Margaret Kay Stewart

Margaret Kay Stewart came to Excelsior Springs in March of 1938 to assume a temporary

assignment as manager of publicity and business promotion for The Elms Hotel, at that time owned

by the Eppley Hotel Compnay. By June, she was elected secretary-manager of the Excelsior Springs

Chamber of Commerce.

Margaret Katherine "Kay" Stewart attended Washington State University, where she studied

journalism. Most of her early career was formed working for various Chamber of Commerces. From

1926 to 1928, she served as secretary for the Chamber of Commerce in Flagstaff, Arizona. In 1929,

she worked as secretary for the Chamber of Commerce, Chandler, Arizona. Stewart then was editor

of the Casa Grande Dispatch at Casa Grande, Arizona., however, in just about a year she moved to

Phoenix, Arizona., and opened Stewart Business Services and Offices. From Arizona, she moved

to Columbus, Nebraska, to work for its Chamber of Commerce in 1936. Before coming to Excelsior

Springs in 1938, she was connected with the Santa Fe railroad as traveling passenger agent and

lecturer, as well as country manager of Automobile Club of Washington., Aberneen, Washington.

By 1940, Stewart was on the move again, this time being appointed Executive Secretary for

Missouri State Chamber of Commerce in Jefferson City, Missouri.

"I am deeply grateful for the opportunities which have been made possible here and

acknowledge unhesitatingly that the degree of success attained by the Chamber of Commerce in

particular and the city as a whole is due to the interested support of a large group of Excelsior

Springs people," Stewart said. "I am going forward into this enlarged civic program for the State of

Missouri, endowed with a spirit of enthusiasm and interest, which, in a major sense, is directly

traceable to my work in this community.

"It is my hope and desire to do my part in an effort to continue the constructive progress of

Excelsior Springs and to ultimately see this city rightfully recognized in all sections of the country

as America's greatest Spa and recreational center."

Stewart was membership chairman for Missouri for the National Association of Commercial

Organization Secretaries; a member of the publicity committee and secretary of the Northwest

District of the Missouri State Chamber; and a director of the Missouri Commercial Secretaries

Association. Organizations in which she had taken an active part in Excelsior Springs included

president of the Excelsior Springs Business and Professional Women's Club (BPW); honorary

member of Junior Civic Improvement Association (CIA); Presbyterian Church; Mulesta Association;

chairman and assisted in the organization of the Inter-Civic Club council and member of Clay

County Historical Society.

One BPW historian dubbed her a "will 'o the wisp" because of her whirlwind movement from

one job to another. Her association with various BPW organizations included member of the

Flagstaff BPW, Chandler BPW, Casa Grande BPW, League BPW in Phoenix, as well as the Phoenix

BPW, Tacoma, Washington BPW and Columbus, Nebraska BPW. She was BPW/Arizona District

Conference and Publicity Chair in 1930 and State Recording Secretary in 1931. Also in 1931,

Stewart served as BPW/US Corresponding Secretary and was published in the BPW/USA

Independent Woman (forerunner of National Business Women) magazine.

Stewart remained a member of the "spa" club through April of 1941. At this time she had

become Executive Secretary of The Denver Real Estate Exchange in Denver, Colorado, and

members of the Excelsior Springs club lost contact with her. The 1941 State Historical Society of

Missouri included a notation by P. Casper Harvey, director of public relations at William Jewell

college, acknowledging contributions by Miss Margaret K. Stewart for descriptions of various

historic scenes and buildings in Excelsior Springs.