Communications Department Update

Our Mutually Shared Vision, the diocesan pastoral plan, continually challenges us to keep evaluating the best means and practices in reaching today’s world for sharing the Gospel and serving the Church’s mission.  Due to many factors identified over the past several years and deliberations initiated prior to the pandemic, as well as these recent months, a crossroads was reached.  Like a few dioceses and regional newspress, The Catholic Key will cease operations.  All diocesan digital communication will continue, and new print media will be explored in the future to communicate the local Church’s mission and message as the entire Communications Department is being re-envisioned.

Due to these changes, the positions associated with the Key’s production will end. We are grateful for their dedication and long term loyalty to the Diocesan Communications Office and The Catholic Key. We hope that you will join us in celebrating them and their contributions over the last three decades:

• Joe Cory, Photographer/Reporter/Production Manager
  • Joined the Key staff in August 1991
• Marty Denzer, Associate Editor
  • Joined the Key staff in September 2000
• Barbara Powell
  • Joined the Key staff in February 2002
• Linda Ladd
  • Joined the Key staff in January 2006

The good contributions and diligent work ethic of this Catholic Key team is deeply appreciated and gratefully honored for their contributions to sharing well the story of Catholic life in our twenty-seven counties of northern and western Missouri.

 

Moving Forward

As we work toward updating Diocesan communications particularly with more online presence to more fully meet the needs of our parishioners and the community, the Diocesan Office of Communications is pleased to introduce Ashlie Hand as its Director of Communications, effective July 1. Ashlie joins Megan Marley, Digital/Social Media Coordinator, in leading communications for the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph.

“As a life-long Catholic, it is truly an honor to have the opportunity to apply my two decades of communications experience and community development in the KC region to support the important work of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph. I step into this role with a vocational perspective and commitment to the vision set forth by Bishop Johnston in service to all who are impacted by the Catholic Church.”

Ashlie previously worked at the Kansas City Area Development Council, joining them in 1999, and contributing nearly 21 years to brand strategy, messaging and content development to position the KC region as a top business and lifestyle destination. She worked on regional campaigns including A Better KCI, KC Global Design, KC Rising, TeamKC, ThinkKC, OneKC, KC Animal Health Corridor, KC Area Life Sciences Institute (and its shift to BioNexus KC), and most recently, KC Heartland. She is well respected for her work in messaging, scripting and delivery for some of the region’s largest civic events including KCADC Annual Meeting, KC Animal Health Corridor Homecoming, KCALSI Annual Dinner, KC SmartPort Annual Industry Briefing, TeamKC Training Camp and KC Rising Annual Update: Horizon.

Ashlie has led communication to all of KCADC’s audiences, including the organization’s social media strategy, multiple web platforms, integrated communications strategies and the placement of positive national news articles reaching nearly 2 billion people. Ashlie has also served on a variety of community development committees including KC Hearts, Comeback KC, KC Rising Communications Resource Team, and Life Science Communicators.

Ashlie has served as president of the Public Relations Society of America Kansas City Chapter’s board of directors, PR chair for Christian Youth Theater Kansas City’s board of directors, and VP of Membership for the Liberty High School Blue Jay Nation PTA and booster club.

A lifelong Catholic, Ashlie is a graduate of Dowling Catholic High School in West Des Moines, Iowa and Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa. She is a member of St. James Catholic Parish in Liberty, Mo., where she and her husband have served on the St. James Capital Campaign Committee, initiated new ministries and support their children in youth music ministry, altar service and religious education.

Ashlie and her husband, Christopher, live in Liberty with their three children.