Mayor Appoints Mary Jane Judy as New Parks and Recreation Board Commissioner
On June 4, Mayor Sly James announced the appointment of Mary Jane Judy as a new commissioner on the Parks and Recreation Board. Judy is an associate attorney at Polsinelli Shughart, where she focuses on real estate transactions and finance matters. She has previously served as chair of the City’s Liquor Control Board of Review as well as on the boards of several charities. She is a graduate of the University of Missouri School of Law.
“It is my pleasure to welcome Mary Jane Judy to the Parks and Recreation Board. As a commissioner she joins an organization with an exceptional national reputation. For generations Kansas City’s parks have served as a place where residents gather, play and make memories. I know Commissioner Judy will add to that legacy and proud tradition of service,” said Mayor James.
Commissioner Judy replaces outgoing Commissioner Aimee Gromowsky, who has been appointed by the governor to the Jackson County Sports Commission. Commissioner Judy begins work immediately and was sworn in today at the Parks and Recreation Board meeting.
Kansas City’s Parks and Recreation Department operates and maintains close to 12,000 acres of parkland including 220 parks, 135 miles of boulevards and parkways, 48 fountains, 87 sculptures and monuments, 29 lakes, 100+ miles of trails and bikeways, 144 ball diamonds, 105 tennis courts, five golf courses, four museums and coordinates hundreds of special events.
In the mid-1850s William Russell, Alexander Majors and William Waddell were partners in the business of transporting freight, animals and supplies across the country. The business venture for which they became best known was the Pony Express, where young men rode a series of horses across plains and mountains from St. Joseph, Missouri to Sacramento, California in ten days, carrying mail for $1 to $5 a half-ounce ($1 in 1861 = $26 in 2012 figures). This was a speed much faster than the normal carriage of mail by stagecoach. The Pony Express lasted from April 1860-October 1861. Its demise was due to the development of the telegraph, the high cost to send a letter and cost to supply horses and furbishing the stations where the riders would pick up their fresh horses, as well as the outbreak of the Civil War.
The outrageous musical comedy is “lovingly ripped off” from the film classic “Monty Python and the Holy Grail.” With music and lyrics by the Grammy-Award winning team of Eric Idle and John Du Prez, Spamalot tells the story of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table as they embark on their quest for the Holy Grail. Show-stopping musical numbers include “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” and “Find Your Grail.”
On Sunday, June 9, Kansas City visitors and families will have a unique opportunity to learn about the fountains that make our city special. The KC Festival of Fountains will take place at the Bloch Fountain, in front of the Union Station, from 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
The ceremony at the