Urban Magnate_Issue 2 by Wichita Urban Professionals

FOR WICHITA’S YOUNG, DIVERSE AND TALENTED

URBAN MAGNATE VOL. 1 ISSUE 2. DECEMBER 2014 www.ictup.org

STATE OF

“The issue is, how do we increase opportunities for people... How do we create a value that people want to be part of and, if we do those things, Hillside becomes a street you drive on. It doesn’t become a barrier. It doesn’t become a boundary.” WSU President, Dr. John Bardo talks innovation and inclusion

Urban Magnate explores the emerging opportunities for community advancement in innovation, technology and entrepreneurship

WATC.edu

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URBAN MAGNATE • 4 “Life is the stuff that happens while you wait on moments that never come.” This line from HBO’s critically-acclaimed drama, “The Wire,” has become one of my favorite explanations of life. This phrase also provides some context to the waiting that I feel could leave Wichita’s minority communities behind in light of all of the “stuff” happening in the city to gain ground in innovation, technology and entrepreneurship. What’s becoming clear is that Wichita is now placing its bet on Wichitans. The ability to create solutions to problems — some that don’t even exist yet — coupled with strong work ethic is emerging as a clear answer to the city’s longstanding desire to transform its potential into reality. Wichita State University’s Innovation Campus, emerging initiatives to boost and scale up small businesses and technology’s growing importance through it all are helping to shift mind sets about the city’s new reality. The endresults of the efforts aim to connect people, ideas and opportunities in ways that make the region economically competitive and sharpen the skills of the city’s workforce. The foundation that Wichita will stand upon for the next ﬁve- to 20 years is being built right now. Sadly, though, too many of us are unaware and uninvolved.

As you read this issue of Urban Magnate, ask yourself how you can take your interests and connect with the work happening in the city now. We can’t afford to miss out on the stuff happening now because we’re waiting on some sort of moment that may never come such as a special invitation or the moment when lots of people who look like us hop aboard these moving efforts. We might just have to show up and blaze the trail ourselves. We may have to grow comfortable in the discomfort that can accompany us as an “only.” But understand, in doing so, we’re also connecting with a broader community of likeminded people who are passionate about these efforts, as well. I know this ﬁrst-hand. I attended an event where I was one of a handful of minorities and the only black male. Through this event, I was invited to Start-Up Wichita, an entrepreneurial initiative that aims to grow businesses from a variety of pitches made in one weekend. Again, I was the only black male and was outside of my comfort zone but I didn’t leave, nor did I hide. I actively participated and had a tremendously thought-provoking learning experience. Life should be more than the deﬁnition above. The moments are here. Now, it’s time to seize control of these moments to help shape the way they affect our lives. Jonathan Long, President Wichita Urban Professionals

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IN THIS ISSUE: ON THE SCENE ICT-UP Lunch and Learn • 7

P.14

Urban Magnate launch • 8-9

Mural Series • 10

SPOTLIGHT Community Operations Empowerment

• 11 COVER STORY

Recovery

Collisions - WSU Talks Innovation• 13 Collisions - Technology • 16 Collisions - Entrepreneurship • 17

22 16

ICT UPCOMING EVENT Urban League Guild Mixer • 19

PARTNER FEATURES

Kansas Leadership Center • 21

SMALL BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT Fundamental Fitness by Renaire Palmer • 22

PHOTO SPREAD • 24-27 PROFESSIONAL EVENTS LISTING • 28

URBAN MAGNATE Wichita Urban Professionals (ICT-UP) exists to develop a network of rising leaders to improve the quality of life in the urban communities of Wichita. Urban Magnate is the premiere publication of Wichita Urban Professionals covering events and issues of interest to the city’s young, diverse and talented. This bi-monthly publication is available in electronic and hardcopy formats. CML Collective, LLC oversees the editing, layout and design of this publication in partnership with ICT-UP. Hardcopy editions are strategically distributed to ICT-UP members and city, civic and business organizations. On the front cover: Wichita State University President, Dr. John Bardo. On Location: President’s Oﬃce, WSU

