Ingram's December 2022

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PROFILES IN PHILANTHROPY

CLASS OF 2022

H e brought you tomorrow’s weather most every night for 30 years, but that just scratches the surface of Gary Lezak’s impact on his adopted hometown. Most prominent among those efforts has been his passion for dogs—like the green screen, they were essential to his broadcast routine, but they weren’t props: Lezak is a long time advocate for causes like Wayside Waifs and its annu al Fur Ball, the Humane Society, Dog-n-Jog and more. In three decades of active support, his volunteer work with Wayside Waifs alone has helped that organization gener ate more than $25 million in donations. Not all of those

L ong before the nation began its extended conversation about equity, Michael and Jamila Weaver were addressing the impacts of disparate health outcomes for minorities. He practiced medicine for more than 40 years, much of it as an emergency room physician and diversity executive with Saint Luke’s Hospital; she brought a nursing background and an advanced degree in health-care administration. Together, they are tackling a piece of the health-care ecosystem that contributed to those inequities: a fundamental lack of health-care students of color. They do that through the Mission Vision Project, where Michael serves as president and Jamila volunteers with administrative support, with a focus on bringing under-represented minorities into the field. Inequities in student diversity have been part of Michael’s journey since college—he was the first African-American to complete the six-year medical degree program at UMKC’s school of med icine, where he would become part of the faculty, and where he remains clinical professor emeritus. “I was very fortunate to have had parents who were both school teachers and taught me early about the value of a good education,” he says. “Along with my Catholic upbringing, I learned the need to donate/tithe, volunteer, and give back to the community. That has carried over into my medical career by going on medical missions around the globe and in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.” For the past 17 years, he has mentored under-represented minority students in each of the metro area’s three medical schools—his alma mater and the schools at the University of Kansas and Kansas City University. Now, he says, Jamila “has inspired me to broaden the pathway

are of the four-legged stripe. Following his own cancer diagnosis in 1999, Lezak became deeply engaged with the American Cancer Society as he worked through his own full recovery and beyond. “I am so happy to have been able to help out in these functions, pro viding a positive atmo sphere and message to help fundraise. I never thought I would have been involved in this

GARY LEZAK

to include schools of nurs ing, dentistry, pharmacy, and other health-care fields that provide patient care. In addition, we are now look ing upstream in health-care pathways to promote con nection, communication, and coordination among the multiple resources that exist in the metro area that help students become high ly qualified candidates for their chosen health-care career.” Their engagement doesn’t stop with MVP. Both have had board roles

level of fundraising success. It feels really great to have helped in some way!” That help evolved over the years, he says, as he experienced the number of agencies in need of help. The demand was triggered after Windy the Weather Dog became part of the segment. “My love of dogs and pets became obvious to many of our viewers, and I started to get asked to be involved in any way I thought would work.” Things took off from there. Already on a rigorous schedule of school visits—perhaps 1,000 over the years—Lezak brought Windy to classrooms. As one might expect, cuteness ensued. There came a succession of sidekicks—Stormy, then Breezy, Sunny and Rainbow, all of whom had Lezak playing straight man on Take Your Human to School Day. “They all do quite a show and the kids love it,” Lezak says. “The inspiration to bring the dogs was easy, they were entertaining and I knew the kids would love it!” The running tally on his volunteer work: He has emceed at least 15 Dog-n-Jog events, 14 Fur Ball Galas, and 20 Cancer Action Volunteer Awards Banquets. His engagement became more personal after cancer paid its visit, and Lezak got behind Head for the Cure as well as the ACS. He’s also been there to back Shave to Save, a fundraiser for the Kansas City Hope Lodge, which houses cancer patients and their families while going through treatment. Lezak retired from KSHB at the start of this month, but still has his own company, Weather 20/20, which he intends to take global. “So I will likely be expanding my philanthropy going forward.”

JAMILA & MICHAEL L. WEAVER

with the Kansas City Friends of Alvin Ailey, where Jamila is a current member, and she also volunteers with Children’s Mercy Hospital. Both organizations, she says, “embody the need to be uni fiers and meet people where they are,” and that includes reaching diverse audiences. The hospital, in particular, she says, “is inten tional about recognizing how inclusion and equity shape quality of care outcomes.” MVP, though, is just that—a mission. “One of the greatest challenges to student success is financial,” Michael says. “Tuition can be a limiting factor for students who are highly qualified academically but were not born into families that possess intergenerational economic wealth. As a community, we have an opportunity to raise funds to offset this challenge.”

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December 2022

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