Southwest Kansas Seminar – XVI

Southwest Kansas Seminar – Class XVI

Mary Marsh
Manhattan

Southwest Kansas Day One
Wednesday, November 2, 2022
Submitted by: Mary Marsh

Three months after the first seminar for the KARL XVI class, the class met again to learn more about the culturally diverse, water-limited agriculture powerhouse that is Southwestern Kansas.

The Economic Development seminar began at 11:33 am on Nov. 2, 2022 at the Clarion Inn in Garden City, Kansas, with Eli Svaty serving as the moderator for the day.

To kick off the seminar, Matt Allen, City Manager of Garden City, welcomed the class with an introduction to the history of Garden City presentation titled “The World Grows Here”. Allen gave the class an overview of the history of Garden CIty. Garden City was always an agricultural hub, but as irrigation technology changed, more corn was grown. With more corn grown, came more cattle. With more cattle, came more people and industries. Populations soared to a record high in the early 2000’s hitting 31,000 people. Today, the population now hovers around 28,000, majority of which are non-cacasions.

Allen continued to breakdown the demographics of Garden City and how the different cultures all make their livelihoods in southwest Kansas. The primary employer of these immigrants are in the packing plants. One complication involved in having so many cultures and religions all mixed together is having all the services they need to practice their beliefs. One such example, is the nearest cemetery that adheres to islamic culture for burial is all the way in Wichita. In the local schools, there can be between 25 and 40 different dialects of languages spoken. So, having sufficient resources for all these people can be challenging.

In the mid-2010’s, there was a major scare that shook the entire community to its core. Three men, in an anti-muslim group, plotted to blow up an apartment that served as a mosque where the muslims prayed and some lived. A local man, turned FBI informant, infiltrated the group, gathering intel that led to the arrest of the three men and ultimately saved the lives of countless people. Despite this one major terror threat, Garden City has provided a home for these refugees, and has influenced the whole community’s world view. Folks from Garden City learn how to work together even though they all come from different places, speak different languages or worship in different ways. Allen explained how he and his children view the world in an open way and attribute it all to being from Garden City, saying “you find ways to celebrate differences.”

Following Allen’s presentation, there was a panel discussion featuring Lona Duvall with Finney County Economic Development; Matt Allen; Fred Jones, Water Resource Manager and Dwane Roth, from the City of Holcomb. Troy Dumler, Garden City was the moderator of the panel discussion. Each panelist explained challenges related to their job and what the solutions for those problems were.

Duvall explained the struggle for looking for ways to reduce and mitigate water use and how they won’t permit projects to come into the community that won’t match the city’s water goals.

Jones also said water was the biggest challenge for Holcomb. They struggle with finding acceptable reduction acts. He also says the city struggles with water quality and infrastructure.

To help reduce and conserve water, the city monitors use and uses data to explain to the citizens of Holcomb the importance of conservation.

Roth, a farmer, explained how technology has helped them be more efficient with their water usage on the farm. They were able to save about ten inches of water from each pivot. He has had difficulties trying to get fellow farmers to implement these water saving methods on their farms.

Allen tied up the conversation with an inspiring note on how to find the best solutions to problems: surround yourself with problem solvers and doers.

The second speaker was Ernestor De La Rosa, Assistant City Manager/ Legislative Affairs for Dodge City. He is the son of immigrants who worked in the packing plants and construction. He moved to America in 2002, when he was in the eighth grade. According to the stats, he was supposed to fail. Instead of accepting it, he decided to prove the stats wrong. Through Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), De La Rosa was able to go to Dodge City Community College, Fort Hays State University and Wichita State University. He emphasized how DACA allowed for him and countless others to go to college- an option that would not have been possible without it. Then, he explained how much we need immigration reform to help immigrants seek citizenship in more effective and efficient ways.

De La Rosa continued on to address how the packing plants are the lifeblood of Garden City and Dodge City. Surrounding counties and communities are seeing populations decrease whereas Garden City (Finney County) and Dodge City (Ford County) are seeing population increases because these packing plants are bringing immigrants into the area. If it were not for the packing plants, De La Rosa explained, these counties would be facing decreased populations as well. Hilmar Cheese, a cheese plant from California, is going to be the newest neighbor. This latest industry player will provide an additional 700 jobs to the area. De La Rosa explained the packing plants might see employees leave the packing plant to go work in the cheese plant.

An immigration policy discussion panel followed De La Rosa’s presentation. Kyle Averhoff, farmer with Royal Farms; Allie Devine, partner at Devine, Donely & Murray LLC and De La Rosa were on the panel. Eli Svaty was the moderator for the discussion.

Each explained how agriculture got each of them into immigration policy in one way or another.

Averhoff, a dairyman in Garden City, explained their current issue with getting help on the farm. H2A, a common visa program utilized in agriculture, does not work in dairies due to being year long work. He told the class about several other visa programs he has been able to use in the past. One such visa that he had used were TN visas. These help people with specialized technical skills come to America to work; however, this still leaves the milking positions wide open.

Devine explained how this is not a state issue but is a national issue and shared about how she and her partners are trying to change immigration policy from the legislative side.

After a brief break, the class was joined by guests from around the area and had a steak dinner. Ashley Beying gave the prayer and dinner commenced.

As dinner was wrapping up, the crowd welcomed up the guest speaker for the evening. Tony Mattivi, retired Federal Prosecutor, gave a gripping and chilling recount of the bombing threat from 2016. He dove deep into how the FBI had to handle it, the entire timeline of the whole plan, background on Patrick Stein, Curtis Allen and Gavin Wright, and how Dan Day, a normal, everyday guy stepped up to the plate and saved a whole city. The entire crowd was silent as Matitivi provided lesser known details. He played sound clips during the militia meetings that made a person’s blood go cold. It brought the story to life in a whole new, harrowing way.

The first day of the KARL Economic Development Seminar concluded at around 9:00 pm.


Carl Clawson
Plains

Southwest Kansas Day Two
Thursday, November 3, 2022
Submitted by: Carl Clawson

KARL Class XVI began our windy day in Garden City by hopping on the Garden City Community College’s bus and heading to Tysons Fresh Meats in Holcomb, just down the road from Garden City. Tyson had a group of their managers available to answer all of our questions. The first thing that we did was to just start with a question-and-answer session that was very informative

Tyson Fresh Meats employs about 3600 people, and they had between 150-200 open positions on the day that we were there. Tyson has a mobile recruitment vehicle to try and fill their empty positions but this was shut down during Covid. Their employees are organized into 3 shifts a day. A and B shift carry out the main processing aspects, and the third shift cleans and sanitizes everything in the plant daily. They also clean out the coolers twice a year to clean areas that always have product in them.

On the sustainability front, they reuse 100% of the water they utilize on surrounding farm ground.

They harvest about 5,400 head a day from the surrounding 300 to 400 miles. This makes between 40,000 – 50,000 boxes of beef per day. Bill Durkson, the Complex Manager, explained that they do daily, weekly, and monthly animal welfare training with all of the people that interact the cattle. They are also doing in person audits and even camera audits to ensure proper handling. The truckers that haul cattle in are also required to Beef Quality Assurance Trained, and they have to provide their certification every time they enter the plant to deliver cattle. The truckers start showing up at 2 am every morning and start unloading the 160 trucks at three chutes.

Danielle asked about employee retention and upward mobility. Ashley Buyer, the HR Manager, explained that they have high turnover within the first year of employment, but after about two years the employees tend to stay around. At this point, Tyson leadership can really put one of their key philosophies – growing people – into practice. The managers that were walking with us shared that most of them had started working on the line and chosen to grow with the company. The first promotion off the line is assistant manager. They have several programs in place to help facilitate the growing people strategy, including programs to help employees get their GED, college tuition assistance, as well as English Second Language Classes through their Upward Academy. There are 26 languages that are spoken inside the plant with the primary languages being English, Spanish, Somalian, and Vietnamese. They communicate with the employees through in-person interpreters or phone interpreters as needed.

Tyson also works to offer other benefits to their employees. There is always a nurse on staff to help with any issues that may come up at the workplace. Tyson also has a 3rd party clinic in town that they offer to the employees if they need any additional help from a scrapped knee to mental health issues. They also have a chaplain on site for any religious support that may arise.

In 2019 there was an accidental fire at Tyson, and they were back operating on the fabrication side of the house within 2 weeks and back to harvesting within 120 days. While the fire was devasting for many reasons, Tyson was able to use this as an opportunity to make the plant be more efficient as well as leverage some of the employees’ other skills to help with the rebuild. One of the things that the management team hangs their hat on is that they were able to keep all the employees working through the down time at various job so they didn’t have to go out and rehire anyone.

Before we were able to take the tour inside the plant, we watched some safety videos as well as a few general educational videos on Tyson and what they stand for. Then we went on the tour of the plant starting with the packaging side of the plant then to the fabrication area. We discussed the different

boxes that were used for packaging beef and why they choose different boxes. Then we went to the grading area of the plant and talked about how a carcass is graded and the USDA’s responsibility of grading the beef. They use a “camera” that gets a pretty good estimate of quality and yield grade. We then went to the hot coolers where the carcasses go from the kill floor and get cooled down to between 40f and 34F, which takes between 4 and 24. The final stop on the tour was on the kill floor just after the nock box. We got to see how the animals went from having hides and hoof to being sides of beef in the cooler. The next stop was just outside the plant for a picture. During this time, it was shared that the packing plant smell comes from the rendering side of the plant which takes care of the hides and extra fat that is brought into the plant. We then went back to the cafeteria and asked more questions with a better insight on how things are done inside the plant.

The first question that was asked was why we went in reverse order through the plant and the Food Safety Manager explained Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP). We started in the cleanest part of the plant and went to the dirtiest part of the plant, and that there are many checkpoints inside the plant to ensure that nothing hazardous gets into the food supply. The food safety manager also went into how often the knives that are used get sanitized and that in some areas the get sanitized between every carcass. E-Coli, BSE, and exports have made the plant increase their food safety over the last 20 years and they are continuing to get better daily. They now export between 25% and 60% of the Holcomb plant every year.

Jeremy asked a question about sustainability, and it was explained that Tyson is limiting how much chemical they are using, recycling all of the cardboard and plastic, and actively chooses to purchase more efficient electric motors The managers also talked about having branded beef for sustainability in the way that it was raised similar to how Certified Angus Beef is branded beef. We also asked about traceability of product, and the complex manager talked about how they can trace back every piece of meat all the way back to where it was purchased from. Additionally, they periodically do it as an audit to make sure that is fast and easy to accomplish.

We talked about the USDA graders and how they are employed, as well as their daily USDA inspections. The USDA inspector are considered essential workers, and they are not affected by the government shutdowns. Tyson also has workers that are trained in the same way that the USDA inspectors are trained in accordance with the Beef Modernization Act.

The next thing that we talked about was safety and security at the facility, and we learned that they have 24-hour security along with cameras everywhere. They have GPS tracking on the trailers to ensure they’re going to the right place. They have made improvement in safety throughout the plant, which includes increased lighting in low traffic areas and automating dangerous and/or repetitive jobs.

Greg asked how COVID changed how things are done inside the plant. They still have dividers between workers on the fabrication line, but masks are no longer required.

After a fantastic tour at Tyson in Holcomb, it was time to get back on the bus and head to Southwind Country Club for lunch and to listen to Ty Brookover of Class X. Ty first talked about the massive benefit of the KARL network and the multiple ways that it has benefited himself and others. He also stated how much he loved going on the different trips, and how it even changed some of the hiring practices in his company. It even inspired him to join Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO). He then gave us a brief overview of the 12 Brookover companies that he oversees with the most visible being the multiple feed

yards that have a combined total of over 100,000 cows. He talked about developing Southwind and sold it in 2009. He shared his thoughts on succession planning for his three boys, the future in family business, as well as possible future viability in the area due to dwindling water resources and greater competition for resources. Ty finished up his talk by saying his biggest challenges are water, people and the market.

He opened it up for questions, and Kari asked how they plan for programs that the packing plants are using. He explained that they sort the cattle into groups that will finish at the same time and can go into the same program at the packing plant. Derick asked how Ty manages his risk. He explained that risk management was his first task inside the company, and he hasn’t stopped learning since. To learn risk management, Ty first went to Sparks Commodities in Memphis which are on par with Warren Buffet as a stock investor. He shared that his time there, the correct mentors, learning to play the game, and staying abreast of current news put him in a position to succeed. Greg asked about sustainability, and Ty explained that they spread all the manure and use the lagoon water through the pivots. They are also using lower input crops, which decreases the amount of fertilizer needed as well as lowers the amount of water usage. Danielle asked about the difference between registered and commercial cattle to the feed yard. Ty then explained that the prices that packers are paying is driven by the retailer’s demand. He also shared that Certified Angus Beef (CAB) is a program that has helped to make a more uniform cattle crop.

