Kansas City Region – TeamKC: Life+Talent, an initiative of the Kansas City Area Development Council and the region’s top resource for promoting KC as a lifestyle and career destination, hosted its third annual Training Camp talent leadership summit for 450 area HR pros at Arrowhead Stadium.

“TeamKC is a competitive advantage in economic development, supporting KCADC’s efforts to attract companies and talented people to the 18-county area we call home,” said Jessica Palm, vice president, lead executive for TeamKC at KCADC. “The Training Camp unveils new TeamKC lifestyle resources that talent acquisition leaders can leverage when recruiting, and provides national thought leadership on HR trends to help our area employers stay competitive in the global race for talent.”

The event announced the 2020 TeamKC MVP Award, presented to Charlie Hustle for its work to collaborate, innovate and make a global impact on behalf of our regional community.

The peer-nominated TeamKC MVP Award recognizes an organization each year that has made a significant impact by elevating the KC region’s status as a top destination for talent. 

Charlie Hustle’s KC Heart icon is the foundation of the KC Heartland campaign - launched in November 2019 to establish a new global consumer identity for the KC region. “We are honored to accept the TeamKC MVP Award as we continue our collaboration with KCADC,” said Chase McAnulty, founder and CEO of Charlie Hustle. “Over the last seven years, we’ve used the Heart to raise over a million dollars for local charities and we’re supporting our community through it … that’s something we’re pretty proud of.” 

TeamKC officially welcomed its newly elected co-chair and eight new members to the TeamKC Board of Advisors. Sara Slocum, university relations team leader for Garmin International, Inc., will join Molly Weaver, senior director of talent acquisition for Children’s Mercy Hospital and senior TeamKC board co-chair, as leaders of the board.

“TeamKC is a powerful collective of HR professionals from across our region, who are all competing for talent, but work together to create resources to tell the KC story to the world,” said Slocum. “At Garmin, we believe showcasing the Kansas City region is just as important as highlighting what it’s like to work at our company.”

Slocum and Weaver will help guide TeamKC on regional and national recruiting trends at all levels of employment, as well as specific challenges and opportunities in attracting top talent to work at companies in the KC region.

“The TeamKC Board of Advisors represents KC's top employers and workforce partners across the community, and responds to our region’s talent needs in real-time,” said Weaver. “The TeamKC concept is nationally recognized as a top talent and lifestyle marketing effort and serves as a unique resource to our community.”

TeamKC also welcomed several new members to its advisory board, including Jason Trachsel, Allied Global Services; Lauren Bertram, Burns & McDonnell; Susan Jobe, CrossFirst Bank; Deena Byers, SHRM-CP, Dimensional Innovations; Brandon Smith, Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City Missouri; Maria O’Dell, Group O’Dell Real Estate; Danielle Hilton, H&R Block and Carolyn McKnight, KU Edwards Campus.

The TeamKC 2020 members join Brittany McClanahan, Black & Veatch; Kyle Wright, Dairy Farmers of America; Fred Wise, Hallmark Cards; Kimberly Tholl, Honeywell FM&T; Amy Lee Sewell, Lockton Companies; Brandi Riggs, McCownGordon Construction; Heather Gage, Saint Luke’s Health System; Kristi Jones, Spring Venture Group; Sheri Ratliff, Sprint and Jenna Henderson, Superior Bowen.

TeamKC board members serve limited terms on a rotating basis - one year for service providers, educational institutions and community partners, and two years for corporate representatives.

About TeamKC: Life+Talent
TeamKC is an initiative of the Kansas City Area Development Council (KCADC) which provides lifestyle marketing expertise to support members’ talent acquisition efforts, with guidance from an advisory board of 20 of the area’s top companies. TeamKC currently serves a network of more than 1,000  talent acquisition leaders and more than 300 KC area employers and community partners. The initiative works to create a competitive advantage by fostering collaboration among the region’s HR professionals to amplify Kansas City’s livability assets to potential employees, making the region a top lifestyle and career destination. | TeamKC.com.