2020 • Quarter one
REGION
Get Hyped Manhattan’s revamped young professionals program offers a multifaceted approach to community engagement.
REGION
KSU Innovation Partners’ Bold Plan Adding 5,000 jobs by 2035 is an ambitious goal, so how does the now combined Kansas State University Institute of Commercialization and Research Foundation plan to succeed? STARTUPS
New Brews Craft beer aficionados and former Tallgrass Brewing Company employees are starting a craft brewery in downtown Manhattan.
STARTUPS
Entrepreneurs Need a Spark A budding non-profit organization plans to become the support hub for Manhattan entrepreneurs.
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A Letter From the Editor
Welcome to Manhattan Editor-in-Chief Josh Brewer Managing Editor Ashley Phillips Copy Editor Topanga McBride Art Director Jordan Seirer Graphic Designer Darcie Riordan Authors Greg Doering Dené Dryden Kyle Hampel Ania Payne Megan Saunders Brandon Savage Sarah Siders Photographers David Mayes Killian Millner Publisher Blade Mages 502 Media Group For subscriptions, advertising information or a current media kit, please contact: editor@mhk.business MHK Business News 103 N. 3rd Street Manhattan, KS 66502 (785) 320-6621
MHK Business News is published quarterly (February, May, August, November) by 502 Media Group, LLC., 103 N. 3rd Street, Manhattan, KS 66502. MHK Business News considers its sources reliable and verifies as much data as possible, although reporting inaccuracies can occur; consequently, readers using this information do so at their own risk. Although persons and companies mentioned herein are believed to be reputable, neither 502 Media Group, LLC, nor any of its employees or agents accept any responsibility whatsoever for their activities. MHK Business News is printed in the USA and all rights are reserved. © 2019 by 502 Media Group, LLC. No part of this magazine may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission of the publisher. Views and opinions expressed by contributing writers do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the publisher.
When my wife received an offer to teach business writing at K-State, neither of us thought that Manhattan, Kansas, could be our home. We didn’t grow up in Kansas or attend K-State, so we decided to “date” the community and spend a weekend here. We walked the downtown neighborhoods, hiked the Konza prairie, rode Green Apple Bikes, dined downtown, shopped at a few local stores and did a bit of drinking and dancing in Aggieville. Everywhere we went, people said hello, asked if we’d been here before and, upon learning that we were considering moving to town, welcomed us. At the end of the weekend, we sat on the rooftop of Tallgrass Taphouse looking over downtown and decided that we could make a home in Manhattan. Thinking back to it, we chose Manhattan because we felt welcome. It didn’t matter how long we had been here or how long we’d stay. It didn’t matter that we were young, educated, or Southerners. It didn’t matter that I’m more than a little weird or that my wife is Indian-American, the only thing that mattered was that we were looking for a home and people were hospitable. We found an old house to remodel, friends, gyms, and more ways to give back to Manhattan than we ever thought possible, so when we needed a place to get married, there was no question that Manhattan was the place. Our friends groaned about the location. They live in the big coastal cities with rents higher than their skylines and thought I had moved to a dusty old prairie town. It’s safe to say that Manhattan blew them away. They stayed in Blue Earth Plaza, ate downtown and did a bit of dancing all around town, and said over and over that Manhattan was really special. We made them feel welcome. When I think about why it’s so rewarding to work on this magazine, it’s that I get to play a small part in welcoming professionals and innovators to Manhattan. By championing our veteran-owned businesses, minority-owned businesses and, new to this issue, woman-owned businesses, our team hopes to recognize the value that those businesses add to our community while representing our business community in an equitable way. While we’re so thankful for what we have in Manhattan, we know that Manhattan’s best days are coming soon. This issue highlights three vital initiatives to Manhattan’s future success: an entrepreneurial incubator, a rebranded, retooled young professionals program and a new economic development program for the North Campus Corridor. If we’re successful, there will be new faces, businesses and new ways of doing business in the next couple of years. What an opportunity for us all! Whether they stay the weekend, a few years or their whole life, they’ll never be transient as long as we welcome everyone to make a home in Manhattan.
Josh Brewer Editor-in-Chief
In This Issue 30
Get Hyped Manhattan’s revamped young professionals program offers a multi-faceted approach to community engagement.
22 KSU Innovation Partners’ Bold Plan Adding 5,000 jobs by 2035 is an ambitious goal, so how does the now combined Kansas State University Institute for Commercialization and Research Foundation plan to succeed?
26 New Brews Craft beer aficionados and former Tallgrass Brewing Company employees are starting a craft brewery in downtown Manhattan.
