Downtown Lee’s Summit Main Street Honors Volunteers and Businesses at 2026 Annual Awards Event

Volunteers, community members, and local business owners were honored during the Downtown Lee's Summit Main Street Annual Meeting and Awards Dinner on August 12, 2026, in The Aspen Room at the Stanley.

The following individuals and businesses were recognized for their commitment to the revitalization and preservation of Downtown Lee's Summit.

Doug Hord, Volunteer of the Year

This award recognizes a volunteer whose commitment to Downtown revitalization has generated real value for Downtown Lee's Summit.

We are fortunate to be surrounded by people who believe in working as a team and love to create something larger than themselves. This year's Volunteer of the Year is someone we have worked alongside for years, and he has become a true All Star. He has put in hours of hard work at nearly every special event we host. Whether we are loading up Christmas decorations during a downpour or marking booth spaces in 100-degree heat, Doug Hord has always done his part to make the load a little bit lighter. Thank you, Doug, for joining our team. Your caring, compassionate heart inspires us to always give our best.

Susan Coffman, Downtown Champion

This award recognizes someone who does not own a business or property in Downtown Lee's Summit but is consistently supportive of Downtown revitalization.

Our next award recipient is someone who has shown us that small, simple acts of kindness have great power. In a world where it is easy to complain about what is going wrong, Susan Coffman has a superpower for finding the good. She has been a steadfast supporter of Downtown revitalization, championing the development at Green Street, supporting our Farmers Market, and volunteering at our events. She is quick to offer words of encouragement and to highlight the people in our community who are working to make it better. Susan stays active and involved in service organizations Lee's Summit CARES and Rotary, and we are honored to have her support for Downtown Lee's Summit.

Green Street, Best Exterior Signage

This award recognizes outstanding new signage for a Downtown business.

It's impossible not to notice the impact signage plays in creating a sense of place Downtown, and nowhere is that more true than at Green Street. Standing 5 feet tall and 40 feet long, the Green Street neon sign stretched across the lawn has quickly become one of the most photographed signs in Downtown Lee's Summit. Executing a sign like this was no small feat. Once considered a lost art, neon has been embraced across Downtown, and it's extra special that this sign sits roughly in the same spot where the first neon sign returned to Downtown in 2018, sparking our modern neon renaissance.

Futbol Fridays, Top Special Event

This award recognizes a successful event that attracted new visitors to Downtown.

In the lead up to the World Cup, community stakeholders formed LS Goal to welcome soccer fans to celebrate in Lee's Summit. LS Goal harnessed the power of local volunteers to host a special event series at Green Street called Futbol Fridays. Each event featured a different theme, from "Boots on the Pitch" to "Route 66." Every week, more than 1,000 families enjoyed live music, kids games, local food trucks, and, of course, big screen live match watch parties. Several Downtown businesses extended their hours to welcome new visitors. Special thanks to the board of LS Goal: Jackie McCormick Heanue, Matt Baird, Laura Maxwell, John Ellis, Donna Lake, Cori Day, and Donnie Rodgers.

Messner Bee Farm, Outstanding Window Display

This award recognizes the Downtown business that consistently redesigns and decorates its store windows in creative, original, and eye-catching ways.

The worker bees inside Sweet 100 have a talent for creating one heck of a window display. And one thing's for sure: she's a beaut, Clark. Their award-winning "Christmas Vacation" themed living window wasn't the first or the last time they wowed us with their imagination. Every season, their window displays come alive as a glass menagerie of hidden treasures. We've spotted everything from garden gnomes to hanging florals to mythical goddesses molded in beeswax. Truly a little something for everyone. Each new design underscores the magical whimsy rippling throughout their entire store.

Mayor Bill Baird, Outstanding Public Official

This award recognizes someone from the public sector who has demonstrated continued support for the Downtown revitalization program.

Over the past eight years, there's been no greater champion for Downtown Lee's Summit than Mayor Baird. Bill saw the vision and potential of Green Street early on, and he helped lead staff and Council forward in creating a world-class project that is the envy of municipalities across the metro and the country. His commitment to keeping Downtown a priority has set the stage for the heart of our community to keep growing stronger in the years to come.

Green Street, Outstanding Special Project

This award recognizes a special one-time project or activity that advances a Downtown or neighborhood commercial district revitalization effort.

The dream of a farmers market structure in Downtown Lee's Summit is nearly as old as revitalization itself, appearing in plan after plan since 1989. Time after time, the idea kept surfacing and kept being studied, but it never quite made it across the finish line.

That changed in the summer of 2016, when Downtown Lee's Summit Main Street loaded board and staff into a white van and drove nine-plus hours to Lexington, Kentucky, to see the pavilion at Cheapside Park. Over one weekend, they watched a single space host a concert series, an evening festival, and a Saturday farmers market with more than 80 vendors. They came home with a bigger question: why choose between a performance space and a farmers market when you could have both?

They brought a bold proposal to the City, and support swelled almost overnight. Mayor-elect Bill Baird embraced the vision and challenged the team to think bigger, to pursue a once-in-a-generation transformation. Through complex land acquisition, infrastructure hurdles, and a pandemic, the vision persisted. In 2024, Green Street broke ground.

The results speak for themselves. Opening weekend in August 2025 drew 12,500 visitors over four days. Opening Saturday brought 21,500 people Downtown, nearly doubling the typical August traffic of the year before. Average dwell time at the market climbed from 26 minutes to as much as 51. All told, Green Street represents 2.76 acres of mixed-use development and more than $44 million in public investment, with private investment still to come.

More than a farmers market or a performance venue, Green Street is proof of what happens when a community refuses to let a good idea go.

Team Cocktail, Business of the Year

This award is presented to a Downtown Lee's Summit business that shows excellence in all areas of business, community involvement, and volunteerism.

When Team Cocktail opened their Downtown location in 2024, they dove headfirst into Downtown revitalization, and they have been making a splash ever since. These incomparable party hosts have a knack for putting a creative spin on events that drive traffic Downtown, most notably their Boozy Boutique Bus Tour, their late night shopping event After Dark, and their Fizz the Season holiday happy hour. There must be something in the water over at Team Cocktail. Most likely Cutwater margaritas. Whatever it is, their team is working with a deep well of creative juice. Co-owner Lyndsey Fliehs has dedicated hours to our Promotions Committee, adding music and festive flair to our shopping events, creating advertising content, and sharing marketing strategies. They truly are team players, always working to involve and include other businesses in the fun.

Michele Spilker, Outgoing Board Member

We also recognized a departing member of our board of directors for her years of service.

Michele Spilker has always stepped up to lend a hand whenever we have needed her. We value her commitment and friendship, and we know she will remain a strong supporter of this organization for years to come. Thank you, Michele!