After lunch, we headed to the Brookover Ranch with manager Mark Boos. Mark showed us the 15,000ac of grass that is grazed if they get rain, which they didn’t in 2022 due to the drought. There are also 22 circles that provide the feed for the feed yard nearby. They have 5 alfalfa circles, and the rest are used to raise double crop triticale and a forage sorghum which is used for silage for the cattle. They produce about 30,000 tons of silage annually.

As we pulled into the feed yard, Mark pointed out the steam flaker and explained how it turned #2 yellow corn into corn flakes for cattle. He gave us samples of steam flaked corn, Dried Distillers Grain (DDG), and Sorghum Silage. From a staffing perspective, they have one man for every 1000 head of cattle. Typically, yearlings are brought into the yard when they are between 700lbs to 850lbs. However, they have brought in younger calves for the right price. The younger calves are bedded on corn stalks until they are the right size to go to the yard. They cattle are purchased primarily from the south-central USA. When they arrive at the yard, they are sorted into like lots and provided individual ID’s so that the cattle get returned to the right pen after an animal has been doctored. Jennifer asked about the protocols for sick cattle detection and care. Mark explained that a pen rider comes by every day to put eyes on every animal. The feed truck comes twice a day, which is a great time to catch sick cattle. Finally, a manager drives by twice a day also. Once the sick animal is detected it gets taken to the hospital for proper care. They have protocols for the different ailments to ensure that the correct care is administered. Additionally, a veterinarian comes by monthly to train the employees. Mark then took time to explain that there are two ways that cattle are sold to the packers. First, the packer buys the cattle live from the feeder at the current market price. Second, the feeder negotiated a grid which has quality on one axis and yield on the other axis and the quality and yield grade of each carcass determines its price.

After traveling around the feed yard, we headed to Mies and Sons Trucking. Jerry Mies started his milk hauling company in Colwich, Kansas in 1991. He picked up from multiple small dairies in the area to get

started, but he now picks up from 27 dairies around Colwich. He picks up from 20 dairies in Western Kansas, which is about 110 loads a day. With all those loads that his company haul Jerry’s company ends up hauling 1 percent of the fluid milk in the USA with his 130 trucks. Growing up, Jerry dairied by Wichita with his family. AJ, Jerry’s son, manages the Garden City office, and his other son manages the Colwich office. Kari asked what his biggest challenge was when he got started. He shared that staffing was a challenge when getting started, but he now has a waiting list for drivers wanting to come work for him. He pays between 80k to 125k a year with 6 days on and 2 days off. Most of his drivers are local drivers, and trips typically take less than a day. There are a few truckers that haul to the eastern seaboard. Most of the trucks fit the short haul, which is better with the smaller bunk but a few have a full sleeper. He has150 employees with the average retention of 5.2 years, he even hasa couple of female drivers. Mary asked about regulations. Besides the weight regulations, there are no requirements for logbooks or hours of service on his hauls that are within 150 air miles, which are most of them. He still does to keep drivers legal if they ever have to go farther than 150 miles. Nathan asked how hard it is to get a CDL to drive a Semi. Jerry explained that the rules have changed recently and now a driver has to go to a school to get a CDL, and it is expensive to do so, but he thinks that you get a better quality of driver because of it. Once a driver has their CDL Jerry proceeds to train the drivers to increases the quality of drivers. Driving a milk tanker takes more training because there are no baffles in the trailer to stop the slosh of the liquid around the tank. Jerry prefers 13 speed Peterbilt’s which helps with driver retention, because these are nice trucks that still get about 6.7 miles per gallon. He trades 30 plus trucks a year once they get to 500,000 miles.

We walked around the facility and Jerry explained that the inside of the tanker must be washed out between every load of milk and he has an automated machine that takes 30 to wash the inside of the tank out. He also has his own maintenance shop, and mechanics that can fix anything that on a semi or trailer except the barrel of a trailer. None of his trucks match in color so they can be identified easily at a glance, and he only keeps trailers for about 8 years before trading them as well. He also has very tight security on site to keep his dispatchers and equipment safe and secure.

After the fantastic tour of Mies and Sons, Lona Duvall, President of Finney County Economic Development, and Bob Temple of Class XV at Wind River Grain joined us. Bob explained that Wind River was built in 1997 to export wheat. Today it is a grain originator for many local feed yards as well as Conestoga Ethanol. They are in the process of bringing trains of corn into their facility due to the poor crop this year. They usually have between 100 to 150 trucks come through the facility a day. Bob said that most of the feed yards could go about a week without getting a corn truck in.

Lona Duvall then took over and showed us around the TP&L lay down yard which stores a massive amount of energy producing windmills before they get loaded onto semis and hauled to their destination. Right down the road from Wind River is Empirical Foods which is going to make ground beef, but currently is still under construction. They are planning on employing 450 people and have a program in the high school to help train students so that they can have a job once they graduate.

For supper this evening, we went to Larry and Becky Jones of J&O Cattle Company by Holcomb. We had a wonderful meal and Tera Barnhardt, a local mother and veterinarian, gave a talk about connecting with the consumer. She talked about multiple times in either talks that she has given to the public or on social media where she was able to shed some light on a touchy subject inside the beef industry which was very enlightening.

Jeremy Johnson
Pittsburg

Southwest Kansas Day Three
Friday, November 4, 2022
Submitted by: Jeremy Johnson

For the third day of the Garden City seminar, KARL class XVI started the day at Vulgamore Family Farms (VFF) near Scott City, where they met VFF co-owner Brian Vulgamore. Brian explained that the farm currently has 50 employees working on 90,000 acres of cropland, most of which is rented from nearby landowners. The primary business of VFF is crop production, though there are additional revenue streams from sales of seeds and crop insurance, a manure composting business, and a farm management and consulting business.

Brian described the focus of VFF being on people, sustainability, and technology. VFF (a name they changed to in order to foster a sense of inclusion among employees outside of the family) relies heavily on cutting-edge technology in order to best achieve an environmentally sustainable model, utilizing geotagged photography, precise “see and spray” automated weed control, and a variety of sensor-enabled farm equipment to allow them to use a no-till approach. He emphasized the importance of no-till farming in Southwest Kansas, where water is increasingly scarce and moisture conservation is a top priority for any operation thinking beyond the short-term.

Having such a data-informed approach allows the company to approach farming “like the stock market,” as Brian described it, allowing them to maximize returns for renting landowners, who could potentially seek to make money elsewhere with their property. Data also allows VFF to operate at an enormous scale. This comes with challenges, particularly effectively managing people in a fluid and unpredictable industry like farming, but they have devised a “bus terminal” management system that puts people into small teams with “bus drivers” who help delegate duties each day.

But scale also allows the company to offer benefits that smaller operations cannot, including health insurance, vacation time, matching 401(k), housing, “phantom” stock ownership in the company, and breakfast every morning before work. In a job market where employees are very difficult to find, these kinds of benefits are key to retaining workers.

The group then took a tour of the main VFF campus, including the office “war room,” 1.7 million bushel grain storage bins, and equipment workshops, showcasing some of the technology Brian described.

Class XVI then headed to Scott City to visit Nu Life Market, the largest grain sorghum producer in the United States, and were greeted by CEO and founder Earl Roemer. Earl, who started out as an ag producer and had done research on sorghum for human consumption, explained that when demand for gluten-free products exploded over the last decade, Nu Life was in a position to capitalize on the market growth and supply companies with products and ingredients that met demand.

Since Nu Life was on the cutting edge of processing sorghum for use in human food, they’ve been able to lead and shape the market response. This includes considerable intellectual property centered on the milling of sorghum and similar gluten-free products, such as sunflower seeds. They’ve developed tools that allow them to track everywhere their source grain has been, which gives Nu Life the ability to limit cross-contamination with allergens. They

also test the grain for gluten up to 5 parts per million, which is lower than the FDA’s required 25 ppm, and ensures a quality product. And ensuring quality has allowed them to develop relationships with large food companies–one of the first major products they rolled out was Kellogg’s gluten-free Special K, along with a popped sorghum product for Kashi.

As with many of the discussions in Garden City, sustainability was a key topic. As Earl pointed out, sorghum has a negative carbon footprint. And during times of drought, as this last season brought, location diversity has been important. Nu Life brings in grain from an area spanning Nebraska to Texas, so last year, when Nu Life lost 6,000 acres of sorghum due to drought, they were still able to deliver products to their customers.

Earl was also quick to point out that while Nu Life operates in national and international markets, they also play a key role in contributing to the local economy. Scott County has the second highest per capita income in the state, only behind Johnson County, largely thanks to the kind of entrepreneurship that Nu Life embodies. And as a small county and city, the region depends on these entrepreneurial efforts in order to thrive.

After finishing at Nu Life, the class headed up the road to the Spencer Flight and Education Center just outside of Scott City for lunch and the final presentation of the day. The Center has the only flight simulator between Wichita and Denver, and is largely funded through tax credits. Liz Vulgamore, the volunteer administrator who helps run the Center (there are no full-time staff, as a 501(c)3 nonprofit), told the story of the Spencer family, who died in a tragic plane crash in 2011, and how the accident spurred the creation of the Center.

As Liz explained, Scott city has a very active aviation community, with many people opting to use planes to commute in the region. With such an active community, the Spencer Center provides a key component in the health and usage of the regional airport. The Center allows for people to both earn their pilot’s license, which involves around 60 hours of training, as well as log training hours to keep current on their existing licenses.

After the presentation and lunch concluded, Class XVI departed for home, until reconvening on December 7th in Goodland.

KARL Class XVI Associates

Class Notes – XVI

Genesis Seminar – XVI

Genesis Seminar

COMMUNICATION – TRUST – COOPERATION. Each critical components of leadership and a team. While at Rock Springs, KARL Class XVI experienced the Leadership Adventure Course that reinforced these values. 

KARL Class XVI kicked off their Genesis Seminar which is just the beginning of their two-year journey. The seminar started at the Kansas Department of Agriculture with a Dale Carnegie of the Heartland seminar working with the Class to dive in and connect with others.  

Ashley Beying
Waverly

Genesis Day One
Thursday, August 25, 2022
Submitted by: Ashley Beying

The opening session of KARL Class XVI’s Genesis Seminar began with the group officially meeting through introductions at the Kansas Department of Agriculture – Manhattan campus. Martinez Media and Marketing graciously provided us with professional headshot photography and group photos. Jill Zimmerman, KARL President and CEO, then took the time to welcome us to the inaugural session of KARL Class XVI with words of wisdom and advice. She charged us to “Be kind, and enjoy your experience,” as well as “Focus on team building and cultivating relationships.” She reiterated that the KARL program will continue to “cultivate you and challenge you throughout the experience,” but that we as class members need to engage and be present throughout the process. We then moved into introductions of our esteemed guests, speakers, KARL staff, and the board of directors present for the Genesis seminar. KARL Class XVI participants then gave a short introduction themselves. Andrea Krauss, the class chair for the day, provided Kansas Department Secretary of Agriculture, Mike Beam, with a warm welcome. Mike joined to provide us with an update on where Kansas agriculture is presently, as well as things to look towards in the future. Many were impressed to find that agriculture is Kansas’ largest economic driver, with a total contribution of $76 billion, and family owned farms and ranches make up 84.6% of Kansas agriculture. In the KDA, there are 5 different divisions, which include:

Some questions were then asked, including:

After Secretary Beam’s very informative presentation, Doug Hofbauer, President of KARL, provided a welcome on behalf of the Board of Directors. He provided some brief comments, including that KARL gives the individuals in the program a tremendous opportunity to learn and grow as individuals, but you also have the chance to learn from others in the program. He encouraged us to acknowledge what you can bring to your class, but also to get to know other backgrounds, as well as what skills and expertise they bring to the table.

