Kansas City Downtowners | Jim Davis Award

January 29, 2010

Downtowners Announce 2010 Jim Davis Award

Tom McDonnell, CEO of DST Systems, Official Recipient

(Kansas City, MO.) – The Downtowners announced today that Tom McDonnell, CEO of DST Systems, Inc. will receive the 2010 Jim Davis Award on Wednesday, Feb. 10 at 11:30 a.m. during the Downtowner’s luncheon held at the Hereford House Hollywood Room in the Crossroads District.

"We are pleased to honor Jim Davis, the former development writer for The Business Journal," stated Babette Macy, Board President for the Downtowner's. "The Downtowner's Board felt that Tom McDonnell was the consummate civic leader to receive this annual award that is given in Jim’s honor. Each year we will recognize an individual who has given their talents for the development and renaissance of downtown Kansas City. We believe Tom exemplifies these traits and are honored for him to be our 2010 recipient."

James H. Davis, passed away in 2008, which sent a ripple of sadness throughout the downtown development community. He was a reporter for The Business Journal for 12 years, covering real estate, development and banking. His tireless efforts to report these topics gave Jim access to business leaders throughout Kansas City. His passion for developing downtown Kansas City was well known. Before his passing, Jim wrote a passage for his Memorial Service that was a challenge to the citizens of Kansas City to keep the Kansas City renaissance alive. He felt that it was our task to light the world with the power of relationships and to recognize what is truly important.

"Because no such attribute is more limited than time - trust me on this one: when your time's over, it's gone forever - nothing holds more power than the ability to illuminate and thereby stretch it." – Jim Davis.

In addition to focusing on the growth of DST Systems on the west side of downtown, McDonnell was a guiding force in the development of Union Station. He was instrumental in assembling the sites for the Sprint Center and the Entertainment District, and in bringing to downtown the new Internal Revenue Service Center with more than 6,000 jobs.

Actively involved in the community, McDonnell is chairman of the board for the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, and currently serves on the board of Midwest Research Institute. Previously, he served as chairman of the Civic Council of Greater Kansas City and the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce. He was chairman of the Kansas City United Way Campaign, chairman of Union Station Project Consultants, and chairman of the Rockhurst University Board of Trustees.

McDonnell also serves on a number of corporate boards, including DST Systems, Inc., Garmin LTD, Commerce Bancshares, Inc., Euronet Worldwide, Inc. and Kansas City Southern.

To RSVP for the luncheon click here.