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2020 Q1

Lawrence Business Magazine, LLC Ann Frame Hertzog & Steven Hertzog Editor-in-Chief:

Ann Frame Hertzog Chief Photographer:

Steven Hertzog

LETTER FROM THE PUBLISHERS

Featured Writers:

Sustainability comes in many forms. In this issue of the Lawrence Business Magazine we chose to focus on three: Economic, Social, and Environmental. We want to look at and explore how they affect our local community through local businesses, schools, and government.

Tyler J. Allen Anne Brockhoff Joshua Falleaf Bob Luder Patricia A. Michaelis, Ph.D. Emily Mulligan Tara Trenary Liz Weslander

Sustainability can be defined as the processes and actions through which humankind avoids the depletion of natural resources to keep an ecological balance so that the quality of life of society doesn’t decrease. Sustainability encourages people, government, and businesses to make decisions based on the long term. In this way, acting sustainably encompasses a temporal framework of decades (instead of a few months or years) and considers more than the profit or loss involved. We, as a community, can accomplish so much locally that will not only have an impact on our future here but also have an immediate impact on our present. Some of our Local Businesses are focused on growing their own businesses while working with other local companies and supporting our community. Several of these businesses were celebrated at our Seventh Annual Foundation Awards in February. In particular, the Footprint Impact Award was awarded to local solar energy company, Good Energy, for their work and dedication to giving back to our community. At the Lawrence Business Magazine we decided that we would address sustainability initially in two ways. First, adjusting our magazine so that we no longer mail it in plastic bags. Secondly, as you can see from the logo below, with this issue we have started printing our magazine on FSC® (Forest Stewardship Council®) certified paper which guarantees that the trees used in the production of the paper are harvested in a socially and environmentally responsible manner. At times, addressing sustainability can seem daunting. Take to heart and mind the words of American historian Howard Zinn: “We don’t have to engage in grand, heroic actions to participate in change. Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world.” Sincerely,

Ann Frame Hertzog Editor-in-Chief/Publisher

Steven Hertzog Chief Photographer/Publisher

Copy Editor:

Tara Trenary L-R Shine Adams

– Phoenix Woodworking

Ben Postlethwait

– Sustainability programs at Evergy Karen Willey – Farmer Denise Johnson – USD 497

Kevin Good

– Good Energy Solutions

Theresa Bird

– Peer Support Specialist

Photo by: Steven Hertzog

Contributing Writers:

Courtney Bernard

Contributing Photographers:

Jeff Burkhead Gaskins Photography Bruce Hogle Jerry Jost Emma Schaumburg Photography Siorai Images

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www.LawrenceBusinessMagazine.com Lawrence Business Magazine, LLC 3514 Clinton Parkway, Suite A-113 Lawrence, KS 66047 Lawrence Business Magazine, is published quarterly by Lawrence Business Magazine, LLC and is distributed by direct mail to businesses in the Lawrence & Douglas County Community. It is also distributed at key retail locations throughout the area and mailed to individual subscribers. All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reprinted or reproduced without the publisher’s permission. Lawrence Business Magazine, LLC assumes no responsibility for unsolicited materials. Statements and opinions printed in the Lawrence Business Magazine are the those of the author or advertiser and are not necessarily the opinion of Lawrence Business Magazine.

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2020 Q1

Contents Features: 9

Lawrence in Perspective:

Thinking Beyond the Yard

by Liz Weslander

Taking Care of One Another by Bob Luder

A Culture of Change

by Tara Trenary

Practicing What They Preach

Never Refues to Reuse

Sevent Annual Foundation Awards

A Balance Act

A Sustainable Mission

Two Universities, One Goal

Liberty Hall by Patricia Michaelis, Ph.D.

by Bob Luder by Tyler Allen by Bob Luder by Anne Brockhoff by Emily Mulligan by Joshua Falleaf

Departments: 5

Letter From the Publishers

13 LMH Health

On the Cutting Edge

Non-Profit: Kansas Land Trust

by Liz Weslaner

Local Scene

80 Newsmakers 82

Whose Desk?

Mission:

Lawrence Business Magazine: Telling the stories of people and businesses making a positive impact on Lawrence & Douglas County. /lawrencebusinessmagazine

@LawrenceBizMag

SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION: LawrenceBusinessMagazine.com/SUBSCRIPTIONS

LAWRENCE & DOUGLAS CO [IN PERSPECTIVE]

Standing the Test of Time by Patricia A. Michaelis, Ph.D., Historical Research & Archival Consulting photos courtesy of the Kansas State Historical Society, kansasmemory.org

A fixture in downtown Lawrence for more than a century, Liberty Hall remains a popular spot for those who enjoy the cultural side of life. The words “freedom” and “liberty” have a long association with 644 Massachusetts St., the location of Liberty Hall. Originally the site of the first Free State newspaper in Lawrence, it now serves as a location for concerts, theatrical performances, two movie theaters showing classic, foreign and independent films, and a wedding and special events venue. The structure housing Liberty Hall has been a fixture in downtown for more than 100 years, and events at that site have contributed to Lawrence’s cultural milieu for even longer. The Kansas Herald of Freedom, first published on Jan. 6, 1855, was the first Lawrence newspaper to champion the Free State cause. George Washington Brown was the publisher, coming to Kansas Territory from Conneautville, Pennsylvania. With support from the Massachusetts Emigrant Aid Company (later renamed the New England Emigrant Aid Company), the newspaper had a large circulation, and Brown vigorously promoted the settlement of Free-Staters. However, the building housing the Herald of Freedom was destroyed during the Sack of Lawrence, in 1856. The building was rebuilt to house other businesses, but that structure was destroyed during Quantrill’s raid, on August 21, 1863. In 1870, the building was christened Liberty Hall, a name suggested by Rev. E.D. Bentley because Abraham Lincoln had once called Lawrence the “cradle of liberty.” In 1882, J. D. Bowersock purchased and renovated Liberty Hall, adding a second-floor gathering space. He named it the Bowersock Opera House, and it became a popular spot for community events including festivals, dances and political debates. Justin DeWitt Bowersock was born in New Alexander, Columbiana County, Ohio, on Sept. 19, 1842. After a few years as a grain merchant in Iowa City, Iowa, he moved to Kansas in 1887. He was involved in banking and manufacturing. Though he did not build it, he purchased the Bowersock Dam on the Kansas River to provide electrical power to businesses and manufacturers. In 1878, he founded Douglas County Bank, now the Lawrence National Bank. He established the Kansas Water Power Co., the Griffin Ice Co. and the Lawrence Iron Works. Bowersock was also involved in local politics, serving two terms 9

as mayor from 1881 through 1885. In 1886, he was elected to serve in the Kansas House of Representatives and moved to the State Senate in 1895. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1899 to 1907. In his first election as representative to Congress from the Second District, he received a majority vote of 2,000; at his second election, 2,500; at his third, 4,000; and fourth, 6,000. Charles Gleed, a prominent Kansas businessman himself, credited Bowersock with revitalizing the Lawrence economy in the late 1870s and 1880s. He increased the capacity of the Douglas County mills from 100 to 400 barrels a day; erected the Douglas County elevator and warehouses; built the Lawrence paper mill and iron works; and doubled the capacity of the ice factory. And when the Consolidated Barb Wire Co. moved to a larger facility, Bowersock utilized the vacant buildings for the Lawrence Paper Manufacturing Co. However, the one business enterprise that impacted the lives of almost all Lawrence residents was the Bowersock Opera House. Many people probably believe that late-19-thcentury Lawrence was devoid of entertainment. That was not the case. The pages of the Lawrence Journal for November 1888 documented the variety and frequency of events at the Opera House, as it was commonly called. Lectures, performances by traveling theater companies and musical performances were part of the fare. On Nov. 7, “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” was performed, the newspaper commented on the actor’s ability to quickly change from one character to the other. The performances on Nov. 15 through 17 were billed as a “grand military allegory” titled the “Union Scout.” It included a scene depicting Andersonville Prison and was brought to Lawrence under the auspices of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR), the organization for Union Civil War veterans. The First Regiment Band, presumably from Lawrence, played a concert on Nov. 22. McLean and Prescott’s “A Winter’s Tale” was performed on Nov. 24. Two other plays—”Monte Cristo” and “Ranch 10”—were each offered one night by traveling companies on Nov. 29 and Nov. 30. These companies were touring the country, generally visiting cities on railroad routes. The Lawrence Journal commented that the scenery, which the company brought with them, was some of the most beautiful seen in the city. However, the highlight of the Nov. 1888 theatrical performances was Gilbert and Sullivan’s “The Mikado.” It was performed by the Lawrence Home Opera Company. Local performers and their roles were reported in the newspaper. Songs and dances, as well as the costumes, were described in detail. It was a benefit for Episcopal Church Guild. It was so successful that a second rendition was scheduled on Dec. 3. 10

The Bowersock Opera House continued providing a variety of cultural events until Feb. 18, 1911, when an electrical fire burned the structure to the ground. Bowersock built a new opera house on the site that opened Jan. 20, 1912. It was designed in an elegant beaux arts style. The Lawrence Daily Journal World proclaimed it “the finest theater for any town the size of Lawrence.” The opera house continued to provide opera and other theatrical performances, and touring vaudeville shows. Because of the loss of the original opera house by fire, Bowersock wanted the new structure to be fireproof, using brick and reinforced concrete. He succeeded, as this structure remains standing as Liberty Hall. During World War II, government inspectors declared the opera house the only structure in Lawrence that would be able to withstand a bombing. As the entertainment industry evolved, so did the use of the opera house. In 1923, Bowersock sold the building, and it was renamed the Dickinson Theatre. Equipment to show motion pictures was installed in 1924 and showed silent films. The first wedding was held in the theater in 1928. Air-conditioning was installed in 1929, making it one of two buildings in Lawrence to have cooling capabilities. This was true in many communities, and theaters advertised that they were air-conditioned. The theater changed hands once again, and the new owner held a contest to rename it. The Jayhawker was selected because of Lawrence’s early history and because of the University of Kansas (KU) mascot. The world premier of “Dark Command,” based on Quantrill’s raid and starring John Wayne, was held at the theater. During the 1950s and 1960s, the building was used as a warehouse and was not open to the public. After rumors that the building would be razed, it was saved and reopened as the Red Dog Inn. The owners brought national acts to the venue, including “The Dick Clark Show,” Arlo Guthrie, Ike and Tina Turner, and Fleetwood Mac. The basement housed a nightclub called the 7th Spirit. A unique event at Liberty Hall in 1997 was the funeral of William S. Burroughs, a writer who was one of the primary figures of the Beat Generation. His funeral was held at Liberty Hall on Aug. 6, 1997. There was open-casket viewing, selections of Burroughs’ favorite music, a voice recording of Burroughs and a reading of Tennyson’s poem “Ulysses.” The current owners, David and Susan Millstein, appreciate the history of the building and are committed to continue to use it as a movie and live performance theater, as a concert venue and for community events. The name “Liberty Hall” reflects Lawrence’s early history, but the events held in what was originally the Bowersock Opera House have impacted generations of people in Lawrence and thousands

of students at KU. This history highlights the sustainability of a historical structure but also the cultural events impacting the lives of thousands of Kansans. p

On the Cutting Edge Lawrence couple supports LMH Health’s patient-centered technlogy initiative. by Caroline Trowbridge, LMH Health Foundation, photo by Schaumburg Photography

Sue and Dana Anderson know firsthand how important technology can be for patients at LMH Health. “The work our doctors do is important to our entire community,” Dana Anderson says. “Sue and I are happy to do what we can to provide them with the very best technology they need to perform at the highest level.” That’s why the Lawrence couple has pledged $850,000 to LMH Health for new technology that will benefit surgical and heart patients. The Andersons hope their gift—which is the fourth largest in the 50-year history of the LMH Health Foundation—will spark other donors to support: • a new Mako robotic arm for performing partial and total knee replacements, as well as total hip replacements • a new Da Vinci Robotic Surgical System to replace the Da Vinci system that has been used at LMH Health since 2013 by general surgeons, urologists and obstetricians/ gynecologists

• a second cardiac catheterization lab, commonly referred to as a heart-cath lab. The estimated cost of the two robots is $3 million, while the final price tag for adding a cath lab has not been finalized. The LMH Health Foundation has committed to help the not-for-profit community hospital purchase the robotics and cath lab. “We are so grateful to Sue and Dana, and to others who already have stepped up to contribute to this patient-centered initiative,” says Rebecca Smith, executive director of LMH Health Foundation and vice president of strategic communication at LMH Health. This will help ensure LMH Health patients experience: • quicker and less painful recoveries after surgeries • shorter hospital stays and reduced reliance on pain medications • the many conveniences of having surgery close to home, a benefit to them and their families and friends

• seamless transitions to postsurgical therapy or treatment. In addition, the new robotic systems will help LMH Health recruit and retain the best physicians to provide excellent care to patients in the region. “People in a position to give are grateful to learn about opportunities like this,” explains Dr. Jon Heeb, of Lawrence Urology Specialists, who uses the Da Vinci system. “If they find something they feel good about supporting, it brings them joy. Part of the reason patients have good experiences at LMH Health is due to the support our donors have provided.” A portion of the proceeds from LMH Health Foundation’s upcoming Hearts of Gold black-tie gala will benefit these patient-centered technological improvements at the hospital. Hearts of Gold 2020 is set for May 9 at the Jayhawk Club. Gifts such as the one the Andersons gave underscore the importance of the role the community plays in making 13

LMH Health a stellar health-care provider. “When our community members partner with us, we all benefit,” says Russ Johnson, LMH Health president and CEO. “Because of support from the Andersons and our many other donors, our hospital continues to offer the best in patient care services.”

New Robotic Surgical System In 2013, physicians at LMH Health began using a Da Vinci Robotic Surgical System. The popularity of the Da Vinci, which is far less invasive and can be more precise than traditional surgery, has soared among doctors and their patients. In 2014, a total of 55 robotic surgeries were performed. Last year, that number increased to 400. As one would expect with any type of cutting-edge technology, it’s time to upgrade the LMH Health Da Vinci, which is used by general surgeons, urologists and obstetricians/gynecologists. Often, patients recover more quickly from robotic surgery than traditional surgery. The new system could provide even better outcomes for patients, explains Dr. Chad Tate, of Lawrence General Surgery. “The instruments are smaller, and it will rotate and move with the patients’ and doctors’ needs. The optics are better, and we would make a much smaller incision, so there will be less pain for the patient,” he says.

Mako Robotic Arm LMH Health plans to purchase a Mako robotic arm to assist the hospital’s orthopedists with knee and hip replacements. Dr. Adam Goodyear, an orthopedic surgeon at OrthoKansas, who works with patients who need knee and hip replacements, says the Mako system can be more precise than traditional surgical techniques because it can create a 3-D model of each patient’s joint. Using the system, physicians create a personalized surgical plan. Using the robotic arm, surgeons work within the parameters created and use the arm to assist in placing new joints. “Recent studies have demonstrated that patients have decreased levels of pain and shorter hospital stays when having a total joint replacement with the Mako system,” Goodyear says. “Our goal is always to provide our patients with proven, cutting-edge orthopedic surgical techniques and technology that can improve patient experience and outcomes.”

