Northeast News
May 27, 2015

This week, this ol’ newsdog is going to take a departure from the mudslinging of local politicos and their failure to address the ongoing basic infrastructure needs to talk a little about the upcoming birthday celebration for the Northeast Chamber of Commerce.

Back in 1992, some forward thinking business folks, some who are still around today, thought it was a good idea to form a business organization that would promote the business interests of the business base in Historic Northeast. The name of that organization was NEAT, an acronym for Northeast Alliance Together. By 1994, the group had grown large enough to support an Executive Director and a name change to what is now known as the Northeast Kansas City Chamber of Commerce. This newsdog took over those duties in 1996 and grew chamber membership exponentially to over 110 members. Rebecca Koop has been the Executive Director of the chamber for a number of years and has done a dandy job at juggling the duties of two non-profits as well as her small business, Back Door Pottery.

Next month, the chamber will celebrate 21 years in Historic Northeast, honoring Carl DiCapo for his many years of service to the greater Kansas City community. The event on June 11 promises to be a star studded gala of who’s who in the Historic Northeast business community. The chamber and the Independence Avenue CID stand poised to usher in a new era of business along the storied Boulevard.

Next week, we’ll be back to our grumpy old self and continue to hold our elected officials collective feet to the fire in terms of addressing infrastructure needs. But for now, we’re taking a week off to do some cheerleading.