Banking on KC – George Guastello of Union Station
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Kelly Scanlon:
Welcome to Banking on KC. I'm your host, Kelly Scanlon. Thank you for joining us. With us on this episode is George Guastello, the president and CEO at Union Station Kansas City. Welcome, George.
George Guastello:
How are you?
Kelly Scanlon:
I'm doing wonderful.
George Guastello:
Good.
Kelly Scanlon:
I'm so happy to have you here. Union Station is one of my favorite places in Kansas City.
George Guastello:
Mine, too.
Kelly Scanlon:
Oh, I bet it. There's just so much history there. I was reading that it dates back to... You're almost celebrating 110 years, I believe, next year. Is that right?
George Guastello:
Yes, we are.
Kelly Scanlon:
Yeah.
George Guastello:
And the 25th anniversary of the reopening of Union Station and Science City.
Kelly Scanlon:
Next year, too?
George Guastello:
Next year it'll be the 25th anniversary.
Kelly Scanlon:
Big year then, 2024.
George Guastello:
Big year.
Kelly Scanlon:
Okay. We were talking here, and some kids these days may not even realize that this was once an operating train station, played huge role in both the World Wars and today it hosts a science museum, a planetarium, all kinds of different exhibits, office space, and a lot of restaurants, Extreme Screens.
George Guastello:
It's everything Kansas City always wanted to be, right?
Kelly Scanlon:
Yeah. You can find all kinds of things there.
George Guastello:
And you can even find Taylor Swift, right? Who are going to be doing the movie sometime this week.
Kelly Scanlon:
Right.
George Guastello:
Right.
Kelly Scanlon:
Yes. I'm glad you pointed that out. And Amtrak still operates passenger service up-
George Guastello:
We're still doing a quarter of a million people every year out of there.
Kelly Scanlon:
I have read that Union Station is a living history. We just talked about some of the past history, but what do you mean by a living history?
George Guastello:
If you think about Union Station, it's when people came together on both sides of the state line to save Union Station some 25 years ago. They wanted a center where people came to celebrate, to be educated, to be motivated, and also to learn. Now, the 25 years later, that's exactly what we have become. Many people don't know that we own all the collection of the Kansas City Museum or a good portion of that, so we maintain that. But that's the history of Kansas City and it's on display, obviously, at the Kansas City Museum. But we have those artifacts.
So, when we do those histories and those exhibitions, the largest artifact in the collection is Union Station, an 850,000 square foot, 17-acre complex that operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, as the visual voice of our community now. So, it's a pretty exciting place. When you just walk into the building and you look up at the Sistine Chapel and you look at that and you say, "This is my home." And it truly is everyone's home, and we're creating history every single day.
We don't know who's going to walk in the store. A couple of weeks ago, we don't know what memories we were creating when everybody was coming down to take pictures in front of our Queen B for Beyoncé concert. Or when we're doing it for the Chiefs game. Everything has a memory for those individuals that are there at that moment. It could be a special needs child that's in there for the very first time coming into our quiet days at Science City. Or it could be the first time that someone has a chance to go explore the planets and the planetarium, or just coming with their families to learn and understand the history of Auschwitz. I mean, that's what Union Station is, and that's what's happened over the last 110 years. It was the largest construction project in the history of Kansas City at the time. It cost $4 million to build back then, can you imagine?
Kelly Scanlon:
No.
George Guastello:
But it costs $48 million to get all the train tracks there. Yeah, it's a living history and every day is something new. Every day is a new story. Every day is a new memory. So, it's fun to watch it all happen.
Kelly Scanlon:
You just commemorated that, just the words that you just said, with this new and re-imagined visitors entrance that you unveiled just a couple of weeks ago. Tell us about that.
George Guastello:
The thing that I am always so taken aback is when there's somebody that walks in the door and there's always a story, there's always a story that they want to tell their children, their grandchildren. Ramón Murguía, which is our first Hispanic Latino chairman that served nearly five years, has stepped down after the time, and what a wonderful leader he was. He created our first early learning center in Science City. He also held us together during the pandemic. On his watch, we brought Auschwitz to Kansas City, and Maya, and then also he was the one that started our campaign For Now and Forever, to ensure that Union Station has the endowment to make sure that it's here for generations to come.