Heart Cath Lab Last year, LMH Health opened its renovated cath lab, and it recently became clear that a second lab would benefit patients. The hospital now is performing electrophysiology procedures, as well as standard cath-lab procedures, says Dr. Roger Dreiling, cath-lab medical director. Electrophysiology focuses on the electrical systems of patients’ hearts, and LMH now performs catheter ablations to treat atrial fibrillation, which often is referred to as “afib.” “Atrial fibrillation occurs frequently enough that we see the need in our community,” Dreiling explains. “Fifteen percent of Americans will have afib sometime in their life.” p

NON- [ PROFIT ]

From Tragedy to Triumph Started after a valuable piece of local land was destroyed, the Kansas Land Trust celebrates 30 years conserving Kansas. by Liz Weslander, photos by Bruce Hogle

During the dark, early hours of a November morning in 1990, a valuable piece of local natural history was lost forever. The Elkins Prairie was a 70-acre tract of virgin tallgrass prairie just west of Lawrence that, 30 years ago, fell into the hands of a landowner who, despite requests from the city, county and local advocates to preserve the land, decided to plow it up. “This was the largest remaining prairie in the county. It had incredible ecological diversity that was thousands of years in the making,” explains Jerry Jost, executive director of the Kansas Land Trust (KLT). “One plow ruined all that. It took away all of the biological and ecological value of that land.” Fortunately, the tragic plowing of the Elkins Prairie ended up having some positive impacts. A group of people who had witnessed the prairie’s destruction committed themselves to figuring out ways to prevent something like this from happening again. Working with the Kansas Legislature, the group helped push through legislation that made land trusts possible in the state of Kansas. With this legislation in place, the Kansas Land Trust was born.

“Thirty years ago, there were no land trusts in Kansas, and we couldn’t protect something like the Elkins Prairie; but today we can,” Jost says. “Thirty years hence, the Kansas Land Trust has protected almost 40,000 acres on 77 parcels of land in 22 counties. That’s a conservation footprint that is comparable to the size of Topeka.” The Kansas Land Trust is one of thousands of land trusts across the U.S. and one of a handful in the state of Kansas. The way land trusts protect land is through the creation of conservation easements. A conservation easement is a voluntary partnership and legal agreement between a landowner and a conservation organization that limits future development of the land. “An easement means that we, as a land trust, simply hold development rights on a piece of property,” Jost says. “We don’t own that land, and we don’t manage that land. But, we do hold and lock in the land uses of that land, so that we can protect what makes that land special.” The Kansas Land Trust’s easements protect and preserve lands of ecological, agricultural, scenic, historic or recreational significance. Once an easement is established on a piece of land, the Kansas Land Trust holds the development rights in perpetuity—meaning forever. 15

Jerry Jost Executive Director of the Kansas Land trust

ample of how landowners and land trusts can partner with cities to create public access to nature. The idea for the park came about in the mid-90s, when Bob and Betty Lichtwardt expressed interest in protecting 40 acres of woodlands that they owned on what is now the Lawrence Nature Park. “The Lichtwardts loved those woodlands,” Jost says. “And, they saw that Lawrence was developing up and around them. They decided they wanted to protect those woodlands so that they would stay as a natural green space in the middle of the growing city.” Through the Kansas Land Trust, the Lichtwardts put a conservation easement on the woodland property in 2001, then they gave that land to the City of Lawrence to develop into a park. The city then bought land adjacent to the easement and created trails on the 100 acres of green space. “It’s a partnership between us—the land trust—that holds those development rights that save those woodlands and the City of Lawrence, who owns and manages and maintains the trails, and creates access for all of us to get outdoors while we are in the middle of the city,” Jost explains.

“If we protect a prairie, it will never be plowed,” Jost explains. “If we protect a woodland, it will forever stay a woodland. If we protect a piece of prime farmland, it will stay a working farm and never be turned into a business park or subdivision.” In 1994, the Kansas Land Trust permanently protected its first piece of land, a 16- acre native wildflower prairie in southeastern Douglas County called the Akin Prairie. The landowner, Tom Akin, worked with the Kansas Land Trust to protect the prairie as a tribute to his late wife, who loved wildflowers. At least 218 plant species have been identified on the biologically diverse prairie. Kelly Kindscher, a founding member of the Kansas Land Trust and senior scientist for the Kansas Biological Survey, leads public wildflower walks on the Akin Prairie every summer. “Akin is a gem of a native tallgrass prairie remnant,” Kindscher says. “Its diversity of plant species makes it a window to the past. People who visit are always struck by the amazing variety of wildflowers there.” The Kansas Land Trust currently protects 77 parcels of land in 22 counties across Kansas. Eleven of those parcels are in Douglas County. The Lawrence Nature Park, 201 Folks Rd., a 100-acre park that offers 3 miles of woodland hiking trails, is a great ex16

The Kansas Land Trust is celebrating 2020, its 30th-anniversary year, with a variety of events that aim to honor their past and invest in their future. Throughout the year, KLT will host walks on their protected lands. “We want to give the friends of the Kansas Land Trust the chance to walk on both private and public land that has been protected by the Kansas Land Trust,” Jost says. “Walks will be a fraction of a mile up to several miles. We hope to have the opportunity for folks to walk a total of 30 miles on protected lands.” Sticking with the “30” theme, KLT will be running a campaign to raise $30,000 over the summer and will host a “30th With Friends” party on July 24 at the Cider Gallery, 810 Pennsylvania St. It is also developing a 30-day “Naturalist in Training” summer activity for families looking to connect with the local landscape. Another important part of the anniversary year is thinking and talking about what the next 30 years will look like for the Kansas Land Trust. “I hope we have conversations in the community throughout this year about our vision for 30 years from now,” Jost says. “What special places do we want to protect? What kind of increased access do we want give to people to get outdoors? How do we engage the youth in being conservationists and experiencing the outdoors? How do we nurture the next generation of leaders? I think we also need to think about how we become a solution to our changing climate and how we help sequester carbon so that we can extend a good life and bountiful nature to all future generations.” p

Thinking Beyond the Lawn Local landscape designers educate community on creating yards that are useful, sustainable and beautiful. by Liz Weslander, photos courtesy Jerry Jost and Low Maintenance Landscape

While some may consider bright green turfgrass and non-native ornamental accents to be the gold standards of an attractive yard, the truth is that this traditional approach to landscaping has some major drawbacks. Aside from the water, chemicals and labor required to maintain them, turfgrass and non-native ornamentals create an environment that does little to feed native pollinators or protect wildlife. The good news is that it is quite possible to incorporate low-maintenance, beneficial plants into a landscape while still maintaining curb appeal. Even better, these two local experts regularly share their knowledge both professionally and as a service to the community.

and self-regulating gardens. Odell’s specialty means that she often works with customers who are interested in using plants that are beneficial to wildlife and pollinators, and who are looking to incorporate edible, medicinal and native plants into their landscaping. She also designs rain gardens that address drainage concerns by using rainwater in a way that is beneficial for wildlife and pollinators.

Laura Odell is one of three landscape designers at Low Maintenance Landscape, a full-service landscaping outfit that has been serving the Lawrence area since 2001.

And to be clear, using beneficial, edible and low-maintenance plants does not mean sacrificing beauty. For instance, Odell says a beautiful perennial flower border could easily incorporate native and pollinator-friendly plants, as well as attractive edibles such as rainbow chard, that can be harvested repeatedly during the growing season.

Odell says Low Maintenance Landscape has a holistic approach to landscaping that aims to create attractive designs with year-round interest while also reducing lawn, water usage and chemical input. Low Maintenance Landscape uses a mix of natives and exotics in their designs, but as part of a low-maintenance approach, they only recommend plants they have tried and tested in their on-site example gardens. “Before we can recommend a plant for landscape, we have to know how it will perform here in Lawrence, Kansas,” Odell explains. “Something might do great in St. Louis or even Kansas City, but we have different topography and our own special microclimate here. Anytime we are considering a new plant, we put it in an example garden first, and we let it go through a couple of seasons to see how it really performs.” Odell’s landscape-design specialty is permaculture, a set of sustainable land-use design principles that emphasizes “working with, not against, nature” to create self-sustaining 18

“If a plant is providing a benefit—whether it is medicinal, food producing for humans and wildlife, or good for pollinators—I would say it has a place in the garden. The more diverse you can make it, the stronger it is,” Odell says. “If we have a choice of planting something, why not plant something that will give you a yield, something that will give back for all your hard work and effort? I love all kinds of plants, but the ones that feed me are probably my favorites.”

Odell’s love of permaculture and edible landscaping extends beyond her work with clients at Low Maintenance Landscape. She also volunteers her time as the coordinator for PermaCommons, a permaculture demonstration and teaching garden at 1304 Pennsylvania St. The collectively maintained garden uses no herbicides and no chemical fertilizers. The plants at PermaCommons are chosen for their low-maintenance and multifunctional aspects, and placed in locations that make the most of varying microclimates on the site. For instance, a sump pump from the neighboring property drains into the gardens onto the north side, so moisture-tolerant plants like wild ginger and pawpaw trees grow there. A sloped section of the garden that is hot and dry is home to sun-loving echinacea and lavender. “It’s amazing,” Odell exclaims. “We have a very diverse se-

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Laura Odell, landscape designer at Low Maintenance Landscape shows off a future Community Garden in East Lawrence L & below: Native Lands ecologist Courtney Masterson works the field and teaches students the intricacies of native plants.

A nation that destroys its soils destroys itself. Forests are the lungs of our land, purifying the air and giving fresh strength to our people. – Franklin D. Roosevelt

’

lection of fruit trees, shrubs, ground cover and climbers. If there are volunteer plants like plantain, nettles or dandelion that pop up that are medicinal, we will study those and possibly make them into tinctures.” Odell says sharing information about permaculture with people in the community through PermaCommons is rewarding for her, and helping people become more confident in growing more food on their land is very important to her. However, she does recommend consulting a professional designer in at least the beginning stages of creating a sustainable space. “People interested in permaculture tend to also be doit-yourself types, and I love to support that,” Odell says. “But it’s also heartbreaking to see beginners with good intention struggle or waste money on plants that don’t work out. I don’t want people to get frustrated and give up all together. A consultation with a professional is money well spent.”

Getting Back to Native Courtney Masterson is another local landscape professional with a passion for sustainability that reaches far beyond her paying work. Masterson is an ecologist and owner of Native Lands LLC, a landscape-management business that focuses exclusively on plants that are native to northeastern Kansas. Native Lands works with a large spectrum of clients that varies from people looking to use native plants in container gardens and backyards, to clients with multiacre prairies and forests. Masterson’s dedication to native plants took hold after an educational journey that started in art and eventually led

her to a master’s degree in ecology and evolutionary biology from the University of Kansas. “I just fell in love with the intricacy of every native plant—the ways the plants related to each other, and the ways the animals related to the plants,” Masterson says. During the course of her studies, Masterson explains it quickly became obvious to her that not only were native plants beautiful and important, but that she wasn’t seeing them in her dayto-day life. “The prairie, native forests and the wetlands were places that I went to, they weren’t spaces I was immersed in at home. So I started trying to build those places for myself and for the people around me,” she says. As she evolved into an expert on native plants in this region, Masterson was constantly fielding questions from people on the subject, which is why she recently decided to make Native Plants LCC a full-time endeavor. “The new challenge is balancing what am I going to do as the business versus what I am going to do as Courtney,” Masterson says. “The business is only a year and half old. And I’m still struggling with that balance.” While there is plenty of local interest in and demand for native plants locally, Masterson says there are people out there who are sometimes slow to embrace them as a viable option for landscaping. However, she can usually convert the skeptics. 19

“There are a ton of reasons to incorporate native plants into a landscape, including providing wildlife habitat, drought and flood tolerance, and natural pest resistance,” Masterson explains. “Even deeper, we can consider native gardens a reservoir of genetic material, protection of the genes found in natural ecosystems.” A native plant garden can be a good option for people who have struggled to create attractive garden spaces because of lack of time or because they think they have a “black thumb,” she continues. “This is the solution for people who have not been able to achieve Master Gardener-level beautiful gardens. Native plants rival the beauty of anything we grow from other countries or that we have created in greenhouses,” Masterson says. “And you don’t have to primp or prune, and fertilize them for them to be beautiful. They do that on their own. Native plants are happy in their space because they belong here. They flourish.” Like any landscaping approach, success hinges on choosing the right plant for the right place, Masterson explains, which is why she recommends conferring with someone who knows the broader suite of plants native to this region before purchasing plants and putting them in the ground, especially given the longevity of native plant gardens. “Our native plants tend to live a really long time, so once those plants go in the ground, it would be nice if they were in a place where they could stay for 20 years, and nobody would be upset about it,” Masterson says. As Masterson’s work with paying private clients grows, her dedication to community education and to making native plant gardening accessible to everyone remains steadfast. Through the Kaw Valley Native Plant Coalition, Masterson regularly gives free talks about native plant gardening and has installed, and voluntarily maintains, native plant demonstration gardens in various locations throughout Lawrence, including at the Burroughs Creek Trail, Oak Hill Cemetery and the parking lot at 824 New Hampshire St., which hosts the Lawrence Farmers’ Market. “When you spend time in those spaces, they are like oases,” Masterson says. “They are the only native plant spaces in town that are not on private property, and to see the animals interact with them is really special.” Masterson explains the native plant demonstration gardens produce a lot of seeds, and with the help of volunteers, the Kaw Valley Native Plant Coalition collects and cleans the seeds so they can be donated to the Lawrence Public Library Seed Catalog. “Every step of the way, whether we are having volunteers come out and work in the gardens with us to get to know the plants, learning when and how to collect the seeds or learning how to grow them, we are providing a free opportunity for people to learn another facet of native gardening,” Masterson says. Her ultimate dream, she explains, is to have native gardens dotting at least every half-mile of the region. This would allow native bees, which are restricted by short travel capabilities, to hop from garden to garden as they travel through urban areas. “I think native gardens in backyards are the future of conservation of prairie species,” Masterson says. “We are never going to be able to get back to where we were with millions of acres of native prairie, but we can have islands of prairie in every backyard.” p 20

Native plants Laura Odell enjoys planting to add variety to Kansas gardens

Taking Care of One Another Lawrence leads the way in Kansas by implementing economic, environmental and social sustainability practices and initiatives. by Bob Luder, photos courtesy City of Lawrence

Craig Owens gazes out the large pane-glass window on the fourth floor of the north side of City Hall. He wistfully watches the water of the Kansas River below him rushing through and ponders the past as it pertains to sustainability, more specifically, renewable energy. For many decades in the past and to this day, that water produces hydroelectricity, clean energy that’s purchased by public utilities in the area. Though Owens has only been at his job as Lawrence city manager for a few months, he says it hasn’t taken long to learn and appreciate the history and legacy of the city before him, particularly when it comes to progressive action the area has taken in sustainable practices and initiatives. “I’ve gotten to know the history of Lawrence in these first six months,” Owens says. “It’s history that’s telling us that how we manage resources affects our success as a population. “We’ve done things in 150-plus years as a city in different ways to accommodate our practical realities in how we’ve lived, settled and grown. History tells us people were occupying this land long before us and had ideas about how to take care of it. Now, it dawns on us that we probably haven’t minded the land as we should have.” Across the room, Owens’ colleague, Jasmin Moore, sustainability director of Lawrence and Douglas County, sees sustainability as a prism to the future. “Sustainability is about quality of life,” Moore says. “Not just now but into the future. It’s living today as though you believe there’s going to be a tomorrow. We feel like Lawrence is a great place to live and has a lot to offer, and we want it to be that for generations to come.”

