Looking Forward.

from TODAY Kansas City - Spring 2023

Music, Dance, Art, Drama, and the Occasional Sword Fight.

I learned the hard way that you can’t see where you are going always walking backward. It applies to getting your steps in, but it also applies to cities and planning. And growing.

Our lead article is, in a roundabout way, my favorite sport, baseball. Sorry, Formula One. I have been in and out of minor league and major league stadiums my whole life. My attitude took an about-face when, after being a season ticket holder at Kauffman Stadium, I visited Baltimore and walked to Camden Yards, in downtown Baltimore.

It reinforced what I saw in cities with minor league parks: they were a centerpiece of the city; there was pride in what they said about the city; and they fed the city’s ego and its belief in itself.

As I stated, I was a season ticket holder for many years, and I remember the opening of Royals Stadium. I have a very unique soft spot for it. My children and I spent many a night (82 per year) bonding and discovering while watching the Royals. My partner of over 25 years’ father was instrumental in the final design. However. . .

The heart of our city is downtown, from the new WMLS Stadium, T-Mobile Arena, the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, Copaken Theater, The Music Hall, and a vibrant growing residential sector and a visitor infrastructure.

Bringing the baseball stadium into our downtown area will add another opportunity for us to showcase a very valuable asset, major league baseball, and give rise to all of the support entities that will be lifted by the stadium.

I only ask you to read the article, maybe look up a couple of the examples the author mentions and imagine 82 nights of excitement in our downtown area. Summer evenings with drinks, dinner, and a stroll to the ballpark, idyllic, yes, but you have to look forward to see it.

I hope you enjoy this issue. It has a bit of a new “forward” look to it. The content is about our region and some of the amazing people we share it with. Enjoy!

Soave Automotive Group

MARION BATTAGLIA President

KEVIN KILLILEA Vice President

ANGIE LEWITZKE Controller

CHUCK DAVIS Service and Parts Director

ROBERT HELLWEG Marketing Director

SCOTT SWENSON General Manager Factory Relations

LARRY MILLER Inventory Director

LINDSEY BENEFIELD Internet Manager

FERNANDO RICCI Finance & Insurance Director

MATT ROSENBLOOM Director of Sales Operation

DAVID HUGHES General Manager Aristocrat Lee's Summit

KRIS NIELSEN General Manager Aristocrat Motors Topeka

NEW VEHICLE SALES MANAGERS

DAVID ANDREWS Aristocrat Mercedes-Benz

KIRK WILLMS Mercedes-Benz of Kansas City

CHUCK OBRIEN Porsche Kansas City

JOE SIRNA Jaguar-Land Rover

JAY CHEATHAM Alfa Romeo and Maserati

PRE-OWNED MANAGERS

JK CORNELIUS Aristocrat Motors

ROSS STRADA Mercedes-Benz Kansas City

MIKE REID Aristocrat Motors Topeka

DAVID FISER Aristocrat Lee's Summit

SERVICE MANAGERS

CHARLES FRIEDMAN Aristocrat Mercedes-Benz | Maserati | Alfa Romeo

RODNEY PARKER Porsche Kansas City

KEVIN SMELL Jaguar-Land Rover of Merriam

ISAAC NICHOLS Aristocrat Motors Topeka

JOHN DOOLITTLE Mercedes-Benz of Kansas City

PARTS MANAGERS

BILL WELLS Aristocrat Motors

DAVID BARNES Mercedes-Benz of Kansas City

RICK WITT Jaguar-Land Rover of Merriam

KIP NASH Aristocrat Motors Topeka

ROBERT HELLWEG Editor | 913.677.7414

KATHRYN CREEL Creative Director

MARCI LINN Copyeditor

ALLYSON ELLIS Sales Director | 913.634.3838

AMANI SKALACKI Fashion Director

ALISON BARNES MARTIN Fashion Photographer

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