Don’t Miss
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For the Love of Beauty
Entrepreneurs Need a Spark
History, Passion, Family in Practice
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RALPH DIAZ, OWNER OF THE WINGED LION AND UNITÉ ATELIER
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MINORITY-OWNED BUSINESS
For the Love of Beauty For the successful owner of The Winged Lion, a new downtown salon concept continues a lifelong passion for beauty and storytelling. Article by Ania Payne
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Photography by Killian Millner
It’s 2:00 p.m. on a Friday, the beginning of a football game weekend, and The Winged Lion is packed. Guests meander about, admiring the items that range from locally crafted candles in an array of smells named after Manhattan attractions like “Poyntz Ave” and “The Ville,” to specialty Italian cookbooks. In the corner of the store, a couple debates about whether a seasoned salt titled “Bird Bath” has stronger notes of garlic or cardamom. Shoppers dressed in purple snack on freshly baked cookies that owner Ralph Diaz has just pulled out of the oven. Growing up in a large, hospitable family taught Diaz how to create such a warm, charismatic space in his businesses. “It’s all about experience. I think I learned it from my parents,” says Diaz. “Being Hispanic, if anybody ever came in the house, no matter who you were, you got taken care of, watched over and fed, and you didn’t have a choice! It’s just how my parents were.” It’s just how Diaz is, too—even though I’m not even a customer, he gives me a bottle of organic hair mask to try at home and tells me how the moisture will help volumize my dry hair in the winter. “It’s everything to make the experience special, all the way down to the bag and the tissue and going the extra mile. I try to share that with the [sales associates] so that the experience is consistent,” Diaz says. “On football weekends, I always have four dozen cookies for the shoppers. Whether they buy something or not, it doesn’t matter. Always making sure that they know that we’re grateful that they walked in.”
Diaz opened The Winged Lion five years ago, after he sold his share of Gaia Salonspa. Even though he made the decision to leave Gaia after owning the salon for 15 years, he wasn’t ready to give up hairdressing. However, because he had signed a five-year noncompete agreement, he had to wait to open his own salon. With hairdressing temporarily out of the picture, The Winged Lion was Diaz’s opportunity to explore his passion for interior design. As it turns out, prior to owning Gaia, Diaz had originally moved to Manhattan to attend K-State, where he majored in apparel and textile marketing. “I always knew that I wanted to be a Wildcat,” Diaz says, with no hesitation in his voice. During his first year in the program, he attended a class trip to New York where he was captivated by a Japanese store on Fifth Avenue. The store had one floor of gifts, one floor of bedding, another floor of furniture and a tearoom for lunch, which Diaz describes excitedly, leaning forward in his chair as he’s brought back to that moment in 1987. “It was a really neat place. I still, to this day, have the retail bag that I bought from that store. The package is wrapped and folded origami-style, pressed with a knife edge and topped with a decorative ribbon looped around a stick,” Diaz remembers. He keeps that gift bag in his office as daily inspiration. “I like to make a presentation big! I like to make a point that everything has to look nice when it walks out of my store. The package was my first glimpse of that.”
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INSIDE DIAZ’S SALON, PATRONS WILL FIND CUSTOM TOUCHES, MANY OF WHICH DIAZ DESIGNED HIMSELF.
Now, Diaz has the opportunity to define the presentation and experience of a brand new space as he returns to his stylist roots and opens his salon, Unité Atelier.
Not Your Typical Salon
Unité Atelier is located behind The Winged Lion and has chic, slim furniture, calming gray and blue tones throughout and floor-to-ceiling shelves packed with 100% nontoxic, plant-based and aloe-based hair products. As Diaz describes the organic properties of his serums and explains how all of the products in the salon are from woman-owned companies, it’s obvious how much pride he takes in his work and in curating a thoughtful, detail-oriented business. “Having two businesses, I now have to recreate that atmosphere here in the new salon; everything from the music to the ambient light, it’s about every detail,” he says. The Winged Lion and Unité Atelier are more than just businesses to Diaz; he loves interacting with people and he cares about creating welcoming spaces. “I saw a salon in a magazine and thought, ‘That’s really cool; that place doesn’t look like a salon.’ That salon is in London, but I’m going to mimic that here. I’m tired of walking into a place with lots of mirrors.” Indeed, there’s only one mirror, a small decorative mirror that hangs above a table of organic beauty products. All of the stylists’ mirrors are hidden, folded down into a custom-built, 6
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collapsible mirror station that Diaz designed himself. Inside of the station, each stylist also has their own red satin compartment that Diaz sewed himself—a small square drawer where stylists can store accessories or charge their phones through the custom-built outlets. It’s clear that Diaz was considering both the stylists and the customers in his studio design. The soft, recessed lighting and two ceiling-height windows bring cool, calm lighting to the studio. Underneath the two windows, Diaz has created a small energy station, equipped with a salt lamp, a singing bowl, crystals and a book about “oneness.” Unité Atelier is a Zen space where customers can relax as they’re getting their hair cut, bathed in soft lighting, natural aromatic scents and earthy hues. Diaz also plans on using Unité Atelier as a multipurpose space that can host events in the evenings. Diaz animatedly tells me about how the mirror station in the studio is convertible, and when he’s done using the mirrors at night, they fold inwardly and transform the salon station into a large table that he can use for hosting. He already hosts events at The Winged Lion, such as hosting a chef and cookbook writer from Topeka to do a book signing over the weekend. Some of the events that Diaz is looking forward to hosting include seasonal design tutorials where people can learn to create a table centerpiece, food tutorials where people can learn how to cook with various seasonings in she shop, and hair and skincare tutorials where he’ll show visitors how to