To help ensure that, Owens, Moore and the rest of the city’s government and leadership have drawn both from past and future to come up with a plan they believe puts Lawrence at the forefront of sustainability. And, there is evidence that shows that these plans, which have been in place a few years now, are proving effective. In 2016, Lawrence was given a 4-STAR designation by the STAR Community Rating System, the first national certification program to recognize sustainable communities. Since the program’s launch in 2012, 51 communities nationwide have reached the 4-STAR designation, which integrates economic, environmental and social sustainability practices and initiatives. Lawrence was the first city in Kansas to receive the status. Owens credits Eileen Horn, who preceded Moore as the city’s sustainability director and now serves in the Kansas State Legislature, for starting Lawrence’s sustainability program, which encompasses everything from energy-saving projects in city structures to implementing a cleaner-energy public transportation fleet to creating financial incentives for companies to engage in sustainable practices.

Sustainability’s Beginnings Moore says the first proclamation revolving around sustainability to come out of Lawrence came in 2006. At that time, she was working in Arkansas for a metropolitan planning association and remembers sustainability becoming a buzzword sometime between 2008 and 2009. “Grants started to become available for energy efficiency and conservation,” she says. “Communities started appointing staff to handle these funds.” 21

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A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in. – Greek Proverb

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City Manager Craig Owens (L) and Jasmin Moore, Sustainability director of Lawrence and Douglas County

“Our goal is 100 percent renewables for municipal structures and eventually the whole city,” Moore says. “But, it’s going to take more than just the city to meet these goals.”

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 brought about even more people working in the area of sustainability, which directly resulted in the creation of the Climate Protection Plan, devised by the city later that year. That plan included a variety of city initiatives and programs, most of which revolved around energy efficiency and renewable energy, specifically increasing energy efficiency throughout the city’s processes as well as incorporating more and more renewable energy—i.e., solar and wind. In February 2017, the city commission approved $11.3 million in a “green bond issue” for upgrades to city facilities, upgrades the city figures have saved approximately $450,000 per year in energy costs. That includes the installation of state-of-the-art light emitting diode (LED) lighting, upgrades to heating and air-conditioning equipment, and weatherization, including new roofs and windows. One of the local beacons city leaders are most proud of is the Lawrence Public Library, which received LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold certification for its green building design and construction. All throughout the city, there are ongoing renewable-energy projects on various buildings and infrastructure. A 100-kilowatt (kW) solar array was installed at Lawrence’s Fire Station No. 5. A 10kW solar array is in place at Prairie Nature Center. There is a pilot project underway to demonstrate the use of solar power in a number of the city’s parking lots. The city also has worked hard on fuel conservation and increasing the use of alternative fuel for its fleet of public vehicles. It uses hybrid buses. Other vehicles operate on compressed natural gas. Charging stations for electric vehicles are being installed around town. GPS technology is used to improve efficiencies in routes. 22

With that in mind, the city also created incentives and removed some barriers that it hopes will encourage the citizenry to take ownership in the sustainability crusade. It’s created weatherization grants for local businesses and updated building codes. In 2013, the city commission voted to reduce the building permit fees for installing solar power. “There are plenty of businesses in Lawrence that have established leadership in sustainability,” says Moore, pointing to the example of The Merc installing shading in its parking lot.

Other Points of Pride One of the projects that gets Moore especially excited traces back to the area’s roots as an agricultural center. The Douglas County Food Policy Council has been hard at work improving the area’s food system. From the growing of food, to harvesting, transportation, all the way to the ways waste is regenerated, the Council works on ways to make the system more efficient and better functioning. Moore points to the Common Ground Community Garden Program, which provides small parcels of land throughout the city where citizens can grow food for themselves, their families and neighbors. “We basically turn parkland into areas to grow food,” she says. “There’s a requirement for public benefit, which includes the donation of food, usually to schools. “The program is in its eighth year,” Moore continues. “We have seven sites across the city today. We also have a 5-acre incubator farm.”

Owens says, “One thing I heard when I first arrived here was a phrase, ‘We take care of each other.’ That kind of attitude goes a long way back to when Lawrence was an agricultural center. Those roots are still active.” Taking single-occupancy vehicles off the roads is a primary goal for Owens. The city has been in talks to develop a transit hub and connect routes, making public transportation more easy, safe and desirable for commuters. There is a partnership with the University of Kansas transit system, encouraging cooperation to transport students and citizens alike safely and efficiently. “There’s been significant investment to manage our transportation routes,” Moore says. In addition, the city has worked hard at creating pedestrian and bicycle routes, including the creation of “safe” routes to schools so that citizens might choose to walk or cycle to and fro rather than getting in a vehicle and throwing more carbon into the air. How the city removes its waste has also been improved. The city has a compost facility for yard waste. And, there is a single-stream recycle plan for all residential and some commercial properties. Curbside recycling pickup has been in operation in Lawrence for the last five years. “The (national) contamination rate with recyclables is 30 percent,” Moore says. “In Lawrence, it’s somewhere around 4 to 6 percent.” Finally, Owens’ eyes light up when he says, “We just got an award for having the best-tasting water in Kansas.”

We’re All in This Together In addition to engaging its citizenry, Lawrence also is teaming up with surrounding communities in its sustainability efforts. The city is a member of Climate Action KC, a local action plan that’s been in existence about a year. “They are working on a vulnerability assessment and are formulating a plan on what we should be doing,” Moore says. Locally, the Sustainability Advisory Board—10 people in Lawrence who meet once a month to discuss pressing sustainability issues and possible action plans—provides recommendations to the city commission. One of its most recent recommendations involved reductions in the use of plastic bags and steps to move toward that 100-percent renewable-energy goal. As Owens gazes out that same window from City Hall on this gray, cold January day, he spies a bald eagle, a very symbol of the country sustainability is trying to protect, and realizes the topic does encompass all who want a better world for themselves and their children. “Those that have lived off the land understand that sustainability is a necessity,” Owens says. “We know it’s important, our place on this planet. It’s about the culture, the land, the river, the political values this area was raised around. “It’s all important.” p

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Be the change you wish to see in the world. – Mahatma Gandhi

A Culture of Change Sustainability has many facets, one of the most important being to create a society where people’s health and well-being are being protected both today and in the future. by Tara Trenary, photos by Steven Hertzog and courtesy of USD 497

In society today, meeting the needs of people without jeopardizing the ability of future generations to meet their own needs can be complicated. But, why is working hard toward a community’s overall health and well-being so complex? Jasmin Moore, City of Lawrence and Douglas County sustainability director, says sustainability can be all encompassing and must include collaboration with community members and city and county departments on a wide range of topics, including energy efficiency and performance, greenhouse gas emissions, implementation of a food system plan, safe routes to schools, health and work equity, and the creation of a climate action and adaptation plan, among other things. “I like to define sustainability as living today like you really believe there is going to be a tomorrow, and the next day, and decades from now,” she explains. “I believe that when people think in this way, we tend to be more responsible with our financial resources, treat our environment with more care and extend more compassion and respect to those around us.” 24

Treating all members of society fairly; reinforcing participation and a sense of community; supporting health and well-being; providing the security and services needed by community members: All of these topics encompass the definition of social sustainability, a complex piece of the three pillars of sustainability. The other pillars are environmental and economic, the three together informally referred to as “people, planet and profits.” Issues related to social sustainability are abundant, which is why it’s not always easy to effectively incorporate it into modern society. Human rights, fair labor practices, living conditions, health, safety, wellness, diversity, equity, worklife balance, empowerment, community engagement, philanthropy, volunteerism, social responsibility, social justice, cultural competence, community resilience and human adaptation are all factors that must be addressed when trying to maintain a socially sustainable environment. So, why is it important in our community?

and wellness within its schools in regard to students and employees. Those include education and lifelong learning, lifestyle wellness, mental and emotional wellness, nutritional wellness, physical wellness, and social and relational wellness. The district has implemented a five-year strategic plan, including five areas of focus and year-one initiatives, with common threads of equity, excellence and community engagement throughout the plan. Some of those include:

Cohesive Curriculum •

Identify what students should know and be able to do pre-K through 12-plus.

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Use instructional resources that honor and preserve students’ diverse cultural backgrounds.

Student-Centered Learning •

Meet students’ unique academic, social, emotional and behavioral needs.

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Decrease barriers to college and career readiness preK through 12-plus.

Safe and Supportive Schools

Sunflower Elementary’s Kendall Patterson’s first grade class learn about sustainability from KU teaching assistant Clara Boggs

Children Are Our Future Nothing is more important than teaching our kids about the importance of sustainability so future generations can reap the benefits of their educated ancestors. And, “people, planet and profits” are intertwined when it comes education. Right now, with challenges including climate change, mental health, homelessness, deforestation, pollution and the overall stress of living in a world with so many consequential issues, understanding people’s needs and desires, and the effects our actions have on the entire community is key. Lawrence Public Schools is at the helm of this powerful endeavor. “In addition to preparing our students with academic knowledge and skills, our schools are ensuring that they graduate with important life skills, such as critical thinking and problem-solving, creativity and innovation, initiative and self-direction, resilience and social and emotional wellbeing, communication and social and cross-cultural skills,” explains Denise Johnson, assistant director of fine arts, health, physical education and wellness for USD 497. Her role is to support the well-being of district students and staff. “We want our graduates to be educated, well-rounded citizens who contribute in positive ways to the health and vitality of their communities.” USD 497 focuses on many aspects of social sustainability

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Encourage positive student behaviors, and reduce behaviors that interfere with learning.

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Provide safe and welcoming schools that engage every student.

Effective Employees •

Create positive and supportive work environments for all employees.

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Attract high-quality candidates for all employee groups.

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Use data to inform all instructional decisions.

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Develop systems that support student-focused, databased decision-making.

Data-Informed Decisions

Johnson says keys to the success of the Lawrence Public Schools are committed and dedicated teachers and staff, engaged and motivated students, actively involved school families and a resource-rich community that truly values public education. “Lawrence is a community of learners,” she says. “If you spend some time in our schools, you will see students thinking critically, celebrating diversity, openly debating current topics of importance to our country and the world, finding their own voice and advocating for others, organizing fund-raisers to meet the basic needs of those facing quality-of-life challenges and working together in teams to problem-solve and arrive at creative solutions. “We want all students to achieve at high levels and graduate prepared for success in college, careers and life,” Johnson says. “We hope that our students become lifelong learners who are empowered to pursue their personal hopes and dreams for the future and make positive contributions to their communities.” For employees specifically, USD 497 offers an employee assistance program, monthly wellness meetings, wellness representatives in each school, flu clinics, professional 25

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USD 497 also has plans for its staff for the future. It will organize fall and spring intensive healthy-eating programs and schedule two districtwide wellness fairs. It hopes to increase community partnerships and the number of wellness representatives from each school and department. It will meet with each school and department to personally explain the benefits of the employee assistance program. And, postfall and spring, wellness posters will be placed in each building and department.

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Peer support specialist Theresa Bird listens to Danny Hartman at her office inside the lobby of the Lawrence Public Library

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“Our schools are microcosms of the larger Lawrence community,” Johnson says. “We want everyone in our community to feel safe, welcome and supported, and to have equal access to opportunities to learn, achieve success, pursue their interests and reach their full potential.”

Peer Support Workforce The World Health Organization estimates that untreated depression and anxiety lead to approximately $1 trillion in global productivity losses each year. With more support available within the community, this number could be much lower. “There is a mental health crisis in Douglas County—suicide statistics, for instance, are nothing less than alarming,” explains Melissa Fisher Isaacs, information services coordinator at Lawrence Public Library. “The population experiencing homelessness is growing. There are indications that

Melissa Fisher Isaacs, information services coordinator at the Lawrence Public Library Denise Johnson works with a student from Schwegler Elementary during their garden opening day. The Adapted PE Triathlon is where middle and high school special education students participate in swimming, biking and running to provide a lifetime of health and wellness

substance abuse is on the rise. And, even for those who are not experiencing a mental health crisis, there are many who are facing loneliness and social isolation.” The Douglas County Peer Fellows program aims to build a peer support workforce throughout the community and shape a culture of recovery where Douglas County residents live, learn, work and play. It connects trained individuals who share insight and wisdom through learned experience to community members who struggle with mental illness and addiction. The peer specialists offer emotional support and social support, along with resources that lead to better health outcomes while impacting as many community members as possible. Peer Support specialist Theresa Bird believes that adding these community resources and thinking outside of the status quo is essential to a sustainable (aka healthy) community. “Our emotional health informs every other aspect of our lives: personal connections (or disconnect from), health, career, etc.,” she says. “Peer Support recognizes this fundamental community need. When one of us is sick and alone, in a sense, we all are. Let’s move toward happiness and health the best we can.” In addition to personal experience with mental health and/ or substance abuse issues, the peers are highly trained. They have received a state-level certification and continue to receive ongoing training in topics such as mental health first aid, LEAP (Listen, Empathize, Agree, Partner), crisis intervention and group facilitation. One of the locations the Peer Fellows program is housed is at Lawrence Public Library (LPL). LPL is a good fit for the peer support program because it’s one of the few places in town that is free and accessible to almost everyone in the community, regardless of background or circumstance, Fisher Isaac explains. “It’s available without an appointment and on evenings and weekends. Also, visiting the library doesn’t carry the stigma that going to a mental health center might. “Peer support promotes well-being among our members by helping them to find a human connection and to identify goals and strategies for moving forward in a positive direction. Future generations benefit from the increased resilience of present-day community members,” Fisher Isaacs continues. “Providing low-barrier access to peer support can build a bridge between those in need and more intensive supports, as well as offering encouragement and a listening ear to anyone who needs it.” LPL’s overall mission is to connect community members with the information they need, but that information more and more has to do with community resources: what services are available in the community and how can they be accessed. “Our core service continues to be providing access to information, but information now comes in many formats, in addition to the printed word. We help to sustain the library as a viable institution by actively seeking to understand our community’s needs and working to meet those needs that align with our mission,” Fisher Isaacs says. Anyone needing assistance can start by stopping in be28

Lawrence Farm 2 School runs an outdoor camp each summer at Billy Mills Middle School. Elementary students plant, harvest, and prepare food.

tween 3 and 5:30 p.m. Tuesday afternoons at the Community Resource Drop-In, located in the library lobby immediately after entering the front door. There you will be connected to agencies providing services related to food, shelter, job searching, eldercare, substance abuse recovery and many other needs.