On the back cover: Jonathan Long being photographed with Dr. Bardo. Photo credits: Jeﬀ Tuttle Photography

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PUTTING LEADERSHIP IN CONTEXT Wichita Urban Professionals kicked off its Lunch and Learn series with “Hallmarks of a Good Leader” presented by Assistant County Manager, Ron Holt, at the Cox Lounge at Intrust Bank Arena. The event, sponsored by Cox Business, drew a wide-range of participants from across the city and included a behind-the-scenes tour of the arena.

Photos by Christina M. Long

urban Magnate release party

Wichita Urban Professionals took over the Penthouse at Mayﬂower Plaza to celebrate the launch of Urban Magnate, the organization’s premiere publication. The magazine received overwhelmingly positive feedback from attendees, who enjoyed an upscale networking event set to the smooth sounds of musician Kevin Harrison in one of the city’s newest spaces. Photos by Photography by Michael E. Woods, LLC

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AROUND TOWN

YOUNG ARTISTS ADD FLAIR TO DESIGN DISTRICT Mural locations “Air” by Tripoli at Douglas Photographic Imaging, 2300 E. Douglas “Earth” by Murillo at Watermark Books, 4701 E. Douglas “Fire” by Tripoli at Logan Street Fine Wood Products, 1824 E. Douglas “Water” by Murillo at The Anchor, 1109 E. Douglas

osh Tripoli and Tom Murillo were given complete creative control to bring earth, ﬁre, air and water to the Douglas Design District. In doing so, Tripoli and Murillo have shared their artistic gifts to the district – and Wichita – in the form of four murals. “When I go to bigger cities, key spots always have art on it or near it,” said Murillo, 23, who worked on the “Water” and Tom Murillo, artist “Earth” murals, which were installed in March and October, respectively. Tripoli, who is also 23, worked on the “Fire” and “Air” murals,

which were installed in June and September, respectively. He calls the project a blessing that comes at a time when other artists are also beautifying Wichita with gifts of art. Tripoli, for example, points specifically to the North End Urban Arts Festival, which took place in October, and the work of the ICT-Army of Artists as indications of the growing interest in murals and public art throughout the city. “I think this effort is a huge step showing what the young people of this generation have to offer this city,” Tripoli said of his project. Jennifer Comes, who wrote the grant that helped fund the project, celebrates this as a “local,

Courtesy photos: “Air” by Josh Tripoli and (directly above) “Water” by Tom Murillo.

local, local eﬀort.” “I’d like to think that people really respect these works,” she said of the project, which the artists began working on in Fall 2013. Murillo says the series helps further anchor the artsy vibe the district is known for. “Starting from Oliver all the way to Washington, it kind of brings all of Douglas together; it Josh Tripoli, artist redeﬁnes it,” he said. Both artists say they’re pleased that the public has been so receptive to their work, and they look forward to future projects and to keep the momentum going. “I’ve heard it has transformed people’s conceptions of what can be done in Wichita on a public art level, and I think people haven’t really seen anything like this In Wichita,” Tripoli said. “I think we’ll see a lot more of it now that people know there’s no limit to what this community can do.”

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C.O.R.E. ROCKS THE VOTE C

ommunity Operations Recovery Empowerment (C.O.R.E.) brought to Wichita the national Rock the Vote eﬀort earlier this fall. The event combined music with appearances by candidates and various groups including those for and against the formerly-proposed sales tax initiative. “What we really wanted to do was bring the attention to voting and show that your vote has power,” said Brandon J. Johnson,

C.O.R.E.’s executive director, in an interview with Nubi People TV. News sources reported November’s general election drew a turn-out of 51.1 percent. “We plan to do this for every major election, even if it’s a City Council election, which is next year, we want to do a Rock the vote just to bring attention to it and to get people registered so they can go make their voice heard,” Johnson said.

