Winners to be honored on October 20 as 2011 Pinnacle Award honorees.
The Johnson County Library Foundation has named four outstanding individuals as winners of the annual 2011 Pinnacle Awards: Carlos Antequera, Mark Gilman, Kathy McLellan, and Gregory T. Wolf.
The four award categories: Literacy and Education, Business and Entrepreneurship, Arts, and Advocacy and Public Engagement, reflect the focus of the Foundation and the Library’s work in the community. The 2011 Pinnacle Awards honorees were selected because they demonstrate excellence in their professional fields or philanthropic pursuits:
Kathy McLellan, Overland Park – Excellence in Literacy & Education
McLellan has guided young Johnson Countians to good books and deeper literacy for more than 36 years. She co-created Books-to-Grow kits, for outreach to child care providers, earning a Finalist award in the Innovations American Government competition in 1998. McLellan was a member of the 2004 Newbery Book Award Committee. In recognition of the outreach programs she and fellow librarian Tricia Sullentrop developed for teens in the justice system, she was a co-recipient in 2005 of Library Journal’s “Movers & Shakers” designation, which identifies new leaders nationally. Since 2009, she has been creating early literacy centers in all 13 neighborhood libraries. She currently serves as Youth Outreach Librarian for Johnson County Library.
Carlos Antequera, Shawnee – Excellence in Business & Entrepreneurship
Every day, Antequera wakes up and asks himself how he can help schools do it better. He is Co-Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of Netchemia, an on-demand provider of data management solutions to more than 400 educational organizations across the nation. Netchemia’s applications enable school districts of any size to improve efficiencies, reduce costs, and ultimately improve student success. Antequera is a participant in the prestigious Helzberg Entrepreneurial Mentoring Program and was also a KTEC Pipeline Fellow; both programs are aimed at developing technology entrepreneurial talent. He has also served as an executive board member of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Greater Kansas City. Netchemia currently employs 25 people and is located in Prairie Village.
Mark Gilman, Mission Hills – Excellence in the Arts
For more than 40 years, Gilman has been instrumental in developing the capabilities of arts organizations throughout the metro, serving the Board of The Barn Players, Missouri Repertory Theater (now Kansas City Rep), Arts Council of Johnson County, Arts Advisory Committee at Johnson County Community College, and the Kansas Arts Commission. Gilman has directed productions and acted on stages, and has even provided pro bono printing services to local high school theaters. The 2002 Volunteer Center of Johnson County’s Volunteer of the Year, Gilman is currently a member of the JCCC Foundation Board and Shawnee Mission Medical Center Foundation Board. Gilman is Chairman of the Board of Gill Studios in Lenexa.
Gregory T. Wolf, Prairie Village – Excellence in Advocacy & Public Engagement
Wolf has made a habit of leading from the front. Currently, Wolf serves – often as chair – on the Menorah Medical Center Advisory Board and on the boards of the Jewish Community Campus of Greater Kansas City, Yale Club of Kansas City, Kansas Technology Enterprise Corporation (KTEC), Overland Park Chamber of Commerce, and Impact KC, among others. In 2006, Wolf was recognized by Ingram’s for its “40 Under Forty” list, and in 2002, the Yale Class of 1992 presented him with a Distinguished Service Award. From 1995 to 1997, he clerked for the Honorable John W. Lungstrom, U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas. He is an attorney with SNR Denton.
The Johnson County Library Foundation will host the 2011 Pinnacle Awards Dinner to honor the winners on Thursday, October 20, in the Regnier Center at Johnson County Community College, 12345 College Blvd., Overland Park, KS. The event begins with a reception for the honorees at 6:00 p.m. with dinner to follow at 7:00 p.m.
Individual tickets to the event may be purchased for $75 each. Event sponsorship opportunities are available at $500, $1,000, $3,000 and $5,000 levels. For details about sponsorship benefits or to purchase tickets, call Johnson County Library Foundation Executive Director Andrea Lombard at (913) 826-4720 or visit www.jocolibraryfoundation.org.