Communal Living The environment in which a person lives can be one of the most important aspects of a person’s life. Those who desire a more communal existence might choose the option of cohousing. In the Delaware Street Commons (DSC) community, residents learn to share and to think of the group first rather than only thinking how a decision might benefit them as individuals. “Traditional forms of housing no longer address the needs of many people,” according to husband-and-wife design team Kathryn McCamant and Charles Durrett. They coined the term “cohousing” in 1988 and now create high-functioning neighborhoods all across the U.S. and Canada through their award-winning firm Durrett Architects. “Things that people once took for granted—family, community, a sense of belonging—must now be actively sought out. Cohousing reestablishes many of the advantages of traditional villages within the context of modern life.”

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Lawrence Farm to School buys from 9 local farmers. Buying from local farms means professional development is required. Rick Martin is instructing a food service group on knife skills.

Rich Minder is a founding member and resident of Delaware Street Commons, an East Lawrence cohousing neighborhood with 23 homes. He says DSC envisions creating an old-fashioned Kansas neighborhood in a new way, and its mission is to feel connected with and responsible for the residential environment; share the value and practice of ecologically responsible living; respect and give space to the life that members have beyond cohousing; and feel renewed as a cooperative neighborhood through celebration and support. “Social isolation is very unhealthy,” Minder says. He believes intention to know and collaborate with neighbors, as well as consensus decision-making and shared leadership, are important aspects when it comes to social sustainability. “I think that sustainability is a three-legged stool with environmental, cultural and economic aspects that are all mutually reinforcing.” DSC offers shared garden space, common outdoor areas, a common house with an exercise area, a great room and hearth room, kitchen, laundry, mail room, a kids room. DSC neighbors are currently designing together a building with shared resources such as a wood shop, greenhouse and sauna. “Predictability and commitment are mutually reinforcing in building a pattern of rituals that sustain and renew community,” Minder explains. “These rituals can be anything that triggers recognition by participants, including potlucks, plenary meetings, workdays—anything that creates positive patterns.” Living within a community like DSC promotes human connection and offers the benefits of shared resources and responsibilities, and social and emotional connectivity, among other things. “I hope DSC can serve as a witness to other people to be intentional about how you build relationships with people of time and space. Loneliness kills. I think DSC provides a place and time to resist the centrifugal forces that tend to isolate people in an increasingly globalizing digital and technological age,” Minder says. 30

Above: Perry Kennard is the 8th grade science teacher and garden coordinator at Southwest Middle School. The gardeners at SW harvested grapes and canned jelly for the Farmers Market on Clinton Parkway. Right: Delaware Street Commons Back row from left: Diane Taveggia, Anna McCoy, Gay Minder, Linda Peckham, Rich Minder, Samuel Beecher, Laura Odell. Front row: Henry, Vicki Penner, Kylee Beecher, Teri Grunthener

Shaping Our Culture Social sustainability can be hard to define, but it’s integral in today’s society. It encompasses all human activities and must be embraced just as strongly as environmental and economical sustainability for future generations to benefit. “Sustainability is much more than individual action. It requires us to look at the systems that shape our culture and ask ourselves how we can change the systems to create a more sustainable community,” LawrenceDouglas County’s Moore says. p

PRACTICING WHAT THEY PREACH Area power companies take sustainability seriously and incorporate it into their everyday practices. by Bob Luder, photos by Steven Hertzog and courtesy of Good Energy

It makes perfect sense that energy companies would be at the forefront when it comes to sustainability and sustainable business practices and initiatives. After all, the very crux of that 21st -century buzzword, “sustainability,” lies in the conservation of energy resources and use and development of renewable, clean energy for the future. Right? It might come as a surprise, then, that some energy companies were a bit slow to join the sustainability party early in the century. It’s understandable considering traditional business models dictated that these companies produce electricity for customers while also completing projects expanding infrastructure. That all changed the last 10 years or so when, for the first time, power consumption and U.S. economic expansion didn’t go hand in hand. Greater energy efficiency in everything from everyday home appliances to industrial processes led to decreased electricity demand even as the economy expanded. Add to that all the reports on the sci-

ence of climate change and its negative effects, as well as the creation of renewable energy sources such as wind and solar, and well, power companies knew sustainability was the only path to a bright and productive future. “We certainly believe that the climate is warming due to human sources,” says Kevin Good, president of Good Energy Solutions, a Lawrence-based company that installs solar energy systems and efficiencies to homes and businesses in Kansas and Missouri. “I think everyone is becoming more and more interested (in sustainability) as time goes on. It’s certainly something we’re taking seriously and putting into practice. “We’re in the renewable energy industry, and we want to practice what we preach,” he continues. In those endeavors, Good is joined by fellow Lawrencearea energy companies, from behemoth power providers Evergy and Black Hills Energy Corp. to fellow solar installers Cromwell Environmental, as enthusiastic endorsers of sustainable business practices.

Sunrise at The Baker Wetlands Ben Postlethwait, Manager, Biology Conservation and Sustainability Programs at Evergy at the Evergy Observation Tower at the Baker Wetlands

up a “clean charge network” of more than 1,100 charging stations for electric vehicles across the Lawrence and Kansas City metropolitan areas and recently has partnered with the Kansas Department of Transportation to place some stations along the turnpike.

Evergy In June 2018, two prominent power companies, Westar in Kansas and Kansas City Power & Light in Missouri, merged to form Evergy, one of the largest utilities companies in the central U.S. But, as Ben Postlethwait, the company’s manager of conservation and sustainability, explains it, Evergy isn’t concerned with just being the biggest. It wants to be the best it can be. “When companies are performing well, they’re looked at as more forward-looking companies,” Postlethwait says. “We look at everything our company does across the board to be forward thinking, and sustainability is a big part of that.” To achieve all the benchmarks it has in place, which includes increasing its percentage of renewable energy resources to 27 percent by this year, Postlethwait says Evergy breaks sustainability into what he calls ESG: environmental, social and governance sustainability. Environmental sustainability is concerned with the rates of renewable resource harvest, pollution creation and nonrenewable resource depletion that can be continued indefinitely. It involves initiatives like emission reductions and use of electric vehicles, and also ties in with governance issues. Social sustainability is a process or framework that promotes well-being within an organization’s own members while also supporting the ability of future generations to maintain a healthy community. Governance sustainability involves company leaders working closely with state and local politicians to enact environmentally friendly legislation that promotes sustainable practices. To maximize its environmental performance, Evergy has set

Seventy percent of Evergy’s fleet of sedan cars are hybrid or plug-in. There are initiatives to reduce idle time on its bucket trucks. In June 2016, the company issued $350 million of “green bonds,” an investment tool that feeds proceeds throughout the year to different sustainability initiatives. Postlethwait says the company sourced 3,300 megawatts of wind energy in 2019 and plans to add 500 more megawatts this year. In terms of social sustainability, Postlethwait points to the Evergy Dream Team, made up of 300 to 400 individuals focused on environmental stewardship. The team participates in 50 to 70 volunteer projects each year and sponsors educational events. One of the team’s most notable recent projects was construction of an observation tower on the Baker Wetlands, made strictly with recycled lumber. It also partnered with the University of Kansas School of Architecture & Design on constructing a shade area at Burroughs Creek Park. “We also have a matching gift program,” says Gina Penzig, external communications manager at Evergy. “We ask employees to suggest nonprofits they want to help, and they choose the nonprofits they want to give to.” “It’s exciting that this younger generation of employees have a new level of enthusiasm they bring to (volunteerism),” Postlethwait says. “We have a lot of motivated folks that are motivated to get to it. It’s become an important part of employee retention. It gives them a greater stake in their communities.” The governance aspect of sustainability, Postlethwait says, is undertaken by various board committees and an executive team that meets with government officials on subjects as varying as management of weather cleanup to cyber security. “We’re not going to pretend to be perfect,” Postlethwait says. “But, we’re working hard to be the best we can be.”

The Good Energy Solutions staff outside their offices and install solar panels on a roof.

Black Hills Energy Black Hills Energy serves natural gas and electric utilities to 1.2 million customers in eight states, including Kansas. For the Lawrence/Douglas County area, it only supplies natural gas. As stated in the company’s corporate responsibility report, it takes very seriously the balance it must maintain in providing customers with safe, reliable and affordable energy, all while keeping a strong commitment to protecting the environment. James Williams, Black Hills’ community affairs manager, explains the company believes strongly that natural gas is a great “bridge” power resource during the long transition from fossil fuels to renewables. “Reducing the carbon footprint and generating more renewable energy is a goal and part of Black Hills’ mission,” Williams says. “We are always on the lookout for more wind energy.” “Natural gas has about half the emissions as you get when you burn coal,” he adds. “When you figure in the affordability of gas, we believe natural gas is a bridge to the future of energy, especially when renewables aren’t available.” According to the company’s website, Black Hills reduced its carbon footprint from about 3 percent to 16 percent between 2011 and 2018. When it comes to social sustainability, Black Hills partners with Douglas County CASA (Court Appointed Specialty Advocates), a nonprofit organization that advocates for children in the foster system. In addition to volunteerism, the company donated 50 iPads during the Christmas holidays. Black Hills also is active with the Lawrence Chamber and United Way, and recently granted the Lawrence Arts Center $8,000 for improvements to its black box theater. All of Black Hills Energy’s public spaces are equipped with timers to maximize energy efficiency, and the company annually provides trees to the community. “Trees consume carbon, and we’re absolutely committed to reducing greenhouse gases,” Williams says. “Adding trees not only improves the environment but also the community as a whole.” 34

Good Energy Solutions The very nature of its business makes Good Energy Solutions a valuable contributor to sustainable and environmentally friendly energy. But, Kevin Good says initiatives put in place at his company, which started 12 years ago with just he and his wife, and today has more than 30 employees, go much further than that. All materials used at Good Energy Solutions, from plastic containers to cardboard boxes to paper, are recycled, Good says. Then, there’s the business itself, which in part involves consultation with companies and homeowners on how to increase energy efficiencies. “Anything we can do to prevent adding to the causes of pollution and climate change,” he says. “We go to a building and see how we can tie energy efficiencies into energy use. Any company trying to reduce energy usage … we try to get them to that place.” Good says solar sales at Good Energy Solutions jumped 75 percent in 2019 over the previous year, when sales had increased 30 percent.

Good Energy Solutions has installed panels in all parts of Kansas and beyond

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Sustainability: It’s the right thing to do, it’s the smart thing to do, it’s the profitable thing to do. – Hunter Lovins

“People are realizing it’s commercially less expensive to get energy from solar,” Good says. “And, you can actually increase the value to a home by reducing energy costs through solar.” Good Energy also is involved in social sustainability. The company adopted a piece of the Burroughs Creek Trail, and every business quarter, employees volunteer to go out and clean debris out of the area. It also recently donated a solar system to a local nonprofit and donates used pallets to Haskell Indian Nations University. Good says he’s also spent plenty of time in Topeka at the state capital trying to bring bills before various committees that promote sustainable energy. “We want to protect customers from big corporations trying to force them into using the energy they want them to use,” he says.

Cromwell Solar Like Good Energy, Cromwell Solar, a division of Cromwell Environmental, is an installer of solar energy systems and performs environmental services commercially and domestically throughout the area and beyond. In fact, having been in business for more than 40 years, Cromwell is one of the oldest companies in the region to install solar. “Solar energy makes a tremendous positive impact on climate, eventually freeing ourselves from harmful fossil fuels,” says Clint Idol, Cromwell’s vice president of operations. “For us, it starts with advocacy and working with policymak36

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ers to make sure renewable alternatives are a free choice or affordable choice. “We’re leading the charge with the state legislature to get legislation passed to make solar affordable,” he continues. “I’m confident we’ll get that done.” Idol says Cromwell is a “net-zero operation,” generating all the energy it needs through solar power. “Our building is powered exclusively by sun power,” he says. “We provide more sustainable energy than we use.” Idol says Cromwell also partners with the City of Lawrence in its commercial pilot recycling program. It composts all waste. Used pallets are either recycled or offered to others for repurposing. The company also is philanthropic, providing equipment and/or consultation to those in need. Most of its 28 employees are involved with civic task forces, sustainability action networks or sustainable causes such as Friends of the Kaw, Sierra Club and the Lawrence Arts Center. Cromwell also is the first installer in the Lawrence area of Tesla batteries for Tesla Powerwalls, which allow homes or businesses to store energy and avoid peak demand hours. Like Good Energy Solutions, Cromwell’s business is booming. But, as Idol sees it, that trend is as inevitable as, well, the sun coming up in the morning. “Change is difficult for everybody, particularly when it involves resources that everybody uses,” Idol says. “But, I think the future looks like free, sustainable power resources for everyone. That’s the only way out of this. It has to happen, and I think it will.” p

Never Refuse to Reuse Embracing the idea of reduce, reuse and recycle, the Lawrence ReStore is committed to creating the healthiest environment possible for its community. by Tyler Allen, photos by Steven Hertzog

The practices of reducing, reusing and recycling are not new or modern. In fact, dating back to the industrial era, certain items would be used or reused to their ends, because it was cost-effective and readily available. During the 1970s, the stardom of the environmental movement would force an agenda that caused people to take better care of the spaces around them. Today, the philosophy and practice of reducing, reusing and recycling has been more pertinent than ever. Around the globe, individuals constantly seek cleaner and more sufficient environments that contribute to the health and livelihood of animals and people. In Lawrence, there are a plethora of recycling efforts committed to developing and maintaining more sustainable environments. On the University of Kansas (KU) campus, KU Recycling (Rock Chalk Recycle) establishes bins in and outside of buildings, and uses pickup trucks to collect paper materials, cardboard, aluminum, tin and steel cans, glass jars or bottles, and plastic. In town, some restaurants use compostable napkins, cutlery, cups and straws. These items break down more naturally into waste and do not release or 38

Michele Johnson, manager of the Lawrence Habitat for Humanity ReStore sits out front the Lawrence ReStore

leave toxic residues in the environment. However, there are also businesses in town that are looking to collect waste materials much larger in size and of varying materials beyond paper and aluminum to ensure the greater good of the community. Lawrence Habitat for Humanity ReStore, located at 708 Connecticut St., seeks to achieve its mission of “building more safe, decent and affordable homes for the residents of Douglas and Jefferson counties.” This organization is able to recycle overstocked, discontinued, new and used building materials, appliances and furniture donated by manufacturers, stores, contractors and individuals. All revenue from sales goes to the local affiliate in support of its mission. The purpose and goals of the ReStore include: •

Cover the overhead for all affiliate costs, allowing 100% of cash donations to go toward building homes.

•

Keep valuable, reusable and salvageable materials out of landfills.

•

Provide the community with a source of low-cost building materials, appliances and furniture.

•

Create an opportunity for the community to give back by donating materials or volunteering in the store.

Thanks for 50 Growing Years!

