Kansas Business Roundtable Announces Its First Civic Champion Awards
House Majority Leader Chris Croft receives the first individual Civic Champion award. Senate Minority Leader Dinah Sykes and Senate Majority Leader Chase Blasi Receive first Civic Champion Team award.
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — The Kansas Business Roundtable has named House Majority Leader Chris Croft the first recipient of its 2026 Civic Champion. The award recognizes Kansans who bring dignity and respectful dialogue to public issues, especially when views differ.
Croft, who represents House District 8, has been an active participant in Roundtable discussions. He also identified and recruited Brook Manville, an author of The Civic Bargain: How Democracy Survives, to join a Roundtable conversation held in February 2026 about the work of self-government.
“Chris does more than call for civil discourse; he practices it. The way he talks about issues and opinions while respecting the dignity of each individual brings others into the conversation and makes the effort more meaningful,” said Scott J. Schneider, the Roundtable’s executive director. “He has helped us examine difficult questions with curiosity and respect. That is the example we want this award to recognize.”
The Roundtable honored Croft at its Annual Issues Forum on September 29, in Overland Park. The Kansas Business Roundtable board is making an award to further civic participation to two local 501(c)(3) charities, Fore the Kids Foundation and Michael’s Wonderworld Foundation.
Alongside its recognition of individual civic leadership, the Roundtable also recognized bipartisan teamwork through its first Civic Champion Team award.
The Kansas Business Roundtable has named Senate Majority Leader Chase Blasi and Senate Minority Leader Dinah Sykes the first recipients of its 2026 Civic Champion Team award. The award recognizes Kansans who work across party lines to make progress on an issue important to the state.
Blasi, a Republican representing Sedgwick County, and Sykes, a Democrat representing Johnson County, worked together on legislation limiting student cellphone use during the school day. Their proposal helped shape the measure enacted this year as HB 2299.
“Chase and Dinah started with a shared concern for Kansas students and did the work of finding a path forward together,” said Bruce Witt, the Roundtable’s board chair. “Their partnership shows that leaders can disagree on many issues and still solve a problem in front of them. That is the civic leadership this award was created to recognize.”
The Roundtable honored both senators at its Annual Issues Forum on September 29 in Overland Park. The Kansas Business Roundtable board is making an award to further civic participation to two local 501(c)(3) charities, Catholic Charities of Wichita and Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library of Kansas.
The Kansas Business Roundtable convenes business leaders to develop Kansas solutions through thoughtful public-policy dialogue. Award criteria and photos are available at www.kansasbr.org/awards.
