By Ron Wilson, director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University

“Planes on the Plains.” That is a fitting theme for Kingman County, the boyhood home of aviation pioneer Clyde Cessna.

But, Kingman County is also the site of another pioneering effort: Kansas’s first-ever Connecting Entrepreneurial Communities Conference.

Leslie Schrag is economic development director for the City of Kingman. She was born in Kingman and built her career in south central Kansas. For 19 years, she worked with a local hospital and helped with its foundation.

She came to realize that she could help rural communities just as she enjoyed helping rural hospitals. Schrag became Kingman’s economic development director in January, 2020.

In 2024, she learned about a new project in Kansas: The inaugural Connecting Entrepreneurial Communities conference. The idea for this conference was inspired by similar conferences in other states. K-State Research and Extension community vitality specialist Nancy Daniels explored the possibility of conducting such a conference in Kansas. A coalition of state organizations came together to make it happen, supported by a Networked for Change grant from Network Kansas.

Connecting Entrepreneurial Communities is not your typical conference. For one thing, it does not take place in a generic hotel. The program is intentionally interactive and immersive in the community. Participants will be moving around and visiting local businesses.

Secondly, this conference is targeted specifically to be held in a rural community. Big cities need not apply.

After the planning committee sent out an invitation for communities to host, Kingman was selected as the site of the inaugural conference in 2025. Courtland has been tabbed to host the 2026 conference.

“This is about strengthening the community and showcasing what we have locally,” Schrag said. “Unlike other conferences, we won’t be stuck in one building.”

Immersive break-out sessions will take place in local businesses.

“Kingman’s Main Street is four blocks long,” Schrag said. “We will be utilizing all of that.”

Topics for the breakouts include entrepreneurship, marketing, stress management and more. The conference will offer tools, strategies and connections to grow one’s business, enhance marketing and confidently navigate legal requirements for the business.

As the conference website states, the purpose is to promote rural communities while highlighting people, businesses and best practices for creating an entrepreneurial mindset. Entrepreneurs, community leaders and resource providers are invited to attend.

Participants will see Kingman’s small businesses working together in creative ways, modeling a change from competition to collaboration. For example, several small businesses have come together for shared marketing and mutual benefit.

“At Halloween time, six of our small boutique businesses sponsored what they called Boo-Tique Bounce,” Schrag said. “If a customer went to all six stores, they were entered into a drawing for a grand prize.”

This has helped spark a renewal of downtown businesses, which will be highlighted during the conference. “We’ve put a lot into our downtown,” Schrag said.

The conference is June 26-27, with a pre-conference concert on June 25. Sponsors include K-State, Kansas Department of Commerce, Network Kansas, and Thrive Allen County.

“We’re working with the smaller communities around us on lodging,” Schrag said.

Conference registration is now open. A discounted rate is available for entrepreneurs.  For more information, go to www.bit.ly/KansasCEC.

As mentioned, entrepreneur Clyde Cessna lived here in Kingman County. Before ultimately founding the Cessna Aircraft Corporation in Wichita, he grew up on a farm near the unincorporated town of Rago in rural Valley Township, population 102 people.  Now, that’s rural.

Kingman utilizes the aviation theme with the slogan “Kingman:  A Great Place to Land!”  Conference general sessions will be held in a building called – what else? – the Hangar. 

Kingman is also promoting the aviation theme by placing airplane sculptures in the towns. Norwich and Cunningham have new plane sculptures and a larger one is coming to Kingman.

Planes on the Plains. That’s a fitting theme for Kingman County and the pioneering spirit which is leading this community to host the inaugural Connecting Entrepreneurial Communities conference.

We commend Leslie Schrag and all the sponsors and volunteers who are making a difference by conducting this conference.  I hope the idea really takes off.                 Audio and text files of Kansas Profiles are available at https://www.huckboydinstitute.org/kansas-profiles. For more information about the Huck Boyd Institute, interested persons can visit http://www.huckboydinstitute.org.