KANSAS CITY, KAN. ----- The Wyandotte County mayors, in cooperation with Wyandotte County Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast Committee, are hosting the 40th annual Mayors' Prayer Breakfast on Friday, Nov. 7 at 7 a.m. Seating begins at 6:45 a.m.
The breakfast buffet and program will be held at the Reardon Convention Center at 500 Minnesota Ave., Kansas City, Kan. Tickets are $20 per person.
All ticket reservations must be paid in advance. To purchase tickets, reserve a table of eight, or to inquire about a company sponsorship, please call 913-371-3070 and ask for Cecelia.
Emanuel Cleaver, II, who is now serving his fifth term representing Missouri’s Fifth Congressional District, will offer the keynote motivational speech at this year’s breakfast.
Because of Congressman Cleaver, Missouri’s Fifth District is home to the only city in the nation with the distinction of having the National World War I Museum and Memorial, farmers and ranchers throughout the district now have more freedom in choosing who works in the family business, and the Congressman has been recognized across the country for his efforts to bring cooperation, common sense, and civility to Washington in the sea of political partisanship, dysfunction, and debilitating delays.
Having served for twelve years on the city council of Missouri’s largest municipality, Kansas City, Congressman Cleaver was elected as the city’s first African American Mayor in 1991.
Congressman Cleaver has received five honorary Doctoral Degrees augmented by a Bachelor’s degree from Prairie View A&M, and a Master’s degree from St. Paul’s School of Theology of Kansas City.
After graduating from Prairie View he moved to Kansas City where he founded a local chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). He became pastor of the St. James United Methodist Church in Kansas City where he built the congregation from 47 members to more than 2,000. Cleaver’s great-grandfather and grandfather were preachers, as were several of his uncles and cousins. One of the Congressman’s three sons (Emanuel Cleaver, III) – has followed in the footsteps of his father and grandfathers – and is now pastor of St. James.
Congressman Cleaver has been called one of the hardest working Members in the country, and has a long and illustrious list of accomplishments for our area to prove it.
He designed the nationally recognized Green Impact Zone in the heart of Kansas City, creating jobs, boosting the economy, revitalizing small business, increasing affordable housing, improving energy efficiency and securing technology to assist law enforcement in the fight for safer communities.
During his eight year stint in the Office of the Mayor, Cleaver distinguished himself as an economic development activist and an unapologetic redevelopment craftsman. He and the City Council brought a number of major corporations to the city.
Additionally, his municipal stewardship includes the 18th and Vine Redevelopment, a new American Royal, the establishment of a Family Division of the Municipal Court, and the reconstruction and beautification of Brush Creek.
From civil rights activist to Methodist minister to his election as the first black mayor of Kansas City, Missouri, the Reverend Emanuel Cleaver II has changed his approach to social activism with the changing times.
A combination of ministerial calling and civil rights pursuits have made Cleaver a great local and national leader. You are invited to hear his tremendous story of faith and perseverance and how his journey has influenced his insight into how a strong faith community can lead to a successful community.
"We encourage the community to attend the Mayors' Prayer Breakfast and hear how Congressman Cleaver’s faith has had a given him a special direction in life and commitment to our community," said Tom Johnson, Mayors’ Prayer Breakfast committee chairperson.
