The Kansas City Branch of the English-Speaking Union was organized in 1920, the same year the U.S. headquarters was founded in New York City. Our branch’s first president was Lt. Col. Marvin H. Gates who was a Commanding Officer in WW I with Captain Harry S. Truman under his command. 

When Lt. Col. Gates returned to Kansas City after the war ended in 1918, he was so impressed with the English-Speaking Union’s mission in London, England, which was founded in 1918, that he set a goal to open a branch in Kansas City with the same mission. Two years later in 1920, the ESU Kansas City Branch was formed with 20 members.

Lt. Col. Gates shared the same belief as ESU’s founder Sir Evelyn Wrench—an organization which shared a common English language worldwide would soon discover that it also shared similar values, whatever the differences in nationality or background. 

The ESU Kansas City Branch has had many distinguished  members who were leaders in all areas of Kansas City’s life including Charles H. Price II who was the U.S. Ambassador to Great Britain during the Reagan years from 1983-1989. Joyce C. Hall, founder of Hallmark Cards, was a member in the mid-1950s. William T. Kemper, Jr., part of the prominent banking family in Kansas City, was the treasurer of the ESU Kansas City Branch. Crosby Kemper III, who was Executive Director of the Kansas City Public Library from 2005 until 2020, and was the great grandson of William T. Kemper, was also a member of the ESU Kansas City Branch.

For over 100 years, the ESU Kansas City Branch continues its tradition of employing English as a shared language to inspire common bonds and empowerment of students, teachers and immigrants through creative and confident civil discourse. Our educational programs focus on teacher enrichment and support, immigrant support, scholarships and youth speaking programs. 

1. We’re one of the oldest ESU Branches in the U.S. We were founded in 1920, the same year the ESU National Headquarters was founded.   

2. Our Branch’s first president (1920) was Lt. Col. Marvin H. Gates who was a Commanding Officer in WW I with Captain Harry S. Truman under his command.

3. One of our Branch’s most famous members was Charles H. Price II. In 1981, President Ronald Reagan appointed Price as U.S. Ambassador to Belgium. He was quickly and unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate. In 1983, President Reagan recalled Price from his post in Belgium and appointed him Ambassador to the United Kingdom. Unanimously confirmed, he held the post until the end of the Reagan Administration in 1989.

4. 2024 marks the 40th anniversary for our Annual Shakespeare Competition in Kansas City. Our Kansas City Branch has produced two National First-Place Winners, one National Second-Place Winner, one National Third Place Winner, and four National top 10 Finalists.

5. A permanent statue of Winston and Clementine Churchill, titled “Married Love” by the famous sculptor Oscar Nemon, was dedicated on the Country Club Plaza in 1984. The ESU Kansas City Branch was a co-contributor and major benefactor to the funding for the statue. Nemon created a smaller version of this statue at Blenheim Palace in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England where Churchill was born and married.