Starting off as an international business, the first Habitat for Humanity ReStore began in Winnipeg, Canada, in 1991. Five years later, the first United States location would open in Austin, Texas. Currently, there are more than 900 ReStores working as affiliates of Habitat for Humanity in the United States. Since 1989, Lawrence Habitat for Humanity has been able to repair more than 100 houses. With its ReStore affiliate store operating since September 2005, Lawrence Habitat for Humanity ReStore continues to repair homes with donated material and has diverted more than 370 tons of material that was potentially headed to the landfill in this past year alone. When supporting the local ReStore location by shopping, donating or volunteering, individuals are supporting the local community and helping to provide decent shelter to many around the world. Imagine the hundreds of families assisted through the building of homes and the tons of material recycled both in the United States and Canada. Michele Johnson, manager of the Lawrence Habitat for Humanity ReStore, has a personal connection with reducing, reusing and recycling. In her eyes, a key function of the ReStore is preventing items from entering the landfill. The items donated then sold at a discounted price are preserved and used. Along with that, the items donated can be used to create upcycle projects. “Some are utilitarian, and some are merely creative design projects, but all are reusing items in either their intended purpose or in an alternative way,” she explains. The Lawrence ReStore is also contributing to the local economy, as the money raised is filtered right back into the community. Johnson has also aligned herself with the Habitat for Humanity mission in her personal projects. Ten years ago, she and her husband invested time and resources into building a project on their property, a 60- x 120-foot building that included their home and her husband’s auto repair shop. They used 30-year-old dismantled red iron from a building in Missouri. This steel (that would serve as the support for their property) came from a friend who needed to get rid of it. Once Johnson began her career at ReStore, she discovered that endless amounts of recycled materials could complete the project she and her husband started. “When I look at our home, I can easily point out all the windows, most of the doors, lighting, wood trim, kitchen cabinets, bathroom vanities, door hardware and many pieces of furniture and decorative items that came from the Lawrence ReStore,” she explains. Recycled items that are not easily detectable are wiring, plumbing parts, structure lumber and primer paint. “We did a majority of the building ourselves, and we are happy to use the items we discovered at the ReStore. ... All the money we spent at the ReStore for our supplies went to our Lawrence Habitat affiliate to build affordable homes in the Lawrence area. This is a win-win for all,” she says. 39

Sculpture Joe Keeba looks for items at the ReStore

THE LAWRENCE

ROTARY CLUB Since 1917 Community Engagement with a Global Perspective Join us in working to make Lawrence and the world a better place. Enjoy the fellowship of business, community, and university leaders while helping provide clean water, nutrition, sanitation, medicine and immunizations, and education to millions of children and adults worldwide. Help promote world understanding and peace through youth and adult exchange programs and scholarships. Support local projects and charities including the Lawrence Rotary Arboretum and new back-to-school shoes for children. The Lawrence Rotary Club

Mondays - noon to 1:00 p.m. at Maceli's, 1031 New Hampshire Street For more information: rotarylawrence@gmail.com www.LawrenceRotaryClub.org facebook.com/LawrenceRotary 40

“

How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.

”

– Anne Frank

As a lover of reusing materials and saving money, Johnson feels local businesses can easily help contribute to recycling efforts. She says businesses should make an effort to research and find ways that work for them, as well as implementing recycling (whether items are donated for use or collected to keep out of waste). In these efforts, items businesses may not be able to use should be directed to other local businesses. When Lawrence ReStore comes across items that do not typically sell, it finds a suitable location for them so they don’t go to waste. “We bring household goods to the Social Service League, unsellable metals such as nonworking appliances to a local recycle center, and we also recycle plastic, paper and cardboard through the city recycling services.” Johnson encourages others to find the right places to make their donations and find their desired goods without having to buy them brand new. “Lawrence people seem to have a great desire to be environmentally aware and make efforts to repurpose whenever possible. With a bit of patience, it really is possible to create better habits and save at least a little bit of our precious earth.” The Lawrence Habitat for Humanity ReStore is a prime example of reducing, reusing and recycling. p

THE SEVENTH ANNUAL CELEBRATION - SHOWCASING 17 LOCAL BUSINESSES CREATING JOBS IN THE LAWRENCE COMMUNITY By Bob Luder, photos by Jeff Burkhead

Seventeen athletics teams were honored during a ceremony the evening of Feb. 26 inside The Oread Hotel.

“You have to be able to create results,” he continues. “And, that starts with great beliefs.”

That may not be exactly accurate. It could be what’s known in today’s political parlance as “alternative facts.” But, Tim Schlosser explains, there’s not a lot of difference between being a highly competitive collegiate or professional athlete and being a business entrepreneur.

Schlosser was making this point as special guest speaker in front of a couple hundred members of the Lawrence business community that congregated for the Seventh Annual Foundation Awards, hosted by Lawrence Business Magazine and CadreLawrence, along with presenting sponsor INTRUST Bank. This year’s awards celebrated 17 companies and the creation of 153 total jobs during the course of 2019. Foundation Award winners are companies that have been open at least three years and have shown 20-percent growth in jobs, or have added 20 total positions within the last year.

“Coaches and athletes have a great deal in common with business entrepreneurs,” says Schlosser, former associate athletic director for student-athlete leadership and development at Kansas University and a certified life coach. “Both must be competitive. They must be motivated, self-directed. They must create value in constructing teams. And, they must be willing to take risks. 42

L: Master of Ceremonies Bob Davis gets the presentation off to a great start by telling a classic Bob joke Guest Speaker Tim Schlosser, owner of TGS Enterprises LLC, a life coaching and organizational consulting business based in Lawrence, speaks to he Foundation guests

Over the seven-year history of the Foundation Awards, 71 companies have created a total of 720 jobs. At least as far as Schlosser’s concerned, those accomplishments deserve to be celebrated just as much as a sports team winning a conference or national championship. “I think we do a great disservice to our young people by telling them that college is going to be the best time of their lives,” Schlosser says. “College isn’t the best time of your life … tonight is.” Schlosser shared with the audience his tried-and-tested strategies for thriving in the arena, whether it be on the playing field or in the boardroom. He shared what he called his “Be Theory.” Be curious. Thinking matters. Be a scholar of the game, have increased awareness and know the difference between a fact and a story you tell yourself is a fact. Most important, know why you’re doing what you’re doing. Be present. On average, Generation Z is on five different devices and spends 7½ hours a day in front of a screen. That leads to attention fragmentation. Practice mindfulness. And, allow and embrace all emotions. “Life is going to be 50-50,” Schlosser explains. “You won’t know what sad feels like unless you’re happy. Great athletes aren’t afraid to feel the negative stuff, so they never play scared.”

Be brave. Everything is temporary, so embrace vulnerability. You must be vulnerable and brave enough to try new things and take chances, whether in business or athletics. Know that no matter what you face, you’re going to get back up. And, in business as in sports, it’s OK to put yourself in uncomfortable situations. “You’re going to really be alive if you set goals that make you a little sick or uneasy,” Schlosser says. “The only question remaining is, where do you go next?” After missing last year, hall-of-fame broadcaster and former voice of the Jayhawks Bob Davis returned as master of ceremonies for the 2020 Foundation Awards. Following Schlosser’s presentation, Davis called to the podium at the front of the room representatives for each of the honored companies. Good Energy Solutions Inc., which provides comprehensive consulting and services in electrical, renewable energy and energy management in the central U.S., was the big winner of the evening. Not only did it receive a special gift basket as a four-time Foundation Award winner (one of the two companies—the other being Alpha Roofing—to be a fourtime winner), it also took home the Footprint Impact Award for its commitment to impacting the community and creating a local footprint of mutually beneficial relationships that strengthen the community. 43

“That was a complete surprise,” says Kevin Good, president of Good Energy Solutions. “We’re constantly trying to give back to the community as we go. So much of the credit goes to my wife, Shana. She’s the driving force behind the marketing, coming up with positive ideas for the community, like giving away a solar system every year to a nonprofit.” “We’re helping customers, that’s the most important thing,” Good says. “But, we’re also doing something positive to change the world with renewable energy.” Darin Lutz, owner of Alpha Roofing, says four Foundation Awards is a testament to his employees and shows the company is moving in just the right direction, as Schlosser puts it, excelling in its chosen arena. “Slow growth is important to us,” Lutz explains. “We want growth with deep roots. We want people who are in it for the long haul. Growth can be scary, but we don’t shy away from it. The last five years, most of the growth has been on the commercial side. It’s more demanding. But, there’s going to be quite a bit of growth in that in 2020 and 2021.”

“We are also excited this year to announced the establishment of the Footprint Impact Scholarships,” Frame Hertzog says. “Starting with the class of 2020, the Footprint Impact Scholarship will be awarded to two high school seniors, one from Lawrence High School and one from Free State High School, who have gone beyond just checking the box for their community service hours, but by seriously focusing on creating a positive local impact in Lawrence. These students will have shown dedication and gone above and beyond to make an impact with a local charity, project or event – and creating their own Footprint Impact.” The Lawrence Schools Foundation will help to identify and award the Scholarships.

“On behalf of the Lawrence Board of Education, its 2,000 teachers and staff, and the 12,000 students educated each day in the Lawrence Public Schools,” Superintendent Dr. Anthony Lewis noted, “I would like to thank the Lawrence Business Magazine and CadreLawrence for the Footprint Impact Scholarships. These scholarships will help our high school seniors pursue their post-secondary education and The Foundation Awards was a high- career dreams, and continue to thrive as contributing members of the community.” light of another successful year for its founding host, Lawrence Business Magazine, which just completed its ninth year of covering business in the Lawrence area. It is important that we think about how a business does or what a business does, While the weather is a common factor for any roofing company, Lutz says, “The No. 1 reason we’re busy year-round is our quality. People know we’re good at what we do.”

FOOTPRINT IMPACT AWARD FOUR TIME HONOREE – Good Energy Solutions

“The overarching mission of Lawrence Business Magazine is to cover people and businesses making a positive impact on the Lawrence community,” says Ann Frame Herzog, editor-inchief. “We celebrate these impacts with the Foundation Awards, but especially with the Footprint Impact Award, which celebrates giving back to the local community and working in support of fellow local businesses.” 44

it’s just as important, perhaps even more so, how a business does business. How a business is committed to impacting our community and creating a local footprint of mutually beneficial relationships is something that strengthens an entire community. The Footprint Impact Award recognizes a company that has made a significant community impact by making a conscious business decision to work and interact locally. A company that not only focuses on the growth and success of its business, but on giving back to the community. Good Energy Solutions is a full-service energy partner that is able to provide comprehensive consulting and services in electrical, renewable energy and energy management in the central U.S., including Missouri and Kansas. The experienced

KEEP YOUR BUSINESS OPEN

team at Good Energy Solutions provides custom solutions in renewable energy, including solar photovoltaic, batteries that store energy and backup generators for residential and commercial properties. The company is dedicated to customer satisfaction through quality design and installations and backs its promises with long warranties. Good Energy Solutions is “energy with integrity” and a SunPower Elite and Commercial dealer as well as a certified Tesla installer. Good Energy Solutions added 8 employees last year, and has added 26 jobs over the Four times they have been Honored at the Foundation Awards, increasing to a total of 33 employees. Not only is Good Energy Solutions a full-service energy partner that provides comprehensive consulting and services in electric and renewable energy, energy efficiency and energy management but, led by company owner and president Kevin Good, Good Energy also has been active in forming partnerships that positively affect the entire Lawrence community. A prime example is the Good Energy Solutions Solar Giveaway Program. In 2017, the program donated a solar energy system to Van Go and Sunrise Project will receive one in 2020. It’s an effort to help non-profit organizations lower their utility costs to enable them to use their resources to help others. It’s the gift that keeps on giving as a protection against rising utility rates.

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The company also has sponsored other local non-profits and schools, such as Tenants to Homeowners, Cordley Elementary, Lawrence High athletics teams and music groups and Bishop Seabury, among others. Good Energy Solutions also has a goal to educate about renewable energy specifically solar and the solar industry and its contributions to a cleaner earth. Company representatives Kevin Good, Andy Rondon, Mike Schumann and Matt Bellemere have volunteered as guest speakers at Liberty Memorial Central Middle School, Southwest Middle School, Raintree Montessori School and Lawrence High. Additional team members participate in the Earth Day celebration held in South Park since 2010. Good Energy Solutions belongs to the Clean Energy Business Council, Climate and Energy Project, Douglas County Connections and the Lawrence Chamber. It has worked collaboratively with Alpha Roofing, Hurst Construction, Ezell-Morgan Construction and Green-Factor Insulation on projects where structures need new or updated roofing or insulation before installing solar units. Good Energy Solutions states as its mission “to provide real solutions to help people reduce their fossil fuel consumption and lower their long-term energy costs.” 45

Alpha Roofing – FOUR TIME HONOREE Alpha Roofing is a full-service professional roofing company that has been providing quality roofing and unmatched customer service to Kansans since 2004. The company’s second-to-none performance in the residential and commercial roofing industry has elevated it to be one of the most respected names in roofing. Driven by a strong devotion to customer service and will to be the best, you can rest assured that your roofing project is in good hands when you choose Alpha Roofing. Alpha Roofing added 4 employees last year, and adding 13 jobs as a Four-Time winner, increasing to a total of 16 employees.

Apex Engineers, Inc. Apex Engineers was founded in Kansas City in 2003 with the vision of creating a structural engineering firm that would deliver great client service. From the beginning Apex has operated under the idea that its quality of work speaks for itself. The Lawrence branch was established in 2015 and allows Apex to better service clients in this area as well as central and southern Kansas. Apex is dedicated to serving the residential and commercial construction markets for all types of clients, including architects, contractors, developers, project owners, financial institutions and others. Apex is proud of the foundation that has been established in Lawrence and looks forward to future growth within the community. Apex Engineers added 1 employee, increasing to 4.

Body Specific Body Specific enables clients to achieve and maintain whole-health lifestyles by incorporating massage therapy, chiropractic, acupuncture, waxing and professional skin care, and functional training into a comprehensive wellness plan. Co-founded by Lisa Lahm and Leah Henderson in 2013, with experienced Certified Massage Therapists, Licensed Chiropractor, Licensed Skin Care Expert and Certified Personal Trainer they offer customized services geared to each client’s individual health goals in a comfortable, relaxing, and caring environment. Body Specific added 3 employees, increasing to 16.

Bracker’s Good Earth Clays Bracker’s Good Earth Clays began in the 1980s as “Bracker Ceramics,” a partnership consisting of Anne and Bill Bracker, who made a living as salt potters in their studio at Teepee Junction. Gradually, their business of making pottery evolved into one of supplying potters with the materials they needed to create their work. In 1982, they began stocking a small amount of supplies and by ’85, they moved from the Teepee to a 5,400 square-foot warehouse a quarter mile north. In 1999, a new 15,000 square-foot warehouse was added. Bracker’s has enjoyed steady growth in the Lawrence community and today supports ceramic artists in a six-state region. In the last three years, Bracker’s has added an additional 10,000 square feet to its existing warehouse. Bracker’s Good Earth Clays added 3 employees, increasing to 13.

Construction Specialties, LLC Construction Specialties is a residential remodeling company based in Lawrence. The company specializes in one-call home improvement solutions and prides itself on providing convenient and high-quality solutions to all home improvement needs. It has a broad range of experience in remodeling, new construction, ADA improvements and insurance claims. Kitchens, bathrooms, basements, additions, flooring, paint, trim, lighting, siding, windows, decks, patios, sidewalks and drainage improvements are all things Construction Specialties considers part of remodeling. These items make up the bulk of its business and the company enjoys working with new customers and new challenges each day. Construction Specialties added 2 employees, increasing to 8.

