(KANSAS CITY, Kan.) — Members of the Kansas City Board of Public Utilities
(BPU) elected new officers to the Board. The officer team includes:
Tom Groneman, President; David Haley, Vice President and Stevie Wakes, Sr.,
Secretary.
Mr. Groneman has served on the BPU Board since 2013 and is a lifelong Wyandotte
County resident, graduating from Wyandotte HS in 1965. In 1969 he graduated from
Bethany College, Lindsborg, KS with a Bachelor's degree in Business/Economics.
Following college, he entered the United States Navy and was trained as a Vietnamese
linguist. Groneman was stationed for 15 months at the Naval Communications Station,
Philippines where he was assigned to temporary active duty with the Commander of
Carrier Division 5/Task Force 77 aboard the USS Enterprise, USS Kitty Hawk and USS
Constellation. He finished his tour at the National Security Agency, Ft. Meade, MD.
After the military he returned to Wyandotte County and worked briefly as a probation
officer for the 29th Judicial District. In 1975 he was appointed Register of Deeds to
fill out the unexpired term of Jack Reardon who had been elected mayor. Groneman
was subsequently elected to seven consecutive four-year terms as Register of Deeds.
In 2003, newly elected Governor Kathleen Sebelius asked Tom to join her staff in
Topeka as Director of Alcoholic Beverage Control for the State of Kansas. Tom
commuted for nearly eight years between Kansas City and Topeka until the change in
administrations in 2011. During his time in public service Tom has served in numerous
positions on various state and national organizations.
Tom and his wife Kay have two children, Brooke and Jared and four grandchildren.
Other elected officers are David Haley, Vice President and Stevie Wakes, Sr.,
Secretary. Haley has served on the Board since 2021. Wakes was elected to the Board
in 2023.