We then had an engaging presentation by Gordan Hibbard and Amanda Elders with the Dale Carnegie Foundation, where they provided us with the chance to better connect with others. They reiterated that real transformation begins within, and the presence that we create can set the stage for future interactions.  The first activity involved “shaking hands,” first with intentional eye contact and engaging behavior, and next with an aloof presence where we actively sought out the next conversation.  It showed that our first impressions can make an impact on what others think of us.  They then guided us into practicing “pause, part, and punch.”  We were able to introduce ourselves in a way that others could remember more easily.  Lastly, they went over different techniques for remembering other’s names.  This can help a person as it shows genuine interest in others, shows that we are focused on the other person, and helps us to be a strong conversationalist. We then engaged in a charades version of performing each persons’ names, some classmates providing a picture that would be hard to forget!

Our last afternoon speaker to engage us in presence for the afternoon was Colene Lind, with a presentation entitled “Getting over ourselves.”  She stated that she spends a lot of time asking herself three questions in everyday interactions and in her evaluation of other people’s interactions: why did they say that, why did they say it that way, and is there a way they could have said it differently. She stated that in certain interactions, we may enable, or disable ourselves through our communication techniques. She then introduced the word ecocentrism, which is an attentiveness to other people’s words.  Ecocentrism bias is when “we are at the center of our own universe.”  She states that we can’t always know perfectly how others are perceiving what we say, which is why we always start looking at situations from our own perspectives and thoughts, and also believing that others also start looking at situations from our own perspective.  She described how our conversations towards others can be affected by ecocentrism bias.  For those of us in the majority of the population, the word “welcoming” means “welcome, come join us, it is great to have you here.”  However for a person of color, or for someone who has indigenously been excluded, the word “welcoming” can mean “you belong here.”  By looking at this word, what it means and how a person experiences the word can be vastly different, based on a person’s experiences and where they come from.  Now one may ask, what is the best way to overcome ecocentrism bias?  As Colene says, it is ASKING, or getting someone else’s perspective.  We can do this in three ways:

1. We need to say and signal that we are open to another person’s perspective.  We can do this by saying “I want to hear your experience.”  This is about expressing openness.

2.  Reduce the consequences for sharing the truth.  This can be done by moving productive conversations into what went wrong. 

3.  Make it clear that you want to know the truth. 

She ended her presentation by encouraging us to be intentional in conversations with others, act and speak empathetically, and being a more active participant in conversation. 

As we finished up the afternoon portion of our GENESIS Karl Day 1, we loaded up in our cars and headed to the Midwest Dream Car Collection for a night of networking, engaging conversation, hors d’oeuvres and drinks with KARL staff, alumni, and supporters.  Our day leader, Andrea Krauss, gave introductions of the esteemed guests, former board members ,and fellows. She then introduced our first evening speaker, Dr. Richard Linton, Kansas State University’s president.  In his time with us, Dr. Linton shared his journey of what got him to where he was today.  Some words of encouragement he included were to “be a cheerleader always, and have fun every day. Come in with high energy, go into everything with a positive energy, as it is infectious, both with internal and external stakeholders.” He mentioned his key mentors, and he encouraged us to find people that would be mentors to us, both nice people, as well as “not as nice” people that would push you to greatness. He educated us on ways that he goes about growing a “team”, including utilizing strengthsfinder so there is a wide diversity of strengths.  Some of the plans that he has for Kansas State University include:

He ended by answering the question, “What excites you about K-State?”  HIs answer – “The people.  The people are incredible. If you have great people, you can make anything happen.  Second, the student experience.”  

After an incredible presentation by Dr. Linton, Andrea Krauss then introduced our final speaker for the evening, Ron Wilson with the Huck Boyd Institute.  Ron’s focus of the evening was providing education on Revitalizing Rural Kansas. He gave background information about Huck Boyd, and that he was a publisher of a newspaper in Phillipsburg, Kansas that made a lifelong commitment to rural communities. He challenged us to encourage regional grassroots solutions, where we can power and engage local leaders to find shared solutions that can fit each community.  In addition, he encouraged us to support “ruralpreneurs” and value added homegrown businesses.  Ron noted that there is power in what has come from the COVID pandemic, as it has allowed individuals to work remotely, which could be of benefit in bringing people back to rural America.  To make this happen, Kansas needs to make it a priority to develop a greater breadth of infrastructure, such as enhancing broadband internet access, improving transportation in rural areas, and investing in rural schools.  He encouraged us to support and focus on the quality of life that rural Kansas provided.  After the two informative presentations, we each took the time to drive to Rock Springs Ranch, where we enjoyed each other’s company and got to know each other better through the evening.   


Ryan Engle
Madison

Genesis Day Two
Friday, August 26, 2022
Submitted by: Ryan Engle

We continued our journey as KARL Class XVI with our first full day at Rock Springs Ranch. Jake Worcester, CEO and President of the Kansas 4-H Foundation, spoke to our class the first half of the morning regarding the story of Rock Spring Ranch. The original ranch, which consisted of 350 acres, was purchased by the 4-H Clubs of Kansas back in 1946 for the price of $22,500. The ranch now contains 735 acres with many substantial capital improvements having been made the last several years.

Rock Springs also has the second largest spring in Kansas which produces over 1,000 gallons of water per minute and provides all the water for the facility. Another fact regarding Rock Springs is that it contains some of the oldest trees in the State of Kansas.

Rocks Springs Ranch provides a place for not only 4-H members and leaders a place for retreat and transformation, but also families and businesses that visit this place throughout the year. Planned enhancements will continue to be made for future generations to benefit from this beautiful property.

The second half of the morning was spent developing our leadership skills and growing as a class while participating in various leadership adventure courses. Our class was split into two groups and performed four separate team building exercises in order to learn more about leadership, teamwork, positive attitude, and learning from experience within our groups.

After lunch, members of the Kansas Department of Agriculture joined our class to discuss critical issues facing Kansas agriculture in the future. We were joined by Assistant Secretary of Agriculture Kelsey Olsen, Division of Water Resources Chief Engineer Earl Lewis, and Animal Health Commissioner Justin Smith.

Each of these members of the Kansas Department of Agriculture provided a job description of their individual roles as well as some of the challenges we are facing within Kansas Agriculture. Animal Health Commissioner Smith discussed difficulties in responding to an animal emergency and what to do. Chief Engineer Earl Lewis talked about sedimentation issues facing many of the Kansas Reservoirs as well as the ongoing depletion of the Ogallala Aquifer.

The middle part of the afternoon was led by KARL President Jill Zimmerman. Jill communicated what an awesome KARL network we have and for all of us to know it better and tell our story. Each member of the class shared what our favorite leadership quote were and also began to develop our individual six word memoir.

The afternoon concluded with Dr. Emily Lehning, Co-Founder of Roots and Legacies. The goal of this session was to open the conversation about talents and the power of leveraging your Strengths as a leader. Dr. Lehning talked about managing around weaknesses and focusing on your top five strengths

as you will see a bigger return as this will allow others to utilize their strengths in the areas we aren’t as strong in.

The day concluded with an amazing brisket supper at the Kniebel Cattle Company. Kevin and Mary Ann (VIII) Kniebel as well as Joe Carpenter (IX) and Barb Downey (VIII) hosted this event and was definitely one of the highlights of the day.

After supper, a panel discussion was held by Joe Carpenter, Barb Downey, Mary Ann Kneibel, and Debbie Lyons Blythe. Debbie shared about her current term serving as Chair on the board of directors for the U.S. Roundtable For Sustainable Beef and the importance of agriculture advocacy.

Joe, Barb and Mary Ann all shared about their past participation with the KARL Program and indicated that years later they are still connected with their respected classes. Mary Ann shared “to go with the flow” throughout the next two year as some things might not go according to plan, but to make the best of the situation.

We would like to thank the Kniebel Cattle Company/Kevin and Mary Ann Kniebel/Barb Downey and Joe Carpenter for hosting this event. The social and networking opportunity as well as learning more about agriculture advocacy were invaluable to KARL Class XVI.

Sara Hayden
Great Bend

Genesis Day Three
Saturday, August 27, 2022
Submitted by: Sara Hayden

A final look at Genesis:

After two (2) days of bonding and learning together, class XVI started the day by sharing takeaways from the previous day’s experiences. Many echoed the importance of our strengths conversation with Dr. Lehning; specifically, the idea of organizing around ones weaknesses, but placing a focus and energy behind improving ones strengths. Dr. Lind was also championed for her wonderful presentation on “getting over yourself” and truly being present; the idea of mindfully listening opposed to actively listening. An overlying theme to Dr. Lind’s presentation that was mentioned by several was the concept of getting another’s perspective instead of taking another’s perspective. It is easy to say that the group was enamored by the evening spent at the Kniebel farm. No matter the background or professional roles we find ourselves in, we all learned much from the questions asked and answered about the US Roundtable for Sustainable Beef. Whether water, beef or agriculture way of life, sustainability was a critical component needed for Kansas agricultural success in the future.

Aside from the wonderful presenters, the group enthusiastically shared revelations and successes from our class time experiencing the ropes course. One mentioned how incredible it was to see a group of leaders adapt and fall into supporting roles to ensure the success of the team. Another shared that the team building aspect of the challenges chosen were perfect to allow us, as a class, to become vulnerable with one another and break the ice as we begin our two (2) year journey together.

After a meaningful session of takeaways, we had the opportunity to learn “the power of KARL” from previous KARL class fellows, Andrew Ochampaugh and Kim Baldwin. Highlights of their presentation include:

Don’t waste the opportunity:

Be patient with the process:

Be open:

KARL-pool:

Be present:

Be intentional:

Scribe notes are an important tool:

Have fun, but not too much fun:

Be prepared:

Be reflective:

Be vulnerable:

Be engaged

Be connectors:

Kim ended by reminding us of a quote that was shared with her by Dr. Flinchbaugh, “everyone puts their pants on one leg at a time.” We are in a legendary leadership program and are all challenged as changemakers, participate in the experience and know you’re each of value in this process.

Lastly, we spent time as a class to reflect on standards and start to build a standards guideline specific to our class. Andrea Deitl and Sara Hayden will keep the standards conversation going with the group until our November gathering. Wendy Hughes will set up WhatsApp for the class to connect and Mary Marsh will set up a class Facebook and help to document our experience with photos.

Overall, our genesis experience was just that, the genesis of a group of legendary leaders. KARL class XVI will exceed expectations and be positive changemakers.

Click HERE to access Genesis presentations.

KARL Class XVI Associates

International Study – United Arab Emirates – XV

Kim Baldwin
KARL Class XV

International Study UAE (Days 1)
Sunday, March 20 & 21, 2022
Submitted by Kim Baldwin

March 20, 2022– The majority of the KARL Class XV Associates departed Wichita, Manhattan or Kansas City to meet up at DFW for an extended layover before boarding our nearly 15-hour flight on Emirates Air from DFW to Dubai.

We left DFW at night and landed in Dubai at night. After getting through customs, we met up with Tiffani Trump and our guide Mamdaouh Goda and made our way to our hotel to get checked in, drop off our luggage, grab a bite to eat and then went to bed.

We would call the Al Seef Heritage Hotel Dubai, Curio Collection by Hilton our home for the first few days in the UAE. The hotel is located on the banks of Dubai Creek, located in the Al Seef heritage district, opposite famous spice and gold souks via water taxi.

DAY 2 (March 21, 2022) KARL Class XV’s first “official” day in Dubai was a FULL one! While many of the class associates planned to sleep until 6:00AM, the call to prayer led to many waking up before their cellphone alarms as the call was broadcast throughout the city on loudspeakers shortly after 5:00AM and could be heard in many of the hotel rooms.

After breakfast we started off the day At The Top. The Burj Khalifa is the tallest building in the world. The building is 163 stories, but the observation deck is on the 124th floor.

The Burj’s elevator is incredibly fast and will get you to the 124th floor in one minute (it travels 10 meters per second).

The Burj is located at the Dubai Mall where one can find a plethora of restaurants, luxury clothing stores, and indoor aquarium, ice rink, water features and shops including everything from Christian Louboutin to KFC.

After visiting the Burj Khalifa and exploring portions of the Dubai Mall, Class XV went and explored a couple souks (markets) including the Gold Souk. The Gold Souk is Dubai’s traditional market with a lot of retailers—most being jewelry traders. Gold, platinum, diamonds and silver are all sold here. 

There are multiple souks one can visit to find just about anything. Aside from the Gold Souk, the markets included spices, utensils, and fabrics to name just a few.

There were clothes and shoes, dried fruits and nuts, teas and spices, lamps, and fragrances available within the market. Vendors would generally stand at the entrance of their shops encouraging shoppers to come in and look around.

