Partner in Excellence Award: Mark McDonald

I've been taking pictures here in Kansas City since 1982, 83, and started doing pictures for the health system in December of 2000. What I remember about the very first shoot was that it was a conference room, I walk in, I didn't know a soul, but now looking back, it's fun to see Bob Page is in there. Irene Cummings is in there now.

I see a lot more connections than I did when I did it. Mark just does his job and he does this job really remarkably well. But I think he doesn't see himself as this unbelievable contributor to our place. We see him as that. He blends in so well. He knows us so well. He has photographed our history as a public authority.

Mark is one of those guys that just kind of stealth. He kind of hangs out in the crowd, and he captures the moment with his photography and I think that's an amazing skill. Mark's photos are us at our very best. We are the kind of organization that we plow towards these great, big goals. And then we take a minute and celebrate, and then we are moving on to the next big goal.

And I think Mark's photography forces us to linger a minute as we look back and reflect and enjoy what we accomplished. Mark is always up for the task, so whether we're asking him to show up at midnight for an anniversary celebration. Or at Treads, no matter what kind of weather, or we ask him can you go out to Great Bend to capture some photos for us he is always there for us, and I think that is what makes him such a great partner.

This is like a work family. This is where you know, people having good days and bad days and tough days and fun days, and to be there to capture that and know them personally is a big deal. Mark is not there for the glory. He's not there for the fame. He's there to try to figure out how to capture who we are with photography in a way that that story can tell itself.

I love the fact that he has documented our journey. We talk about our journey a lot, and we've had a journey since 1998, so he's seen a lot of change in our organization. He's gotten to know our people. He's gotten to know our staff and there's a big event, you will find Mark. McDonald there. I really feel like people are caring and really puts the patient first.

And I love that culture. One of the things I appreciate about Mark is he knows innately what to capture, but as he comes in, he always sidles up and asks, is there anything special you want me to capture? He wouldn't need to ask, but he asks because he's a collaborator, and that's important to him. And that's our culture as well.

Mark is always there to make sure we capture those moments. I think that's so important. Sometimes we didn't even realize how important it was. If I had one word to describe Mark, it would be caring. He's so genuine, and I think it comes across not only in the photos that he takes, but as you walk through the halls of the health system, people recognize him.

They know him because they've had a wonderful experience with him. And then whenever we have a project, it's not who are we calling, it's who’s calling Mark. Mark captures the spirit of our culture and celebrates with us, and as a result, we have these lovely memories because Mark has captured just the right thing throughout time within our organization. There are vendors and there are partners, and there is a distinct difference between the two.

A vendor is somebody that provides a service you write a check to and you just move on. The partner is somebody who becomes embedded in your organization. When we made the call to Mark to let him know he would be in our Hall of Fame, he just went, oh my gosh. Because he's captured all of the photos in the Hall of Fame.

For every year that we've had the Hall of Fame. Mark has been there taking those pictures so he knows it's this really great opportunity for us to recognize remarkable individuals. Mark's one of those remarkable individuals. To receive this honor and to be mentioned in the same breath as people like my friend Danny O'Neill, the Hunt family and the Chiefs and my friends at Polsinelli.

It’s incredible. And I never would think to be put in that same group, but I'm incredibly humbled and honored.