05/11 2006, Thursday
Tom Joyner in Kansas City -
April 29th, 2006 - I had an opportunity to photograph Tom Joyner while touring the new multi-million dollar shopping complex "The Shops At Blue Parkway" in Kansas City. Mr. Joyner was full of life and he was not your typical celebrity - this broda was for real. He hugged everyone and was so pleasant to be around.
This was a rather special assignment for me as I was completely floored by the magnitude of work put forth by Swope Community Builders (Tom Joyner's host) in renovating this once "flood-prone" area of town. Surprisingly, I had only traveled through this part of town a few times in my 10 years of stay here in Kansas City (shame on me!!!). But that is all about to change!
Swope Community Builders, a non-profit development company based here in Kansas City has poured more than $500 MILLION in creating what I would classify as "first class" facilities for the people of Blue Parkway. From a fully staffed state-of-the-art hospital to a sprawling shopping complex - creating jobs for people that need them, for my own people!!! THIS IS GIVING BACK TO ONE'S OWN COMMUNITY!!! It's not just the talk for this people, they are actually walking the walk by putting their money where it matters the most.
Below are few images from the event.