Photo Credit: Christina M. Long shot on location at McAdams Park

Courtesy Photo of Brandon J. Johnson, Executive Director, C.O.R.E.

For more information about C.O.R.E., visit coreofwichita.org. To view the entire Nubi People TV interview, visit: http://bit.ly/1xKbA3V.

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STATE OF

A multi-story package

by CHRISTINA M. LONG

COLLISIONS

are happening across the city, and they’re breaking open opportunities in the areas of innovation, technology and entrepreneurship. A growing number of organizations are in plan, do, study, check mode and momentum is intensifying. Whether it’s Wichita State University’s push for an innovation campus, multiple efforts to wrap resources and supports around start-up and minority-owned businesses or the motivation to get more women and girls into coding and technology, activities are ﬂourishing and organizers say now is the time for people to jump in and take part.

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Wichita State University

Photo Credit: Jeff Tuttle Photography

Across the street from some of the city’s

most impoverished neighborhoods lies the economic hope of the heartland. Wichita State University is gearing up to lead the way in reviving a sluggish economy by creating a hub for innovation. It’s a place where companies collide with classrooms; where students earn valuable experience and paychecks alongside their degrees; where maker spaces encourage entrepreneurial advancements and where research becomes products and services funneled to the marketplace. “I think the community should be there on the ground ﬂoor” of the planning, said WSU Professor of Psychology, Dr. Rhonda Lewis. She says that WSU is making every eﬀort to make sure the community is included but, “I think the problem is, the community’s always the last to know.”

To simultaneously bridge disconnects while achieving its Innovation Campus goals, WSU is also laying infrastructure to boost campus diversity among minorities and international students and creating entry points for the community to access campus technologies and resources. Rather than focus on real or perceived barriers, WSU President Dr. John Bardo said, “The issue is, how do we increase opportunities for people? How do we create overall relationships? How do we create a value that people want to be part of and, if we do those things, Hillside becomes a street you drive on. It doesn’t become a barrier. It doesn’t become a boundary.”

It’s not about buildings “People will think success is buildings,” said Dr. John Tomblin, vice president for Research and Technology Transfer and executive director of the National Institute for Aviation Research. “People

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will think success is student growth. But true success is making our graduates desired by the industry.” In positioning WSU as a major research institution and innovation hub serving diverse students and the community in ways that have far-reaching economic impact, Bardo says his campus is simply becoming what it always was intended to be. “I’ve never accepted Wichita State as a ‘commuter’ school,” Bardo said. “I’ve always accepted Wichita State as a major research university that didn’t have the right configuration to achieve its mission.” Bardo’s aggressive pace at transforming the way WSU achieves its mission takes cues from his background in sociology, urban studies and researchbased recommendations from sources including the Brookings Institute. The results have led to new construction projects on campus including a remodeled Rhatigan Student Center, Shocker Hall, and planned construction of an experiential engineering building; the first building on the Innovation Campus. A Maker Space, planned for 17th Street, would also be accessible to the community regardless of whether or not a person attends WSU. Bardo said the university is seeking grant funding to allow the space to be used for free by people who meet the same criteria of those who apply and are awarded with Pell Grants. The buildings are an outgrowth of a mind shift that Tomblin says is “about us being a leader, an economic driver for the community. We can be the tip of the sword, but we need the community behind this to embrace it.” NetApp is among a growing number of tech-affiliated companies embracing the opportunities by establishing collaborations with WSU in ways that support student learning. Another indicator of success is the new resources and platforms the university is making available to help faculty, staff and community innovators transform

their research into marketable products, said WSU Ventures’ Director, Dr. Cindy Claycomb, “We’re challenging the status quo by doing things diﬀerently in ways that add value,” she said.

