Meet Richard Murray — recently elected to the WPHA Board of Directors — who lives on Mercier Street. Murray is spearheading a new Membership Committee and has lots of great ideas to energize the neighborhood.
How long have you lived in the neighborhood? Two-and-a-half years. My partner and I moved here from the Silicon Valley in California for a job to which I was recruited. We have lived in the south (Louisville, KY) and the Midwest (Chicago, IL) in the past and are so excited to be back to this part of the country. We plan on living in our current house for the rest of our lives. We love it here!
We did a major renovation on our home before we moved in. The inside of our home is about 80% complete. We are loving the house even more every day!
Why did you choose to live in this neighborhood? I love the sense of community here in our neighborhood. I love the locally owned shops and restaurants as well as larger stores being so close to my home. Plus, the neighborhood is beautiful, and its proximity to the rest of KCMO is extremely handy.
Do any family members or pets live with you? I live with my partner of 20+ years. We chose not to have children. At the moment, we do not have any pets. However, we look forward to welcoming at least two dogs into our family over the next couple of years (we need to complete our home renovation, which includes significant work on the outside of our home.)
Occupation (past or present)? I moved here when I accepted a position at a local e-commerce company. There, I was the chief operations officer. I left that job and have focused on renovating our home. Recently I started looking for my next opportunity.
How do you like to spend your free time? Among other things, I spend my free time working on our home, traveling, watching movies (my partner and I are huge TV and movie aficionados), spending time with friends, hosting shindigs at our home, volunteering, and watching sporting events both live and on TV.
What is at the top of your bucket list? A three- or four-week trip to Australia/New Zealand is near the top of my bucket list. It takes so long to get there, I want to make sure I’m able to do everything I want over there without feeling rushed.
What is something most people don’t know about you? Most people don’t know that I’m actually a huge introvert. It takes a great deal of mental energy for me to interact with folks at social events. I love investing the energy, though, and always enjoy visiting with friends and neighbors and meeting new friends and neighbors.
What’s the most interesting feature of, or story about, your house? One of the most interesting features about my home is the arched French doors in both the dining and living rooms. While these 100-year-old doors are fully functional, we look forward to restoring them and making them look even more beautiful.
What is your favorite event or memory of the neighborhood? My favorite memory I have of our neighborhood thus far is spending time at the Neighborhood Night Out Spring 2018. The was my second event sponsored by the WPHA. I brought with me five houses’ worth of neighbors to this event and had a wonderful time meeting and mingling with everyone there at The District. I can say that since that event, I have maintained many friendships and that sense of community is what motivated me to join the WPHA Board.
What is your favorite area business/restaurant/meal/drink/service? My favorite area restaurant is The District. My favorite starter there is the goat cheese. My favorite drink there is The Fall Feather. My favorite meal there is mac and cheese with shrimp. OMG! Now I’m hungry!
Is there anything you would change about the neighborhood? There isn’t anything I would necessarily change about the neighborhood. However, I do hope that we can muster up more participation from the residents in our WPHA functions. I know that the WPHA is committed to offering more opportunities for our residents to attend to give us a chance to get to know each other. Activities like WPHA-sponsored happy hours, ice cream socials, pizza party meet and greets and MORE! A calendar will be circulated soon. When the calendar comes out, the WPHA hopes to see you there!
Richard Murray
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