Greater Kansas City Women’s Political Caucus 50th Anniversary Torch Awards
On September 22, 2022, the Greater Kansas City Women’s Political Caucus held its 50th Anniversary Torch Awards & Dinner. I had the absolute honor of helping with the creation and design of several components of the night, including our Simone Gold Shimmer Wall rental, custom signage, and the acrylic awards for the night’s winners.
The event had an all-star lineup of speakers and award recipients. Featured speakers included Kansas Governor Laura Kelly, candidate for Missouri House Seat in District 1 Jessica Piper, and candidate for U.S. Senate for Missouri Trudy Busch Valentine. Abby Espino-Salazar, recent graduate of Lincoln Prep High School, performed a spoken word poem, and the program was emceed by Laura Ziegler, award-winning journalist with Kansas City’s KCUR 89.3 FM.
Custom Acrylic Awards
Custom, laser engraved acrylic awards for the Torch Awards, featuring a mirror acrylic torch from the GKCWPC logo.
The Torch Dinner annually celebrates women and men who have led democratic and advocacy efforts in support of women candidates and pro-choice policies. The following individuals were recognized in five categories:
Torch Award Recipient – Rachel Sweet, Kansans for Constitutional Freedom Awarded to a young woman of promise who has been involved with the Caucus and committed to its mission and plans to continue her career in public service. Rachel led the effort to defeat the Constitutional ban on abortion in Kansas and continues to work in Kansas and elsewhere on behalf of women’s reproductive health.
Erika S. Fox Pillar Award – Rebecca Richardson, Women in Politics and Former Greater Kansas City Women’s Political Caucus President
Awarded to a remarkable role model of political accomplishment to the benefit of women and women’s issues. Rebecca has been a leader in women’s rights having served as President of the GKCWPC for three terms and is currently the President of the Women in Politics Foundation.
Mel Carnahan Good Guy Award – Rep. Rui Xu, Kansas
Awarded to a male community leader who has supported the Caucus’ mission of promoting women and women’s issues. Rep. Xu represents northern Johnson County and is the first Chinese American and only naturized citizen serving in the Kansas Legislature.
Chere Chaney Community Service Award – Ryana Parks-Shaw, 5th City Council District, Kansas City, MO
Awarded for outstanding accomplishment and representation of the power of women through community service. Councilwoman Parks-Shaw was elected in 2019 to represent the 5th district. She has a deep passion for community service and improving access to healthcare, and works hard to connect citizens to resources they need.
Excellence in Media Award – Mara Rose Williams, The Kansas City Star
Awarded to a journalist for outstanding reporting on issues important to women and families. Williams is a member of the Editorial Board of the Kansas City Star, where she has been on staff as a writer and columnist covering education since 1998. Most recently, she contributed the award winning series, Kansas City in Black and White.
As I said, it was an absolute honor to design and produce so many components for this event, especially the awards. The awards were made of clear, engraved acrylic, with the added “torch” detail in mirrored acrylic from the GKCWPC’s logo. I also created their custom acrylic sign to complement the awards, featuring the same “torch” detail in a larger scale.
The Simone: Gold Shimmer Wall
Our gold shimmer wall rental is featured here with a custom acrylic sign for the Greater Kansas City Women’s Political Caucus.
The Greater Kansas City Women’s Political Caucus (GKCWPC), an affiliate of the National Women’s Political Caucus, is a multipartisan, multicultural, grass roots organization dedicated to increasing women’s participation in politics and creating a power base designed to achieve equality for all women. To learn more about the GKCWPC, please visit https://gkcwpc.org/.
Carousel photos from left to right: GKCWPC President Laura Loyacono with award winners Mará Rose-Williams, Rachel Sweet, Rebecca Richardson, Councilwoman Ryana Parks-Shaw, and Rep. Rui Xu. Photo credit: Keith Reavis.
GKCWPC Torch design by Rachel Backs.