Carson Ross, a Blue Springs resident for 36 years, was elected as Mayor in April of 2008. He is the first African American Mayor of Blue Springs, Missouri. Mayor Ross presently serves as Vice President of the Missouri Municipal League and is a member of the Mid-America Regional Council Total Transportation Policy Committee. Ross has served the City of Blue Springs and surrounding regions for numerous years, in an array of capacities including: Chairman of the Blue Springs Personnel Board, President of St. Mary’s Medical Center Board of Associates, Founding Member and Ministry Leader of Blue Ridge Church of Christ, former Chairman of the Missouri Veterans Commission and Advisory Committee on Minority Veterans with the Department of Veterans Affairs, President of the West Gate Division of the Missouri Municipal League (MML), MML Board of Directors Chairman of the Metropolitan Mayor’s Caucus, Co-Chairman of the Eastern Jackson County Betterment Council, and serves on the United Way of Greater Kansas City and Little Blue Valley Sewer District Board of Trustees. Elected to the Blue Springs Board of Alderman in 1981, Mayor Ross served Districts 2 & 3 for eight consecutive years as Alderman and one year as Mayor Pro Tem. Prior to his election as Mayor, he served in the Legislative Branch of the State of Missouri. In 1988, Mayor Ross was elected to the Missouri House of Representatives, representing the 55th District. Ross served a total of 14 years in the Missouri House of Representatives (1989-2003). He served as Republican Whip in 1991-92. Outside of his legislative duties, Mayor Ross worked for Hallmark Cards, the company from which he retired after working in various positions for 39 years. He is President of Graves & Ross Investment Co., dba Smoking Hill Bar-B-Que at the Lake of the Ozarks. A 1964 graduate of Bradley County High School, Mayor Ross attended the University of Arkansas – Pine Bluff and received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Rockhurst University in 1977. In 1995 and 1996, Mayor Ross was recognized by the Kansas City Globe as one of Kansas City’s most influential African Americans. He was awarded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference’s Black Achiever in Industry Award in 1985. He also received the Spirit of Enterprise Award from the Missouri Chamber of Commerce in 1991 and was a recipient of the Outstanding Legislator Award in 1996 by the Missouri Federation Grand Order of Pachyderms. He received the 1997 state award by the Kansas City Globe as the Most Influential African American, only the second time this award has been given. Mayor Ross was also honored with the United States National Guard (NGAUS) Major General Charles Dick Medal of Merit Award in 1998, the Missouri Deputy Sheriff’s Association State Representative of the Year Award for 1998, as well as a variety of other awards and recognitions for his years of community and government service. Mayor Ross was born on December 15, 1946 in Warren, Arkansas and has been married to his wife Eloise for 39 years. They have three daughters: Rechele, Carla and Diana; six granddaughters, one grandson and one great-grandson.