Chamber Announces 2023 Honors Night Award Recipients

Wichita, KS – The Wichita Regional Chamber of Commerce’s 60th Honors Night celebration presented by Fidelity Bank will be April 20. Honors Night recognizes an outstanding individual, young professional, exceptional commitment to the community and a striking architectural achievement.

The 2023 award recipients are as follows:

Junetta Everett is the Chamber’s 2023 Uncommon Citizen. Established in 1974, this award recognizes individuals who have served their community year after year in an extraordinary capacity - making outstanding contributions to the civic and cultural institutions in Wichita.

Everett recently retired as Vice President of Professional Relations for Delta Dental of Kansas, a position she held for more than 25 years.  A Registered Dental Hygienist, Everett joined Delta Dental of Kansas in 1987 and during the course of her career, she oversaw the relationships, recruitment and maintenance, contracting and compliance, communication, education and support for the organization’s dental networks.

She is a graduate of Butler Community College and Wichita State University, where she has been recognized as a distinguished alumna. Everett has remained connected to WSU by serving on the board of directors for the WSU Shocker Athletic Scholarship Organization (SASO), WSU Alumni Board, WSU Dean’s Advisory Board and National Advisory Council. She also serves on the WSU Board of Trustees, the WSU Foundation, the Kansas Health Foundation, and as an independent director at Equity Bancshares. Additionally, she served as board chair of the Wichita Regional Chamber of Commerce in 2020, becoming the first African-American to hold this position. She also serves on many other community, nonprofit and oral health-related boards and was a member of the Leadership Kansas Class of 2010.

In 2021, she co-founded The Gathering, a networking group for Black business professionals in Wichita to meet one another and build connections with the goal of diversifying Wichita’s business landscape.

Jacob Wayman is the Chamber’s 2023 Exceptional Young Leader. Established in 2017, the award provides premier recognition of extraordinary young talent who have a history of demonstrated leadership within their job and philanthropic involvement.

Wayman’s career path is anything but linear. He attended college to become a healthcare administrator, but after moving back home to Wichita, his trajectory took a turn toward entrepreneurship. He helped launch 1 Million Cups, e2e (now known as Nxtus), Startup Grind, Shift ICT and Connecting ICT. Knowing he wanted to own his own business, he purchased an Orangetheory Fitness franchise and will soon have three locations in Wichita. He’s also active in Rotary Club of Wichita, Salvation Army, Leadership Wichita, and the 344^th ARS at McConnell Air Force Base.

The recipient of the Spirit of Wichita award is Sedgwick County Zoo. Established in 2002, this award is given to an organization that received the Over the Years award at least 20 years ago, in recognition of its continued strength of employment, leadership, innovation, and community involvement. The Zoo, which opened in 1971, received the Over the Years award in 2002.

The recipients of the Over the Years award are Hoidale Co, Inc. and Monarch. The Over the Years award recognizes businesses and institutions with long-standing performances as good corporate citizens and major contributors to the community’s economic well-being; displaying leadership, innovation and community involvement.

The recipient of the Keeper of the Plains award is Hutton. The Keeper of the Plains award recognizes an outstanding architectural achievement completed by a firm, organization or individual, which has contributed to the beauty of our community.

“The Chamber Honors Night Committee is excited to continue this 60-year-old tradition and recognize the above individuals and companies for the impact they have had in Wichita,” said Jackie Gearhart, Senior Vice President of Treasury Management at UMB Bank and Chair of the 2023 Honors Night Committee. “We look forward to hearing more about their extraordinary contributions to our community at this year’s 60^th anniversary event.”

Honors Night 2023 is presented by Fidelity Bank on Thursday, April 20 at Textron Aviation Activity Center, 9710 E. Central. Tickets are $140 per person and can be purchased here. Corporate Tables are available. Contact Chelsea Dyer at cdyer@wichitachamber.org for more information. Formal invitations will be sent to Chamber members, but the general public is also invited to attend.