use the salon’s products. Each event will have drinks and snacks that Diaz plans to get from nearby restaurants, such as Bourbon and Baker. On top of being a hairstylist, a business owner and an entrepreneur, Diaz is also a painter. One source of Diaz’s inspiration comes from the French concept of “atelier,” the studios where professional fine artists work. Bringing Diaz’s love for fashion, hairdressing and interior design all under one roof fully embodies the spirit of the definition of “atelier,” which Diaz explains directly translates to “oneness.” “I’m working on two professional illustrations for the walls of the salon. One is a painting of a Christian Dior dress. I’ll be bringing my past fashion life into my current life, tying everything together,” he says. Diaz says that his vision for the salon and shop came from many places, but the name “The Winged Lion,” came from his past experience in fashion design. In a previous life, Diaz used to design vestments for priests. One vestment that he designed for a close friend portrayed the four gospel writers, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The symbol of Venice, St. Mark, is a winged lion, and that image resonated with Diaz. “I just liked the lion and I was trying to think of a name, so I thought, ‘I’m going to call it The Winged Lion Collection because I really like that lion!’”
“I love beauty; whether it’s in a house or on a person, I see that, and I try to teach that and share it with everybody.”
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If you ask Diaz about the origins of the store, the naming of the store or the products in the store, get ready to hear a good story. “Everybody says, ‘You think so deeply about what you create,’ and I do. I try not to miss a beat. I like detail; there’s a purpose and a reason behind everything,” Diaz says. “I love what I do, and I think that’s what it comes from. These are my passions. These are my two things that I absolutely love. I love beauty; whether it’s in a house or on a person, I see that, and I try to teach that and share it with everybody.” In order to create a shop that’s as charismatic and warm as Diaz’s, he says that you have to love people, love talking and know the stories behind all of the items and details in the shop. “Everything has to have a story,” he says. “I have to know enough about the products that I buy so that I can talk about them. It makes the experience so much better if you can tell people what they’re looking at, or what they’re trying or where it came from; they buy it because it has a story. You have to know the story of the products that you buy, because it makes the experience so much better.” ■ Ania is a writer and an instructor in the English department at Kansas State University. She lives in Manhattan with her husband, five chickens, two cats and a Great Dane.
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Entrepreneurs Need a Spark A budding non-profit organization plans to become the support hub for Manhattan entrepreneurs.
Article by Brandon Savage
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Photography by David Mayes
Since 1903, every internal combustion engine works in a similar way. As a piston travels down a cylinder, it draws in a carefully mixed combination of fuel and air. When the piston reaches its pinnacle, it reverses course and compresses the mixture. At the very last moment, the mix of fuel and air is ignited and a controlled, miniature explosion forces the piston back down to create power. When the piston returns, it clears out the exhaust and the process starts all over again. The ignition that acts as a catalyst for this reaction is caused by a simple device: a spark plug. This precisely timed spark helps transform gasoline and oxygen into productive power and deliberate movement, and it revolutionized industry, business and the world in which we live.
“Manhattan needs a go-to organization to help guide an entrepreneur from ‘I have an idea.’ to ‘I’m open!’” In the first half of 2019, a group of interested individuals in the greater Manhattan community organized an entity that they believe will provide a similar catalyst to the local entrepreneurial community: Spark. This organization is currently applying for non-profit status, a process that usually takes around six months. The current team behind Spark includes a handful of local entrepreneurs and community members: Derek Richards, Josh Hicks, Jeff Black, Mitzi Richards and Sarah Siders. Although Spark is still in its infancy as an organization, the vision is clear: to create an organization that can help serve as a valuable resource for local entrepreneurs as they seek to take root in the Manhattan economy. As Black, owner of Black Ink Real Estate and Black Ink Consulting, describes it, “Manhattan needs a go-to organization to help guide an entrepreneur from ‘I have an idea.’ to ‘I’m open!’” Mitzi Richards, former senior director of corporate relations at the KSU Foundation, describes Spark as “an
opportunity for our community to collaborate and leverage our economic assets in a new and different way—where the city and the chamber and the university can each have a seat at the table to help Manhattan entrepreneurs receive guidance to the resources and relationships they need to birth and grow a business.” Siders, a candidate in the recent city commission election, adds, “The entrepreneurship process is notoriously difficult and isolating. Entrepreneurs need the camaraderie of feeling understood by others who know the journey, and they need to be supported, connected and ultimately launched by their community. In Manhattan, we have some great resources for our business community, but the stops along our entrepreneurship ecosystem are not connected, making it cumbersome to navigate. Our goal with Spark is to be both a hub for the resources and connections that promote entrepreneurial advancement in the region, but also to smooth the path for entrepreneurs in the area so they can experience the greatest likelihood of success.” Several of these organizers were driven to create Spark based on their own entrepreneurial journey and what they’ve learned as they’ve worked to build-up opportunities for others. Derek Richards, co-owner of Alliance Realty, found his passion for improving the ecosystem as he started his real estate business. He eventually partnered with Hicks and others to open The Fellow, the first coworking space in Manhattan.