new realities and opportunities Claycomb, who has spent two decades at WSU, says the campus has changed its focus in how it interacts with the community. “I think we used to be more insular, like we were the campus and we didn’t really reach out,” she said. “And I think, now we’ve realized we’re part of this whole community… and we’re talking about being very inclusive in bringing the community into our campus.” Likewise, Dr. Robert Weems, the university’s Willard W. Garvey Distinguished Professor of Business History said he realizes there may be some historical perspectives which might explain any reluctance on the community’s part to engage. Still, he encourages people to release the skepticism otherwise, “you’ll block yourself oﬀ from new realities and opportunities.” Dr. Marchè Fleming-Randle, Assistant Dean for the Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, also encourages the community to get involved, attend events, follow Bardo’s updates, hold functions on campus and read the information the university puts out in newsletters and through news channels. “We’re about to become the next Yale, the next Harvard in the Midwest,” she said. “I want to be on the bandwagon.” Courtesy photos (Page 13. Dr. Lewis; Page 14, Dr. Tomblin, Dr. Claycomb, Dr. Weems and Dr. Fleming-Randle)

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ENGINEERING, INNOVATION AND OPPORTUNITIES BY CHRISTINA M. LONG

Courtesy Photo

tephen Khumbo Kawonga solves problems for a living. The 35-year-old’s dramatic career change from banking to industrial engineering made him one of nine classified “African-Americans” of 472 total students who graduated with an engineering degree from Wichita State University in the spring of 2014 semester. Upon graduating Cum Laude, Kawonga found immediate employment with Spirit Aerosystems; a well-known and reputable company in the Wichita area. “I come home and a workday seems like it’s only two hours long; that’s how much fun I’m having,” said Kawonga, who now holds an even higher regard for Wichita and the possibilities it afforded him. “There are a lot of opportunities in Wichita if you’re serious about finding them, having the right attitude and making the most out of them,” Kawonga said. Kawonga’s buddy, Chikondi

Grey Kafaamveka, is on track to graduate next fall with an electrical engineering degree from WSU. He says it’s exciting that he’s studying at a time when plans are developing for the Innovation Campus. Kafaamveka even had an opportunity to give feedback to his advisor and responded to an e-mail from Wichita State University President, John Bardo, who recently sought input on plans for the campus. Kafaamveka says he’s particularly fond of the experiential engineering building, which is set to break ground in a few months, and the lab spaces for engineers to “go in freely and just play with stuff, experiment with things and bounce ideas around with like-minded engineers from other disciplines.” “It does feel real,” Kafaamveka said of the progress happening. Kawonga and Kafaamveka say being in a field that’s not overlypopulated by minorities requires people to look at diversity in a different context. “It’s beyond the diversity of skin colors, more or less,” Kawonga said. “It’s the ability to work with others and welcome their ideas, views and perspectives. When you figure that part out and have a sound communication plan with everyone you work with, you break down barriers.”

INFO BOX The number and percentage of high school students, by race/ethnicity, in Wichita Public Schools who are enrolled in selected Career and Tech Education Pathways. Data provided by the Kansas State Department of Education. 2014 Business Entrepreneurship and Management: 132 total • African-American 20/15% • American Indian 4/3% • Asian 9/7% • Hispanic 42/32% • Multiracial 10/6% • Pacific Islander 2/2% • White 45/34% Engineering and Applied Mathematics: 450 total • African-American 84/19% • American Indian 8/2% • Asian 58/13% • Hispanic 89/20% • Multiracial 35/8% • Pacific Islander 1/.2% • White 175/39% Programming and Software Development: 560 total • African-American 66/12% • American Indian 11/8% • Asian 55/10% • Hispanic 106/19% • Multiracial 43/8% • Pacific Islander 1/.1% • White 278/50%

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women who code wichita BY CHRISTINA M. LONG

They speak in code.

Britten Kuckelman, City Lead for Women Who Code Wichita. Photo by Christina M. Long.

A recent Women Who Code Wichita Panel held at Baseline Creative. Courtesy Photo.

