Where Credit is Due

This month in Ingram’s we explore several progressive trends in business and industry ranging from health care to wealth care. What is more, we recognize a number of the area’s more accomplished women in our weKC—Women Executives Kansas City feature.

WeKC is a program unlike any other in the marketplace. Without much fanfare, we simply identify and pay tribute to women of extraordinary accomplishment in the pages of Ingram’s Magazine.

Our goal with weKC is to give credit where credit is due.  We have singled out those individual leaders who have not only distinguished themselves, but who are making a difference in the lives of those around them.

We started the weKC program in 1997 and since then have honored 44 extraordinary women—leaders whom we believe have clearly benefited the city and region through their work and their character.

As you may know, our organization conducts a number of annual programs in which we objectively review any number of worthy candidates and recognize those judged most deserving.

The criteria for weKC, as with 40 Under Forty for example, are essentially subjective. There are few useful metrics for integrity or persistence or courage, no helpful calculus for community service or generosity of spirit.

Regardless of the metrics used, we are confident that you will agree that we have determined this year’s class thoughtfully and responsibly.

I have to confess that I’m a little amused, however, by the name of the program: Women Executives Kansas City. It’s not as if the idea of women in the workforce is a particularly novel one or that women should be thought of as a “minority” as they once were. Today, universities are graduating more women than men, and women are claiming more management roles than they ever have before—in many industries, more than men. 

If present trends continue, women publishers may soon enough be developing a program called meKC—Men Executives Kansas City. Or better yet, they might roll out a 40 over Forty program for business leaders who are packing 40 pounds too many—and I am afraid that on Mondays in football season, at least, I might just qualify.

The Top Doctors program within the annual Special Medical Edition is another of Ingram’s annual traditions, and one we’re quite proud of. Now in our ninth year of the program, we have named and honored 110 Top Docs, a decision heavily influenced in recent years by former Top Docs.

We understand the importance of putting our reputation on the line when it comes to making decisions that may ultimately influence one’s life or health. We are proud of the decisions that have been made in the process and of the alliance we’ve forged with the area medical profession.

The aftermath of unveiling a new class—be it of Top Docs, 40 Under Forty, or Women Executives—is an interesting experience to say the least.  For instance, we usually receive more than 500 nominations for the 40 slots in the 40 Under Forty program. The numbers cause anxiety enough even without consideration of the limited shelf life of a nominee in the “under 40” category.

The now retired Dr. Kendall McNabney, formerly of Truman Medical Center, made a humorous, if accurate, assessment of the competitive nature of these honors, “Had my parents been alive they would have been proud of me being honored with this distinction,” he said.  “However, I’m reasonably certain my car will be keyed in the parking lot as a result of it.”

I’d like to take a moment to personally congratulate and thank this year’s Top Doctor and weKC honorees. Each of them has contributed greatly to their profession, to their organization and to our community.

We’re pleased to play a small and hopefully responsible role in creating the kind of tradition that helps hold communities together.  And we truly hope no one’s car gets keyed as a result of it.

Joe Sweeney

Editor-In-Chief & Publisher

JSweeney@IngramsOnLine.com