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As they came to know other entrepreneurs in the greater Flint Hills region, they looked for ways to help encourage and support the fledgling community. Thus, Hicks and Richards founded StartUp MHK, a business pitch competition inspired by television’s Shark Tank. Over the last three years, sponsors (anchored by People’s State Bank) have awarded over $55,000 in cash prizes to various local startups as a result of this competition. Six of the nine companies that have received awards have continued to operate in the greater Manhattan area. Additionally, in late 2017, Hicks and Richards founded the Manhattan chapter of 1 Million Cups, a nonprofit program sponsored by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation that is designed to educate, engage and inspire entrepreneurs. With monthly meetings at the Wareham Opera House, 1MC has become a positive support group for local entrepreneurs to share their successes and failures with peers. With so many initiatives in place, why is there a need for Spark? Hicks explains, “The Fellow could only provide so much to our local business community. There’s a clear cycle in the ecosystem that we observed over the years. First, like-minded individuals would connect through various community events. Then, a critical mass would continue to build as these budding business owners would find the resources to nurture their ideas. Eventually, they would find their way to funding oppor-
tunities. We’re designing Spark to focus on this cycle and help people through it quicker and more effectively.” The concept of Spark rapidly gained support from a broad-reaching coalition of community members that wanted to see continued improvement in the supporting infrastructure for entrepreneurs in the greater Manhattan area with an organization that would connect the various other organizations that serve to support local entrepreneurs in the region, including the Chamber of Commerce, the Kansas Small Business Development Center, the K-State Center for the Advancement of Entrepreneurship and additional coworking spaces Iron Clad and edge@1880. In Richards’s words, Spark will serve as an accelerator or concierge to help connect entrepreneurs to the various resources they may need. Many entrepreneurs are not aware of or familiar with these resources. They don’t know how to find other entrepreneurs in the community, especially when they are in the early stages of a new business. Most entrepreneurs already have a full-time job and are slowly developing their concept as a “side hustle.” They spend time in the evenings and on weekends tweaking and refining their ideas. Without formal business or entrepreneurial education, many entrepreneurs simply have an idea, a strong work ethic and a hope that there is sufficient demand in the market for their creation. “The most important factor for business success is access to the right networks: talent networks, money networks,
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STARTUP MHK WINNER GREAT PAPER STRAWS
networks of ideas and networks of vendors and services. Spark can help grow and strengthen those networks using a combination of private and public funding,” says Richards.
Sparking Entrepreneurial Dynamism
One of the first nonprofit organizations to join in partnership with Spark and contribute seed funding was the Kansas State University Institute for Commercialization. Kent Glasscock, president of KSU-IC, recognized that an improved startup ecosystem in Manhattan would help increase the likelihood of success of commercializing intellectual property that emanated from research at K-State. With an additional support system embedded within the Manhattan community, local entrepreneurs will have increased odds of success, which can have a halo effect on similar ventures started by K-State faculty and students who desire to take successful research to commercial forprofit markets. “We need as much bandwidth as possible to engage in more complex strategies to increase economic development in our community,” says Glasscock. In addition, Spark is poised to help accomplish broader community goals that have been set by the Manhattan Area Chamber of Commerce and their Region Reimagined initiative. This initiative, originally started by the chamber, has expanded to include neighboring organizations and includes entrepreneurial dynamism as one of their core strategies. As chamber President and CEO Jason Smith states, “I’ve seen other communities embrace entrepreneurism as an economic development strategy. It’s difficult, but when you see 12
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communities like Kansas City, Omaha and Des Moines that have embraced entrepreneurism as a core strategy, you can walk into their community and you can feel it. They have young startups that are driving the economy and the culture. That’s what we’d like to see here.” At a December city commision meeting, the chamber presented a funding request that included $100,000 to support the entrepreneurial dynamism goal. As part of the broader presentation, Richards was asked to share the vision of Spark and how it could help to accelerate the implementation of programming and to create a cohesive community strategy to enhance entrepreneurship in the greater Manhattan area. Mayor Pro Tem Usha Reddi stated during the meeting, “I think this is a good idea. Kansas is missing that piece. I’d like to see that blossom. Why don’t we capture talent and keep it here in Manhattan? This is an investment to ensure that we have future growth. We want people to stay. We want them to have a job here.” Smith echoes this sentiment, “Manhattan does not have enough employers to attract all of those who would like to be a part of our community. We want people to see Manhattan as a viable place to start a business and stay here.” The proposed funding was approved by the city commission, with Commissioner Jerred McKee making a specific request to ensure that the same due diligence that has been in place with other funding dollars that go to nonprofits is followed by the chamber as they make decisions on how to spend the money to promote economic development.
