MARC News
MARC honors leaders at 15th Annual Regional Assembly
June 10, 2011
MARC presented its Regional Leadership Awards at its 15th Annual
Regional Assembly on Friday, June 10. The 2011 recipients
were:
From left: Jim Schultz,Mayor Pro Tem, Independence Chair, MARC Board; Gary Mallory, former Presiding Commissioner, Cass County Past Chair, MARC Board; Annabeth Surbaugh,former Chairman of the Johnson County Board of Commissioners, Past Chair, MARC Board; Captain Tim Lynch,Commander and Administrator of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, Overland Park Police Department; Betty Knight, former Presiding Commissioner, Platte County Past Chair, MARC Board; David Francis, foundation board member;David Warm, MARC Executive Director
Regional Leadership Award recipients:
- The Francis Family Foundation supports Greater Kansas City programs and services in the areas of pulmonary research, lifelong learning, early childhood development, and arts and culture. Through its efforts, the foundation develops creative, lifelong learners who strive to achieve their fullest potential in their communities. The foundation has funded notable regional assets such as the American Jazz Museum, Johnson County Community College's arts education programs and the Francis Child Development Institute.
- Captain Tim Lynch has served with the Overland Park Police Department for more than 37 years. He is currently its tactical section commander and administrator of homeland security and emergency management. He has taken an active leadership role in regional homeland-security issues, including currently chairing the Metropolitan Emergency Managers Committee. He also serves on the Regional Homeland Security Coordinating Committee, and its Law Enforcement, Public Health, and Training and Exercise subcommittees. Lynch co-chairs the Terrorism Early Warning Center's Board of Directors, and is a member of the Mid-America Local Emergency Planning Committee.
Regional Leadership Award – Distinguished Board Service Award recipients:
- Betty Knight served four terms as presiding commissioner of Platte County. She was a member of the MARC board for 15 years, and its chair in 1999 and 2000. Knight was a longtime co-chair of the Public Safety Communications Board. She also served four terms on the National Association of Regional Councils Board of Directors, including one term as president. Platte County developed an award-winning parks and trails program under her leadership.
- Gary Mallory served as Cass County presiding commissioner for eight years. Mallory was Cass County clerk for 12 years, and mayor of Belton for 10 years. He was a member of the MARC board for a total of 21 years, and its chair in 2007 and 2008. He was also chair of MARC's Commission on Aging and Kansas City Area Transportation Authority. Mallory was instrumental in establishing the Cass County Corporation of Economic Development.
- Annabeth Surbaugh served on the Johnson County Board of Commissioners for 19 years, and was chairman for nine years. She served on the MARC board for 18 years, and was its chair in 2001 and 2002. She has served on numerous other boards, including the Kansas City Area Development Council and Johnson County Community College Foundation. She recently earned the League of Women Voters' Making Democracy Work award.
The awards honor community leaders who have
advanced a vision of a strong, healthy region, demonstrated commitment to
its growth, and encouraged others to support and work towards that vision.
The keynote speaker was William Shutkin, executive director of the Rocky Mountain Land Use Institute and a lecturer at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, where the institute is based. He is a visiting scholar at the Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute at the University of Colorado–Boulder, and a research affiliate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he taught environmental policy and planning from 1999–2004.
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