Kansas City Industrial Council to Award Brick by Brick Awards

Kansas City’s voice for infrastructure unveils sustainable initiative

Kansas City, MO (February 22, 2010) – Tonight, the Kansas City Industrial Council (KCIC), the voice for infrastructure, will award its annual Brick by Brick awards to industrial businesses who have made significant investment and contributions to Kansas City’s economy. The awards event will be followed tomorrow by the annual luncheon, “KCIC presents Kansas City’s Industrial Future and Brick by Brick Awards” at the College Basketball Experience,
Brick by Brick Award winners include:

• Dean Machinery
• Faultless Starch/Bon Ami
• Kansas City Structural Steel
• Ripple Glass
• A2MG/Sellers & Marquis Roofing Company
• Mars PetCare
• O’Reilly Automotive , Inc.
• DaVinci Reprographics Inc.
• Auto Refinish Distributors
• Commercial Sales, Incorporated
• Bill Moulder, Special Recognition Award
• Lee Derrough, KCIC Resolution of Thanks
• Jill Quinn, Forrest D. “Frosty” Langdon Award

KCIC’s annual event will feature a dynamic panel discussion, moderated by Michael Mahoney, which examines the factors impacting Kansas City’s Industrial Future. Local experts will discuss environmental, financial and social factors that will help Kansas City’s Industrial Sector thrive in the next decade. Panelists include:

• Joe Close, Country Club Bank
• Dennis Murphey, KCMO Environmental Officer
• Mike Utz, RippleGlass
• Tom Roberts, cfm Distributors and KCIC President

The annual event will also celebrate KCIC’s accomplishments over the course of the past year and “recognize those who work together to help Kansas City Industry thrive,” said Tom Roberts, KCIC President. “This has been a great year for our organization. KCIC continues to be the Voice of Infrastructure in Kansas City and a strong advocate for needed infrastructure improvements in Kansas City’s Industrial Core.”
Roberts went on to discuss some of KCIC’s accomplishments, including storm water and sewer improvements in the Gardner/Chouteau and Central Industrial District areas, demolition of aging portions of the Forrester Viaduct and completion of a new tunnel for Turkey Creek
“As KCIC continues to grow and mature, we learn more about what makes fertile ground for industry to thrive,” said Roberts. “Our history has been concentrated on infrastructure – road, bridge, sewer, water, and levee projects that get people to jobs, customers to businesses, and protection from floods – ensuring maximum economic benefit and minimizing replacement expense.” 
KCIC will also unveil a new sustainability initiative at its luncheon dedicated to ensuring the long-term viability of Kansas City’s industrial core, embracing sustainable concepts that will help Kansas City businesses and public sectors make the best long term decisions for our city.
Frank Weatherford, KCIC board member and Principal at TranSystems is scheduled to unveil the sustainability awards program. “In many ways the private side and in particular Kansas City's industrial base is leading the effort on sustainable practices,” said Weatherford. “We wanted to recognize these efforts by our members and encourage others to follow their example. This new award program will recognize KCIC members who have shown a commitment to being more sustainable with their businesses.  Awards will be made on two levels, Silver and Gold, in 12 different categories. This is not the same as the LEED program and it is tailored to our industrial base.”
Sustainability program information and award applications will be available on KCIC’s website, kciconlinc.com.
About KCIC

The Kansas City Industrial Council is a unified voice for Kansas City industry. For more than a decade, KCIC has worked to ensure a vigorous and healthy industrial base in our community. The association works to make sure that issues crucial to doing business in our industrial areas remain a top priority with lawmakers at the city, state and federal levels.

For more information, contact:
Julie Gibson Sally, media relations representative
(816) 668-1143
julie@clearkc.com