COWORKING SPACE EDGE@1880
During the public comment portion of the commission meeting, Greg Willems, president and CEO of the KSU Foundation, said, “This will help those companies that are already here get to the next level. We have a lot of resources to start a company, and a lot of resources for large companies…but we need to do more to help companies grow from two employees to 20 employees. We need the community to bet on them.” During this same comment period, a young woman named Grace shared her story of how she grew up in Manhattan, went to K-State and is now working at the Bluemont Hotel. Her desire is to start her own event planning business. “I am someone who chose to stay here. I wanted to stay here and invest here. There are so many opportunities to take students like me out of Kansas State and keep them here…to keep their entrepreneurial spirit and make them a part of the Manhattan business community.” With the funding approved, the chamber can move forward with a formal process to allocate the public funding dollars and attach them to clear goals and metrics for success. Smith clarifies that there is no “done deal” or agreement with Spark at this time, but that the approval from the commission signals a commitment to being collaborative in the entrepreneurial space and a desire to be efficient with the funding. “We want to engage the entrepreneurial community. We look at Spark as having the potential to be that local, entrepreneurial-driven effort that we’ve seen in other communities that has worked to provide that, well, spark,” says Smith.
He smiles and continues, “We’re excited about this opportunity and look forward to working with Derek and others to see what we could potentially do. We were impressed when we talked to him and his partners. If somebody else can come to the table with resources and a proven track record, we’d definitely be interested in talking with them as well. We can’t have an entrepreneurial program that is run by agencies. They can help and coordinate, but they don’t understand the community as deeply as other entrepreneurs. At the end of the day, there has to be engagement from the existing entrepreneurial community or we will fail.” As leaders within our community look for ways to help Grace and other aspiring entrepreneurs succeed, it appears that Spark is well positioned to serve as a catalyst to help transform the various ingredients and organizations present in our current ecosystem into something more powerful and long-lasting. That’s the vision. And it seems there are many people who are working hard to make it happen. With the right fuel, the right engine and just the right spark, the future looks bright. ■ Brandon W. Savage provides fractional COO and management strategy consulting to companies throughout the Flint Hills area. He is also an instructor of strategy, ethics and operations at the Kansas State University College of Business Administration and received his MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He and his wife, Cheryl, live in Manhattan, Kansas, with their eight children and cat, Louie. Find him at www.thecxpro mhk business news
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Meet the Leadership Manhattan Class of 2020 Q: How do you hope the Leadership Class of 2020 will help you better impact the community? A: I’m still exploring how I am best positioned to positively impact the community. As a fairly new resident of Manhattan, I am excited to learn as much as I can about our town, the surrounding community and our local leaders during this class. I’m looking forward to getting to know my class better, as well as our presenters. As I continue to learn about the strengths and challenges of Manhattan, I hope that I can identify more areas that I’m passionate about, and then find ways to make a difference in town.
Jeff Sackrider Customer Sales Consultant WTC
Q: What are the biggest challenges facing young leaders in Manhattan? A: When I moved to Manhattan, I struggled to connect with others. I had a hard time finding “my people”—people with similar interests as mine and places where I felt like I belong. I think this is a broader struggle and a challenge to overcome. How do we connect young leaders with each other and match them up with opportunities to get involved? I’m excited for the expanded programming of the young professionals group and think that it will help to start to fill this gap. Finding ways to involve graduates of K-State, Manhattan Christian College and Manhattan Area Technical College and get them plugged into the community is another opportunity not to be missed. The more that we can engage our young leaders, the better chance we have of making sure that they want to stay here and make Manhattan their home.
Jennifer Schoenhofer
Q: What are the biggest challenges facing young leaders in Manhattan? A: Access to quality, affordable child care makes it difficult to maintain a professional career. The resources and connections for young leaders wanting to advance a career in healthcare, social services and administration is limited in Manhattan.