Because we don't know who we're educating today in Science City. We don't know exactly that young girl and who she is in the fourth grade. She may be the one that finds the cure for cancer or maybe the next astronaut. That's the things that we're doing. So, Ramón has been a instrumental leader, an amazing leader in our community. We haven't had a lot in the last 25 years. We've only had three chairman and he's our third. But under Ramon's watch, we saw a great growth in Union Station. B.
Ut we also saw the culmination of what Union Station truly is, a place where everybody comes to gather and celebrate. When I mean everybody, I mean, everybody feels welcome. So, when you think about Auschwitz, if you don't have diversity, equity, inclusion, what happens? You have the experiences such as the Holocaust, when you don't understand others. What we've done during his time, we did an exhibition called Maya right after that, was through the rich history of the Mayan culture, the Hispanic Latino community. And we worked very closely, we also engaged and invited Nelson to bring one of their Stella's in that had never been out of that museum before. So, engaging that community. Then, we even, at the very end, did a Hispanic art show featuring young people and their art of the Hispanic community.
Kelly Scanlon:
Local.
George Guastello:
Local Kansas City artists. Then it was all put together by a man by the name of Chico Sierra, which is one of the internationally known, local Hispanic artists. He was also the one that created one of the most successful hearts in the heart parade, where he did it in the Mayas. So, we had this program where you had 500,000 year old pieces next to brand new pieces of kids that have created this artwork, artists, many of which attended the Kansas City Art Institute, a celebration succession. So, we wanted to find a way to celebrate his fine gift and being on the Kellogg Board of Directors, Country Club Bank's Board.
Kelly Scanlon:
Yes. Thank you for mentioning that.
George Guastello:
So, we write a little bit, and he was also on the Nelson board. So, his hand print has touched so many institutions in Kansas City in the way that he did it in a quiet, calm, peaceful, and very respective knowledgeable way. So, we hired Chico Sierra and we said, "We want to do this. We want to do something that makes everyone feel welcome." Because you can come down to Union Station anytime, and you can see quinceañera, where the entire young girls there, she is at 14 years old, getting ready for her coming out, with her beautiful dress on, and the court, and we're taking pictures. That's a memory for children. So, when we hired Chico, we asked him to do that, and we said, "Let's take one of the entrances where everyone comes in."
Kelly Scanlon:
This is the north entrance.
George Guastello:
It is the one closest to 1,400 parking spots to the north and to the west, and all the students that come in as well, and the school groups that come in. We asked him to paint a mural that represents our community today and what happened in our community under Ramón's watch, worst pandemic, the first Children's Museum. And he imagined that in our Hispanic culture and his Mayan culture that he's able to paint with. He even painted on the ceiling to be reminiscent of the Sistine Chapel. So, when you walk in, it is Union Station today, and it says welcome, and it says it in Spanish, it says it in Hebrew, it says in Farsi, all of the languages of the things that we had to do at Union Station during its time. So, it's very welcoming and everyone can see themselves in it.
Then there's all these icons that Ramón had to do with, but something really special. Chico wanted to communicate all the things. You'll see Liberty Memorial, you'll see the Nelson, you'll see soccer, you'll see the first picture of the trains from CPKC, the first time under his watch that they came together at Union Station, the 13th railroad. You'll see the Shuttlecock, as I said, and you'll also see in one little corner, Chico wanted to do something special. We know that familia is so important in Kansas City. It's all about communities and families. We never forget that. So, he painted, we snuck a picture of his mother and father that came from Morelia and migrated to the United States and then grew up. They all grew up in the Argentine district. So, you'll see the church-
Kelly Scanlon:
Oh, how nice. Yes.
George Guastello:
... and you'll see his mother and father's picture from the 1950s. So, that tells the story to him. But, more importantly, it tells the story to our community of equity and inclusion. We don't have to have a written statement, which we do on diversity, equity, inclusion. We live it and our team lives it, and we want to tell that story on a regular basis. So, that'll be the new entrance way.
Kelly Scanlon:
That's what it really is, is living it, it's not a statement. The statement is living it out through your actions.
George Guastello:
I made a call to Country Club Bank, because I opened my very first bank account in 1968, '69 with Jan Stenerud here.
Kelly Scanlon:
Oh yes, we've had him on the show, too. Yeah.
