The Greater Topeka Partnership announced that Glenda Washington, chief equity and opportunity officer, for the Greater Topeka Partnership, was recognized by iChange Nations with the iChange Nations Global Life of Impact Award. Previous award winners include His Majesty King Oyo Nyimba, Toro Kingdom in Uganda; Ben Shelly, former president of the Navajo Nation; and Wolde Giorgis, former president of Ethiopia, among others.
The Kansas Public Employees Retirement System has named J. Michael Cumming, CFA, as its deputy chief investment officer for public markets. He succeeds Bruce Fink, CFA, who was promoted to chief investment officer in October. Cumming has 25 years of experience in investment portfolio management and equity analysis. Before joining KPERS, Cumming served as portfolio manager for Country Club Trust Co. He has held senior investment and equity management roles for Scout Investments Inc., Tradelink Securities LLC, Morningstar Inc., Asset Preservation Advisors and the State of Iowa Treasurer’s Office. Cumming earned a bachelor of arts in business administration and economics from Hastings College in Hastings, Nebraska, and a master of business administration from Emory University in Atlanta. He also earned the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.
The North American Travel Journalists Association recently announced winners of its 31st annual NATJA Travel Media Awards Competition. In the destination marketing organization categories, Visit Topeka took home a Gold Award for Creative Marketing Campaign for its work on Topeka Dino Days, which included four primary exhibits and a citywide activation of local attractions and businesses. Visit Topeka’s NATJA Gold Award comes on the heels of a slew of related honors, including two 2022 Adrian Awards from Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International and a 2022 Travel Industry Association of Kansas Marketing Award for the Topeka Dino Days campaign. Local partner Sprout Creative was also recognized for its work on Topeka Dino Days with a Platinum MarCom Award. Meanwhile, Sean Dixon, president of Visit Topeka, in October was named one of Northstar Meeting Group’s most influential meetings industry professionals for 2022.
• “This award is an incredible honor,” Dixon said. “The amount of collaboration, creativity and hard work that went into this campaign was truly staggering. Visit Topeka was recognized for best Creative Marketing Campaign alongside some of the best travel and tourism organizations in North America and received Gold Award recognition in a category filled with incredible competition. I cannot wait to build on this success and inspire more families to discover what Topeka has to offer!”
• “The Topeka Dino Days event was an incredible experience that inspired visitors from across the country,” said Dené Mosier, president and CEO of the Kansas Children’s Discovery Center and chair of the Visit Topeka Board of Directors. “Our exhibit, Tiny Titans, broke the discovery center’s single-day attendance record after launching in March of 2022. As chair of the Visit Topeka board, I am thrilled to see this hard work recognized by the North American Travel Journalists Association. Visit Topeka created an innovative and disruptive travel campaign that brought our community together and increased traffic for local attractions and businesses.”
• “Topeka Dino Days was a roaring success for the Topeka Zoo and our entire community,” said Brendan Wiley, CEO of the Topeka Zoo and Conservation Center. “We were thrilled to partner with Visit Topeka to bring this community-wide travel experience to life. Our Dinosaurs Alive experience exceeded our expectations and gave visitors a new reason to explore our incredible zoo and conservation center. I am proud to see this hard work recognized by NATJA with a Gold Award for best Creative Marketing Campaign.”
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