All items—including the gold—have asking prices, but it is customary (and expected) to negotiate to get better deals than the asking price.

From the souks KARL Class XV jumped into a couple abras (traditional boats) to ferry over the Dubai Creek for tea and lunch.

Abras are used as water taxis that charge very little per passenger. The drivers operate their boats with impressive speed and precision to move passengers across the Dubai Creek.

After we unloaded off the abras, the class walked over to the Center for Cultural Understanding, removed our shoes, and had an incredibly informative (and delicious) lunch session to learn about Emirate culture.

Yousef, our Emirate teacher for this meal, was very open to answering our questions regarding Emirate customs, history, government structure, and beliefs—including a question about arranged marriages vs. love marriages. 

The meal consisted of multiple platters highlighting rice and lamb dishes. 

We ended Day 1 in Dubai by loading up into some SUVs and heading out to the desert for some dune bashing. On our way out we saw our first group of camels walking alongside the road.

Dune bashing is definitely a recreational activity in the UAE. There are “pit stop” areas set up in the desert just off the highway where people and their hired dune bashers go. While the drivers are releasing the air in their tires to 15 psi, the customers can go use the toilets, purchase items, or enjoy food and drinks before heading out to the dunes.

Tires are deflated to 15psi to allow the SUVs to hug the curves of the sand dunes. I’m sure there are rules of engagement when it comes to dune bashing. I observed that our team of drivers always stayed in their designated spot within the caravan and that we had a lead car. The drivers have to receive special training in order to drive.

After the dune bashing, we traveled to another desert location for dinner and entertainment. Our open-air venue allowed KARL Class XV the opportunity to enjoy music and talent including an entertainer dancing with fire features. The meal consisted of a multitude of vegetables and a variety of grilled meats.

It was a FULL day that kept us all awake and moving and excited for the next day.

Justin Kastner
KARL Class XV

DAY 5--Thursday, March 24 – Summary of Activities
Submitted by Justin Kastner

After breakfast, the group departed by bus at 8:31am for the World Expo hosted by Dubai.  En route, our tour guide Gouda explained that Dubai won the right to host the World Expo by winning an international competitive bidding process.  To prepare, Dubai widened roads, enhanced infrastructure, etc.  Gouda explained that the 1850 (1851?) Expo/World’s Fair/Exhibition was held in London, and that the Expo is held every 5 years.  In 2015 it was in Milan, in 2020 (albeit delayed) it is in Dubai, and in 2025 it will be in Osaka, Japan.

The themes of Expos include “overcoming challenges.”  For Dubai’s hosting, a focus on overcoming environmental challenges has been the focus. 192 countries are participating in the Expo.

Gouda exhorted us all to stay hydrated throughout the day, to catch some shade, and to enjoy the Expo! We departed the bus and went our own ways to visit various pavilions at the Expo.

Several hours later, the KARL crew (inspired but exhausted by the Expo!) returned to the bus for transport from Dubai to Abu Dhabi.

En route from Dubai to Abu Dhabi, Gouda explained a bit about the history of Islam, sharing that the etymological root word of Islam (salaam) means “peace,” and that Muslims worship the one creator God (Allah) while also acknowledging several prophets including the last prophet Mohammed.  Gouda explained that the Lunar, Muslim calendar’s start date is when Mohammed went from Mecca to Medina.  Muslims, Gouda explained, typically don’t work on Fridays, and Sunday is typically a work day.

Islam features the ethic of giving (akin to “tithing” in Old Testament lingo): “zakat.”  The “hajj,” or pilgrimage to Mecca, is for those with money and good health.  Muslims, before they pray, self-wash various parts of their bodies.

The KARL class stopped at the Grand Mosque built by Sheikh Zayad.  1997 marked the groundbreaking, and it was completed in 2007; Shiekh Zayad died in 2004 prior to its completion.  The Mosque is 4.5 million square feet with 140 ft deep piles.  It is very impressive!  The marble for the Grand Mosque came from southern Italy, and other precious stones came from other countries.  A team of women weavers hand-sewed the enormously large carpet in the Mosque; the pieces were flown in by airplane and sewn together into one carpet!

To enter the Grand Mosque, the KARL class went through dress/screening/security.  As the class observed the impressive grounds and structures of the Mosque, they noticed, for example, an electronic clock indicating the Muslim/Lunar calendar dates and the five times of daily prayer.  As the class exited the Mosque, the early-evening (golden hour?) ambiance was beautiful!  The group then boarded the bus and headed to the hotel. While en route to the hotel, Gouda kindly asked the bus driver to stop so we could all take photos of the reflecting pool and the spectacularly lit Mosque at night.  Amazing!

Andrew Wefald
KSU Associate Professor

Day 7 – Saturday, March 26
Submitted by Andrew Wefald

Sat, Mar 26 Liwa Oasis

Focus: Bedouin Life / Rural Community / Zero Carbon

Day 7 continued at the Liwa Oasis. With a 5:00am wake up call, some of the group went to visit a local camel racetrack and watched as camels were being trained for racing. Those that got up early reported this was a fantastic event and were glad to have done this activity. I chose to sleep in, but the pictures looked great.

Later in the morning we had to say goodbye to two of our members. Darci had an accident on a four-wheeler and broke her arm. She left with Dr. Brown and made it home and had successful surgery! This incident aside, we all seemed to enjoy our time in Liwa and the pool and four-wheeling.

After breakfast at the hotel we departed around 11:00am for Abu Dhabi to visit Masdar City, a zero-carbon city project. This was really interesting and we learned what can be done around climate friendly city planning. The Siemens headquarters for the UAE is located here. We toured the visitors center and learned about some of the sustainability projects around the world.

More information about Masdar City can be found here:

https://masdar.ae/en/Masdar-Clean-Energy

And here: Dudgeon: A documentary on one of the world’s largest offshore wind farms

From Masdar City we took our bus to Al Ain and had a buffet dinner at our hotel. Our hotel was at the top of a mountain and had spectacular views – Jebel Hafeet, the second highest mountain in the Emirati.

One quote I remember from one of the presentations today was:

“Give me agriculture and I will give you civilization”

-- Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahyan (founder and late president of the UAE)

Justin Kastner
KARL Class XV

DAY 9 Monday, March 28 – Summary of Activities
Submitted by Justin Kastner

After breakfast and PCR tests, the group departed from their mountain-nested hotel (Mercure Grand Jebel Hafeet) discussing both Will Smith’s and Chris Rock’s Oscar antics from the night before (which everyone woke up reading about!) as well as what they might see today at the Emirates Bio Farm.

En route to the Emirates Bio Farm, the group could see the UAE-Oman border in the distance.  The Emirates Bio Farm, established in 2016, was the principal stop for the day.  Speaker and operations manager Yazen Al Kodmani delivered a talk in a greenhouse and then escorted the class on a tour of the farm’s grounds.  In his talk, Yazen quoted Sheik Zayed: “Give me agriculture, and I’ll give you civilization.”  Indeed, Sheik Zayed was a major supporter of agriculture-related initiatives in the UAE; he helped establish in 1972 the Mezyad Experimental Farm.  That initial effort is of significance personally to Yazen, as his father came to the UAE to work on the Mezyad Experimental Farm in 1976.

Yazen went on to explain how various efforts (e.g., a wheat farm in 1978) were proven not sustainable due to water needs; however, the early efforts at agriculture did reveal the promise of greenhouse-based agriculture.  A key development in the history of agriculture in the UAE happened in 1995 with the establishment of the Emirates Bio Fertilizer Factory.

Despite the advances in the last few decades, today 80% of the UAE’s food supply is still imported.  Quite simply, there are high farming costs in the UAE, and the UAE does not engage in protectionist (e.g. quotas) practices, which makes it doubly challenging for UAE farmers to compete.  However, there are some opportunities—for example, different kinds of vegetables that can be grown here.  He later asserted that “conventional agriculture should be out of the question here,” with the exception of oyster harvesting (due to the ideal environmental conditions for the fast growth of oysters).

Yazen emphasized that he believes restaurant menus should reflect only what is sustainably available locally.  Yazen explained that the Emirates Bio Farm is a family business, which he now manages.  He is involved in the wider food industry, too, as he strives to influence chefs to use local, sustainable crops.

Yazen emphasized how the UAE is a true entrepot (import-export) nexus for the global trade.  $20bn in agriculture/food comes into (is imported into) the country, and $18bn of agriculture/food goes out (is exported out of) the country.

Interesting fact: 20% of the world’s dates comes from the UAE.

With respect to water usage, Yazen explained that his farms and others rely on ancient aquifers; overall in the country, 50% of water comes from groundwater, and 50% comes from ocean water (that is desalinated).  He noted that there is an initiative to introduce more saline-tolerant crops.  

The closer a farm is to the ocean, the higher the salinity of the groundwater.

An interesting discussion unfolded with Yazen about Geographically-Indicated (GI) food items that can be marketed as being from the UAE: Dates and Camel Milk.

During the tour of the Emirates Bio Farm, the class observed or learned about their outdoor-farm and indoor-greenhouse growing of the following: cabbage, broccoli, okra, carrots, cucumbers, lemons, mulberries, celery, corn, onions, tomatoes, peppers, etc.  For the greenhouse-based production, the Dutch have been especially influential on seed development; the Netherlands, because of its reliance on above-ground agriculture, has developed sustainable varieties that can “work” in the UAE.  Yazen noted that to farm with greenhouses, you need to be inland and away from the coastal humidity (because of greenhouses relying on evaporative cooling technology).

He noted that with the additional years of farming outdoors, biological material has been built up along with the introduction of conventional weeds (despite using heat-treated fertilizer inputs).  The farm uses drip irrigation (from 16 wells, 200 meters deep, drawing on water from aquifers); there are high costs with pumping this water to the farm.  For fertilizer, Yazen noted that chicken manure and fish fertilizers are mixed in with the water drips.  Yazen indicated that “soil building” is a real thing, but can take 20 years.

Yazen noted that food fraud is a massive problem in the UAE; such criminal mis-labeling of foods is perpetuated by the “middleman” problem in international trade.

Yazen noted that solar energy is used in his operations, but he can’t use it all the time, and that is a challenge.

Yazen explained that, apart from a 5% VAT tax, there are no personal or corporate taxes in the UAE.  However, he said that may change as “corporate taxes will start next year.”

The class then left the Bio Farm and drove 1.5 hours to Dubai for a late lunch outdoors in Old Dubai, some last-minute market shopping, etc.

The group then headed to the Rotana Bandar Hotel for a brief check-in and stay until an 11:30pm departure to the airport.

Conflict Management – Leavenworth – XV

Roy Frey
KARL Class XV

Conflict Management (Day 1)
Sunday, February 9, 2020
Submitted by Roy J Frey

KARL XV convened on February 9th, 2020 at Fiorella’s Jack Stack Barbecue in Kansas City for the start of their Leavenworth Seminar and the beginning of a week of educational meetings and tours.  Class member Allison Burenheide was the chairperson for the day.  

The class learned of The Agriculture Business Council of Kansas City from their Executive Director Bob Peterson that also help sponsor the amazing barbecue dinner along with the Kansas Corn Commission and First State Bank & Trust.  Bob reported The Agriculture Business Council has 350 local members and have an average of 70 members at their monthly lunches.  The Agriculture Business Council of Kansas City advocates growth and awareness of food, fiber, agri-science and related industries.  Bob reviewed the slate of monthly speakers which were very impressive.  He also pointed out the importance of the Kansas City Area in relation to its central location within the Animal Health Corridor.

The class heard next from Merck Animal Health, Scott Bormann Senior Vice President, North America Operations.  Scott also serves on the Kansas City Animal Health Corridor Board of Directors and previously as their president.  The Corridor is a diamond from Wichita to Manhattan Kansas to St. Joe and Columbia Missouri with Kansas City being in the middle.  The Corridor is home to 300 companies in the Animal Health Care Industry.  The Corridor has 4 initiatives.  That being work force development, help to shape policy issues, innovation and engagement of industry.  The Animal Health Care is an eight-billion-dollar industry with 67% of that represented in Kansas City.  Scott also discussed the importance of National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF) in Manhattan, KS that will become operational in 2021.  In addition to national security, the facility offers resource and development to the Animal Health Care industry for the production of vaccines.  Scott left the class with a parting acronym GROW; Goals, set them; Reality, honestly see the gap between where you are at and the goal you set; Opportunity, look for them to meet your goal and finally Way as a plan to move forward.  The two speakers were followed by individual conversations and a night of rest to start of a week of meetings starting with Leavenworth, Washington D.C. and finally Gettysburg, PA.

