Recently I had the honor of participating in a video conference with CEOs and small business owners in the greater Kansas City area where we shared our perspectives on how to reopen our local economy safely and effectively.

The organizer of that call was our region’s advocate at the Small Business Administration, and my guest today, Adrienne Vallejo Foster. Adrienne is currently running for Congress in the Third Congressional District of Kansas. She's a former mayor who also served as Executive Director of the Hispanic and Latino American Affairs Commission in Kansas. One of Adrienne’s current responsibilities is to assist in the Opening America’s Workplaces Again initiative by gathering feedback from small businesses in our region so that we have a voice in the decision making happening right now in Washington, D.C.

Last week’s job numbers have had a big impact on this week’s main topic of discussion: reopening. Communities around the country are starting to establish guidelines that will, hopefully, allow more folks to get back to work while also keeping the spread of COVID-19 in check.

In the meantime, folks who are hurting are starting to get some relief via extended unemployment benefits and federal tax rebate checks. Others are weighing new options created by the CARES Act, including coronavirus-related distributions (CRDs). If you’re thinking about using your retirement assets to navigate the pandemic, you’re definitely going to want to listen to our discussion on how CRDs may help.