George Guastello:
So, Jan opened up my very first account. We knew that Ramón sat on the board of Country Club Bank. So, we made a call, and we told them the vision of what we had and their rich history of their family and how that infiltrated and really has changed our community, they given us the brilliance that he had, and the commitment to make Kansas City and St. Joseph a better place to live and work. They came together and said, "We want to support this effort." So, thanks to them, we were able to bring this together. Because we are not-for-profit, a 501(c)(3), so we don't get any state, local or federal dollars. People don't know that. We operate Union Station on earned income. So, that's why customers are so important to us.
Kelly Scanlon:
And Country Club Bank I know is very happy to do that. I think it's just brilliant that you chose an entrance, a gateway to do this. You could have sectioned off a part of Union Station and had the mural painted there, but the symbolism of it being in the north side there, where all the school children get off, because children especially are so receptive to making friends and to being accepting. So, that you would have it there, where everybody's entering and going through a portal, so to speak, this is a gateway to all the history to our rich cultural diversity. I just think it's brilliant that it was an entrance way.
George Guastello:
Thank you. Great team, our chief marketing officer, Michael Tritt works so hard to come up with a strategy, but it's that entrance portal. As you walk by Science City and see the future, you're starting to enter, but it's also connecting you to the past. Everyone feels welcome there. When we have so many people walking through that area, it's just another way to say Union Station is Kansas City's home for everyone. It's nice to be able to say, sure, 54 million people saw our Kansas City's Union Station for the NFL draft, and 360,000 people were in front, or they saw the Country Club Banks commercial with Union Station lighting up balloon red and green. But it's still our home, and we have pride in that. I think there's not a lot of places in the United States that can say that. We are Kansas City's Empire State Building.
Kelly Scanlon:
I like that. I haven't heard that before, but that's a very appropriate comparison.
George Guastello:
We are a living monument.
Kelly Scanlon:
You've also created a scholarship fund along with this entryway that you started along with it. So, tell us about that.
George Guastello:
Correct. One of the things that becomes challenging is to educate students, all students, to come to experience Science City. One of the key pillars of Union Station is STEM education and the key on science, technology, engineering and math is vitally important. So we have to find a way for students to be engaged, and parents, and making sure that it's economically available.
One of the areas that we do is we send a significant number of children, underserved students from schools all over Jackson County, thanks to Jackson County and Eastern Jackson County. But we also know there are many other communities, especially in the Hispanic Latino community, that we want to engage in them to be part of that. So, this is one of the structures that we'll be setting up to encourage on our Astro science area, especially in our planetarium, because it's one of the best in the country, and we want to get more kids early on engaged in the Arvin Gottlieb Planetarium, and that's some of the areas that we'll be focusing on.
Ramón was instrumental to help us raise a significant amount of money for sending children to Maya. When we had a chance to watch Maya and see the exhibition, it was a multi-generational experience. So, when we go into the Hispanic and Latino community, we know it's familia, and we know it's important that the family comes. It was great to see grandmother, grandfather expressing to their children or grandchildren what was going on. They could tell their story at the same time. But it's also quite impressive to watch. We did many things with the young Hispanic groups through the Chamber of Commerce, the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the young Latino group, and that really engaged it. Then it opened a door with the Smithsonian. Many people don't know that we are an affiliate of the Smithsonian.
Kelly Scanlon:
Right. Yeah, I was going to ask you about that. How is that affiliation benefiting Union Station and then, by extension, how is that benefiting all of the Kansas City residents who visit Union Station and all the tourists who come through?
George Guastello:
Well, it shows like this, that we're able to tell those little nuggets. So, the Smithsonian's affiliates, there are affiliates all over the United States. We're one of the ones in Kansas City. That allows us access to collections. It allows us access to programs. So, we've done a lot of programs. We've also even lent some of our artifacts that are actually at some of the Smithsonian institutions in DC.
Kelly Scanlon:
So, it's been reciprocal.
George Guastello:
Yes, of course. Especially in the African American Historic Museum, the most recent one. But opening the door to that, when we reached out to the Hispanic community, the Smithsonian called and said, "We're going to go out in the community, and we're doing a listening tour, because we're going to be building a new museum for our Hispanic community." I think it's going to be called the National Hispanic Cultural Museum by the Smithsonian. Don't hold me to that. But it will be very similar to the Native American Museum, the Space and Aerospace, the African American Community. So, they want to do a listening tour.