HTML, CSS, Javascript, PHP, Ruby and more languages help to solidify a network of novices and experts grounded in an interest in technology. In doing so, Women Who Code Wichita has localized a national movement to help ladies break through a historically male-dominated industry. The group, now in its sixth month, hosts a series of casual events to get like-minded people in the same room to talk and work through projects of various sizes and scopes. “Since I started coding, so many doors have opened that I didn’t even know existed,” said Britten Kuckelman, City Lead, for the local Women Who Code chapter. Kuckelman said growing membership is among the group’s priorities but that events, including a panel discussion and several networking mixers, successfully drew a wide-range of participants with various experience levels. Kuckelman also appreciates the insight that the local agency, Baseline Creative, is aﬀording members by allowing them an opportunity to watch real-life website coding project s unfold. The result is a safe space to learn at a time when Wichita’s tech industry is bubbling with activity. Kuckelman says the following examples just scratch the surface of what’s happening in Wichita around technology: • Code schools, such as Ad Astra Academy at Butler Community College, are emerging • The creation of Startup Wichita Third Thursday’s where the city’s tech, business, design and other communities gather and network informally • Initiatives from groups such as devICT, a software development organization, which started work on the hub now known as startupwichita. com • Mentoring eﬀorts such as A STEM’s, a program of Children First: CEO Kansas, Inc., which connects low-income girls with women in the areas of Aviation, Science, Technology, Engineering and Math • And the existence of Maker Spaces such as, MakeICT where, as the organization says, “creators, crafters, DIYers, and hobbyists assemble in a collaborative workspace to share tools, equipment, and knowledge, while socializing and connecting with others.” “If you are brand-new to coding and even thinking about getting into it,

joining a group is, I feel, necessary,” said Kuckelman. “You have to do it. It may be outside of your comfort zone, but taking the ﬁrst step out will be extremely useful.”

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Leadership Entrepreneur Task Force

Growing kansas

BY CHRISTINA M. LONG

Members of the Wichita E-Community's Ice House Entrepreneurship Program, Fall 2014. Photo by Christina M. Long.

ichita business leaders are betting on entrepreneurship to mount a strong defense in the ﬁght against a sluggish economy. “We’re casting this broad net in order to capture everybody,” said Gary Oborny, co-chair of the Leadership Council Entrepreneurship Task Force. The Task Force is one of several convened by the Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce to help identify solutions to some of the city’s toughest challenges. “We want to make sure that everybody has an opportunity in Wichita to be entrepreneurial,” he

said. The policies, programs and funding (in the millions) being put forth are helping start-ups overcome the historical barriers of lacking capital, credit and, even, confidence. Yet, organizers say there aren’t enough minority business owners, particularly African-Americans, involved or benefiting from the efforts. Kyle Williams, a lifelong Wichitan, has been named by the task force as a liaison to the African-American community. “I want to ensure that our communities see business ownership as a real career

opportunity, not as something unattainable,” Williams said. Likewise, Keshia Ezerendu, a program director with the Kansas Leadership Center, has worked in collaboration with the Small Business Administration’s Wichita District Oﬃce on a minority business initiative called ‘Growing Kansas.’ “As we become more of a diverse state, it’s going to be very important to not exclude those minority business owners,” said Ezerendu. Momentum is just now building, Ezerendu said of her group’s eﬀorts. The group worked

URBAN MAGNATE • 18 diligently to identify concerned community members willing to invest time to help make changes. She says those who emerged set out to examine barriers and set priorities. They’ve spent time drilling deep, and have honed in on initiating a minority business mentoring eﬀort. The group also wants to help minority business owners become more comfortable seeking out existing resources to help stabilize their enterprises. “We realize there are structures out there, but how do you connect with the group we’re trying to help and make those structures more welcoming to them?” Ezerendu says. Meanwhile, the chamber’s entrepreneurship task force and its more than 12 liaisons are experiencing tremendous momentum because, as Oborny says, “We’re pushing as fast as we can.” The task force and its liaisons’ successes keep coming and include: StartupWichita.com’s launch as a central connector and resource hub; task force liaison, Network Kansas and its Wichita

