Starlight Board Members Honored

Kudos go out to two members of the Starlight Theatre Board of Directors who have been honored recently for their service to the Kansas City community.

Roshann Parris
2016 Distinguished Citizen Award from the Boy Scouts of America Heart of America Council

At a dinner event Sept. 15, Roshann Parris, founder and CEO of Parris Communications, will receive the 2016 Distinguished Citizen Award, one of the Boy Scouts’ top honors. Since 1991, the Boy Scouts Heart of America Council has bestowed the award on an individual or company whose efforts have made a distinct difference in the fabric of the Kansas City community. Each honoree’s community involvement must touch lives and improve the quality of life for all.

Parris, who is a longtime Starlight board member and also a leader on the EPIC Innovative Events board, founded her Kansas City-based public relations and strategic communications firm 28 years ago. While overseeing her company, she has also maintained an active Washington, D.C.-based public sector career, including serving in a senior role on multiple presidential campaign staffs. Parris is the daughter of a Boy Scout, mother of an Eagle Scout and a Girl Scout, and grandmother of five future Scouts. She has previously received numerous community service awards from organizations across Kansas City.

Katie Dunn Fitzgerald
“Women Who Mean Business” Honoree by The Kansas City Business Journal

Katie Dunn Fitzgerald, senior wealth consultant at Mariner Wealth Advisors and six-year member of the Starlight board, was among 25 Kansas City area women business leaders recently honored in the Business Journal’s Women Who Mean Business program. Now in its 17th year, the program recognizes top-ranking women in for-profit Kansas City businesses who take an active role in the community and in helping other businesswomen. Since the program began in 2000, it has recognized 425 area women.

At an awards luncheon Aug. 26, Fitzgerald was cited for being her company’s top producer and for being a passionate supporter of both arts and children’s causes. In addition to serving as secretary of the Starlight board and helping to found the “Center Stage: Young Professionals of Starlight” organization, she has served on many other local boards, including Crittenton Children’s Center and The Children’s Place. Fitzgerald is also a founding member of the United Way Women’s Leadership Council and serves as a resource to younger women through the Business Journal’s Women Mentoring Women program.

Help Starlight give a standing ovation to these two outstanding performers!