Whiting Cafe Makeover - Day One

This will be short.

We're all exhausted.

But what a great day it was. We turned the Whiting Cafe upside down. Rosa was great to let us do it, too.

Probably 45 different people helped today. It was the perfect mix of skilled people and hard workers -- and lots of locals cheering us on.

Before we knew it the windows were all out, the mural started to take form, the exterior was painted, and, inside, people were working diligently on more than a dozen different projects.

People came from Netawaka, Muscotah but also Wichita and Colorado, Concordia, Burlington, Holton, Salina, Leavenworth, Kansas City, and more.

Rosa, her family, and the locals were fabulous to us and fed us lunch and supper in the community building.

Rosa was gracious to let us take apart her place. The workers felt rewarded. Many media outlets were there this morning. It was a win win win for everyone.

Now, how can we create a system that makes it easy to match many rural community needs with many people who want to help.... To be pondered on a less-tired brain.

This was a great day. Thanks, Whiting, for being our experiment. Your story will be told time and time again and it will help people "Get Kansas!"

KE #2 Marci Penner