette Gray-Little, Chancellor at the University of Kansas. Moderation was done by Dr. Marlin Berry, Superintendent of Olathe Public Schools.
The Chamber also unveiled a new video for its Convention and Visitors Bureau, “Olathe: Crossroads to Adventure,” which highlights Olathe’s many big-city adventures and small-town escapes, with a focus on leisure and sporting activities for visitors, along with the city’s hotel amenities. The video, produced by the Olathe Chamber of Commerce and the City of Olathe, can be found at www.olathe.org.
The 2013 Annual Meeting was co-sponsored by the Olathe Medical Center. Other sponsors who made this event possible include: Applied Measurement Professionals Inc., Bank of Blue Valley, Farmers Insurance Group, Garmin, Gilmore & Bell, Olathe Public Schools #233 and Pepsi Beverages Company.
2012 Citizen of the Year – Laurie Minard
Laurie Minard has more than 20 years of experience in Human Resources. Her career at Garmin started in 1996, when she was hired to start the Human Resources department. She was promoted to Director in 2002 and to Vice President, Human Resources in 2007. In her current role, Minard is responsible for providing leadership and strategic direction for Garmin’s HR policies and programs including recruitment, talent management, compensation, benefits, payroll and associate relations.
Over the years, she has served the community in a variety of board roles including the Olathe Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors & Executive Committee, Olathe Medical Center Board of Directors, Olathe Salvation Army Advisory Council and the KU Edwards Campus Board of Advisors and Workforce Development Advisory Board, just to name a few. She has also enjoyed serving on the Mayor’s Christmas Tree Fund Committee and managing and participating in Garmin’s United Way Campaign. Minard was honored as the Olathe Chamber of Commerce Volunteer of the Year in 2007, selected to the Kansas City Business Journal’s Class of 2008 Women Who Mean Business, and graduated from the Leadership Olathe program in 2010.
2012 Corporate Citizen of the Year – K-State Olathe
Kansas State University has a reputation as a leader in the field of animal health and food safety and security. In 2005, after expanding its program with the Biosecurity Research Institute, Kansas State, the Kansas Bioscience Authority (KBA), and the City of Olathe started discussing the possibility of a new Kansas State University campus that could target bioscience to expand the educational and economic growth opportunities of the region. In 2006, Kansas State and the University of Kansas decided to jointly support the campaign for the Johnson County Education Research Triangle (JCERT) tax, which would fund the construction of numerous research and education facilities in the region, including one for the K-State Olathe campus – the International Animal Health and Food Safety Institute.
In 2007, K-State Olathe Innovation Campus, Inc. was established as a not-for-profit organization, and in April 2011, K-State Olathe held its grand opening. Even while program for the campus are being developed, the school is making its resources available to the community. K-State Olathe has worked with Olathe Northwest High School on a pilot program, called the 21st Century Animal Health Program, to develop curriculum for biosciences students and allow them to engage in summer research activities and interact with K-State scientists during the school year.
2012 Volunteer of the Year – Cathy Weaver
Recently named one of KC Business Magazine’s most influential women for 2013, Weaver is recognized throughout the community for her passion and entrepreneurial spirit. As the co-founder of Miracles with Water, she began her active networking career in 2008, and has recently published a book called, “Networking on Steroids,” in which she references her experiences at Chamber’s weekly networking coffees. Weaver is a Chamber Ambassador and also dedicates her time to the liaison committee and membership council. In addition to her Chamber contributions, she can be seen all over the KC metro area through her involvement with Small and Home Business Connection, KC Women’s Network, Power Chics and numerous other non-profit groups.
2012 Bartlett-Olsen Membership Achievement Awards
The 2012 Bartlett-Olson Membership Achievement Award was presented to members who recruited a minimum of $4,000 in new member investments over the course of a year. Bartlett-Olson Award recipients this year are:
-
Nancy Carr, Johnson County/K-State Research & Extension
-
Garry Poore, Heritage Companies
-
Larry Schneider, Miracles with Water
-
Cathy Weaver, Miracles with Water
2012 Ambassador of the Year – Jay Davidson
Davidson first joined the Chamber in 1990, shortly after joining Greenfield and Davidson Chartered in 1988. He became an ambassador in 1991 and dedicated his time to being involved on Liaison Committee and supporting the annual membership drive. Davidson continues to serve faithfully on the Liaison Committee and enjoys the growth that the membership drive brings to the chamber each year. He says that the best part about being able to watch Olathe grow is that the city has still been able to retain the small home-town feeling.
Contact: Carly Baltes, (913) 764-1050, cbaltes@olathe.org
###
About the Olathe Chamber of Commerce
The Olathe Chamber of Commerce is the largest chamber in Johnson County and the second largest chamber in the Kansas City area. It was the first chamber in the state to receive 5-Star Accreditation from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce – a designation obtained by less than 1 percent of the nation’s chambers. Its mission is to be the voice of business that advances the economic well being and quality of life in Olathe.