President’s Message
President’s Message | Celebrating 50 Years of Oak Park Mall
President’s Message November 2025 From the Business Perspective Newsletter Celebrating 50 Years of Oak Park Mall We recently marked the 50th anniversary of Oak Park Mall with the center’s owners, city leaders, tenants, and its original developer, now known as Copaken Brooks. In a time when most community malls sit idle or have been demolished,…
Read MorePresident’s Message | 69Express: Top priority becomes reality
President’s Message October 2025 From the Business Perspective Newsletter 69Express: Top priority becomes reality One thing I love about the Chamber is that we tackle big issues with the potential to significantly im-pact the lives of our residents and our economy. Some of these issues are long-term and subjective, without a clear end in sight,…
Read MorePresident’s Message | Development brings economic opportunity
President’s Message September 2025 From the Business Perspective Newsletter Development brings economic opportunity It’s a great time to be in Overland Park, and an even better time to invest in business here. From our northernmost borders to the south, we see a significant amount of redevelopment, greenfield projects, and new opportunities. In Downtown Overland Park,…
Read MorePresident’s Message | Preparing leaders, shaping the future
President’s Message July 2024 From the Business Perspective Newsletter Preparing leaders, shaping the future Over the last 42 years, the Chamber and our Foundation have sponsored Leadership Overland Park. Not to train leaders, but to better prepare them, connect them and challenge them. In June, our 2025 class completed its six-month program. One of the…
Read MorePresident’s Message | Words to remember
President’s Message June 2025 From the Business Perspective Newsletter Words to remember My brother has seven children, ranging in age from 18 to 32. That means I’ve been to many graduations. Eighth grade. High school. College. In all conditions, from cramped, hot auditoriums to damp, chilly, and windy football fields, and a few virtual graduations…
Read MorePresident’s Message | Business and policies are local
President’s Message April 2025 From the Business Perspective Newsletter Business and policies are local I recently returned from meetings with peer chamber executives and national policy leaders at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C. As you would imagine, topics ranged from tariffs, taxes, the economy, immigration, education, and housing to AI. The underlying…
Read MorePresident’s Message | Opportunity NOW picks up speed
President’s Message March 2025 From the Business Perspective Newsletter Opportunity NOW picks up speed Investors gathered last month to celebrate key milestones in the Opportunity NOW initiative. Bill Ferguson, Central Bank of the Midwest President & CEO and Chair of Opportunity NOW, announced the initiative has just completed year two of its implementation and shared…
Read MorePresident’s Message | We’re here for uncertain times
President’s Message February 2025 From the Business Perspective Newsletter We’re here for uncertain times If people do not know much about a chamber of commerce or our members, they often think that we’re a homogenous group of businesses, generally “big business,” who think alike, and want the same things – primarily low taxes and other…
Read MoreChairman’s Message | Looking to the Year Ahead
Chairman’s Message January 2025 From the Business Perspective Newsletter 2025: Looking to the year ahead It is truly an honor to step into the role of Chair for this amazing organization! So many outstanding leaders have preceded me in this role, including our outgoing Chair, Cindy Rock. On behalf of the Overland Park Chamber, I…
Read MoreChairman’s Message | 2024: The Year in Review
Chairman’s Message December 2024 From the Business Perspective Newsletter 2024: The Year in Review I have been so honored to be Chair of the Overland Park Chamber Board this past year. 2024 has moved incredibly fast and we had some great wins and some exciting “firsts” that occurred this past year that I wanted to…
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