First graduates

Rural Kansas: Come and Get It has had its first round of graduates!

Representatives from the following towns went through a two-day training to gain their community a page on the Rural Kansas: Come and Get It website.

The towns are: Bison, Ellis, Great Bend, Hoisington, Hudson, Jetmore, Kinsley, LaCrosse, Lyons, Stafford, and Wilson.

The first two to get graduation certificates were Judith Reynolds and Mary Swisher of LaCrosse!

The first day of training was held at the new Kansas Wetlands Education Center northeast of Great Bend. After a morning of learning the Explorer mindset, teams went out on a three-hour exploration of area towns.

The group reunited at The Store in Odin to share trip highlights and Explorer moments.

The two-women team from LaCrosse took a driving tour in Ellinwood and as they were passing through the circle drive at one house on the tour the owner invited them inside for a tour!

Another group spent time visiting with the employee at the Hitschmann co-op, the only business in this unincorporated town.

Explorer teams visited with locals, got tours of jails and wineries, made purchases, looked inside churches and around cemeteries and ate in local cafes.

Day 2 was the day to learn website maintenance, camera skills, and social networking. Expert instructors were Patsy Terrell, Hutchinson and Cort Anderson, Belle Plaine.

As the first group, participants provided valuable feedback to the Kansas Sampler Foundation for future classes.

The end goal is to have several hundred rural communities posting their Explorer assets and events on this collective site and help the world "get" rural culture in a way that will keep rural communities viable.

What a great class to start with in efforts to help the world "Get Kansas!"

KE #2 Marci Penner