KC IABC Masters – Going Strong for Decades

One of the most vibrant and active KC IABC groups is our, now decades-old, Masters Group community.  This group was formed with the idea to organize a small community of “master” practitioners from within KC IABC. These are all members with 15-20+ years of experience who meet, usually on a quarterly basis, for a shared dinner and discussion.

The group's goal is to advance professional development with an emphasis on topics that are more relevant for people who are deeper in their career, have leadership positions, etc. Many members have held senior positions in companies or nonprofits or perhaps have had their own agency or consultancy.  

One of the hallmarks of the group is its commitment to bringing in notable speakers. Because this is a smaller group meeting over a more casual, dinner setting, the discussion can be a bit more intimate and detailed.  Past special guest speakers have included notable communications leaders, past Lowell Award winners and authors/speakers with a regional and even national profile. Examples include former VML President Matt Anthony, nationally-known author Dr. Cory Scheer and many others of similar note. A confirmed future speaker is Jerry Seib, former Wall Street Journal editorial page editor and panelist on Sunday network news programs.

The group is also committed to helping each other and will often meet just to discuss a topical challenge or issue for communications leaders. The KC IABC masters group has been recognized by IABC International as a model for other chapters.  

The group is now led by Matt Tidwell (mtidwell@ku.edu) and he is happy to answer any questions. Matt replaced long-time KC IABC member Julie Bartels-Smith who led the group very successfully for many years.