Released Jan. 2, 2008

MANHATTAN, Kan. -- What do you think you would discover if you explored northwest Kansas? We´re going to meet a group of people who are involved in discovery. They´re not exploring a landscape, they´re helping others discover the benefits of their county in rural northwest Kansas.

These volunteer citizens are steering committee members for a project known as Discover Phillips County.

It all began in fall 2005. The Board of Directors of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development was discussing the future of rural Kansas. Fred Cholick, the new Dean of Agriculture and Director of K-State Research and Extension, described his vision of leadership and entrepreneurship as key elements of community development.

Cy Moyer, a board member for the Huck Boyd Institute, also serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Dane G. Hansen Foundation in Logan, Kansas. At his initiation, the Hansen Foundation awarded a grant to the Huck Boyd Institute to develop a new model for community development in Phillips County based on these principles.

So we formed a facilitation team consisting of Dan Kahl, co-director of the Kansas PRIDE community betterment program; Vincent Amanor-Boadu, professor of agribusiness in agricultural economics and executive director of Innovative Solutions; and private consultant Ron Alexander.

The project included two components: Outreach to entrepreneurs and a county-wide community engagement process. With the direction of local citizens, the project was called Discover Phillips County.

This new model included outreach to every community in the county, involvement of youth and adults, a positive asset-based approach, and the community capitals model. We encouraged participants to think county-wide.

So what did I discover when I took this on? Phillips is a rural county, with towns ranging in size from the county seat of Phillipsburg, population 2,602, to the town of Speed, population 43 people. Now, that´s rural. Phillips County faces many of the challenges experienced by rural counties in the High Plains, but it also has numerous assets. The greatest asset, in my opinion, is the wonderful people there. The county is blessed with leaders like Cy Moyer and Doyle Rahjes, who serve in the best tradition of Huck Boyd himself.

The private sector in Phillips County was already moving forward. Brooke Corporation, headquartered in Phillipsburg, is experiencing significant growth. Prairie Horizon Agri-Energy built a 40 million gallon ethanol plant in the county.

Many families have stepped forward to create family foundations that have been key benefactors for the county and region. These include the Hansen, Huck Boyd, Morgan, Cole, Pakkebier, and Armstrong foundations.

Task forces had been formed to work on housing and downtown revitalization in Phillipsburg. Voters approved a sales tax measure to support economic development, and the Entrepreneurial Center had been created to help start-up businesses.

So we launched our county-wide community engagement project, and hundreds of citizens came to meetings at the Huck Boyd Community Center and provided great input on their hopes and goals for the future. A core group of volunteers stepped forward to serve on the steering committee for Discover Phillips County. They developed a vision statement and identified strategic focus areas plus action steps to be implemented.

One goal was a county-wide cleanup implemented in spring 2007. This effort collected 88 loads of tires and 272 loads of household solid waste, amounting to more than 1,253 tons cleaned up in the county. Another project was to place beautiful Discover Phillips County signs which now stand along each highway entrance to the county, plus colorful banners along the streets in partnership with local businesses. The new model is successfully developed, and the steering committee continues to work for betterment countywide.

So what would you find if you discovered Phillips County? You´d find recreational and educational amenities all over, plus natural amenities like Kirwin Lake, historic amenities like Fort Bissell, and cultural amenities like the Hansen Museum. Most of all, you would find caring people committed to their families, schools, and communities. We salute the Discover Phillips County steering committee and all those who are making a difference with their voluntary service. I was glad to rediscover that spirit of community in Phillips County.

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http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/news/sty/KSProfile.htm

Contact: Ron Wilson, (785) 532-7690, rwilson@ksu.edu