Beth Weibert
KARL Class XV

Conflict Management (Day 2)
Monday, February 10, 2020
Submitted by Beth Weibert

Lansing Correctional Facility–Brett Peterson, Executive Assistant to the Warden greeted us and ushered us through the screening process to prepare to tour the facility.

For those of us who had never toured a correctional facility there was surprise at the “freedom” some of the inmates had to walk around the grounds without being escorted by guards.

We were escorted by Brett, Ryan and Jordan through a variety of inmate living areas including an area where inmates had dogs they were training and working with.  This living area evoked a lot of emotions for many of us on the tour.  We were surprised at the close quarters and the total lack of privacy inmates in the dog training area had.  And many us found it quite messy and dirty.  However, it was also the location that evoked the most joy and optimism as inmates were excited to show us tricks that they had taught the dogs.  There was certainly a feeling of productivity and pride from many of the inmates that was absent from other living areas.  We were sad to learn that the dog training program was being discontinued when the inmates moved to the new correctional facility. 

The tour continued to an area of the jail that housed inmates individually.  Many of these inmates were older and had physical disabilities and mental health issues.  Brett explained that baby boomer inmates are incurring more medical issues and mobility challenges which complicate housing those inmates.

 We also visited the laundry facilities and the mess hall.  Jordan one of our guides who was wearing gear and was armed.  He told our small group that the mess hall is one of the most dangerous areas in the facility and the area where he is most likely to see fights- just like in the movies. 

We finished our visit to the Lansing Correctional Facility by touring the new center that will be opening soon.  As expected, the new facility is much brighter and cleaner than the old facility and employs updated mechanisms for locking the doors etc.   I think we were all startled to see just how small the four- person cells were.

Zephyr Products Inc–Our next stop was at the Zephyr Products manufacturing company- a full-service medal manufacturing company.  According to Randy Reinhart, Zephyr president, they “are in the life changing business” as 98% of their workforce are inmates from Lansing Correctional Facility.  Randy was an awesome source of knowledge and passionate about the difference Zephyr work release program makes in the lives of their employees.  Nationwide, 2/3 of incarcerated people return to prison, but only 2% of people who go through the Zephyr program return to prison. 

Randy was incredibly transparent and gave extensive employee statistics.  Zephyr also runs an operation in the correctional facility.  Some challenges that Randy identified are people missing work due to lockdowns, challenges getting parts into the prison, restrictions on where inmate produced products could be sold.  State work release workers start at minimum wage, but January 1 they started a new compensation package.  Enrollees are eligible for 401k and year end bonuses.  Randy explained that an additional societal benefit of the program is that child support, court costs, restitution and taxes are being paid while individuals are on work release. 

Most convicts leave jail without a savings account or any new skills so they can’t rent a house or buy a vehicle to get to work.  When work release individuals get done at Zephyr they have a personal savings account which tremendously changes their success rates.  Additionally, Zephyr provides financial education and holds inmates responsible for their actions for its employees so when they are released, they are much more able to integrate back into society successfully.  One really great example was a 3-D scanner that a work release employee demonstrated for us.  It was really cool to see his pride and the expertise that he demonstrated -after feeling so discouraged from being in the prison his demonstration gave us optimism.  

Randy talked to us about training and how for Zephyr training is constant because they have constant turnover.  Even though the prison population is growing they don’t have enough good people.  He went into some of the challenges of the bureaucracy of the prison system and how Zephyr tries to recruit from other correctional facilities. 

Many of the work release employees continue to work for Zephyr after they get out of prison.  Of the 30 management positions 12 were work release employees.  Zephyr also helps employees find jobs after there are released from prison.  

Optimism and a sense of hope were my two biggest take-aways from visiting Zephyr.  The values that inmates learn from financial literacy to machinist skills to accountability have proven to serve them and society well in the extremely low rate recidivism. 

Fort Leavenworth, Lewis & Clark Center, Command and General Staff College–Colonel Roderick M Cox, retired US Army and President/CEO of the CGSC Foundation shared with us what the CGSC does and gave us a bus tour of Fort Leavenworth.  The three missions of the CGSC is to 1.  Enhance educational opportunities, 2.  Improve Quality of Life for those on post, 3.  Conduct outreach to the general public. 

Colonel Cox shared a lot of history and facts about Fort Leavenworth including that it is the 3rd oldest active military post in the US, 6,000 people reside on the fort and over 10,000 work on fort.  30,000 people utilize the Fort for services, it has its own school district, health center and dental clinic.

Some notable mentions on the bus tour include the Buffalo Soldier Memorial that commemorates black Americans who served- we were reminded of the time Colin Powell was stationed at Fort Leavenworth.  Fort Leavenworth was the start of the Oregon and Santa Fe Trails and there are impressive remains of the wagon wheel ruts going up the bank that were left by settlers traveling west.  He pointed out where General McArthur resided as well as the oldest brick house in Kansas built in 1840. 

Our next stop was the United States Army Command and General Staff College.  This has to be one of the most impressive institutions that most of us had never heard of or knew little about.  The CGSC was designed for leader development.    My group was able to go into a classroom and interact with the instructor Professor Im and some of the participants.  The classrooms are designed for 16 students and the goal is for the students to represent a variety of perspectives.   They go through simulations and leadership training and engage in dialogue.   Professor Im talked a lot about the cybersecurity and the number of attempted attacks that occur on a daily basis, 316 billion attempts globally each day.  He indicated that there were 8,000 unfilled cybersecurity jobs available in the KC area alone.  

There is also an important international contingency- over 7,000 international students have studied at the CGSC from 155 countries.  The impact of this international study can’t be underestimated.  International students have sponsor families at Ft. Leavenworth, in Leavenworth County and in Kansas City.  They get grounded in American commerce and culture and this manifests into valuable relationships that are incredibly beneficial for the US- specifically he mentioned a story about the Rwandan President having attended CGSC and that personal relationship that he had developed with Americans being one of the main reasons the US was allowed into Rwanda during their civil war.  

Russ Tuttle- Be Alert–Russ Tuttle is the president of Stop Trafficking project and runs the BeAlert- See something- Say Something.  Russ started this campaign in 2015 and since that time has spoken to over 110,000 people.  His goals are to educate and empower students and to guide adult awareness of the dangers of sex trafficking.  Russ had a staggering number of statistics and referenced many very well know apps and games that have been used to entice kids into sex trafficking.  In 2018 there were over 33.5 billion visits to pornography sites- Porn Hub- and the US leads the world in accessing this site.  One year later there were over 42 billion visits to that same pornography site.  32% of porn users are women, 76% of porn visits are using a cell phone and kids are being exposed to pornography at 8 years old.  60% of middle and high schoolers say they interact with pornography.  Russ explained how pornography is an addiction and releases dopamine in the brain.  

He went on to explain that there are 27 categories of Human Trafficking, but that Human Trafficking is ALWAYS an Exploitation of Vulnerability.  This was a very helpful lens for us to view this crisis through.  He challenged us to become trusted adults and help identify vulnerability in kids- be that societal, environmental or individual vulnerabilities.  If we think this isn’t happening in Kansas, we are kidding ourselves.  Children’s Mercy Hospital in KC is ranked in the top 5% of US in the volume of sexual assault victims and sees 1-2 cases a day.  

Russ walked us through a number of games and apps that have been used to exploit kids including Fortnite, SnapChat, TikTok as well as others.  Russ warned that kids have fake account’s so their parents don’t know what they are doing, saying and posting.  In the last 7 years depression is up 40% and suicide is up 20%.  Many suicides have been linked to teens posting nude pictures- and Russ stated that sexting is the new flirting.  Porn is the engine driving sex trafficking.  

Russ talked about Half Brains and this was a really helpful illustrations to take us into the mind of a teen.  We are dealing with Half Brains- human’s frontal vortex is where you make good decisions.  But the frontal vortex isn’t developed until 25.   When you consider that 70% of 2nd-5th graders have cell phones and much of their online time is unsupervised its easy to recognize how vulnerable our pre-teens are to sex trafficking.  

This presentation was a huge eyeopener to all of us who have kids or nieces and nephews and Russ did a great job of creating a sense of urgency. I can almost guarantee that important conversations were had at many home and security features were double checked.

Dr. Barry Flinchbaugh Kings and King Makers–Dr. Flinchbaugh is a legend at Kansas State.  Since starting there in 1971 he has taught ag policy to over 4,000 students.  Dr. Flinchbaugh and is highly regarded for his Ag Policy and Ag Economics knowledge and influence. His Kings and King Makers Speech has been a highlight for many students and KARL graduates.

Dr. Flinchbaugh started with some more general examples of the difference leadership makes to viability and health of towns.  “if you don’t get the problem defined accurately, you’re not going to solve it”. 

He walked us through how public decision are made- what’s the problem, who’s choice is it and the real issue- who should make the decision.    To really get to the problem you must ask the question- what’s the proper role for government.  What to do when facts are difficult to determine- myths are treated the same as facts.  A leader’s job is to destroy myths and establish facts.   There is no way to make a public decision with out establishing values- which requires value judgments and answers the question “what should be”.  Often the order is me first, party second, country third.  “All are welcome to our own values but there’s only one set of facts”.  Dr. Flinchbaugh reminded us that your values as a leader are not superior or inferior to anyone else in a democracy.  

Dr. Flinchbaugh gave an illustration using two bugs that looked to be the same size and asked what’s the myth- which one is the longest- we all agreed on the measuring stick as the method to separate myth from fact.  

From Dr. Barry Flinchbaugh’s Kings and King Makers

King Makers, according to Dr. Flinchbaugh possess two sets of resources, 1. Intellectual and 2. Financial.  He further expounded that although he has know kingmakers with average net worths, he had never met a dumb king maker, and added they have high listening IQ’s.   King makers have experience, its very hard to be a king maker if you are under 30, you can climb the ladder if you have experience.  King Makers are hard to identify- if they tell you they are a king maker- they aren’t.  He concluded that king makers are not set in their ways, they don’t go after self interest and they don’t show up to meetings. 

Kings, are people that hold public office and officially make decisions.  Behind every king there is a group of king makers and the kings report to the king makers. 

Actives, are people who belong to service clubs.

Interested Citizens, are people who read newspapers, watch the news and vote sometimes.

Apathetic Citizens, are people who don’t give a damn.

Dr. Barry Flinchbaugh’s Community Influence Triangle

Dr. Flinchbaugh continued stating that Kings and Kingmakers is how we are organized.  All are created equal but don’t perform that way.  Every time the US has been in real trouble a leader has emerged.  Dr. Flinchbaugh continued that we didn’t know about TR or Harry Truman or Abe Lincoln but this thing works.

Global Leadership – Wichita – XV

JR Robl
KARL Class XV

Global Leadership (Day 3)
Friday, January 14, 2022
Submitted by JR Robl

COMMUNICATION TO LEAD & INFLUENCE ACTION – DR. AMY GROSS

Session Goal – how to influence change and impact through verbiage, expressions, and actions.

Opening Story – Elephant & 6 Blind Community Members: Townspeople want the blind to experience the elephant by each touching one of its parts – trunk, ear, tusk, belly, leg, tail. Points and conclusions were all separate with different perspectives of what the elephant was and looked like. The community delegation went to the Mayor with conclusions. Mayor said the community delegations was correct, but also wrong. The delegation should have pulled all perspectives together for the truth and the whole picture. Have to blend what you know for the larger version. Don’t miss all aspects, listen, and then act towards the best solution.

Session Objectives – Reflect, Listen, Tweak, and add Tools.

1. Leaders who don’t listen will eventually be surrounded by people who don’t speak.

2. Inspire others towards action. Present ideas that you can jump onboard with.

3. Show respect – never say the other person is wrong. Go for the WIN/WIN, not the WIN/Lose.

Linear Communication – the most basic level of communication is data flow that goes in one direction from sender to receiver. Whether through spoken or printed word, the flow does not allow for interaction with, or feedback to the sender. This process is inherently limiting and may leave the receiver with a sense of being victimized, overwhelmed, or manipulated by the communication process. Linear communication typically includes emails, text messages, letters, voicemail, instruction manuals, policy, and print media.