Director of Nursing Meadowlark Hills 14
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Q: How would you describe yourself as a leader? A: I lead with integrity, compassion and energy.
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Abby Hoelting Associate Attorney Seaton, Seaton & Dierks, LLP
Q: What opportunities does Manhattan offer young leaders that encourage them to remain in the area? A: Manhattan offers several opportunities, such as Leadership Manhattan, to encourage young leaders to remain in the area. Not only are there several professional networking opportunities (i.e., through the Chamber of Commerce, Business Network International or Rotary International), but the community is also actively involved in supporting the small businesses downtown with Third Thursdays, encouraging leaders to join boards of local organizations and organizing group lunches and happy hours for young professionals to mingle with each other. Whether a young leader is looking for a professional, social or philanthropic network, Manhattan offers several opportunities in all respects. Q: How would you describe yourself as a leader? A: I am someone who likes to play to everyone’s strengths—teamwork literally makes the dream work. When I walk into a room, I enjoy meeting as many people as possible, while also touching base with those I already know. I want to know more than the typical response about the day someone is having. If someone in the community requires a certain type of assistance with a project and I know a few resources that might be able to help, I facilitate an introduction. The more we know about one another, the better we can be of assistance to each other and the community.
Jamie Bosse Financial Planner Aspyre Wealth Partners
Q: How do you hope the Leadership Class of 2020 will help you better impact the community? A: By participating in Leadership Manhattan, I hope to gain some insight into what has shaped the city we know today and the values it holds dear. Understanding the history of the city and where we’ve been is important when envisioning and shaping the future. I hope to learn what organizations can benefit most from my talents and skill sets. Manhattan is a very special place. I am thrilled to call it home and to watch my children grow up here. Q: What opportunities does Manhattan offer young leaders that encourage them to remain in the area? A: I think Manhattan is full of great opportunities for emerging leaders, but the trick is finding the right fit. Young leaders need a cause to be passionate about with an organization that wants that leadership.
Barry Schmidt Senior Project Manager McCownGordon Construction
Q: What opportunities does Manhattan offer young leaders that encourage them to remain in the area? A: The Manhattan area has so many opportunities available to young leaders—the diverse and expansive knowledge base of K-State, important agricultural links to state and federal governments and mission-critical federal government facilities—all in the same community! These connections create the unique opportunity to live in a great community with fulfilling and challenging careers. Q: How do you hope the Leadership Class of 2020 will help you better impact the community? A: I hope to gain a better knowledge of Manhattan and identify opportunities to increase my involvement in the community. I hope to inspire others to increase engagement with the community and continue to propel Manhattan forward.
Christian Bishop Protocol Assistant 1ID Headquarters Fort Riley
Q: How would you describe yourself as a leader? A: I lead by example. Q: What are the biggest challenges facing young leaders in Manhattan? A: The biggest challenge facing young leaders in Manhattan is the generational gap between present, current and future leaders. mhk business news
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All about you. Our children don’t have to worry about what to do with mom and dad. — Bob Crawford
Home Health | Independent Living | Assisted Living | Skilled Nursing 2121 Meadowlark Rd, Manhattan, KS | 785.537.4610 |
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meadowlark.org
Jenn Alley Director of Sales Bluemont Hotel
Q: What are the biggest challenges facing young leaders in Manhattan? A: One of the challenges of young professionals and leaders that I have seen is that they don’t know where to get started. There are a lot of young people in this community that want to be involved in organizations, serve on committees and boards, volunteer, etc. And although there are resources that are in place, they are not aware of how to tap into those resources. I have experienced this with some of the young people that we have hired or brought on in our internship program. We get them involved in various events through the chamber and other networking organizations, and they are always so thankful that we got them involved, as they didn’t know how or where to go prior to them coming on board. Q: How would you describe yourself as a leader? A: I prefer to lead by example. I like to get involved, get my hands dirty and get things done. The people that I grew up with and became my mentors are ones that lead by doing the task right alongside you. I try to emulate that by doing instead of telling. When someone is completely comfortable doing it on their own, I can back off and let them run with it, but I will be there with them until they get to that point and will always be available for help.
Zach Sheppard Attorney Charlson & Wilson Bonded Abstracters
Q: How would you describe yourself as a leader? A: Every day, I try to be compassionate and set a good example of how hard I work and how I treat people around me. I also strive to have enough self-awareness to know that I will not always live up to the bar I set for myself, but to strive to be a little better every day. I like to try and cultivate compassion, critical thinking, trust and respect in those with whom I work and interact with. I strive for a work-life balance and want others to remain cognizant of the importance of their family and lives outside of work. I think people are best when they have balance and clear priorities in their life. Q: What are the biggest challenges facing young leaders in Manhattan? A: Young leaders today face issues that are both unique to our generation and comparable with generations of the past. First, a lot of young leaders today have had to deal with the Great Recession, student debt crisis and exploding costs of living. These issues have been compounded by the inability of people with different opinions to find common ground and practice critical thinking to work together in moving forward. I think the most essential challenge my generation of leaders face is finding a way to have common ground with others who have different opinions or backgrounds. Being able to work with people who think differently is the only way we will ever be able to get the most out of life for all of the people living and working in Manhattan.
