{"id":395,"date":"2023-02-23T14:19:31","date_gmt":"2023-02-23T14:19:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/esustage.wpengine.com\/kansas-city\/?page_id=395"},"modified":"2024-06-04T15:45:59","modified_gmt":"2024-06-04T15:45:59","slug":"esu-kansas-city-history","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/kansascity\/who-we-are\/esu-kansas-city-history\/","title":{"rendered":"ESU Kansas City History"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<section id=\"kc-history-block\" class=\"esu-basic-full-width\">\n\n    <div class=\"inner\">\n        <div class=\"wrapper\">\n\n            \n                            <div class=\"title heading-2\">\n                    A Brief History of the Kansas City Branch of the ESU                <\/div>\n            \n            \n                            <div class=\"content\">\n                    <p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-895\" src=\"https:\/\/esustage.wpengine.com\/kansas-city\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2024\/03\/kc.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1393\" height=\"728\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/kansascity\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2024\/03\/kc.jpeg 1393w, https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/kansascity\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2024\/03\/kc-300x157.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/kansascity\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2024\/03\/kc-1024x535.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/kansascity\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2024\/03\/kc-768x401.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1393px) 100vw, 1393px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">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&#8217;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.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When Lt. Col. Gates returned to Kansas City after the war ended in 1918, he was so impressed with the English-Speaking Union\u2019s 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.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lt. Col. Gates shared the same belief as ESU\u2019s founder Sir Evelyn Wrench\u2014an organization which shared a common English language worldwide would soon discover that it also shared similar values, whatever the differences in nationality or background.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The ESU Kansas City Branch has had many distinguished&nbsp; members who were leaders in all areas of Kansas City\u2019s 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.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">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.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>This video describes ESU Kansas City\u2019s rich history and some of our major educational programs.<\/p>\n<div class=\"video-container\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"ESU Kansas City Branch History\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/sQlsJmJ5cC0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-738 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/esustage.wpengine.com\/kansas-city\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2023\/10\/ESU-Kansas-City_RGB_L-300x194.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"194\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/kansascity\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2023\/10\/ESU-Kansas-City_RGB_L-300x194.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/kansascity\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2023\/10\/ESU-Kansas-City_RGB_L-1024x664.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/kansascity\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2023\/10\/ESU-Kansas-City_RGB_L-768x498.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/kansascity\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2023\/10\/ESU-Kansas-City_RGB_L-1536x995.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/kansascity\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2023\/10\/ESU-Kansas-City_RGB_L-2048x1327.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n                <\/div>\n            \n            \n\n            \n        <\/div>\n\n    <\/div>\n\n<\/section>\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<section id=\"\" class=\"esu-basic-full-width\">\n\n    <div class=\"inner\">\n        <div class=\"wrapper\">\n\n            \n                            <div class=\"title heading-2\">\n                    5 Things You Should Know About The ESU Kansas City Branch                <\/div>\n            \n            \n                            <div class=\"content\">\n                    <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">1. We&#8217;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.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-897 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/esustage.wpengine.com\/kansas-city\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2024\/03\/kc-history-1.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"133\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/kansascity\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2024\/03\/kc-history-1.jpeg 258w, https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/kansascity\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2024\/03\/kc-history-1-200x300.jpeg 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 133px) 100vw, 133px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">2. Our Branch&#8217;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.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-898\" src=\"https:\/\/esustage.wpengine.com\/kansas-city\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2024\/03\/kc-history-2.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"220\" height=\"286\"><\/p>\n<p>3. <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One of our Branch&#8217;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.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>4. <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">2024 marks the 40<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">th<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> 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.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-881\" src=\"https:\/\/esustage.wpengine.com\/kansas-city\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2024\/03\/Edwina-Sandys-3.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"525\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/kansascity\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2024\/03\/Edwina-Sandys-3.jpeg 525w, https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/kansascity\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2024\/03\/Edwina-Sandys-3-300x200.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 525px) 100vw, 525px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>5. <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A permanent statue of Winston and Clementine Churchill, titled &#8220;Married Love&#8221; 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.&nbsp;Watch this video describing the history of the Winston and Clementine Churchill statue in Kansas City.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"video-container\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Winston and Clementine Churchill Statue, Kansas City, Missouri\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/i4DUZa_JBJA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n                <\/div>\n            \n            \n\n            \n        <\/div>\n\n    <\/div>\n\n<\/section>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":16,"menu_order":3,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":true,"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-395","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.2 (Yoast SEO v26.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>ESU Kansas City History - Kansas City<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/kansascity\/who-we-are\/esu-kansas-city-history\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"ESU Kansas City History\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/kansascity\/who-we-are\/esu-kansas-city-history\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Kansas City\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-06-04T15:45:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/kansascity\/who-we-are\/esu-kansas-city-history\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/kansascity\/who-we-are\/esu-kansas-city-history\/\",\"name\":\"ESU Kansas City History - Kansas City\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/kansascity\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2023-02-23T14:19:31+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-06-04T15:45:59+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/kansascity\/who-we-are\/esu-kansas-city-history\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/kansascity\/who-we-are\/esu-kansas-city-history\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/kansascity\/who-we-are\/esu-kansas-city-history\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/kansascity\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Who We Are\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/kansascity\/who-we-are\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"ESU Kansas City History\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/kansascity\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/kansascity\/\",\"name\":\"Kansas City\",\"description\":\"The English Speaking Union of the USA\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/kansascity\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"ESU Kansas City History - Kansas City","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/kansascity\/who-we-are\/esu-kansas-city-history\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"ESU Kansas City History","og_url":"https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/kansascity\/who-we-are\/esu-kansas-city-history\/","og_site_name":"Kansas City","article_modified_time":"2024-06-04T15:45:59+00:00","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/kansascity\/who-we-are\/esu-kansas-city-history\/","url":"https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/kansascity\/who-we-are\/esu-kansas-city-history\/","name":"ESU Kansas City History - Kansas City","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/kansascity\/#website"},"datePublished":"2023-02-23T14:19:31+00:00","dateModified":"2024-06-04T15:45:59+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/kansascity\/who-we-are\/esu-kansas-city-history\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/kansascity\/who-we-are\/esu-kansas-city-history\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/kansascity\/who-we-are\/esu-kansas-city-history\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/kansascity\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Who We Are","item":"https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/kansascity\/who-we-are\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"ESU Kansas City History"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/kansascity\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/kansascity\/","name":"Kansas City","description":"The English Speaking Union of the USA","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/kansascity\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"coauthors":[],"author_meta":{"author_link":"https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/kansascity\/blog\/author\/esudevdev\/","display_name":"esudevdev"},"relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 3 years ago","modified":"Updated 2 years ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on February 23, 2023","modified":"Updated on June 4, 2024"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on February 23, 2023 2:19 pm","modified":"Updated on June 4, 2024 3:45 pm"},"featured_img_caption":"","featured_img":false,"series_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/kansascity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/395","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/kansascity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/kansascity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/kansascity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/kansascity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=395"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/kansascity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/395\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/kansascity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/16"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esuus.org\/kansascity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=395"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}