Perceptive Software Inc., SKC Communication Products Inc., Champions of Business winners
Kansas City Business Journal will award Chamber members Perceptive Software Inc. and SKC Communication Products Inc. as Champions of Business winners at the June 3, 2010, Champions of Business Awards Luncheon for "setting the gold standard for financial performance, innovation and community involvement," according to KC Business Journal. Congratulations on this outstanding achievement!
Chamber members receive Johnson County's Green Business Emerald, Gold Award
To recognize new, as well as ongoing, efforts by Johnson County businesses to “go green,” the Johnson County
Solid Waste Management Committee has selected 14 businesses as recipients of its inaugural Green Business
Awards. Awardees, winners at either an emerald or gold level, were formally recognized May 6
during the Johnson County Board of County Commissioners meeting. The 14 companies diverted a combined total of 1,227 tons of landfill waste. Award recipients range from
elementary schools, manufacturers and government agencies to a church with 16,000 members.
Congratulations to Chamber members Shawnee Mission Medical Center and WaterOne on their emerald-level award! Shawnee Mission Medical Center's cooling tower uses electronic pulses to treat
bacteria. SMMC has also been donating surplus product inventory to Harvesters, and a local farmer
receives vegetable scrap/trimmings for composting. WaterOne reduced paper usage 38 percent by encouraging two-sided
printing and recycled 36,000 pounds of paper and cardboard over the past year.
Congratulations to Chamber member Perceptive Software Inc. for its gold-level award! Perceptive Software Inc. has accomplished reducing and nearly eliminating the use of paper collateral at more than 200 annual trade shows and events.
All applicants were asked to complete a survey, ranking their achievements in categories of waste reduction;
reuse and recycling; outreach and education; and policies. Points were assigned for the achievements, and
applicants had to meet a minimum of 10 mandatory actions. Three levels were available for awards; Green,
Gold and Emerald. Each applicant also submitted a one-page summary of their efforts and a metrics report
showing how they tracked waste-reduction efforts.
This annual award is self-nominating and non competitive. Applications are due January 31 of each year. Inquiries about the Green Business Awards should be directed to Craig Wood, 913.715.6917, of Johnson County.
For more information on composting and other ways to recycle, click here to visit the county’s Website dedicated to
recycling, where residents can find information on composting; residential and commercial
recycling; yard-waste disposal; and ways to reduce trash and reuse resources.
Deffenbaugh Industries driver, one of Kansas City's Kindest
Deffenbaugh Industries residential-collection driver David Vogt was recently nominated as the Kindest Kansas Citian in an essay contest sponsored by STOP Violence, a program of Synergy Services Inc. Vogt was nominated by 13-year-old Coleman M., who got to know Vogt on his trash route. The essay Coleman wrote – selected as a top-20 finalist from thousands of entries submitted from many schools throughout the Kansas City area – is below.
There are many reasons to pick the Kindest Kansas Citizen. Some people are chosen for their charitable and generous donations to charities. Some people volunteer their time by helping out around the community. Some people choose a career in life that revolves around doing good things like doctors, nurses or priests. The citizen I chose is David Vogt because he is hardworking, kind and always has a positive attitude.
David Vogt is our trash man and is hardworking. He does his job right with dedication and pride. He provides many people with a service that is vital to our city. He starts early every morning and completes his job every day. It is a job many of us would not want to do for a living. He is also hardworking because he never just throws our barrels on the ground, he puts them back straight up.
But those are just minor things that he does. The main reason he is hardworking is a couple of years ago his partner was injured on the job and broke his foot. David, hoping his friend would return, did all of the routes by himself; driving the truck and putting the trash in the back. This makes his day longer without anyone to help him. Now, David does the route by himself and probably won’t get a replacement.
The kindness and positive attitude David shows is amazing. He always has a smile on his face. The day could be below zero or 100 degrees, it would not change the grin you see on his face. He always stops what he is doing and waves to us as we drive by him. I see him on my block picking up trash, and he always takes the time to say, “Hi, how are you?” At Christmas time, he says Merry Christmas by bringing the barrels up the driveway for us and gives us a Christmas card. Most people complain about this job, but not David. His attitude and kind face can change my mood in a moment.
David’s attributes of a hard-working, kind person with a positive attitude led me to choose him as my Kindest Kansas Citian. He is one of the kindest people I know. He probably does not realize the way he does his job has impacted me. This is why I chose David Vogt as the Kindest Kansas Citizen.
Congratulations, David! Thank you for your commitment to Deffenbaugh Industries and to keeping our community clean!