Deciphera Pharmaceuticals Deciphera Pharmaceuticals is developing novel drug candidates to improve the lives of cancer patients by addressing key mechanisms of tumor and drug resistance that limit the effectiveness of many cancer therapies. Its pipeline of drug candidates is designed to stop cancers from growing and spreading by inhibiting mutant forms or over expression of a family of enzymes called kinases. Enabled by the proprietary kinase switch control inhibitor platform, Deciphera has built a diverse pipeline of wholly-owned, orally administered drug candidates that includes three clinicalstage and two research-stage programs. Deciphera Pharmaceuticals added 9 employees, increasing 41.

Dempsey’s Burger Pub Dempsey’s Burger Pub is a local and family-owned business, a from-scratch burger and fries restaurant with an Irish pub theme. Located in downtown Lawrence, KS. they use fresh, never frozen angus beef from Creekstone Farms in Arkansas, KS as well as fresh bread delivered daily from Farm to Market Bread Co. in Kansas City. Dempsey’s Burger Pub is proud of serving its customers, the people of Lawrence, the best burger in town. Dempsey’s Burger Pub added 8 full-time and 16 part-time employees, increasing to 53.

DAR Corporation DAR corporation is an aeronautical engineering firm in Lawrence. Engineering projects include single and multi-engine propeller and jet powered aircraft, business jets, very light jets, kit, LSA and experimental category aircraft, VTOL combat force insertion vehicles, VTOL aircraft, UAVs for civil and military applications and hybrid air/ground vehicles. DARcorporation offers services for everything from initial design to full-size prototype manufacturing and testing. Other products include design and analysis software and books. DARcorporation added 8 employees, increasing to 21. 48

Edmonds Duncan Registered Investment Advisors – TWO TIME HONOREE Edmonds Duncan Registered Investment Advisors is a clientfocused, full-service wealth management company. It proactively plans and implements customized financial strategies designed to help clients achieve financial objectives with confidence and personal service. Edmonds Duncan offers services in financial planning, retirement planning and income management, investment management and, new in 2019, risk management. The company is proud to call downtown Lawrence home, where it serves more than 550 clients in more than 30 states. Edmonds Duncan Registered Investment Advisors added 2 employees, increasing to 6.

Express Employment Professionals – 2 TIME HONOREE

Express Employment Professionals has been locally owned by Kate Blocker and Barry Kingery since 2010. With more than 28 years of combined recruiting experience in the Lawrence market, its No. 1 goal is to meet the needs of Lawrence businesses by providing them with quality associates they are looking to hire. Express Professionals specialize in contingent staffing, contract and professional recruiting. By respecting people and impacting businesses, the company will continue to support the Lawrence community with top-notch recruiting efforts for years to come. Express Employment Professionals added 2 employees, increasing to 8.

Happy Shirt Happy Shirt Printing Company planted roots in Lawrence in 2010 but has undergone quite a few changes since its early days. Owner Justin Shiney, along with several other employees has been there since the beginning. In 2018 Happy Shirt expanded beyond printing to include River Rat Skate Shop named as an homage of sorts to North Lawrence as well as a retail space. Proud of their community involvement, they work with organizations such as The Lawrence Public Library and Run Lawrence, and have been able to offer printing capabilities to help the growth of causes and events that they love to support. Happy Shirt added 4 employees, increasing to 14.

Kennedy Glass, Inc. – TWO TIME HONOREE Kennedy Glass, Inc. is a family owned and operated business and has been in operation since 1950. They specialize in residential, commercial and auto glass services and offer a wide array of services, from window glass replacement to new custom shower door installations. They also complete large commercial projects as well. It’s a one-stop shop for all glass needs and a staple of the Lawrence community for more than 50 years. Kennedy Glass added 6 employees, increasing to 27. 49

M Cubed Technologies – THREE-TIME HONOREE M Cubed Technologies monitors, manages and maintains companies’ networks 24/7/365 so that they can rest easy knowing it will find and fix issues before they become critical. The company’s state-of-the-art technology runs diagnostics on a daily basis to ensure that networks are running as smoothly as possible, and its management system allows for easy policy implementation, tracking and creation of company-wide rules to protect systems. Maintaining your network 24/7/365 is vital to prolonging the life of your hardware. M Cubed is technology for your business made easy. M Cubed Technologies added 3 employees last year, increasing to 8 total.

Pelvic Health Specialists Pelvic Health Specialists prides itself on attention to the patients its serves. Dr. Cathy Dahl and her team strive to inform patients about their conditions, and work with them to develop treatment options and then assist on a plan of care that works best. The practice focuses on helping women with pelvic prolapse, incontinence and other female health issues. Pelvic Health Specialists help let women get back to life. Pelvic Health Specialists added 3 employees, increasing to 8.

Rainbow International Restoration of Northeast Kansas – THREE-TIME HONOREE Rainbow International Restoration of Northeast Kansas is a locally owned franchise operated by longtime Lawrence residents, Nick and Raegann Berger. Nick has more than 20 years of experience in the commercial, residential construction, remodeling and restoration business. Rainbow is a 24/7/366 (this year) emergency services company specializing in residential and commercial property damage cleanup/restoration. Services include water, fire, smoke, mold damage cleanup, trauma scene cleanup, board up and restoration - from carpet and upholstery cleaning and deodorizing to contents removal and cleaning. Rainbow International Restoration of Northeast Kansas added 2 employees, increasing to 9 total.

Standard Beverage Standard Beverage Corporation is a full-time wholesale distributor of alcoholic beverages to licensed customers in Kansas. The company is committed to the development of quality partnerships with its customers, employees and suppliers for the purpose of ensuring long-term profitability and providing security and opportunity for employees and shareholders. Embracing the philosophy of continuous improvement, the company focuses on serving the needs of both its customers and suppliers and maintaining its position as market leader, through the implementation of creative and innovative business practices. Standard Beverage added 69 employees, including 20 in Douglas County, increasing to 396. p

Chestnut Charlie’s farms, photos courtesy Chestnut Charlie’s

A BALANCE ACT Being sustainable in agriculture depends on the operation, the operator and the product, not just the definition of “sustainable.” by Anne Brockhoff, photos by Steven Hertzog

Sustainability is one of agriculture’s hottest buzzwords, and for good reason. Producing food impacts the environment, the economy and the community. Yet, there’s no one-size-fits-all definition of the word. Practices that work in the Kaw River Valley might not in western Douglas County, where soil is thinner and rockier. Farmers’ market finances differ from those of the global commodities market. Big, small, conventional, organic, market garden, cattle, crops—they’re all different but can be sustainable in their own ways. “It’s kind of tricky to define, but what’s true in general is that many farmers really focus on what’s sometimes called the ‘triple bottom line,’ ” says Tom Buller, the horticulture Extension agent for K-State Research & Extension—Douglas County. The phrase encompasses environmental, economic and social sustainability. All three are essential, but there are as many ways to balance them as there are farmers.

For Charlie NovoGradac and Deborah Milks, chestnuts are the key. Chestnut Charlie’s Tree Crops has been certified organic since 1998, and its 1,500 chestnut trees are surrounded by a shelterbelt that buffers them from chemical drift and provides food and shelter for wildlife. Planting cover grasses and other organic practices improve soil fertility and otherwise benefit the environment, NovoGradac explains. “Sustainable to us, as farmers, means production can be maintained indefinitely at a certain level” without depleting resources or using potentially harmful or synthetic chemicals, he says. Not that it’s easy. Chestnut trees don’t begin producing until they’re about 12 years old and take 20 years to reach full production. That adds up to years of weeding, pruning, mowing, planting cover crops, irrigating and other maintenance before seeing any return from or claiming depreciation on the investment. NovoGradac could boost his harvest by using conventional methods, but organic farming is what he calls a “bargain of 53

Scott Thellman, owner of Juniper Farms, tends to his heirloom tomatoes and his mixed greens.

‘

We are such spendthrifts with our lives, the trick of living is to slip on and off the planet with the least fuss you can muster. I’m not running for sainthood. I just happen to think that in life we need to be a little like the farmer, who puts back into the soil what he takes out. – Paul Newman

principal.” It requires additional office work, record keeping and inspections, and insects and weeds must be controlled by hand. Chestnuts can’t be mechanically harvested, so NovoGradac hires about 50 part-time workers to collect nuts daily as they fall. Still, it’s worth it, NovoGradac says. Organically managed trees benefit the environment, and “our profits from less than 20 acres exceed profits from hundreds of acres of corn or soybean farming,” he says.

Balancing Environment and Economics Scott Thellman, of Juniper Hill Farms, settled the sustainability question in this way: He raises both conventional and organic crops. “I’m fortunate to be a first-generation farmer that can see it both ways,” says Thellman, who this year was a national contestant for the American Farm Bureau Federation’s Young Farmers & Ranchers Achievement Award. Thellman began custom-haying during high school and was farming seriously by the time he started college in 2010. 54

’

After graduation, he expanded his hay and row-crop operations, then added his first hoop house after winning a grant for young farmers. He soon began converting acreage to organic and experimenting with vegetables. He now farms about 150 USDA-certified organic acres and 400 more using environmentally friendly practices. Technologies such as variable-rate fertilizer (VRF) application allow him to apply precise amounts of fertilizer to each part of a field, thereby reducing input use and increasing yields. But, he avoids other common conventional practices, such as applying anhydrous ammonia fertilizer, when they don’t fit his philosophy. “Will this land be fertile and viable for the next generation and beyond? I really think about that,” Thellman says. He also raises about 50 acres of vegetables that he sells throughout Lawrence and greater Kansas City. Thellman invested in on-farm cold storage and a refrigerated delivery truck to manage the volume, but that created new challenges.

“We can’t grow year-round, but we had infrastructure we had to pay for year-round,” Thellman explains. His solution: to create a distribution and brokerage business through partnerships with other growers that lets him better serve customers, reduce his carbon footprint and up the bottom line. Not that Thellman—or many—farmers are feeling flush these days. Although the U.S. Department of Agriculture in February predicted net farm income will this year rise 3 percent to $96.7 billion, other statistics paint a different picture. Net cash farm income (a measure of cash flow) is seen falling 9 percent to $109.6 billion, while total production expenses and farm debt are increasing. Farm bankruptcies also jumped 24 percent in the year ending September 2019, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation. All this has Karen Pendleton, of Pendleton’s Country Market, comparing last year’s floods, U.S.-China trade war and slow economic growth with conditions in the 55

1980s, when an intense heat wave, Russian grain embargo and soft economy culminated in what’s known as the Farm Crisis. “We have almost the same thing coming around right now, so it’s a little creepy thinking what could be happening to a lot of farmers,” Pendleton says.

Flexibility Equals Survival Such uncertainty requires flexibility, which Pendleton and her husband, John, know all about. When they began farming in the ’80s, John’s family owned a cattle feedlot and had 1,000 acres of row crops. As the Farm Crisis unfolded, they began transitioning to value-added crops including asparagus, hydroponic tomatoes, bedding plants, flowers and vegetables, and selling them through an on-farm store, a CSA (community-supported agriculture) and farmers’ markets. Then, in March 2006, a powerful microburst damaged or destroyed almost every building, vehicle and piece of equipment they owned. They rebuilt, only to have a tornado do much the same thing again in May 2019. Before the tornado, sustainability meant using biological controls in the greenhouses and mowing weeds and grass instead of spraying. In 2020?

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Karen Willey fixes fences L top: Karen Willey with friends L bottom: Karen and her daughter feed their cattle

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“Sustainability right now is cleaning the farm up so that it can stay open,” Pendleton says.

Ag’s Impact Even as they were still removing damaged structures, the Pendletons continued selling what they could at the Lawrence Farmers’ Market. The market is perhaps the best window some Lawrence residents have into agriculture, but it does more than connect consumers with farmers, market manager Brian McInerney says. Market shoppers come from Topeka, Kansas City and elsewhere, and many also visit other stores and restaurants. Its 70 vendors—all of whom are located within a 50-mile radius—buy food, fuel and other supplies, as well as pay taxes and wages. But, agriculture’s impact goes well beyond the market. USDA data from 2017 shows the Douglas County’s 998 farms together generated $65.87 million in crop and livestock sales, and employed 817 people. Among them is Karen Willey, a one-time city girl whose family now has chickens, goats, a garden and orchard on 80 acres south of Lawrence. Willey’s favorite enterprise, though? Her small herd of British White Park cattle, which she learned to manage largely by tagging along with her neighbor, Lee Broyles. “(Willey) showed up way back and started riding with us in calving season, and got to where she could pull a calf,” says Broyles, who raises Red Angus cattle and row crops

Karen and John Pendleton tend to their tomatoes in their greenhouse then sit and relax on their new porch outside their Country Market.

and sells his grass-fed Broyles’ Beef at Checkers Foods and direct to consumers. Farming isn’t for the faint of heart thanks to extreme weather events, tumultuous commodities markets and rising property taxes. To make it work, Broyles partnered with neighbors Wes Flory and Terry Henry to share labor and equipment. Willey joined in, helping work cattle, feed hay, plant fields and anything else that needs to be done. She brings insight into regenerative agricultural practices (a term she prefers to “sustainable”), while Broyles readily shares his experience and his pragmatism. “I pay my bills with what I make off the farm,” he says. “Sustainable is what you’re doing in agriculture that makes a living. It ain’t an easy deal.” One thing they agree on: No-till farming and planting cover crops are necessary for optimum soil health. No-till is what it sounds like: planting crops without tilling the soil. The practice retains moisture, reduces compaction, builds organic matter and benefits soil organisms. Broyles and Willey also plant cover crops including rye, millet, sorghum and legumes to add nutrients and improve soil structure. 58

Grazing is the third component. Both Broyles and Willey use rotational-grazing methods, moving cattle regularly to fresh pasture or fields planted to cover crops to make best use of the forage and allow each patch to recover. “That’s the piece of the story that gets lost,” Willey says. “That land stewardship with grasslands can only occur with grazing animals. Done right, cattle can heal the land.”

Telling the Sustainable Story It’s not the only lost story, says Brenna Wulfkuhle, of Rocking H Ranch. Consumers are often unfamiliar with various practices or don’t appreciate how devoted farmers are to the well-being of their land and livestock. “We’ve got to tell our story,” says Wulfkuhle, who regularly posts about farming on the ranch’s Facebook page. “No one’s going to tell it for us.” Wulfkuhl’s husband, Mark, is a third-generation rancher, and the couple runs about 500 cows; raises corn, soybeans, wheat and hay; has a small family feedlot; and operates a custom chemical and fertilizer application company.

Their idea of sustainability is leaving the land in the same or better shape than when they began. To do that, the Wulfkuhles use pasture rotation, soil-testing and other techniques, and they’ve practiced no-till and planted cover crops for more than 25 years. “We put a pencil to it and saw it helped us cut back on costs, so we continued to do it,” Wulfkuhle says. The economics have to work, because the ranch supports their family as well as their one full-time and two or three part-time seasonal employees. Another priority: giving everyone a break on weekends. That can be difficult when farming feels like a 24/7 job, but it’s important. A farm that “produces a decent economic return and is maybe ecologically sustainable can be almost crushing for the farmers in the amount of work they face, and the stress,” K-State’s Buller says.