Jenny Danenberg Attorney Kansas Department of Agriculture
Q: How do you hope the Leadership Class of 2020 will help you better impact the community? A: I hope to gain skills that will help me to become a better resource for area boards that influence plans for community growth in our entertainment and business districts. I am excited about the chance to reinvigorate our city’s identity in a way that preserves the integrity of our story—the character and history of Manhattan and what makes it unique—while creating fresh developments that attract new consumers and highlight the charm of our public spaces. Q: What are the biggest challenges facing young leaders in Manhattan? A: I do not think it is area-specific, but I believe the biggest challenge facing young leaders today is opportunity. Stagnant wages and job market decline, along with rising healthcare costs, cost of living and student loan debt, have impacted America’s current young professional generation more than any other in the workforce today. And those currently living in a state of arrested development are projected to suffer setbacks for the whole of their professional careers. We need to develop ways as a community to help this group achieve its potential before they are overlooked for positions that become available as one generation leaves the workforce and another one enters. mhk business news
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Q: How would you describe yourself as a leader? A: As a leader, I am someone who likes to take charge and get things done—it is in my nature. I don’t always want to be at the forefront of things, but I feel that it just happens naturally. I like to have a plan in place for how things are going to go; whether with a project I am working on or a vacation, I am always planning. I feel I am also a good listener, but I also have a no-nonsense approach to business and life.
Karla Wilcox Director of Business Development Scott Rice Office Works
Q: How do you hope the Leadership Class of 2020 will help you better impact the community? A: As part of the Leadership Class of 2020, I am hoping that I will gain more knowledge about the City of Manhattan and the community, as well as find a way that I can continue to better support the area. There are so many needs that people may not know about because they are not interacting with those specific needs through work and play. I hope to open my eyes to more of those needs to allow me to better serve the community I love and live in, and to continue to make it a better place that can thrive, attract and retain future generations. Q: How would you describe yourself as a leader? A: I really relate to the term “motivational leadership.” I enjoy learning about people and what drives them, and then finding ways to get them motivated to use their strengths. I gain satisfaction from helping others develop their abilities and work towards achieving their full potential.
Anja Hightower Banking Center Manager Intrust Bank
Q: What are the biggest challenges facing young leaders in Manhattan? A: Manhattan has been growing at an increased pace in recent years, and that brings both positive and negative changes to our community. Everyone is so busy moving forward to new things, but we need to make sure that we don’t lose sight of what makes Manhattan special. The history and sense of community can be easily lost in all the new construction and updates around our area. We do need to keep up with the other surrounding cities, but we don’t want to become generic like so many other places. I think our downtown is a great example of keeping the charm of the old buildings while filling them with exciting new stores and restaurants. The young leaders of Manhattan need to know how to move towards the future while still embracing our past. Q: How would you describe yourself as a leader? A: As a leader, I demonstrate resourcefulness, thoughtful listening and a lot of enthusiasm!
Preston Schotte Associate Trust Officer
Q: What are the biggest challenges facing young leaders in Manhattan? A: One of the biggest challenges facing young leaders in Manhattan is learning and growing from all of the successful individuals in the older generations so we are ready to make positive impacts in the community like they have been doing for so many years. I also think it will be a challenge moving forward to help move Manhattan past a point of depending on Fort Riley and K-State.
The Trust Company
Casey Smithson Park Superintendent The City of Manhattan - Parks & Recreation Department
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Q: What are the biggest challenges facing young leaders in Manhattan? A: The ability to network and build great teams in and out of the workplace is diminished due to limited time and resources. Today’s workload is getting larger as the baby boomers continue to retire in large numbers. The institutional knowledge being lost is far greater than can be replenished, resulting in overworked and overstressed team members. Q: What opportunities does Manhattan offer young leaders that encourage them to remain in the area? A: Manhattan offers a vibrant business community, several options in technical and university education and a multitude of cultural and quality of life opportunities, all of which provide leaders the opportunity to grow within their field, enrich their professional and personal life and provide the work-life balance they are looking for.
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Gavin Garman Branch Manager Premier Employment Solutions
Q: What are the biggest challenges facing young leaders in Manhattan? A: I think the biggest challenge facing young leaders in Manhattan is time. The young leaders I know in Manhattan have the desire, ability and passion, but there are only so many hours in the day. Juggling work, family, friendships, etc., can be challenging. I know a lot of people, myself included, that want to do so much more but are simply limited due to time. Q: How do you hope the Leadership Class of 2020 will help you better impact the community? A: My hope upon completing the Leadership Manhattan Class is that I will be more aware of issues facing our community and have a better understanding of those issues and what I personally can do to make Manhattan a better place.
