Lillian Lincoln Lambert

When I arrived in Kansas City for a seven-day stay, my thought upon arrival was “Seven days is probably too long” Little did I know how fast the time would pass and how busy I would be.

I arrived on a Wed and had a quiet, relaxing evening at the home of my sister and brother-in-law, where we stayed. A week of planned and unplanned activities began the following day. It was as if KC was waiting for me. I met so many exciting people from friends of my in-laws, to friends of school classmates and even connected with a classmate from Harvard Business School whom, until our class reunion last fall, I had not seen since 1969. I also reconnected with a business colleague from my days as a business owner whom I had not seen in 15-20 years. The restaurants we visited were exceptional, all serving more food than I could possibly eat.

My book signing event was a phenomenal success – about 300 in attendance at the he KC Plaza Branch library. This library is housed in an old bank building with marble and dark mahogany throughout. The event was in an up-to-date auditorium with latest technology (most of which I did not need) with comfortable cushioned chairs. Sponsors for the event were The Links of Greater Kansas, Howard University Alumni and the Library. My sister-in-law, the initiator, was a PR genius and acquired the name “the email queen”. Some told me they saw my picture in so many places they thought I was running for office. A reception with tasty hors d’oeuvres and two young men playing jazz preceded the book signing. Things were flowing smoothly until Barnes & Noble ran out of books about 10 minutes after they started selling. I’m beginning to think they are not the booksellers for me. With the exception of one event, they have run out of books every time even when it was suggested to have a larger inventory. Too often if the book is not available at the event people tend not to order it or buy later.

Other activities included short presentations at two church services, a book discussion with a book club, a radio interview and meetings with the Kauffman Foundation and the Henry Bloch School of Business, University of Missouri, Kansas City. These meeting were very fruitful, offering some possible business ventures.

Because I was so busy, I needed to return home in order to get some rest. Overall the trip was a booming success!