Seeking Social Sustainability Managing stress is crucial considering that men who farm or ranch are more likely to commit suicide than men in other industries, according to a recent Centers for Disease Control report. The issue is so concerning that the Kansas Department of Agriculture and its partners in December launched KansasAgStress.org to provide resources and support for those suffering ag-related stress and mental health issues.

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Juniper Hill’s Thellman acknowledges the pressures associated with agriculture can be significant. “I am a workaholic, especially in summer,” he admits. “But, I do have respect for my crew.” Thellman pays employees a living wage and overtime, and tries to support them in other ways. Like most farmers, he’s quick to help neighbors and assisted with the Pendletons’ cleanup effort. The Pendletons, in turn, urged people to reach out to less-wellknown farms that also suffered damage. All the farmers interviewed in this story serve on committees and boards of directors for organizations ranging from the Douglas County Extension Board, Growing Lawrence, Douglas County Farm Bureau and Douglas County Food Policy Council to the Lawrence-Douglas County Planning Commission and countless other community groups. That sort of social sustainability centers on caring for people, but it’s only successful when combined with the environmental and economic components. Then, the result is positive for the whole of Douglas County. “Whether you’re a large-scale producer, organic or conventional, selling at the farmers’ market or shipping internationally, we’re all in it together,” Thellman says. “That’s the ag mentality, and hopefully it will drive this next generation.” p 59

A SUSTAINABLE MISSION By Emily Mulligan

Creating A Business on the Basis of Sustainablility

KU CEBC

The chemicals of the future will be plant-based and biodegradable, and require less of an environmental footprint to produce. They will have to have all of these attributes, because the Earth’s natural resources are depleting daily. Industry and cutting-edge scientific research are collaborating at the University of Kansas to create the future of materials, such as current-day plastics. The Center for Environmentally Beneficial Catalysis (CEBC), on KU’s West Campus, is home to these unique collaborations, overseen by director and distinguished professor Bala Subramaniam. “Imagine the day when the crude oil runs out. It will be a rude awakening. We have to start now to create what will replace it,” Subramaniam says. The CEBC has been developing new chemical technologies for research and industry since its founding in 2003. With National Science Foundation (NSF) funds in the millions for many of its projects and guidance from the 10 companies on its board, the CEBC is demonstrating chemical technologies at the laboratory level. By pairing academic researchers with industry partners and using the NSF funding, the product and process development are financially sustainable, as well as environmentally. Two of the many recent laboratory successes that Subramaniam says have shown promise to replace plastics are 60

Left: Faculty - Prof. Bala Subramaniam, Prof. James Blakemore, and Prof. Kevin Leonard; PhD Students-David Sconyers and Matt Stalcup investigate how to convert carbon dioxide (a greenhouse gas and environmental polutant) into useful products using renewable electricity. Right: Graduate student, Vyoma Maroo uses a gas chromatograph instrument to determine the effectiveness of producing new derivatives from corn ethanol in their research project funded by the Kansas Corn Commission. photos by Steven Hertzog

products made using the plant component lignin and products made by electrochemically reducing carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide. Lignin is a component in the cell walls of plants that makes them rigid and woody. CEBC researchers extracted lignin from agricultural leftovers (corn stover and wheat straw) and discovered a simple method to produce vanillin, a component of vanilla bean extract. They then developed a process to turn the synthetic vanillin into a renewable resin with potential use in building materials. The CEBC is working on this technology alongside corporate farming giant ADM, which has a lab at KU’s Bioscience & Technology Business Center (BTBC), also on West Campus. CEBC chemical engineers and chemists have demonstrated a novel way to convert carbon dioxide, a gas emitted during fossil fuel combustion, to something useful. Their technology uses pressurized carbon dioxide and electrical energy to transform carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide, which can be combined with other reactants to make products. Both of these processes could be part of Subramaniam’s vision of the future “bioeconomy”—likely 40 to 50 years from now. In the bioeconomy, the chemicals will need to be produced close to where the sources are harvested.

“Instead of now, where chemicals are produced at a single giant refinery, you’ll have agricultural regions where we will use the land to make everyday plant-based chemicals and ship them from there,” he says.

Stacy Schmidt with her children at Narrow Trail Farm, photo by Brian with Siorai Images

Narrow Trail Farm

Stacy Schmidt is possibly Douglas County’s answer to Estée Lauder with a couple of slight exceptions. For one, the sources for her cosmetics are extremely local, from her family’s land at Narrow Trail Farm, in Baldwin City. For another, sustainable practices reach all the way from in the ground up to the sky at the organic diversified farm; and those practices extend to the ingredients and packaging for the farm’s handcrafted products. Narrow Trail Farm, 1564 N. 450th Rd., Baldwin City, grows hay, vegetables, berries and cut flowers, and also harvests chicken eggs, duck eggs and honey from its beehives. Schmidt uses beeswax and honey as bases for most of her skin-care products and incorporates flowers and other ingredients from the farm as she sees fit. Schmidt sells her skin-care products at Essential Goods, in Lawrence, The Nook bookstore, in Baldwin City, and online. She offers lotion bars, lip balms, body butter, soap, lip tints and colorful mineral makeup, all of which she mixes up at the farm and packages in materials like bamboo and recycled paper. A cell biology major, she started making the mostly preservative-free products when she realized that half of her freezer was full of beeswax. She has plans to add an eye makeup cream product and an all-over face stick for lips, cheeks and eyes. 61

“My family are my guinea pigs. There is no animal testing; we do human testing,” she jokes. The farm’s sustainability begins in the ground, where Schmidt and her husband, Jeff, compost horse manure and chicken manure into compost to use as fertilizer. They also have hugelkultur beds, which are pits in the ground that use dead tree limbs and branches from the farm as a base and, when combined with compost, require no irrigation or fertilization. On the ground, the vegetables and flowers are grown in raised beds for no-till and low-irrigation maintenance. Above the ground, the farm has 11 beehives that produce honey and beeswax, and of course add to the local bee population to help ensure pollination at the farm and for miles around. Up in the sky, the Schmidt’s house sports a 7½-kilowatt solar array, making it a net-zero energy home. Soon, they will add solar panels that run on a battery off the grid to power their greenhouse. The sky also provides the bulk of the irrigation to the farm’s crops in the form of rainwater that they capture in a giant tank. They hope to add another tank soon to capture even more. “All of the sustainability grew out of how we live our life. We’ve just scaled it up to support the farm,” Schmidt says.

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Phoenix Woodworking is moving to a much larger shop this year, which will allow for more products. Much more importantly, though, the larger shop should allow for hiring more employees, because that is really what Phoenix is all about. Shine Adams, a certified peer counselor, founded the company with the goal of teaching “unemployable” people a skill, so they might have a chance at permanent employment to set their lives on a different track. Phoenix hires homeless people, those recovering from addiction, people with criminal records—anyone in whom Adams can see the potential and is willing to learn. “We believe that everyone deserves a chance to work. It’s not a charity; it’s an opportunity,” Adams says.

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The company, which was formerly called Sun Cedar, has previously made carved cedar wood air fresheners, enamel pins and refrigerator magnets. In the new space, located at Natural Breeze Remodeling, Adams says he is looking at making bat houses, cutting boards and trivets, among other things that can be crafted from Natural Breeze’s offcuts and scraps. The more products Phoenix can sell, the more employees Adams can hire—and he is hoping to grow his workforce in 2020. FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:

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“The great majority of people that Phoenix has hired the past couple years have moved on to better jobs that they

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785-838-1500 www.promptcarelawrence.com Shine Adams, owner of Phoenix Woodworking and a certified peer counselor, inside his workshop, photo by Steven Hertzog

have kept. No two stories are the same, but the commonalities are that we strive for them to leave Phoenix better than when they came here,” he says. Most of Adams’ employees have come to Phoenix without having any positive experiences in a workplace. They don’t understand that a job and coworkers can be enjoyable, he says, let alone that they can learn something. Teaching employees soft skills is what Adams says is most important for him: treating people with respect, showing up on time and relating to authority without animosity, for example. That is where his training as a peer counselor comes in, as he and the employee can focus on how the employee can “win” instead of what the challenges are. Adams was the face of Phoenix’s large Kickstarter campaign in 2019, which raised more than $40,000 and allowed him to hire three people to fulfill Kickstarter gifts. And, it has put him in the position to expand the catalog of products with future employees. “I’m not trying to solve the homeless problem one person at a time. I’m doing what I can with what I know. If we can keep more people consistently employed, we’re doing what we set out to do. Ideally, I’m making this work so that other people can see that it works,” he says. 63

The Mennonite Church has a beautiful colorful concrete floor that incorporates several of PROSOCO’s concrete finishing products in an original commissioned artwork, photo courtesy PROSOCO

PROSOCO & Build SMART

Much of the conversation about greenhouse gas emissions centers around cars and transportation. Actually, in 2018, residential and commercial buildings created 40 percent of greenhouse gases, according to the United States Energy Information Administration. PROSOCO and Build SMART, two innovative local construction materials and building prefabrication companies, are working on the front line to reduce buildings’ emissions and to make sustainable buildings more possible and more affordable. PROSOCO and Build SMART, located in East Hills Business Park, are sister companies and subsidiaries of Boyer Industries Corp. Both companies have products that fulfill the ever-evolving definitions of “sustainability” in the construction industry—and in society—for projects across the U.S. and Canada. Anymore, sustainability of buildings is not just about energy efficiency and low waste, although those are high priorities. The coalition of green builders, architects, suppliers and designers known as Green Building Learning Zone has a vision of sustainability that also factors in affordability, the well-being of the building’s occupants and the building’s accessibility and connection to the community as elements of sustainability. The companies embrace those facets of the definition, as well. PROSOCO, with 105 employees, is a manufacturer whose products include concrete finishes, window and door sealers, and weatherproofing membranes that are both airtight and waterproof. The company began in 1939 producing 64

cleaners for new brick masonry and has continued to produce cleaning and maintenance materials for brick, block and stone restoration, helping allow those buildings to last 150 to 200 years. PROSOCO’s Consolideck makes concrete floors durable and scratch resistant, which helps them outlast traditional flooring that must be scrapped and replaced. It has zero volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and no emissions. Moisture from outside is the nemesis to longevity of all building structures, not to mention how mold and mildew can affect a building’s occupants. Fast Flash is a fluid-applied material that seals windows and doors at their joints to keep moisture from entering the occupied space or walls. Cat 5 is a roller or spray-applied product for seamless weatherproofing of an exterior surface. “Your wall is an assembly that has to stand up over time and not rot the wood, insulation or sheetrock. If you start with a product that isn’t built to last, you’re never making something that is environmental,” says Dwayne Fuhlhage, PROSOCO sustainability and environment director. Build SMART, which has 23 employees, uses PROSOCO products and other quality construction materials sourced nationally to assemble prefabricated interior and exterior building wall panels that form an airtight “building envelope.” The components are meticulously packed, numbered and organized, then shipped to the construction site,

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where they are put up as an entire wall at a time, much faster than traditional “stick-by-stick” construction taking place on-site. The Build SMART System can be used for anything from single-family and multifamily residential buildings to low-rise hotels, retail buildings and schools. Besides being airtight and incorporating products built with exacting environmental standards, the Build SMART Systems save contractors a great deal of labor. Projects are completed more quickly, so contractors can do more projects per year, and that is financial sustainability in the form of savings passed on to the consumer or resident. “Airtightness and moisture management, when done correctly, gives you a building that is much more energy efficient. We have never had a contractor fail to pass the highest standard airtightness test, the ‘blower-door test,’ at the end of a project,” says John Ware, market development director for Build SMART. “The customer wants price, comfort, low risk and speed. In all of those aspects, the Build SMART System is an improvement over the ‘stick-built’ approach.”

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Build SMART’s customized prefabrication achieves efficiencies that save both construction time and money. The company works directly with owners, contractors and architects, customizing the products to each project. Traditionally, Ware says people have looked to building codes to set the standards for construction. But, environmental standards and technologies have changed so quickly that building codes have not kept up. 65

“The code is a baseline requirement that makes construction legal; it’s not the best value today,” he says. As they succeed at constructing and maintaining more and more buildings with their products, PROSOCO and Build SMART are helping to redefine and move the needle on what a “sustainable” building means. It isn’t just a building that incorporates energy-efficient, environmentally friendly components with little to zero waste anymore. Now, to be considered “sustainable,” the building must also be affordable and durable, and provide good indoor air quality for its occupants, among other socialand community-minded goals. Fuhlhage says that is why companies like PROSOCO continue to innovate products and processes to drive the construction industry. “When you are taking green construction to scale, you have to connect everything together. You are using the highest-performing buildings as your proof of concept,” he says.

Resurrected Woodworks

Incorporating reclaimed wood is a trend in construction and remodeling projects. But, what happens when that wood was never really “claimed” to begin with? Enter Matt Roman and his network, which rescues cleared or felled trees from construction projects around the area and mills the wood to become furniture, bowls and other fine woodworking. Roman owns Resurrected Woodworks, 620 E. Eighth St., where he designs and builds items from what he calls “forgotten” trees. Roman is both sustaining the existence of the trees, which otherwise would be burned or turned to mulch, and providing pieces of furniture that can endure for multiple generations. “A lot of my clients want something to last forever; they want to hand it down,” Roman explains. “They don’t want something from a chain store, made in a factory, what I call ‘disposable furniture.’ ”

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YOUR TURN Matt Roman, owner of Resurrected Woodworks, photo by Steven Hertzog

Roman, who has been in the construction industry since 2002, mostly as a framer, rescued his first batch of trees about four years ago, when the University of Kansas demolished the Stouffer Place Apartments at 19th and Iowa streets and subsequently cleared the land. He milled and aged the lumber from the sycamore, walnut and hackberry trees—a time-consuming process.

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Soon after, arborists with tree companies around town started calling Roman when they were taking down a tree so he could come with his trailer and haul it away. Retrieving the trees started taking up most of his time and keeping him from working in the woodshop. “Two years ago, I decided I needed to choose to either make more things with the wood or harvest more trees. Now, I get the wood from others who get the trees, and I focus on making things,” he says. Most of the wood comes from within 50 miles of Lawrence, and all of it comes from within 100 miles, Roman says. Within his shop, he ensures that he has zero waste from the wood. Castoffs from furniture become wooden spoons, spatulas and cutting boards; sawdust goes into mulch; and oddball scraps feed his wood-burning stove to heat his home. He and his young daughters have begun making jewelry from wood scraps, as well. Roman designs custom furniture orders, as well as producing his own end table and table designs, among other things, which he says tend toward a mid-century look. The bowls allow him to explore movement and fluidity, he continues, and he never knows how each one will turn out until it is done. He sells his wares at art shows in the area, from Lawrence to St. Louis, and places in between. Locally, Roman’s work will be featured at Essential Goods for the month of May, with a Final Friday opening April 24. 67

PrairieFood

nutrients. Herrington says the research so far indicates that organic farmers will be able to grow yields equal to traditional farmers when they use PrairieFood.

The company is in the testing phase of its product, which could revolutionize the sustainability of organic farming— and save a few million tons of waste every year while they’re at it.