E-Community’s successful first installment of the Ice House Entrepreneurship Program and the task force fast-tracking the development of a downtown innovation, business accelerator and co-working center in 2015 to help launch and grow businesses. These are just a few examples. “If we find that there’s a barrier,” Oborny said, “we’re going to work hard to bring them down.” Recognizing that some fear exists when people consider the risk involved with launching a business, Oborny says, he hopes all of the efforts that are happening now create an environment that allows for “the freedom to fail and rebound again, as long as people are learning.” Through it all, both Ezerendu and Oborny want to tap more African-American business owners and organizations to help push the issue forward. The state’s economy depends on it, they say. “We’ve got to get these groups in play,” Oborny says, “because you never know where you’re going to find an entrepreneur. “They’re everywhere.”

Contact Keshia Ezerendu for Growing Kansas, an initiative of the Kansas Leadership Center and the Small Business Administration’s Wichita District Ofﬁce. 316-712-4950

Kyle Williams with the Leadership Entrepreneurship Task Force recommends people visit www.startupwichita.com to get connected.

INFO BOX A number of Wichita-area and state organizations offer resources to entrepreneurs. Here are just a few:

Kansas Small Business Development Center, Wichita State University Web: www.wichita.edu/ksbdc. Phone: 316-978-3193 Network Kansas Web: www.networkkansas.com. Phone: 877-521-8600 Kansas Business Center www.kansas.gov/businesscenter Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce Web: www.wichitachamber.org. Phone: 316-265-7771 Wichita Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Web: www.wichitahcc.com. Phone: 316-265-6334 Small Business Administration (SBA) Web: www.sba.gov/ks. Phone: 316-269-6616 The Wichita E-Community Web: www.wichitaecommunity.com. Phone: 877-521-8600 Mountain Plains Minority Supplier Development Council Web: www.rmmsdc.org/. SCORE Web: www.score.org. Phone: 316-269-6273

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Uriel Martinez, president of the Hispanic American Leadership Organization at Garden City Community College and Felipe Lopez, a Wichita State University student from Ulysses (pictured below) joined more than 40 other HALO members from colleges around Kansas for a conference at the Kansas Leadership Center earlier this year. Photos by Jeff Tuttle

LEADERSHIP TRAINING CONNECTS

Hispanic college students gain connection, support through leadership organization By Erin Perry O’Donnell

Writer, The Journal (Kansas Leadership Center)

n her biology classes at Emporia State University, Vilma Magana is usually the only Hispanic person in the room. She used to feel isolated by that. Then a friend invited her to a meeting of the campus’s Hispanic American Leadership Organization, or HALO. And just like that, Magana was welcomed into a community. “It’s nice knowing there are people like you who share the same upbringing,” says Magana, now a senior in pre-medicine. “It makes me feel more at home, like this is my campus, too. And we can make others feel the same way.”

That feeling of community is becoming ever more important on college campuses in Kansas and around the nation as Hispanics enroll in record numbers at higher education institutions. Hispanics are, by leaps and bounds, the fastestgrowing group of students attending state universities in Kansas, jumping 67 percent over the past ﬁve years. But they still represent just under 6 percent of all university students in Kansas, even though Hispanics accounted for about 13 percent of the state’s high school graduates in 2012. Hispanic youth have historically lagged in college attendance and graduate at lower rates than whites. Such gaps loom large as Hispanics represent an ever-greater share of the state’s population. Groups such as HALO can play a key role in helping

move those numbers by providing a place of connection, support and involvement for the state’s growing ranks of Hispanics attending universities and community colleges. This past spring, Magana joined more than 40 HALO members from colleges around Kansas for a conference at the Kansas Leadership Center. Eleven Kansas colleges have chapters of the national organization. A main purpose of HALO is to encourage Latino youth to get a college education, but it also serves as a support system for Latinos on campus, many of whom don’t have family or friends who have been to college. Read the full story in the most recent issue of The Journal, published quarterly by the Kansas Leadership Center: http://klcjr.nl/halogrp