Interactive Communication – a communication process that is interactive provides a dynamic vehicle for conveying information and evaluating the accuracy of understanding. In the cyclical model depicted, the sender formulates and transmits a message to the receiver. The receiver responds to the message, providing the sender with information that allows the sender to evaluate the level of understanding achieved. The sender then formulates the appropriate response or message. Interactive communication typically includes phone calls, teleconferencing, meetings, and tactical encounters. Non-verbals are 55% of what people remember. Tone of voice is 38%. Words are 7% of what people remember.

Responsibilities and Tools – Be conscious of tools and filters as we communicate. Sender responsibilities include being concise, clear, and communicate fully. Think and evaluate about timing of message. Clear in kind in small messaging. Receiver responsibilities include respond with timeliness and make sure it is interactive. Filter for the sender include internal sensitivities such as is the person hungry, stressed, sleepy, traveling, in a life situation, or does not like your tone. Filters for the receiver include eye contact, distractions, cell phone, or other side conversations.

Levels of Listening – Proactive (when you deeply care), Attentive (when it affects us or you have interest), Selective (when it interests us), Pretend (when you emphasize or don’t want to rock the boat), and Ignore (we don’t listen).

Cushioning Opinions – When opinions differ, use cushions to soften the blow, like “I can tell you have thought about this” or “I appreciate what you are saying”. Never follow cushions with the following words: but, however, yet, or nonetheless. The cushion softens the transition from the person who expressed an opinion that we don’t agree with and our response. We first think of our response, then

cushion before we speak. It is important that we give our evidence immediately after the cushion and before we express our opinion. Following this process allows us to be assertive without becoming aggressive and causing resentment, or being passive and surrendering our point of view. Knowledge isn’t power, unless it is applied. Keep lines of communication open.

Dale Carnegie quote – “Leadership is about making communication better in our presence and continue to operate in our absence.”

Energy, Water & Natural Resources – Hays – XV

Karly Frederick
KARL Class XV

Energy, Water & Natural Resources (Day 2)
Thursday, February 10, 2022
Submitted by Karly Frederick

Julie Lorenz, Secretary of Transportation: With a background in organizational psychology, Secretary Lorenz tries to approach transportation as a means to an end for people. In Kansas, there is a 10 people per one mile of road. The importance of infrastructure can be demonstrated in the example shared of Brazil and the soybean market. The U.S. soybean market declined, while Brazil’s increased which can be directly correlated with investment in infrastructure.

Much of Secretary’s Lorenz’s talk emphasized the power of regionalism. The State of Kansas can no longer be rural vs. urban. A phrase that was shared was ‘Ad Astra Simul’ – To The Stars Together. Progress truly has partners, some of the partners for progress with KDOT is the IKE program, ARPA infrastructure dollars, and more programs.

Jimmy Todd, NexTech: NexTech’s service area is roughly the size of the state of Maryland, yet serves 30,000 people. NexTech provides calea services, IT, advertising, and more services to residents and businesses. Part of their mission includes expanding rural broadband. Fiber is the most ‘future-proof’ network as it allows more cloud-based and remote activities. The downside is, that fiber is expensive with labor and supple chain issues that come along with it. One mile of fiber costs anywhere between $24,000 – $50,000. The increase of precision ag activities has increased the need for rural broadband.

Tara Vance, Norton County Community Foundation: The Norton County Community Foundation was started in 1996 and has a story similar to many small community foundations, growing organically through bequests and special community development projects. Tara spoke about impact investing and the role it plays in their community foundation. Some community foundations structure it by a specific percentage of all investments is invested in a local business or project while expecting a small return. NCCF got into the impact investing space by investing in daycares, as it is critical need for their community. “Instead of investing in Wall Street we in invest in Main Street”, was a sentiment shared. The goal of NCCF to work towards developing non-profit leaders and inspire them to facilitate high-impact grants.

High Plains Mental Health Center: High Plains Mental Health Center is the community mental health center for all Northwest Kansas with 6 full-time offices, serving 20 counties, and plays the role of educating people on positive coping strategies in order to thrive. People can experience different levels of stress, acute stress, episodic stress, and chronic stress. Stress in agriculture has unique causes and stress due to unpredictability, high costs, commodity markets, weather, prices, and more. The center shared many warning signs, red flags, and rick factors to watch out for in friends and family to ensure their mental health. A resource the center shared is a training called Mental Health First Aid, which is an opportunity to be a service to our communities.

Rural Community Growth Panel: Hodgeman County Economic Development, Lincoln County Economic Development, and Grow Hays: The panel spoke about many challenges that rural Kansas experiences in the economic development space. Housing, daycare, dilapidated and aging buildings, and a smaller population for a tax base. A statistic shared was that before the pandemic, 1/61 jobs on LinkedIn was remote and currently 1/7 jobs on LinkedIn are remote, rural Kansas has a huge opportunity! When speaking of the level of urgency some of these projects need to become accomplished a quote that stuck with our class was, “I am 65 years old and I don’t buy green bananas”.

Sara Bloom: Hays Development Group: The Hays Development group shared the history of downtown Hays revitalization over the past thirty years. In the past downtown had always been a place for people to gather together and the town had lost that. “The Bricks” are now a place come to gather again! One of the key points to having a strong downtown is offering destination businesses. A quote that stuck with our class was, “If you aren’t an advocate for collaboration, you won’t be successful”.

Kansas Means Agribusiness: Allie Devine, Claire Gustin, Leigh Anne Maurath: The keynote speakers for this evening were available via Zoom at the historic Fox Theatre. The coalition was formed with Kansas Corn, Kansas Farm Bureau, Sunflower Electric, and Devin & Donley, LLC with the goal of supporting local innovation for growth. The group is comprised of realists, dreamers, and doers as Leigh Anne said. The group had a study done one what the gaps are in Kansas and what other organizations that make sense to align with. The research helped the group understand how competitive Kansas is as expansion and recruitment of agribusiness. The group reviewed existing program and policies and identified best practices to strengthen Kansas through marketing program and tax and regulatory policies. We will see results come from this group in the form of more agribusiness in Kansas.

Jessica Ebert
KARL Class XV

Energy, Water & Natural Resources (Day 3)
Friday, February 11, 2022
Submitted by Jessica Ebert

A Growing Family Business–Alleah Heise, a family business consultant from K Coe Isom, came to tell us that growing a family business and talking about the hard stuff if possible and rural America is built on the back bone of a family business. It is time to discuss it.  64% GDP is family business.

There are four Family business life cycles to fit into. Survival – start up, struggle for financial stability. Financed by owners’ compensation or lack thereof. Stable – profitable for a number of years, growing, still owned by individual or couple. Net worth growth. Some offspring returning to business. Key employees. Professional – ownership spread to multi-gen siblings/cousins. Business growth, introduction of nonfamily management, establish policies, formalize roles. Institutional – mix of family/nonfamily shareholders. Family may not be involved in management; board of directors is governing body. Dividend Income.

The three-circle system in a closely held business is management, ownership, and family.  There is confusion and potential conflict if you don’t keep in the right circle. Where is the risk greatest for you and your operation? Differences and uncertainty are a big one. Where is the future direction: How should we grow? How much to invest or lose? How will we respond to change and pressure? There will be unexpressed expectations to face like behavior, work ethic, spouse or next gen involvement. Impact on the staff and approach to management.

Healthy businesses have healthy processes. Communication, Expectations, Agreements on vision, Understanding of business and management and concepts and strategies, and Comprehension of financial information. Communication in the family or in business or anywhere else it starts with listening.

When dealing with relationships there are 5 keys to effectiveness.  You need to have connection (commonality), integrity (respectful treatment), security (protecting), trust (will to share), and boundaries (mental, verbal, behavioral, and time).  You can use all of these 5 points to work through conflict with family and partners. You need to admit conflict exists and then you need to access the situation. Is it worth resolving? Ask the other party if they are willing to work on it.

When you are changing from operators to owners bring others along in the decision-making model. Reflection, mutual education, planning, and action by implementing the strategy and use the guiding principles. “Shifting your mindset, process is impossible without change and those who can’t change their minds can’t change anything.” George Bernard Shaw.

There needs to be clarification in the estate versus succession planning. Estate plan is the process of determining a plan to transition financial wealth from one generation to the next. Succession plans are the process of co-creating psychological ownership of the vision, strategy, goals, roles, decisions, performance and results of the business enterprise between two or more generations.

Letting go is a hard decision and succession concerns. The most common identified is financial security and is there enough money.

When navigating the challenges who will hold you accountable to the necessary tasks. You will need to have qualifying advisors if you go that route with have a board of directors to help hold you accountable. Fair is not equal.  Your potential board could be CPA, Attorney, Lender, Insurance Agent, and Wealth manager. The board brings you value. They treat the business like a business.

Leading a business is lonely and your networks are valuable.  There isn’t room for everyone on top of the first mountain. If you stay on top, others will stop climbing.  What is your second mountain? Your first mountain is raising a family, start, build, sell a business, focus on success, be recognized for accomplishments, achieve scale, accumulate wealth, be present and available.  The second mountain will be about enjoy your family relationships, start/build a charity, be elsewhere, give wealth away, achieve meaning, help others succeed, and focus on significance.

Michele Irsik-Flax, President Irsik Farms, Inc. – Standing Strong While Moving on! Family Business Transition is Possible!

Why? What is your story? Why stay together and keep the business going and not sell?

How? Asking for help it is okay really. Know your limits and seek professionals in the field. Aspire to be the best every day. Start early or just start now and invest in yourself.

You want to know your structure but be nimble, develop trust and the tell the truth always.

Leave a legacy and the next generation.  Communicate your mission and get out of the way. Don’t be afraid to evolve but stick with what works.

Doug Wareham, President & CEO, Kansas Bankers Association – Leadership Matters: Sustaining Local Access to Credit in Rural Kansas Communities.

Kansas Bankers Association (KBA) was founded in 1887 and banker driven for 135 years. The membership includes 209 of 213 banks head quartered in Kansas. 20 regional / national banks, 7 trust companies, and 112 associate members. KBA policy process is one bank is one vote. They have 36 people that work for him in Topeka.

Banking industry snapshot: 179 state-chartered banks in Kansas with $56,914,378,000 in assets. Regulated by the office of the state bank commissioner and federal deposit insurance corporation 37 are federal reserve member banks.

Ag Banks provide roughly 50 percent of ag credit nationwide. Small and micro loans to farmers.

What is fueling the consolidation flame? Regulatory burden and regulatory blindness – lack of tailored regulatory framework, rising costs for data security and fraud loss is now consuming 11 percent of bank budgets on average in 2020.

State and Federal income tax policy inequity. In the end we want community banks to survive so they can continue to serve their communities. Most federal bank regulators don’t understand community banking. We are pushing back hard against regulatory burden and blindness. We are opposing efforts to make private banks a financial police force.  Opposed to IRS reporting requirements and opposed bank reporting requirements for business ownership.

We are calling for exemption thresholds for community banks. We have started a Kansas Bankers consulting services side to help 125 Kansas banks manage their ever growing regulatory and compliance costs. Banks are the gold standard for cybersecurity and fraud loss costs.

Genesis 2.0 – Council Grove – XV

Genesis 2.0 – Council Grove

Sean Gatewood
KARL Class XV

Genesis 2.0 (Day 1)
Thursday, August 26, 2021
Submitted by Sean Gatewood

KARL Class XV check-in at the Cottage House in Council Grove and prepared to load the Trail Trolley that took us out to Tiffany Cattle Co for the evening meal and program.

We met the Tiffany family and learned about Shawn and Shane’s background that led them to owning and operating their finishing yards located near Herington and Marquette and their grow yard at Allen.

The Tiffanys also discussed their interest in regenerative agriculture and focussing on farming with biology instead of chemistry–including incorporating goats in their operation.

The Tiffany family also shared the importance of getting involved and investing in your town. From investing in a grocery store, a rural telecommunications company and establishing an event venue, co-working space, and lodging, the Tiffany family stressed the importance of making investments locally.

The farm-to-table meal was organized by Morgan and Nicky Tiffany and displayed elements of The Territory Ballroom–an events venue project Nicky Tiffany has been working on.

Our evening program featured a presentation about the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility that is located in Manhattan, Kansas. Dr. Ken Burton (NBAF Coordinator) and Katie Pawlosky (Director of Communications) presented “NBAF: Protecting the Nation’s Food Supply & Public Health” and provided updates to the new facility including a photo tour of many of the building’s features.

KARL Class XV returned to The Cottage House in Council Grove via the Trail Trolley.