So, we hosted that and we brought in all the communities, and different Hispanic and Latino communities. We went out to the community to listen and say, "Tell us what that museum should be. What would best reflect your culture, your experience, and what do you want others to learn about the rich Hispanic community and Latino community? What does it mean?" So, we were able to do that. Then also we have a pretty spectacular exhibition on the main entrance on the rail postal service. When you come into Union Station, there's a whole story about the mail system and how the railroad, the postal workers did. It's really interesting that GEHA was created by, and that was for the public benefit of the rail workers, because they didn't have any healthcare. That's how it started.
Kelly Scanlon:
That's incredible. A little nugget, yeah.
George Guastello:
So, it tells you this whole story, but we worked with the Smithsonian and we had the director of the Smithsonian Postal Museum. There's a big stamp postal museum in Washington. He came as we unveiled that. So, it tells the rich history there. So, that's a little Smithsonian piece of the information. So, there's so many things that people have to go and adventure at Union Station. You never know what you find.
Kelly Scanlon:
You've mentioned Auschwitz, and you've mentioned Maya. I know you've had some other exhibits and some other programs that have been part of Union Station's diversity efforts. Just talk about some of those, and especially if you have some coming up that people... If they've been-
George Guastello:
So, you want to... Okay, so you you'll want the super, super-
Kelly Scanlon:
Yeah, I do.
George Guastello:
We'll talk about that.
Kelly Scanlon:
I do.
George Guastello:
You're not going to get it. I'm sorry. I love you, but no, not going to happen.
Kelly Scanlon:
Come on, tell us what you can. I know some of them have been, they're here and gone, but they're relevant still. They speak to your inclusiveness. So, tell us about some of those as well. Then if there is anything you can share about anything that might be upcoming, that'd be great.
George Guastello:
So, we've done things dating back, the very first one, I've been at the Station for nearly 15 years to oversee the challenges and the turnaround with Mike Haverty, and Bob Regnier and Ramón and our great board. We've done things such as, we had Diana, we had her dress, more than anybody else, and it really set us on the stage for an international exhibition. A good portion of my time goes to try to find these exhibitions and invest in them and work with them. It took us nearly five years to get Auschwitz here before it went anywhere else.
Kelly Scanlon:
And there was only four places in the country, I believe, that earned that. Yeah.
George Guastello:
We were very fortunate for that. We've done that. We've done America I AM, which was the history of the African American. We had the original gates that all the slaves went through before they came to the United States, and the ships, as well as Martin Luther King's chair that he sat in jail, as well as Alex Haley's typewriter. So, there's been some things. We did Pompeii. So, we had all the artifacts for all my Italian friends and all my family. We brought all those people here as well. So, those artifacts were stunning. And so many more, just fun things like Art of the Brick, and it goes on and on, and on, that we've had a chance to do things. We've done Da Vinci.
So, I think what we do is we bring those international exhibitions to Kansas City for a short time, to a location where people feel comfortable and welcome. It's not like, "Oh, I'm going to this museum, and do I feel comfortable? Do I not feel comfortable?" Then we're able to partner with people like the Nelson and others to really elevate the community. So, those are some exciting things. We have an exhibition opening this week, which will be on Bricktionary, which is a brick exhibition. So, it's kind of fun and creative for kids. Then we have a major announcement on November the 1st, where we will be announcing next summer's exhibition, which will be a blockbuster, international exhibitions, only going to very few places in the United States. Can't tell you about it, but let's just say.
Kelly Scanlon:
But we got about another week, we won't care.
George Guastello:
We got about another week. I think when you wish upon a star, you just never know what can come to Kansas City. There's a hint.
Kelly Scanlon:
Well, these days, I don't think there's too many nonbelievers. I mean, some of the things we've been getting here.
George Guastello:
You just never know. So just be keeping your eyes out. Maybe you put some cheese down and you never know what will show up when that cheese is there.
Kelly Scanlon:
That's right.
George Guastello:
A couple of more hints, you'll know.
Kelly Scanlon:
That's right. Yeah.
George Guastello:
I'm giving you enough hints.
