The Pittsburg Area Young Professionals will host a luncheon Aug. 2 they hope will help educate area residents about personal safety.
The group’s “Lunch and Learn” event, which will be held Monday from noon to 1 p.m. at Pittsburg State University’s Wilkinson Alumni Center, features guest speaker Greg Smith, executive director of the Kelsey Smith Foundation, a group that promotes personal safety.
Kelsey, Greg’s daughter who had recently graduated and planned to attend Kansas State University, was abducted from the parking lot of an Overland Park Target store in broad daylight in 2007. She was found murdered nearby several days later.
Greg, a police officer at the time of her abduction, and his wife Missey established the foundation to honor their daughter and to educate families and communities about personal safety.
The luncheon is open to the public.
PAYP Board member Brandy Olivera said she initiated the presentation after meeting the Smiths at a law enforcement conference. The luncheon is open to the public, she said, because of Overland Park’s proximity to Pittsburg and the fact it’s a destination spot for many Pittsburg residents.
“If it can happen to their daughter it can happen to anyone,” Olivera said. “It was in the middle of the day, not late at night or in a bad area.”
According to the Foundation’s website, both Greg and Missey have championed the Kelsey Smith Act, a law that requires cell phone providers to immediately release cell phone location information to law enforcement in the case of a missing person in danger or serious bodily harm or death.
It is now law in five states, including Kansas.
Lunch will be provided at a cost of $5, payable at the door. RSVPs are required by Friday, July 30. For more information or to RSVP, contact Anna Gudde at the Pittsburg Area Chamber, 620-231-1000 or
agudde@pittsburgareachamber.com
PITTSBURG —