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Courtesy Photo

Feature story by Jonathan Long

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alance is easier to obtain when your core is strong says Renaire Palmer. And he would know. Palmer, a Wichita native, always had a love for physical training but, as a young college graduate, he was more focused on trying to make money. That focus led him to a medical software sales position in Dallas, TX. When the company folded and he was without a job, Palmer heeded the advice of a relative and realized he had to develop new core values to ﬁnd the balance that he was looking for. “I was training on the side at the time and I loved it, but I didn’t see a lot of money in it, so I wasn’t really thinking about it as a career,” Palmer said. “But I wasn’t really happy doing anything else and one day my God sister said, ‘Wouldn’t you rather be happy as opposed to just getting paychecks?’” Shifting from the paper chase to happiness, Palmer decided to become a full-time physical trainer and to open his own gym, Fundamental Fitness. While in Dallas, he saw that the ﬁtness industry was booming but felt that he lacked the personal relationships and opportunities to compete as a start-up.

Palmer recognized those problems didn’t exist ﬁve hours to the north. “The market was open in Wichita. You know, things get here a little slower than in larger markets,” Palmer said. “I had the connections and people always wanted to work out with me so it seemed like the best move. And things got started faster than I thought they would.” In 2009, Palmer was training individuals outside at city parks and other open spaces. That exposure allowed him to continue using space at other gym locations in the city until he was able to ﬁnd his current 1,100 square ft. facility at 257 S. Hillside in March of 2010. With only a handful of clients to start, Palmer has become successful in growing his business by providing a family atmosphere. “I still don’t do a lot of advertising, so I have to be creative,” Palmer said. “The biggest thing that’s helped me is that people go out and recruit others for me. We work hard, but we get things done. Even if you’re new you jump right in. It doesn’t take long to become part of the group. It’s

real comfortable.” Davette McCoy is one of Palmer’s living commercials. McCoy has lost 75 pounds in the three years she has been training at Fundamental Fitness. “I used to work out on my own and I got frustrated because I was exercising, but didn’t really know what I was doing,” McCoy said. “It’s a real comfortable atmosphere and he does a great job of making people feel relaxed and that makes it fun and not like it’s a chore.” Palmer now has a wide variety of clients ranging from regular, daily customers to college students to hometown professional athletes who seek him out to stay on their game during breaks. Palmer brought on another trainer, Bobby Berry, to help with classes and is currently looking for new space to expand his gym due to increasing clientele. “We’ve grown tremendously, and I’m going to have to ﬁnd a bigger place, Palmer said. “I’m probably going to need about 3,000 square feet.”

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New Year’s Night Out

Rone and Tiare Smith photographed in Old Town by Photography by Michael E. Woods, LLC . The couple is featured with The “Mammoth” Limo provided by S&S Limousines. Visit www.snslimo.com

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UPCOMING EVENTS DECEMBER 10

• Meeting the 3 M's: Learning the Basics of Marketing, Management, and Money 10:00-12:00 p.m. at the WSU Metro Complex, 5015 E. 29th Street North. Free. More info: WSU KSBDC, 316-978-3193. • Metro Jingle Mingle, 4:30-6:30 p.m. at Hotel at Old Town Wichita, 830 E. First St. $10-$20. More info: Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce, 316-2657771.

ICT-UP MEETING

• Beginning QuickBooks 8:30-12:00 p.m. at the WSU Metro Complex, 5015 E. 29th Street North. $119. More info: WSU KSBDC, 316-978-3193 • Intermediate QuickBooks 1:00-4:30 p.m. at the WSU Metro Complex, 5015 E. 29th Street North. $119. More info: WSU KSBDC, 316-978-3193 • Beginning QuickBooks 8:30-12:00 p.m. at the WSU Metro Complex, 5015 E. 29th Street North. $119. More info: WSU KSBDC, 316-978-3193. • Intermediate QuickBooks 1:00-4:30 p.m. at the WSU Metro Complex, 5015 E. 29th Street North. $119. More info: WSU KSBDC, 316-978-3193.