Kayla Jarvis
KARL Class XV

Genesis 2.0 (Day 2)
Friday, August 27, 2021
Submitted by Kayla Jarvis

KARL Class XV began their second day in Council Grove at Watts Coffee Co. The shop was filled with beautiful homemade metal art and gifts representing Kansas and Council Grove

The group moved along to KANVAS studio to start the morning with Talk5KARL. Each member was assigned ahead of time to come up with photos or slides that would update our classmates with what has been going on in each other’s lives the past 18 months since we had last met as a group.

The world may have felt like it had stopped for the past 18 months but it was clear the members of KARL Class XV did not. Weddings, babies, engagements, new jobs, new homes, vacations, quality family time, craft projects and new hobbies are just a small piece of what went on in the lives of our classmates.

The class was visited by the Mayor of Council Grove, Debi Schwerdtferger. She welcomed the class to Council Grove and updated us on what the town has been working towards for their growth. The city council has put in place new ordinances to keep the city growing. Council Grove has been focusing on the young people in the community and how to bring more back. In the last 4 years there have been 32 new ownerships on main street and 12 brand new businesses.

After we wrapped up the Talk5KARL the group moved to the Hays House for lunch. Which we
later learned was the 3rd oldest restaurant in the nation.

Before lunch Christy Davis gave the group an overview of the work she does in historical preservation. She described the Flint Hills as a cultural landscape and noted the pride that the Kansans in this area have. One of the toughest struggles she noted was trying to change the mindset that the educated leave the rural areas of Kansas. Other challenges included the difficulty/timing of funding and most of the preservation specialists are in Kansas City.

Christy shared a few tips to keep in mind on historical preservations:

• It’s ok to say “no” to people who come to your community – you can’t buy authenticity
• Historic preservation is a major investment that take time
• Decisions you make are multi-generational
• Keep it real and authentic to each community
• Make it right – quality is key

After lunch at the Hays House the KARL class was let loose on the downtown streets of Council Grove. Many took advantage of the many shopping choices: a few that the class patronized were the Wooden Spoon, Weathered Wood Home, and many antique shops. Nicky Tiffany also joined the group to give a tour of her project at the Territory Ballroom.

KARL Class XV had the opportunity to tour downtown businesses in Council Grove during their Genesis 2.0 seminar.

After the downtown tour the class met back at the Hays House to hear from a panel of new
business owners on main street:
• Frank Greco – Hays House
• Nicky Tiffany – Territory Ballroom
• Cami – Cami’s Cake Company
• Lindsay – Weathered Wood Home
• Jesse & Deidra Knight – Twin Lake Tees and Riverbank Brewing

All the owners have ties to the Council Grove/Flint Hills area. Some of the draws the panelists mentioned for coming home were family, being community minded, feeling of space and safety and a connection to the history of the Santa Fe Trail. The major advice given by the panel was to know your worth as a youthful person in your community and have a strong team that is cheering for your success.

Council Grove business owners share their stories with KARL Class XV.

Adapting to Change – Pittsburg – XV

Adapting to Change – Pittsburg

JJ Bebb
KARL Class XV

Adapting to Change (Day 1)
Wednesday, December 8, 2021
Submitted by JJ Bebb

The December session of the Karl program kicked off with a lunch at Brick + Motor Social House with everyone arriving and fellowshipping together. After lunch members of our group made their way across the street to Block 22 to begin the journey of Southeast Kansas. We were welcomed by Blake Benson (president of Pittsburg area chamber) as well as Pam Henderson mayor of Pittsburg. We learned that Pittsburgh has developed $500 million in capitol building investments and were ranked in the following order:

1. Industry 2. Pitt State University 3. Housing development 4. Medical facilities.

There are currently 4 housing developments in progression to offer more housing solutions to those wishing to work and live in town. A new Industrial Park with rail access with off-loading capabilities has recently been built to attract and maintain manufacturing facilities. We heard about how sales tax revenues for 2020 where up 3.4% and that 2021 was up even more at 8.5%. Unemployment is currently around 3.3%. 

A free healthcare center has been started in southeast Kansas as well and are utilizing the opportunity to attract doctors in the training stage with hopes that they will stay and want to raise a family in southeast Kansas. A fairly new state-owned casino was also discussed and how it is keeping revenue in state instead of people driving south into Oklahoma to gamble.

The population of Pittsburgh has been steady at 20K for nearly the last 100 years, which was pointed out is very rare. Current issues that are a problem for this area were discussed and as follows: workforce development, child care, available housing build sites, lack of a 4-lane highway through town, and low health rankings.

On the plus side Pittsburgh recently got a forward-thinking city manager and is working towards fixing some of the infrastructure issues. One thing that everyone was very interested in was hearing that there are 8 fried chicken joints around the area and that Food Network channel has been here showcasing them.

We heard from Dr. Shawn Naccarato from PSU on how Block 22 and Brick + Mortar came to be and the role the college played in creating new life in downtown that others would soon follow. Mary Louise told how she is passionate about small towns rural America, preserving communities, and renovating old buildings. We then toured the building and saw the coworker center; coffee shop and the offices that different business has set up shop in.

Dr. Tim Dawsey with the PSU polymer research center talked about how polymers are used in everyday items in almost everything. They have started a FARMS workshop seminar that brings ag producers and scientists together to teach other about what is needed in the ag industry and how polymers can be utilized more.

Tiffany Trump from Trump tours was also on had to answer questions about the trip to UAE.

Supper that evening was very good and was catered by Pichler’s Chicken Annies.

Dr. Vincent Amanor-Boadu a KSU ag econ professor then discussed Change as an Opportunity with us.  He explained that perspective is everything, dealing with change is our choice and advised us to figuratively plant a tree so others can sit under it and enjoy the shade. These minutes provided by the very lacking in talent but ever popular J.J. Bebb 

Kayla Jarvis
KARL Class XV

Adapting to Change (Day 2)
Thursday, December 9, 2021
Submitted by Kayla Jarvis

Day 2 of Class XV’s Adapting to Change seminar began by loading on to a school bus first thing in the morning. Scott Williams, a retired NCRS and local, was our tour guide for the day.

To tell the story of Southeast Kansas we would need to get off the paved roads.

As we travelled to our first stop of the day Scott shared stories ranging from Mafia ties in Chicago in the area to the important of schools in the community.

Our first stop was at a watering hole in a pasture. Scott explained that the standing water in that pasture was a 3 on the acid scale… battery acid is a 2.

Multiple scientists have studied the water but no conclusion of where the water is coming from has been reached. Apparently, the cattle in the pasture do drink the water and are not harmed by it.

Our next stop on the tour was the Big Brutus museum. I had heard it was impressive but was not prepared for the actual size of Brutus!

The machine took 11 months to assemble and was only in operation for 11 years.

We were privileged to hear from Dave Kimey, who was an operator of big Brutus all 11 years Dave is a local who has worked in all aspects of coal mining.

Brutus never dug any coal, only the overburden to make room for the coal mines.

After the Big Brutus Museum in West Mineral, we loaded back on the bus and headed to Cabin 19 mine site.

The state had acquired 28,000 acres of abandoned coal mines and have turned it into trout fishing ponds and camping sites that are booked close to year-round.

Near the Cabin 19 site, Scott took the group into a hidden state-owned EPA hazard, the state has yet to come back and finish cleaning up the abandoned coal mining site.

The body of water at this site could potentially run into a water source for a nearby community.

Our next stop for the day was at the Crossland Construction headquarters for lunch and our midday speakers in Columbus, KS.

Abby Nelson of Micro Mansions shared with the group the challenge she saw in Wichita trying to buy new housing. Her solution: Micro Mansions.

This is a startup company that Abby is building with the help of Crossland Construction. Her goal is to keep all the homes under $150,000 and under 1,000 square feet. As of the day we visited, Abby was approved to hire on 3 employees.

Her project right now is to perfect her ready to build Micro Mansion kits to ship across the Midwest. Later in our tour we met up with Abby at her very own micro mansion and toured the house.

Next Sammy Swanwick, Talent Development Manager at Crossland shared with the KARL class the leadership opportunities that Crossland provides for its younger employees.

Crossland has internships and partnerships with high schools and colleges in the 4-state area to find and grow home grown talent to stay and work for Crossland. The company employs 1500 people and has been in operation for over 40 years. Started in a garage in Treece, KS.

Crossland has grown to be on of the top construction companies in the nation and still growing. Liz Simpson of Crossland then spoke with the class about her work in community development with Crossland.

Her initiative in the company is to make Columbus, KS more appealing for executives to stay and live.

Crossland has built the community city parks, soccer fields, walking trails, a splash pad, youth athletic programs, farmers markets, community childcare center and Red Iron activity center. We loaded back on the bus with Liz to tour all the areas in town that Crossland has helped to improve

Our final tour destination for the day was heading south to Treece, KS and Pitcher, OK. Driving through these ghost towns was surreal. Both communities had been devasted by the aftermath of zinc and iron mining in the area. The government had found cancer causing toxins in the area and deemed the two towns uninhabitable. A tornado has also gone through Treece, all that is left of the town is roads, foundations of old buildings and chat piles the size of football fields. Tour guide Scott indicated to the class the citizens of these towns are not pleased with their situation. The abandoned towns were a clear symbol of the consequences of mining in the area.

To end the day our class gathered for supper sponsored by the Burns family. We were also joined by Judge Tommy Webb. Judge Webb shared with the KARL class his emotional life story of growing up basically an orphan in Korea and his adoption story in the United States. Judge Webb’s message was to not judge people because we do not know where they are coming from. He shared with us that the most important thing to do is just love and value those around you. Judge Webb in his career has helped many children get out of similar situations to his in southeast Kansas and Oklahoma. He left the class with a powerful challenge of friendliness and love to everyone we encounter because we do not know the tree they have came from.

Justin Kastner
KARL Class XV

Adapting to Change (Day 3)
Friday, December 10, 2021
Submitted by Justin Kastner

After a robust breakfast at Holiday Inn Express & Suites, Stew Cauble (chair) convened the KARL in true fashionable style—sporting a light blue-checked shirt and khaki trousers.

KARL board member Jancey Hall (Class XIV) briefly addressed the group, noting the following:

– As we look to the end of the KARL experience, we all need to be thinking about what we want to “take from it.”

– One forthcoming expectation for our class is that we come up with a “project” of some kind that would, in effect, “give back” to the KARL program. Everyone should begin to contemplate/ brainstorm possible projects (e.g., fundraiser, etc.). At the January 2022 KARL seminar in Wichita, 30 minutes will be dedicated to a class-wide discussion of possible projects.

– Keeping in mind the June 4 “graduation date,” we should be thinking about nominating/electing a member of our class to serve on the board, on behalf of the class. There are four board meetings/year, and the board is looking for a new member who could make meaningful contributions to the curriculum. We should all be thinking about “who should represent Class VI” on the board?

After Jancey’s remarks, Stew then introduced Amy Gross and Gordon Hibbard from the Dale Carnegie program. Amy spoke first, and emphasized that this morning’s session is “all about us as leaders,” and “stepping up to be a change maker,” and catching “personal visions for what success looks like for us.”

She quoted Dale Carnegie: “We all have possibilities we don’t know about. We can do thing we don’t even dream we can do.” Amy then facilitated a 3-minute activity/discussion at our tables regarding “ideas of challenges and opportunities that have emerged in our communities, state, region, etc.” Each of the four groups shared and ideas shared included (but were not limited to) the following:

Amy then provided some commentary regarding looking at opportunities to find solutions, and to think about the ROOT CAUSES of the problems we face; she emphasized that change-makers are challenged to identify the root causes of things.

Amy then had the class “dream for a moment,” and ponder this question: “What might it look like when we lead some change? What would it feel like?” Class members then shared their answers to the question posed by Amy. Answers included the following:

Amy then explained that to inspire change, we have to DREAM about possibilities. She also emphasized that to get the results of change, we must DO something, and we should remember that “if we keep doing the same thing, we get the same results” (definition of insanity). Amy said that we are all change-makers, but we need to change who we are. Our mindset and what we do has to SHIFT. She then showed a diagram showing that Who we are + what we do = what we get Amy then guided us through a handout/guide entitled “Legendary Leaders: Visions of Success,” from the Dale Carnegie publishers. She led us through a set of activities designed to help us understand what are the key atributes of a leader. Amy then showed that, according to Kousez and Posner, the top four characteristics of a leader are the following:

1. Honest

2. Forward Thinking

3. Inspiring

4. Competent

Amy then led us through a discussion about our OWN experiences so that we could discern/clarify what we MOST value from our experiences.

