Kimberly Edmonds (center), Vice President and Region Manager of Cox’s Kansas operation, accepts the Urban League award for diversity. Also shown (left to right): Robert Allison, Bank of America; Jeff Pace, Hyatt Hotel; Brian Black, President and CEO of the Urban League of the MidPlains; Lou Heldman, Wichita Eagle newspaper

(Wichita, KS). The Equal Opportunity Day Award Dinner is the Urban League’s premier fundraising event. The event is held annually to enlist a focused community wide recognition of equal opportunity and the value of diversity for all Kansans. The award is presented to celebrate the diversity accomplishments of the awardee and to encourage other corporations to strive for excellence in promoting diversity within their corporate structure and supply chain.

The Urban League’s Board of Trustees unanimously selected Cox Communications as the 2005 Equal Opportunity Corporate Diversity Award Winner. Brian A. Black, president and chief executive officer of the Urban League stated, “Cox Communications is an exemplary company in the areas of access and equity. At Cox Communications, diversity is a critical part of their culture, values and business operations.”

The award dinner will take place Thursday, May 26, 2005 at the downtown Wichita Hyatt beginning at 6:30 p.m. with a welcome reception and the dinner will start promptly at 7:30 p.m. This year’s dinner co-chairs are Mr. Robert Allison, president of Bank of America Kansas, Mr. Lou Heldman, president and publisher of The Wichita Eagle, and The Honorable Carlos Mayans, mayor of the City of Wichita.

The formal program will end promptly at 8 p.m. and the remainder of the evening is designed to allow attendees to dine and mingle in an effort to learn from each other strategies for leveraging diversity as a competitive advantage for the future success of their companies and communities. Dinner reservations are still available for the event. For more information please contact Ms. Julie Taborsky at 316-262-2463. This is the diversity event of the year to be remembered.

The Urban League believes by fostering diversity among its suppliers, employees, and communities, Kansas corporations can have a profound impact on the overall growth of our economy.