Our History:

In the late 1990’s James M. Malouff III, a Kansas City businessman and community leader, conceived the idea of a major roadway in Kansas City, Missouri being named after the “Americas” and lined with the flags of the countries of the Americas. After many years of planning, a public/private partnership with the City of Kansas City, the Parks and Recreation Department, the Convention and Visitors Association and private interests was formed and the concept came to fruition in April of 2008.

Grand Boulevard, one of Kansas City, Missouri’s major boulevards and the city’s main ceremonial roadway, was named the honorary Grand Boulevard of the Americas. The flags of the 35 member countries of the Organization of American States (OAS) were installed along the Boulevard. Each country’s flag is displayed multiple times along the length of the Boulevard. The voting member countries of the OAS were selected because all members subscribe to the OAS Charter and the principles for which it stands.

The Organization of American States (OAS) is the world’s oldest regional organization dating back to the First International Conference of American States, which was held in Washington, D.C. from October 1889 to April 1890. At that conference, the establishment of the International Union of American Republics was approved and the stage was set for the weaving together of a web of provisions and institutions that came to be known as the inter-American system, the oldest of the international institutional systems. The OAS came into being in 1948 with the signing, in Bogotá, Colombia, of the Charter of the OAS. The Charter entered into force in December 1951. The headquarters of the OAS is in Washington, D. C.
For more information about the OAS see the Links Page

Attendance at the dedication ceremony for the Grand Boulevard of the Americas on 14 April, 2008 included the Mayor of Kansas City, various city officials, Thomas A. Shannon, Assistant U. S. Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, Ambassadors, Consuls General, Military Officers, and judicial visitors, from several countries of the Americas, U. S. Military Officers, business representatives, and private citizens. Malouff and various officials commented: “The Grand Boulevard of the Americas demonstrates Kansas City’s evolution as a global city.

Grand Boulevard of the Americas and the flags demonstrate the importance Kansas City places on the countries of the Americas, particularly the voting member countries of the OAS. The flags serve as a diplomatic tool, beautification of the Boulevard, and contribute to the ambience of the areas adjacent to the Boulevard.”

Concurrent with the dedication of the Grand Boulevard of the Americas other citizens, interested in the “Americas,” and the Kansas City Public Library, joined Malouff in creating Kansas City’s Pan American Initiative, which consisted of a number of programs and activities designed to further connect Kansas City to the Americas and to help educate the community about the countries of “Americas” and their significance to the United States, the Kansas City area, and the states of Missouri and Kansas. The Pan American Association of Kansas City evolved from the Pan American Initiative. The Association was formally chartered as a Missouri non-profit organization in April of 2010. In June of 2011 the PANAM-KC received its tax exempt status from the U. S. Internal Revenue Service.