~ JAMES H. BROWNE ~
1317 N. 12th
Link to photo gallery: BROWNE
Ø Graduate of Sumner High School.
Ø Assisted H. W. Sewing in the forming of Douglass State Bank.
Ø Co-founder of Crusader Life Insurance Company – later American Woodmen Life Insurance Company – served as its President and Chief Executive Officer.
Ø Active in Kansas City, Kansas Chamber of Commerce (serving as Treasurer) and was honored as its “Man of the Year.”
Ø President of National Insurance Association 1971-72. Received Executive Service Award in 1976.
Ø First African American elected member of Board of Public Utilities.
Ø Represented U. S. Chamber of Commerce at the International Labor Conference in Geneva, Switzerland in 1961.
Ø Featured in 1979 Success Unlimited Magazine - “A View From The Top Of The Ladder.”
Ø Member of the Urban Renewal Board.
Ø Trustee at First African Methodist Episcopal Church for over 40 years.
Ø Graduate of Napoleon Hill School of Success course. He later taught courses in this field and received a Gold Cup Award for operating the best school in the country.
Ø The only Wyandotte Countian to have been elected to the board of governors of the United Way of America where he served seven years.
JAMES H. BROWNE
1317 North 12th St Graduate of Sumner High School. He began his career as a railway mail clerk. He became a life insurance salesman under the tutelage of H.W. Sewing. He assisted Mr. Sewing in the establishment of Douglass State Bank and was its first Vice President. In 1957, he was one of the founders of Crusader Life Insurance Company and became its first president. Crusader Life merged with American Woodmen’s Life Insurance Company in 1969 and he was named president. He was very active in the KCK Chamber of Commerce and was honored as its man of the year. In 1961, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce sent him to represent the U.S. Government at the International Labor Conference in Geneva, Switzerland. He was the first African American elected as a member of the Board of Public Utilities.