Swope Health announces a new edition of its podcast, One on One with Swope Health, featuring Jason Parson, president and CEO of Parson + Associates and chairman of the Downtown Council’s board of directors.
Eric Wesson, founder and publisher of The Next Page KC, a newspaper focused on the Black community, hosts the show’s conversations with Kansas Citians about issues of importance to the community’s health and wellbeing.
Parson is a native of Kansas City who grew up with fond memories of 18th and Vine, grandson to the legendary Jay McShann, jazz pianist and vocalist. He is a graduate of UMKC He joined the military at age 17 – a wonderful experience, he said, formative at that stage in his life. He served in the war in Iraq and then later, graduated from UMKC. In 2007, he founded Parson + Associates as a strategic communications, public relations and project management firm.
“It was something I believed in, and although there was no guarantee of success, failure was not an option,” he said. The firm steadily won contracts with cities of Omaha, Wichita, and Kansas City, including high-profile projects like the new KCI Airport and the Kansas City streetcar system. The firm now has nine employees and is pursuing projects it believes can make a difference.
In this conversation, Parson discusses the extension of the Kansas City streetcar and his advocacy for extending the line east-west along 18th Street, which he calls “the absolute best cultural corridor in Kansas City.” He calls the feasibility work underway now a step in the right direction.
Parson also describes his investment efforts in the 18th and Vine area, a portfolio that now includes the buildings housing Vine Street Brewing, the first Black-owned brewery in the state, and the Boone Theater.
As chair of the Downtown Council, Parson notes that 18th and Vine historic Jazz District is part of the Downtown. He describes his role as to make sure all the neighborhoods are engaged, making sure voices are heard and interests are represented. Parson says the Jazz District matters to him and has always been a special place.
With the Downtown Council, in his remaining five months as chair, Parson said he wants to ensure that the connections he’s forged between the minority community and the Council remain strong. He wants the community to be connected to the Council, to learn and engage, as well as ensure the participation of neglected or underrepresented communities.
Listen to the full conversation: https://youtu.be/daIgQRwq9H4