The company will place cargo containers at sites that generate biomass—for now, cattle feedlots—and farmers will collect the waste and place it in PrairieFood’s containers. Then, the biomass will be processed in PrairieFood’s plant, and the now-plant food will be transported straight to the growers and producers who will use it, predominantly organic farms.

Rarely is there a way to put waste right back where it came from. In a sense, and after a highly specialized scientific process, that is exactly what PrairieFood does.

PrairieFood’s process converts animal biomass, aka cow manure in this instance, into a soil fertilizer and plant food, while at the same time eliminating the greenhouse gases contained within it. “PrairieFood is essentially a product created by taking waste biomasses, deconstructing them to a molecular level and reconstructing them into something new,” cofounder and CEO Rob Herrington says. Eventually, PrairieFood hopes to create its product from up to four different types of biomass for which its conversion process works: cow manure, distillers’ grains such as ethanol, green waste such as grass clippings and even human waste. For now, the cattle biomass undergoes the conversion process in about a second, and it can take one of two forms: 1) a solid pellet that resembles Grape-Nuts cereal, which is dry and can be spread across the ground, or 2) a liquid with 30 percent carbons that can be sprayed or applied to the ground. “Both of these forms fit so well into the legacy farming practices. Farmers can use existing farm equipment with the PrairieFood,” Herrington says. The environmental advantages are more than just reducing and utilizing waste. PrairieFood produces no runoff nitrates or phosphates like most fertilizers and plant foods, and it also doesn’t activate in the sun in a way that produces greenhouse gases. Instead, the nutrients in either the pellets or the liquid are absorbed into the soil over time, and it creates a productive microbiome with a full spectrum of soil

In the next three years, PrairieFood will be raising about $50 million in capital to build its plant. In the meantime, the conversion process is patented, and the company owns all of its own intellectual property, while it continues to test at its pilot site in Pratt, Kansas.

Sunlite Technologies

Inside Sunlite Science and Technology’s headquarters, it looks like a perpetually sunny day, which makes the Sunlite name definitely apropos for the lighting company. In addition to the cheery disposition, Sunlite, at 4811 Quail Crest Place, is creating the next generation of LED lighting technology—so advanced that most Lawrence residents can’t even use it yet. Sunlite’s LED (light-emitting diode) components are manufactured at its subsidiary in China, and its distinct 2-inchdiameter can lights are assembled in Lawrence, which also serves as the headquarters for national distribution. The LEDs that Sunlite uses really have very little to do with most LED lights that are for sale in hardware stores and big-box stores. LEDs available in those stores today use traditional electrical wiring and still have to retrofit into incandescent lighting setups. What we have now is considered a transition to LED lighting; Sunlite makes and sells what comes next. Traditional recessed can lights are typically about 6 inches in diameter and usually have a central space from which they light a room, such that locations farther from the lights may require a lamp for reading or to see detail. Sunlite’s LEDs are so small there can be many more of them, and often they are laid out in a grid across the whole ceiling, allowing evenly distributed light at every place in the room. “All the other companies buy from other manufacturers. We are the manufacturer, so we use our own LED technology in our lights,” Sunlite CTO Jeff Chen says. PrairieFood Workers at the inaugural PraireFood site in Kansas The initial Prairie Food operating plant in Kansas. photos courtesy of PrairieFood

Lighting fixtures by Sunlite Technologies, photo by Steven Hertzog

Sunlite also makes specialty lights, such as its best-selling “green wall lighting,” for interior walls of plants and succulents. The company also has LED pendant lights, available in multiple colors, for a decorative focal point and lights that can change color or be dimmed. LED technology has many environmental advantages. Although the commercial customers realize the most significant savings, residential customers’ electricity costs are reduced more than six times when they employ Sunlite’s lighting. The LED lights use more efficient DC (direct current) electrical power instead of traditional AC (alternating current), and they are wired using L2 cable, which is the small wiring typically used with home security systems. “AC power wastes copper and materials in thicker wires. DC not only saves electricity, it also saves material for house wiring,” Chen explains. Because of the wiring required, Sunlite recommends installing the new LEDs only in new construction or extensive remodeling projects. Sunlite’s LEDs also don’t put out any noise, such as the “hum” of traditional overhead lights and even today’s LED fixtures. LEDs from Sunlite are in businesses and corporate headquarters all across the United States and Canada. Apple, Google, Toyota and Allstate Insurance all have Sunlite’s green wall lighting in their corporate headquarters. In Lawrence, Capitol Federal Hall and the new addition to Marvin Hall on KU’s campus are prominent places that have Sunlite’s LEDs. Sunlite has been in Lawrence since 1997, when Chen moved the company here from Silicon Valley to take advantage of both friendlier industry and the University connections. The company, which employs 10 people to engineer, design, sell and fulfill orders, received a patent in 2018 for its new LED technology. As far as Sunlite is concerned, the future is bright. p 69

TWO UNIVERSITIES, ONE GOAL Haskell and KU both work hard toward a more sustainable environment for students, faculty and staff.

by Joshua Falleaf, photos bt Steven Hertzog

As thought leaders in the Lawrence community, Haskell Indian Nations University and the University of Kansas (KU) are taking strides to build more sustainable campuses and communities. With faculty, staff and students at each institution interested in sustainable practices, bringing energy and coalitions together can be a challenge for both. Despite this similarity of purpose, the practical application and implementation of sustainability differs significantly in terms of scale. With 28,500 students and 400 various degree and certificate programs, KU consumes massive amounts of energy to keep its residence and academic halls functioning for students, faculty and staff. Add to that the energy necessary to run state-of-the-art research facilities, and one can see the challenges for Jeff Severin, director of the Center for Sustainability, and its three-person staff. Haskell, on the other hand, serves just under 1,000 students and offers four bachelor’s degree programs along with a number of associate and certificate programs. A residential university, Haskell houses students from across Indian Country, less than 10% living off campus. Yet, despite its small size, Bill Welton, adjunct instructor and project director of several grants, and a few other faculty, staff and students committed to creating a more sustainable campus are trying to create a more sustainable infrastructure to maintain the efforts. A teaching university serving a 100-percent indigenous student body, many of Welton’s efforts are aligned with the academic goals of the university, in particular the environmental science program. His office was created to “manage

initiatives that provided experiential learning opportunities for students in sustainability,” according to its previous USDA-NIFA (National Institute of Food and Agriculture) equity grant proposal. For the most recent cycle of the grant, the emphasis is on “developing student leaders who will drive sustainability programs forward” in an effort to create a more significant presence and stability for sustainable initiatives. Under the leadership of Daniel Wildcat, Ph.D., the Tribal ecoAmbassadors program brings classroom teaching into real-world application. Two primary initiatives, food waste reduction and landscaping/habitat restoration, were supported by project-based learning activities in classes from the environmental science, indigenous and American Indian studies, and business programs. For instance, some Tribal ecoAmbassadors are concurrently enrolled in AIS 301, Native and Western Views of Nature. In the class, they learn that the efforts of ecoAmbassadors reflect many North American indigenous worldviews, philosophies and cultural practices as they contrast with western approaches that now have made sustainable practices more necessary than ever. Former Tribal ecoAmbassador Shane Lynch says, “It was nice that it was driven by students,” adding that “more publicity” and “more accessibility” are important to keep the momentum going. An emphasis on getting the word out about sustainability is just as important at KU, despite the significant difference in scale. “One of the things we’re working on,” Severin explains, “is how do we do a better job of telling the story of sustainability at KU, because a lot of folks don’t even know that we exist?” Previous chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little 71

believed in the goals of KU’s Center for Sustainability, commissioning a 75-page plan called “Building Sustainable Traditions: University of Kansas Campus Sustainability Plan” (2016) and stating, “We must elevate the expectations we have for ourselves as a community—finding ways to maximize the benefits of the work we do at KU while minimizing any financial, environmental and societal costs.” Severin, who began the position as director of the Center in 2007, explains: “When we talk about sustainability here, we’re talking about it in terms of how do we protect our natural ecosystems, promote economic prosperity and treat all people with equity and respect?” One of many signature achievements of the partnerships across KU’s campus is the Prairie Acre. After being unattended for some years, this “unplowed, native prairie remnant” caught the attention of students, and in 2014, a senior student in professor Kelly Kindscher’s environmental studies capstone course took it up as a project. The process of restoration has been ongoing ever since through the meaningful collaboration of the KU Center for Sustainability, the Environmental Studies Program and the Kansas Biological Survey. “Classes like that have always been a part of the work that

‘

We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.

’

– Aldo Leopold

we do through our Center,” Severin says. “They will often have a group of students, if not multiple groups of students, looking at some campus issue. And, historically, we’ve tried to integrate some of that into the work that we do.”

ensure the majority of its energy comes from wind, a renewable source that is bolstered by the construction of Soldier Creek Wind Farm, in Nemaha County. This construction is due to be completed by the end of 2020.

At Haskell, Welton and his team of sustainable partners are also focused on the people involved, particularly students and the tribal nations in the region. Working with Kansas State University, the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation and the Kansas Kickapoo Tribe on their gardening initiatives, the Douglas County Master Gardener program is focused on “what plants we can encourage those tribal communities to grow” that do not require excess quantities of water, Welton says. “Both are in food deserts, typical for reservations,” he adds, so the research efforts students perform at the Haskell Research Garden is very helpful in creating a more sustainable local food system to support the citizens of those two nations.

“[KU] will be purchasing the equivalent of our energy consumption in wind power,” Severin says. “That’s a pretty big step when thinking about our campus and the greenhouse gases that we’re responsible for.” He adds, “That doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t also continue to decrease the amount of energy that we’re using.”

In alignment with Haskell’s mission, a larger aim is to “build the leadership capacity of our students … to address the needs of indigenous communities.” Through partnerships with area tribal nations and the tribal students engaged, the passion and expertise in sustainable practices, while different for each university, clearly translate into students’ impact on families and communities after graduation.

Actionable items with determined outcomes, as well as the resources to fulfill them, are critical for each university. In the meantime, students, faculty and staff do their best to communicate the critical need to shift paradigms to create a more sustainable future for both universities. p

There are two factors impacting these two local educational institutions: investment of the heart and planning. Transitioning between student groups and changing administrations over the years makes momentum difficult to build. “One semester there will be a lot of interest depending on the students,” Welton says. “Then, the next semester, you don’t hear anything.”

In November 2018, KU partnered with Westar Energy to

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NEWS [MAKERS] Kate Whitenight joined The Trust Company of Kansas (TCK) Katie Whitenight joined The Trust Company of Kansas (TCK) in January 2020 with a background in nonprofit fund development. Sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be working closely with Christopher M. English, Senior Vice President & Trust Officer and Daniel P. Brogren, Vice President & Trust Officer. Katie is excited to be part of the TCK team and is looking forward to serving our clients as a Receptionist/Office Assistant in our Lawrence market. About The Trust Company of Kansas The Trust Company of Kansas, headquartered in Wichita, with staffed offices in Arkansas City, Hutchinson, Lawrence, Leavenworth, and McPherson, and services offered to many community banks throughout the state of Kansas, is comprised of 10 certified trust and financial advisors, as well as many other experienced financial professionals. Key services include retirement and trust planning, risk assessment, investment management, gift planning, business succession planning, and more. A wide range of individuals seek the advice and services of The Trust Company of Kansas team and rely on their expertise to navigate the often-burdensome waters of wealth management. Advisors at The Trust Company of Kansas collaborate with these individuals, families, and foundations to discuss their goals, assess unique financial circumstances, and establish and implement forward looking action plans that minimize those burdens, bestowing the freedom to enjoy everything else.

& PEOPLE ON THE MOVE Michelle Fales joins RCB Bank in Lawrence RCB Bank welcomes Michelle Fales as a mortgage loan originator to our Lawrence community. A lifelong Kansan, Michelle grew up on a farm outside Nortonville, Kansas, and moved to the Lawrence community 34 years ago. She has worked in the banking industry for more than 20 years, including experience with the Kansas State Bank Commissioner. Her industry accolades include 2008 Consumer Lender of the Year and 2010 Commercial Lender of the Year. She has also won multiple awards for her volunteer service to her local community. Outside of work, Michelle serves on the boards of the following organizations: Junior Achievement of Kansas; Cottonwood, Inc. Foundation; Sister Cities Lawrence; and the State of Kansas Real Estate Appraisers Board. She also volunteers on The Children’s Shelter Festival of Trees, Cottonwood’s Salute Events, and Leadership Lawrence Social Service Day planning committees. She enjoys reading, volunteering and spending time with her husband and two dogs. She also enjoys traveling to Chicago to see their son, Adam, who is pursuing a Ph.D. at the University of Chicago.

Good Energy Solutions Welcomes Malcolm Proudfit, CFO/COO Good Energy Solutions is pleased to announce that Malcolm Proudfit of Lawrence, KS will join the Good Energy Solutions team as Chief Financial and Operations Officer. Malcolm will help the organization with strategic business decisions and planning to help the company continue on its current path of business growth. Education plus experience in Economics, Finance, and a Masters Degree in Business Administration all contribute to Malcolm’s ability to help grow Good Energy Solutions. Kevin Good, Owner, said: “Malcolm comes from a family of entrepreneurs, has solar experience, and is well connected in the solar industry. He already has intimate knowledge of solar financials, solar sales, PV systems, solar modeling tools, and financing products.,, I’m very enthusiastic about the positive influence he will bring to our organization.” Good Energy Solutions has seen continued growth in the last few years by expanding the residential solar market into Missouri and focusing more on Commercial projects both in solar and electrical. “Together we are helping to change our region of the country, leading the charge to reduce fossil fuel use and helping customers to make their own clean energy and have their electrical needs satisfied with stellar service and care. And as we grow, we can help even more customers by leveraging our expertise and commitment to integrity as an organization,” said Good.

Sunrise Project Has Been Awarded a Solar Energy System from Good Energy Solution’s 2020 Solar Giveaway Program Good Energy Solutions, in partnership with the sun, is pleased to announce that Sunrise Project, a non-profit organization in Douglas County, KS, will be the recipient of a solar photovoltaic system. Good Energy Solutions, Inc., a Lawrence-based solar energy and electrical services company, will donate and install the solar electric system as part of the Good Energy Solutions’ “Solar Giveaway” program. “We are excited to install a 3 kilowatt solar electric system on the property of the Sunrise Project to help the organization reduce their energy costs. The system can also be used as an educational experience for their learning community to understand the benefits of solar and its contribution to a cleaner/healthier environment,” says Shana Good of Good Energy Solutions. “The organization’s building/property is suited well for solar, and this gift will assist Sunrise Project to lower their electric use by more than 4,000 kilowatt hours per year,” says Kevin Good, Owner of Good Energy Solutions. “This is a gift that keeps on giving!” 81

WHOSE DESK ? Be the first to correctly guess which local business figure works behind this desk. Winner receives a $50 gift card to 23rd Street Brewery. facebook.com/lawrencebusinessmagazine

Lawrence Business Magazine 2020 Q1

Articles inside

Sevent Annual Foundation Awards

Two Universities, One Goal

A Balance Act

A Culture of Change

Never Refues to Reuse

Practicing What They Preach

Taking Care of One Another

Thinking Beyond the Yard