We shared in pairs, and then reflected on who/what/where/how of our “leadership lessons,” and did so using this formula/recipe for a 2-minute storytelling of the lesson:

Incident (1:50) Insight (0:05) Relevance (0:05)

Amy modeled her own 2-minute leadership story, and then the class ultimately selected Allison B. as the most exemplary 2-minute leadership storyteller, and she was given a book prize! Her story was meaningful, and actually referenced class member Leland B.

Amy then recapped and facilitated what our insights have given all of us.
Amy then directed us to again reflect on what do value? What’s important to us?

She then distributed a four-quadrant handout with four responses to each of the following categories:

Amy then had us each “eliminate”/winnow down our lists to what we supremely valued. The exercise was very difficult yet insightful!

Amy then introduced the concept of a leadership purpose statement, which is a kind of statement to articulate our “north star” of what we are aiming for as leaders. Such statements should be brief, repeatable, unique, and emotionally impactful.

Each class member drafted their statement, and we will continue to work on them. A key next activity was the “innerview questions” process whereby we learn from partners what they most value.

Amy then concluded her remarks by talking about how we need to be stretched beyond our comfort zone, and the more we practice our leadership purpose statements the better we become.

Gordon Hibbard then spoke, and talked about what we might do, including strengthening relationships, enhancing teamwork, and become leaders who change attitudes and behaviors.

Gordon pointed to Dale Carnegie’s 30 leadership principles, which were provided in the handout. Amy returned to make some additional remarks, and quoted Simon Sinek: “A star wants to see themselves rise to the top. A leader wants to see those around them rise.”

We were to continue to reflect on the handout materials over the weekend, especially pages 13-14, which can help us begin to formulate a personal vision.

Amy emphasized, “Your vision is only actionable if you SAY IT OUT LOUD.”

To prepare for the KARL seminar in Wichita, we are to do the following homework:

Amy then shared the story of a “Walter the Buffalo,” who learned to stand your guard and face fears, learning that when you face your fears, you’re not on your own.

A key Dale Carnegia pearl of wisdom on this very topic was shared by Amy: “Do the thing you fear to do and keep on doing it…[that is] the quickest surest way ever yet discovered to conquer fear.”

Susan Sankey then wrapped up the day and seminar, noting upcoming dates:

Dutifully reported,
Justin Kastner, a scribe who loves cheesy potatoes

Domestic Study Tour – Marysville and Lincoln, NE – XV

Domestic Study Tour – Marysville, KS and Lincoln, NE

Leigh Ann Maurath
KARL Class XV

Domestic Study Tour (Day 1)
Wednesday, November 3, 2021
Submitted by Leigh Ann Maurath

Marysville welcomed KARL XV with open arms and excited to show us all they had to offer. From the outside looking in, it is easy to miss the people who are the game changers in their communities.. until you begin conversations with the community members themselves – they are fast to point to the leaders and show their thankfulness through their bragging words. I’m grateful for the opportunity to not just drive through and “tour” another rural community, but to observe the people and places that make it successful. It was clear the Landoll family cares about the community they have chosen to make home and we’re thankful they would choose to host us during this session.

As we walked through the Landoll plant, I saw classmates eyes widen and meaningful side conversations happen about honesty, ownership and the transparency the company demonstrated. Not only did the employees have the opportunity to buy into the company, they were also cared for and appreciated by their employers. The buzz of conversation on the buss after our tour there was tangible. They were creative. They started out small. And they are a group of hard workers who will clearly continue choosing innovation and service in their line of work.

The Landoll family recognize that they need people. And people need communities. As we drove the streets of Marysville, we saw a community designed for members of all ages, and much to the credit of the Landoll family. The library, church, bowling alley and school all spoke of their generosity and commitment to service and people.

I heard on the bus from a fellow classmate, that, “all communities need a Don.” And they do. This created space for us to have conversations about how we can take on that role in our own communities or how to create ownership amongst our neighbors like Don has in Marysville. It was also a valuable conversation starter for success planning. Are we creating something for our communities for today? Or are we as KARL participants going home to our communities and creating something that will last far beyond our lifetime. We all need people. And People need communities.

I may have also left wishing my community had decorative black squirrels on every street corner too…. Because community pride is a fun thing.

While in Marysville on our way to Nebraska, it was neat to see the curiosity of my fellow class members. The value of KARL is in the perspective of its participants.

Anthony Seiler
KARL Class XV

Domestic Study Tour (Day 2)
Thursday, November 4, 2021
Submitted by Anthony Seiler

Day 2 of Class XV’s domestic study tour began at The Combine, and ag and food entrepreneurial incubator at the University of Nebraska’s Innovation Campus. The creation of The Combine goes began with a 2010 study completed by the state the found that almost all job creation comes from new business creation rather than recruiting existing businesses. They looked to how other states were helping create new businesses and allocated money to start a state funded venture capital and grants. To date they’ve invested $30 million in 100 startups through public private partnership. As they started this work they realized that they had both a competitive advantage and major reliance on the ag and food industry. However, relatively little venture capital money was being invested in these industries. The Combine incubator at the University of Nebraska was created to fill this gap. They subsidize office space in Lincoln and other locations in the state, provide education and program for entrepreneurs, and have a network of farmers around the state that can help advise start ups and help with initial trials and demonstrations. While the educational material could be found online The Combine provides structure, accountability and mentorship. 

After the overview of The Combine two companies that are currently part of the program presented Grain Weevil and Corral technologies. Chad Johnson, a native Kansan, and founder of Grain Weevil described how his passion and background in education led he and his son to develop a robot that could take the place of human workers in grain bins to increase safety on farms and improve efficiency. He talked about how The Combine had been helpful with one on one curriculum that was available when he startup needed it and also the work they had helped them do with promotional videos and marketing. Their original focus was only on safety but as their exposure grew they realized what an impact they could have on grain quality as well. His “aha” moment was as their exposure grew they realized that 5% of the potential market was more than they could ever hope to possibly service. Their success is also bringing income to the rural Nebraska town they live in. Their prototypes are machined at a local shop as well as using local legal services.

Jack Keating of Coral Technologies is working on developing invisible fences for cattle and other livestock. He grew up on a cattle operation and designed the first concept for a class to help enable rotational grazing. He said The Combine and the peer network around it helped him decide to take the leap and try to make his product a reality rather than taking the easier route and getting a conventional job right out of college.

The final presenter at The Combine was from Burlington Capital which is a Midwest based venture capital focused on the ag and food value chain. Their mission is to change the landscape of VC that is based almost exclusively on the coasts and invest locally in the industry that is most important to the Midwest. Currently only 2% of venture capital is invested in any part of the food supply chain and they think through efforts like theirs they can help make the Midwest the hub of ag innovation. 

After The Combine the class briefly toured the Maker Space next door which allows entrepreneurs, university students and the community to access tools and equipment in a community setting. 

Following this tour the class loaded up and headed to Raymond Nebraska to visit Settje Agri-Services and Engineering. Settje also graciously provided lunch during the presentation. Dean Settje, the founder described how the business, begun in 1997 has expanded throughout the country and even internationally. They began as designers of feedlots and have expanded to cover all species. Their mission is to shape the world’s livestock production. In addition to design their services include strategic planning, engineering, general contracting, agronomy, manure management, and environmental compliance and permitting. One of Dean’s early insights was that while he may not agree with the policy around climate change, it created a need in the livestock industry to adapt and hopefully become more efficient. They’ve been working on carbon reduction and methane digesters for years and see carbon footprint evaluations as a key growth area for their business. During the Q&A the class asked how he has shaped their company culture over the last 20 years as they have grown so much. Dean responded that at first they were so busy they probably omitted it but that over the last five years this have become an important focus for them. They are intentional about having a culture of forward thinking. They’ve also invested in diversify the industries that they work in as well as improving their physical office space. If he wants to hire great people to continue growing they have to have a great culture as a company.

After lunch the class traveled back to Lincoln and visited the University of Nebraska’s Engler Agribusiness Entrepreneurship Program. Tom Field, the program director, and several of his graduate assistants and students presented to the class. They began the session with an active learning demonstration where the class was broken into small groups and given a short amount of time to design a new wallet, build a prototype with arts and craft supplies and plan a one minute pitch. The time constraint pressured the groups to work together quickly, and had some hilarious results during the pitch presentations. The take away was to focus on the person you’re trying to create a product for, in this case one of the graduate assistants, rather than assuming what you think they will want. Tom Field described their program as a combination of renaissance guild, incubator and accelerator. They’re a hybrid, interdisciplinary program at the university that was formed 10 years ago and offers a minor. Their focus is on developing people with an entrepreneurial mindset more than creating companies. Their mission is to allow their students to courageously pursue their purpose and to build people who build companies and grow communities. In their curriculum they focus on starting business quick, early and cheap. They focus more on the process than the ideas themselves and let the market decide what is viable. The motto for starting student companies is fail forward, fail fast, fail cheap, and learn like crazy. They are seeing that a higher percentage of their graduates stay in rural Nebraska and in the ag industry.

The student panel from the Engler program described their experiences. They spoke to the Engler Fellowship which pays students to work as entrepreneurs rather than taking an internship. They also talked about how the program creates a culture of innovation and how it has equipped them to bravely pursue the things they are passionate about and give back to their communities. The program aims to create lots of small companies in rural Nebraska rather than few large companies in the big cities. It was clear that Dr. Field has had a tremendous impact on the program and it’s graduates. He was yet another example of the power of a charismatic leader that we encountered during the week. 

The last stop for the day was at RealmV which is an ag technology company based in Lincoln. They work to help producers and others in agriculture connect their data and make the best use of it. Their name comes from the fifth major disruption, data and automation and their goal is to build the most trusted enterprise automation solutions globally. Much of their work has been focused on simplifying enterprises’ ability to use data for intelligent decision making. They want to make utilizing data in ag as easy as it is in other consumer tech where you can just open a box, plug in a unit and it works. They focus on building solutions to customers problems rather than building products in search of buyers. 

After this full day the class had dinner in Lincoln’s Haymarket district, their equivalent to Aggieville. After dinner many of Class XV were able to enjoy some extracurricular libations and comradery while comparing the two universities bar districts. 

Allison Burenheide
KARL Class XV

Domestic Study Tour (Day 3)
Friday, November 5, 2021
Submitted by Allison Burenheide

KARL Class XV started their morning by walking across the street to the Hilton Garden Inn to enjoy a breakfast provided by Farm Credit Services of Kansas.

Bob Campbell, Senior Vice-President of Farm Credit Associations of Kansas spoke to our group about his leadership lessons and emphasized the importance of mentoring and coaching.

Campbell also shared insight regarding how the pandemic has impacted mentoring and coaching opportunities and the actions he has taken to evolve during this time as a leader.

Campbell ended his presentation by presenting each KARL Class XV member with a personalized pen.

Following breakfast, the class loaded onto our bus and departed to visit the Certified Piedmontese Beef location which houses their business offices, processing facility, store and their restaurant and event space (Casa Bovina).

KARL members were allowed the opportunity to tour their cold storage facility and watch as specialized orders were being processed. We were also able to take a peek into Casa Bovina as their chefs prepared for their day and also sitting down to visit with representatives to learn about the Piedmontese breed and the Certified Piedmontese Beef program.

The Piedmontese breed originated in the Piedmont region of northwest Italy and since being brought to the United States have primarily been raised on family ranches across the Midwest, especially in Western Nebraska. The leanness and tenderness of Certified Piedmontese beef is the result of the myostatin gene.

The USDA assigns quality grades to beef based on the presence of intramuscular fat (marbling) in a given cut, and not necessarily on the actual tenderness of a given cut, which is why their beef is NOT assigned USDA grades. Each animal is DNA tested to ensure its Piedmontese heritage and its resulting guaranteed tenderness. The leanness and tenderness of Certified Piedmontese beef is the result of the natural genetics of the animal, not the result of fatty marbling.

This breed is raised through a ranch-to-fork approach that ensures traceability, environmental sustainability, humane animal handling, and responsible resource management at every step. The beef is also well-known by chefs from across the country who rave about the exceptional quality and flavor profile of Certified Piedmontese beef.

Following our visit to Certified Piedmontese Beef, the class made their return to Manhattan, Kansas.