For more information contact:
Kelly Cannon
Kelly.Cannon@BlueKC.com
O: (816) 395-3711
KANSAS CITY, MO. (June 5, 2025) — Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City (Blue KC) is proud to announce that Gratia Carver, Vice President and Chief Experience Officer at Blue KC and Todd Connery, Call Center Manager – Spira Care, were recently recognized for their excellence in leadership by Service Quality Management (SQM), a leading survey vendor, which evaluates and benchmarks more than 500 customer service centers across North America.
Carver was honored as the 2024 CX Leader of the Year by SQM, one of only two winners nationwide. The awards were judged by a panel of SQM Client Account Managers who work closely with tracking clients on an ongoing basis. And the final award determination was made by Mike Desmarais, CEO and Founder of SQM Group.
Connery, who took home the prize for 2024 Supervisor of the Year, was the sole winner in the category. The SQM criteria for a World Class CX Certified Supervisor are 85% or higher of the calls surveyed being at a World Class Call (WCC) level.
Since 1996, SQM has been a leading authority in First Call Resolution (FCR), specializing in measuring, monitoring, and enhancing FCR performance. With more than 25,000 annual surveys conducted with call center employees, SQM maintains one of the most extensive customer and employee feedback databases in North America.
“We’re incredibly proud of Gratia and Todd. Their unwavering leadership and dedication to providing world-class customer service continues to set Blue KC apart in the industry,” said Erin Stucky, President and CEO, Blue KC. “To once again be recognized by SQM is a direct result of the outstanding efforts of our customer experience team. We’re grateful for the contributions of Gratia, Todd, and everyone who works so hard each day to deliver exceptional service to our members.”
Through comprehensive customer and employee research, SQM recognizes excellence in First Call Resolution, customer satisfaction, and employee engagement within the call center sector. Their Call Center Customer Service Industry Awards of Excellence are regarded as the most esteemed honors in North America’s customer service industry.
More about the SQM award winners can be found here.
To learn more about Blue KC’s commitment to member satisfaction, please visit BlueKC.com/consumer/blue-kc/about.
About Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City, the largest not-for-profit health insurer in Missouri and the only not-for-profit commercial health insurer in Kansas City, has been part of the Kansas City community since 1938. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City provides health coverage services to more than one million residents in the greater Kansas City area, including Johnson and Wyandotte counties in Kansas and 30 counties in Northwest Missouri. Our mission: to provide affordable access to healthcare and to improve the health of our members. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. For more information on the company, visit its website at BlueKC.com.