Kelly Scanlon:
You're leading me there. Yeah, you're leading me there. Now, what I think is just really great about everything that you've said, if you want to wrap it up in a neat little bow, is that you combine the rich history of Union Station itself and all the different people from all different walks of life and backgrounds who have walked through there throughout the 110 years that it's been in existence, and just the mingling of the cultures there. Then, with the exhibits to help increase our understanding of the contributions of various people, and of different backgrounds to our city, to our country, and just globally as well. Then you have places like Science City, and the STEM work that's going on there with youngsters, who may not have had access to that. So, could be inclusive as to who has access to those kinds of resources all under this one roof, in this one building, just so many feet that have walked through that, so many different people.
George Guastello:
History is alive. When you walk on there, Truman walked on there, Eisenhower walked on there, Walt Disney walked on those floors. Then just regular people that said goodbye. Henry Bloch was kissed goodbye at the front door by his mother to go defend our country against the Nazis. And then he came back. And every single day in the season, when there's a fountain season, his spirit is in front of the building, bubbling over, and you see his spirit right there and the moment of time and all the displaced people that came to the United States during Auschwitz and during the war. So, all of it.
Then when you go into Science City and you see that, and thanks to Burns & McDonnell and our Battle of the Brains, we've completely changed, thanks to Burns & McDonnell, our science center, because everything has been redone, but it's been done by kids. So, what we do is we have this great program where we go out to schools and we say, "Help us create the next exhibition in Science City." The school, 800 schools come together each year when we do this. Then Burns & McDonnell says, "The winning school gets $50,000 for the school. But we're going to give Union Station $1 million and we're going to work with those kids to create the next exhibition."
So, just two weeks ago, we opened up our first robotic exhibition, and Jarvis, the robot, talks to you. Now, of course, Jarvis Hunt was the designer of Union Station. But it's fun, and it's all kind of unique. It's Kansas City's visual voice and you never know, we're always doing something that sets the emotion to Kansas City and touches their hearts. We'll be doing that over the next few days. By the time this is broadcast, you'll know what we did tonight or actually tomorrow night. It tells the world that Kansas City has a heart. That's why we're the heart of America with people.
Kelly Scanlon:
Yeah. We're the heart of America. We're right here in the center of the United States where people went off on their westward journey. So many crossings right here in Kansas City.
George Guastello:
All through Westport Landing.
Kelly Scanlon:
Absolutely. Thank you so much for coming in and talking about Union Station, its rich history, where it's taking Kansas City into the future, the opportunities that it's presenting to so many people, and for telling us about this wonderful new visitors entrance. Thanks to you, thanks to Country Club Bank, and Ramón, too, who helped to inspire this. I'm grateful to all of you.
George Guastello:
I think it's really great. I think in Kansas City, we must always recognize those that have had an impact on our lives and that have touched our lives. Mr. Thompson was one of those individuals for me. He touched my life when I was in high school. Because I knew him when I was in high school. So, really had an impact on my life as well as so many others. I think that's what's key about Kansas City. We have these mentors that are important to us, that touch our lives, and that their lives continue on through it. I think that's most important, and we see it every single day.
Kelly Scanlon:
Yes. Thank you so much. Appreciate you being here.
George Guastello:
You're welcome. Thank you.
Joe Close:
This is Joe Close, president of Country Club Bank. Thank you to George Guastello for being our guest on this episode of Banking on KC. Country Club Bank is pleased to sponsor the Ramón Murguía Visitor Entrance at Union Station, named in honor of our distinguished board member. As a family owned, multi-generational bank, Country Club Bank has invested in Kansas City's success for 70 years, recognizing that people from all walks of life and backgrounds are integral to the vibrant tapestry of this place we call home.
The new entrance showcases multiple languages and visual references, representative of Kansas City's diverse culture and history, reminding the more than 2 million annual visitors to Union Station that Kansas City welcomes all. Our hope is that this entrance will be a symbol of unity and prosperity for all who pass through. As you step into the Ramón Murguía Visitor Entrance, we invite you to join us in creating a more vibrant, diverse, and inclusive Kansas City, where all are welcome to explore, learn, and prosper. Thanks for tuning in this week. We're banking on you, Kansas City, Country Club Bank, member FDIC.