• Sunrise Scrambler-Annual NonProﬁt Showcase 7:30-9:00 a.m. at the Hyatt Regency. $10-$15 members. More info: Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce 316-265-7771.

• Meeting the 3 M's: Learning the Basics of Marketing, Management, and Money 1:00-3:00 p.m. at the WSU Metro Complex, 5015 E. 29th Street North. Free. More info: WSU KSBDC 316-978-3193 • Quick Start Business Planning 3:00-5:00 p.m. at the WSU Metro Complex, 5015 E. 29th Street North. Free. More info: WSU KSBDC 316-9783193. • State Tax Workshop for Contractors 9:00-11:30 a.m. at the WSU Metro Complex, 5015 E. 29th Street North. Free. More info: WSU KSBDC, 316-9783193. • State Tax Workshop 1:00-4:30 p.m. at the WSU Metro Complex, 5015 E. 29th Street North. Free. More info: WSU KSBDC 316-978-3193.

9 - Wichita Urban

Professionals meeting, 7 p.m.-8 p.m. at the Urban League of Kansas, 2418 E. Ninth St. Open to members and prospective members. For more information, call 316-285-0518.

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UPCOMING EVENTS JANUARY 6

• Women's Alliance Luncheon 11:45-1:00 p.m. at the Wichita Boathouse, 515 S. Wichita St. $15. More info: Wichita Independent Business Association 316-201-3264

ICT-UP MEETING

• Meeting the 3 M's: Learning the Basics of Marketing, Management, and Money 3:00-5:00 p.m. at the WSU Metro Complex, 5015 E. 29th Street North. Free. More info: WSU KSBDC, 316-978-3193.

• Wichita Independent Business Association Monthly Luncheon, 11:451:15 p.m. at the Wichita Boathouse, 515 S. Wichita St. $20. More info: Wichita Independent Business Association 316-201-3264.

• Meeting the 3 M's: Learning the Basics of Marketing, Management, and Money 1:00-3:00 p.m. at the WSU Metro Complex, 5015 E. 29th Street North. Free. More info: WSU KSBDC, 316-978-3193. • Quick Start Business Planning 3:00-5:00 p.m. at the WSU Metro Complex, 5015 E. 29th Street North. Free. More info: WSU KSBDC 316-978-3193.

- Wichita Urban Professionals meeting, 7 p.m.-8 p.m. at the Urban League of Kansas, 2418 E. Ninth St. Open to members and prospective members. For more information, call 316-285-0518.

• Wichita SCORE Data Base Information on the Knowledge at Your Finger Tip, 1 p.m.-2:30 p.m. at the Central Branch Wichita Public Library, 223 S. Main. Free. Call, 316-261-8500 to register.

26 • State Tax Workshop for Contractors 9:00-11:30 a.m. at the WSU Metro Complex, 5015 E. 29th Street North. Free. More info: WSU KSBDC 316-978-3193. • State Tax Workshop 1:00-4:30 p.m. at the WSU Metro Complex, 5015 E. 29th Street North. Free. For more info: WSU KSBDC, 316-978-3193. • Meeting the 3 M's: Learning the Basics of Marketing, Management, and Money 10:00-12:00 p.m. at the WSU Metro Complex, 5015 E. 29th Street North. Free. For more info: Wichita WSU KSBDC 316-978-3193

GET LISTED - The Urban Magnate Upcoming Events Page is devoted to listing

professional, economic, small business and other development opportunities and select area events from ICT-UP collaborators and partners. Listings are free and are from a compilation of sources. Urban Magnate publishes bi-monthly. Staﬀ members reserve the right to select calendar content and to format information according to layout. To submit a listing for consideration, please e-mail cmlcollective@gmail.com.

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