The 2026 Business Pride Awards took place on May 12 at The Guild, bringing together business leaders, community advocates, nonprofit partners, and changemakers from across the region for an evening of celebration, recognition, and connection.
As the Chamber’s premier annual event, the Business Pride Awards honors the individuals, businesses, and organizations helping create a stronger and more inclusive business community throughout Kansas City and beyond.
This year’s garden party-inspired event transformed the space into a warm and vibrant atmosphere that encouraged meaningful conversations, new relationships, and recognition of the incredible work happening across our community. Guests enjoyed beautifully curated dinner stations, desserts, cocktails, and conversation throughout the evening.
We were honored to welcome former Missouri State Senator Jolie Justus as our guest speaker. Her remarks reflected the importance of advocacy, visibility, and leadership in building inclusive workplaces and communities.
One of the highlights of the night was recognizing this year’s outstanding award recipients:
- Ally of the Year: Paige Gammon, National WWI Museum and Memorial
- Chamber Champions of the Year: Jessica Blubaugh, United Way of Greater Kansas City, and Brandy Williams, MOCSA
- Corporate Partner of the Year: McCownGordon Construction
- Employee Resource Group of the Year: Turner Construction
- Government Official of the Year: Laura Kelly
- LGBTBE® Certified Business of the Year: Crum Cleaning
- Non-Profit of the Year: Children’s Mercy Kansas City
The evening also featured incredible raffle prizes generously donated by community supporters and local businesses, adding even more excitement and energy to the celebration.
We also want to extend our sincere gratitude to our Chamber Ambassadors, whose time, effort, and support helped make the evening run so smoothly. Events like this simply would not be possible without their dedication behind the scenes.
Thank you to our generous sponsors and partners for helping make this event possible, including our Signature Soirée Sponsor, Dutzel’s Catering; our Parterre Sponsors, Levity Events and Burns & McDonnell; along with Commerce Bank, Evergy, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, KC CARE Health Center, KC Current, Turner Construction, Centric Construction Group, Gael’s Public House & Sports, Hallmark, Harvesters, National WWI Museum and Memorial, McCownGordon Construction, Missouri Small Business Development Center, UMB Bank, United Way of Greater Kansas City, and Valued.
We are so grateful to everyone who attended, supported, volunteered, sponsored, nominated, voted, and celebrated with us. The 2026 Business Pride Awards was a meaningful reminder of the power of community, connection, and inclusive leadership, and we’re already looking forward to next year.
Photo credits: Erishyll Mae Photography and Square Peg
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Photo booth: Banana Who? Booth
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Chamber and Member Events
Contact Information
For all general and media inquiries, please contact the office of the Executive Director of the Mid-America LGBT Chamber of Commerce.
Tracey DeMarea
Executive Director
Email:Â Â info@midamericalgbt.org
Call: Â Â (816) 474-3558