A Salute to a Great City and Its Leaders
The Ingram’s staff at that time was protesting the sale of the magazine. Staff members were not objecting to us per se—they did not even know us—but had fixed on another purchaser.
Heritage Media, the transitional owner of Ingram’s, called me on Valentine’s Day morning to let me know that the staff was prepared to launch a competing business magazine if the sale went through. I was no more interested in being bullied than Heritage Media was, so that day I drove cross-state to face the mutineers.
There was no appeasing them. They did in fact quit, and having found an investor, launched the business magazine Persona. These renegade staffers had hoped to drive Ingram’s out of the marketplace, but they underestimated the will of the entrepreneur and the power of a brand. We made some swift and prudent decisions, redesigned the magazine, reassured our advertisers, and sealed Persona’s fate by working harder and smarter than its salaried staff was capable.
Unlike the Persona staff, we identified with our readers. We knew what it was like to take risks and invest our own resources in the future. We saw ourselves as stewards of the business and of the community of which we served. We understood that we would succeed only if that community did, and we have been strategically advancing the interests of that community ever since.
Leadership
This issue, Ingram’s 35th Anniversary special edition, represents the essence of that stewardship. When all news seems to be negative and most dreams have been put onice, we have decided to produce one of our biggest, and hopefully you’ll agree, one of the best issues ever. Just as we did when we purchased Ingram’s, we are betting on the future of Kansas City and the bi-state region, and we are confident that our faith will be rewarded.
We dedicate this 35th Anniversary edition of Ingram’s to the leaders who have come before us and have made tougher decisions than our own. Like us, many of the city’s great leaders began their careers in small- and/or family-owned businesses. Although there seem to be fewer and fewer of such enterprises today—and given our travails, we understand why—those who persevere have made this region as strong as it is. Corporations don’t build a civilization. Entrepreneurs do, and we at Ingram’s do our best to encourage and empower them.
We make a special dedication to this year’s “Legends,” twenty-one of the most important and dedicated leaders in the city’s history. As the 25th Anniversary edition was being printed in1999, “Legend” Judge Joe Stevens regrettably passed. We quickly updated and reprinted a section of the publication giving tribute to Judge Stevens. This year, unfortunately, while at press we lost another great leader and “Legend” alum from 2004, Allen Block, one of the pillars of the region’s commercial real estate community.
We launch a new commemorative feature with this year’s anniversary edition, the Icons of Education. These men and women represent the best and brightest in the educational community, and we are proud to honor them for their extraordinary service and introduce what we hope will become a valued tradition for many years.
As with every edition, and especially this one, we’re particularly appreciative those loyal patrons that make Ingram’s possible. Thismonth, our patrons have helped us to produce one of the finest issues in the more than 410-month history of the publication.
We’ve entered a new era in Kansas City, one of great promise. Although the economy and credit mar-kets are challenged, we believe that Kansas City, rooted as it is in bedrock industries and tested Midwestern values, will emerge stronger when the dust clears. In fact, we believe we are on the cusp of a renaissance, the emergence of Kansas City as a grand depot at the nexus of North American trade.
We appreciate our advertisers who have enabled us to produce this special anniversary edition and thank you for letting us be a part of this exciting journey. 
Joe Sweeney
Editor-In-Chief & Publisher
Sweeney@IngramsOnLine.com