Dr. Christopher McNeil, former elementary school principal and current Director of Career and Technical Education at Kansas City Public Schools, has been crowned the winner of the Wahl ‘Benevolent Beards’ Contest, receiving a $20,000 cash prize and an additional $5,000 to donate to his charity of choice, the Kansas City Public School Foundation.

Thomas White
Prior to joining The Community Voice, he worked as a reporter & calendar editor with The Pitch, writing instructor with The Kansas City Public Library, and as a contributing food writer for Kansas City Magazine. Thomas was an award-winning bartender and comedy writer before earning his journalism degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, where he is also pursuing an M.F.A. in Creative Nonfiction.
Thomas is a native of Kansas City who’s lived and worked all over the city. When he’s not chasing down a story you can find him at the dog park with his pug Walter, flipping through albums at a record store, catching a game at Kaufman, or at a museum getting an art education from his wife.