DTC Member Spotlight: Parson + Associates

Downtown Council Member Spotlight

The Downtown Council Member Spotlight showcases DTC member companies and organizations, and the ways they contribute to the quality of life in Downtown KC.

Spotlight on Parson + Associates, 1780 Woodland Ave., in the 18th & Vine Jazz District.

Parson + Associates (P+A) is flying in rarified air these days.

The humble public relations and marketing firm dedicated to shaping a better Kansas City is thriving in the moment. From its roots at 18th & Vine to its passion and leadership for Downtown, Parson + Associates – from its founder to a talented team of associates – is driven “to engage people and tailor messages to build a bridge between complex ideas and common sense solutions.”

It’s all part of Jason Parson’s vision to raise the bar for the historic 18th & Vine Jazz District and for greater Downtown KC.

Consider P+A’s work on some of the city’s most defining initiatives like the KCI Airport Single Terminal Project, the KC Streetcar System, the five-year General Obligation Bond Plan, the renaissance within the 18th & Vine Jazz District, leadership within the Downtown Council of Kansas City and, beginning in 2022, implementation of the Imagine Downtown KC 2030 Strategic Plan.

As President and CEO of P+A, Parson is committed to putting people first in every connection and project with a keen understanding of how opportunity can impact a community now and for years to come.

“Parson + Associates has played a role in almost every major project in Kansas City in the last 10 years – projects that have transformed this community and helped to drive this city’s momentum,” said Sly James, partner in Wickham James and former Kansas City Mayor from 2011-2019.

“Jason and his team have maintained their commitment to keeping the community informed and engaged in the city’s growth and development,” James said.

Like Jason Parson himself, his inspiration is rooted in 18th & Vine. 

His first job at 10 years old was sweeping the floors and cleaning bathrooms in the century-old Mutual Musicians Foundation at 18th & Highland. The Foundation is  one of the world’s leading preservationists, producers, and promoters of jazz, other forms of Black American Music, and the artists who create it. 

One of those jazz artists, the legendary pianist, composer and band leader Jay McShann was Parson’s grandfather and a larger-than-life inspiration throughout his life. Parson lived with the 90-year-old McShann during his final months until his passing in 2006. 

Parson founded P+A that same year in the historic Lincoln Building at 1601 E. 18th St., and the firm has remained in the jazz district ever since. His vision – then and now – is for the district to be a welcoming, inclusive community for all … “to bring people together and feel connected.” 

Parson’s passion for family, including his lifelong love for the 18th & Vine community, has served as a spring of inspiration throughout his life. He continues to serve on the front lines of supporting and revitalizing his historic home turf as an investor, employer, property owner, and cheerleader through good times and tough times. 

Over the last several years Parson has leveraged his passion for 18th & Vine and its place in greater Downtown Kansas City via his work with the Downtown Council, including the transformative Imagine Downtown KC 2030 Strategic Plan.

Parson serves as a Vice Chair of the DTC Board of Directors, while wrapping up his third year as Implementation Chair since the Imagine strategic plan was introduced in early 2022 at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. Prior to the implementation phase, Parson joined with the Downtown Council and hundreds of local business, civic, governmental and neighborhood leaders to shape the plan itself over the previous 22 months. 

“Participants were asked to think deeply and challenge conventional wisdom – particularly in the face of a global pandemic and a local awakening to racial injusticeand social inequity,” Parson said. 

The plan has elevated a new vision for Downtown, along with advancing a series of goals, transformative strategies, and catalytic projects – including some of Parson’s favorites, the KC Streetcar, Downtown Baseball, and 18th & Vine – designed to inspire and shape the future.

And, while Parson’s work with the Downtown Council and the Imagine plan are focused squarely on today and tomorrow, it was Parson’s military service in Iraq that planted the seed for him to return home and begin to make a difference for the jazz district. A veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Jason served in the U.S. Air Force Reserves and has used the best practices he learned there to become a successful entrepreneur and community leader with integrity. He wears his military service as a badge of honor.

“We proudly commit to community projects that, as a veteran-owned business, are very dear to our hearts,” Parson said.

In fact, he chose to brand P+A as a public relations firm rooted in Kansas City, certified as a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned (SDVOSB), Minority Business Enterprise (MBE), Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE), and Small Local Business Enterprise (SLBE).

“Our team is as diverse as the people we serve,” he says, swelling with pride.

A lifelong Kansas Citian, Parson’s commitment to the local community includes implementation of programs in the urban core that empower underprivileged youth, and Jason helps connect them to employers, educators, community groups, and nonprofit organizations.

To honor his military service, Parson founded Project MRE, a non-profit that serves area veterans. Among many awards, most notably he was honored by the Ford Motor Company with the Ford Freedom Unsung Hero Award for his philanthropic efforts on behalf of veterans.

Today, some 18 years after founding P+A, Parson’s passion and grit continues to build  momentum for the betterment of 18th & Vine, greater Downtown KC, and the entire metropolitan area.

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