Jordan Seirer Art Director 502
Q: What opportunities does Manhattan offer young leaders that encourage them to remain in the area? A: Manhattan offers a welcoming and close-knit community for both personal and professional pursuits. Certain opportunities can be easier to access in Manhattan than in larger markets, helping propel careers and personal pursuits. Q: How would you describe yourself as a leader? A: My strength as a leader is as a momentum builder and coach. I work hard to help form a goal, carve the path and set my team on that path with as much knowledge as I can give them to succeed, while always working to push and protect them.
Jason Gazaway Mortgage Loan Originator Guardian Mortgage, division of Sunflower Bank
Q: What opportunities does Manhattan offer young leaders that encourage them to remain in the area? A: Manhattan offers a great young family environment, and it’s consistently rated one of the happiest communities in the country. Manhattan is big enough to have everything you need, but small enough to avoid the typical issues of metropolitan areas. Q: How do you hope the Leadership Class of 2020 will help you better impact the community? A: Leadership MHK has been great in just getting educated on the opportunities to get involved in the community through local boards, organizations and the chamber. It’s also been an incredible experience to learn from leaders in the community, from many walks of life, and hear about how they themselves are impacting the community. I hope to learn about the opportunities and needs in the community so I can find where my strengths could potentially be put to use in contributing.
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TRADITION The INTRUST Bank story started more than a century ago with our founder, C.Q. Chandler II – a man with a vision and the values to realize it. His principled approach to business became an INTRUST tradition – one we still honor daily in the way we serve our customers and communities.
TO DAY The world has changed since INTRUST’s early days. Our founding principles have not. Today, they guide our course as we innovate to meet the times and provide stability for our customers. It’s the best of the past and the present – joined together to benefit you.
©2020 INTRUST Bank
intrustbank.com/whyintrust
K-STATE INNOVATION PARTNERS TEAM MEMBERS EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT & CHIEF TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION OFFICER CHRIS BRANDT, CHIEF CORPORATE ENGAGEMENT & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OFFICER REBECCA ROBINSON, CEO KENT GLASSCOCK, CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER VICKI APPELHANS AND CHIEF COMMERCIALIZATION & LICENSING OFFICER KEN WILLIAMS
Article by Sarah Siders Photography by David Mayes
REGION
K-State Innovation Partners’ Bold Plan Adding 5,000 jobs by 2035 is an ambitious goal, so how does the now combined Kansas State University Institute for Commercialization and Research Foundation plan to succeed?
It was late in the night on Dec. 17, 2019, when Kansas State University President Richard Myers took the speaker’s podium at the Manhattan City Commission meeting. In a gray suit and purple tie, he rose to present the vision for the North Campus Corridor and urge the commission to fund the project. Referencing an economic impact study from 2016 which analyzed the possibilities of K-State’s research and development on the region, President Myers made a surprising assertion. “Consultants estimate 3,5005,000 direct and induced jobs [will be attracted] to the community,” leading to a burst of “economic vitality we’ve not seen here in a long time.” The possibility of the addition of 5,000 jobs in the next 15 years as a result of partnerships in the North Campus Corridor may raise eyebrows, but only to those who have never heard this commitment before. Over four years ago, 22
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in May 2015, then-President of Kansas State University Kirk Schulz made the first commitment to the sitting Manhattan City Commission: If the North Campus Corridor was developed to its potential, K-State and its partners could help create 5,000 jobs in the region by 2035. The means to this goal, Schulz stated, was to build on the strengths of the university, namely NBAF and the historic and growing focus on global food systems, so as to magnetically attract talent and related key industries to the region. Creating 5,000 new jobs, approximately the equivalent number of current positions at K-State, sounds ambitious if not impossible for a reason. “No university has made this kind of commitment before,” reflects director of economic development Rebecca Robinson from her office at the Kansas State University Institute for Commer-
cialization. Her all-black cardigan drapes across her lap, along with the yellow-lined notepad on which she insists on taking notes, despite being the subject matter authority. She leans forward in her office chair to emphasize the point. “It’s a stunningly bold thing to have done, and two university presidents have made the 5,000 job commitment.” She adds, “This is about an aspiration. But are we going to roll up our sleeves and do it?”
Land Grant History Guides Today’s Mission
As the economic development momentum of K-State builds today, the vision to create regional economic impact and community benefit hails back to the origination of K-State as a land-grant university, following the passing of the Morrill Act in 1862. The Morrill Act offered federal land to states, 30,000 acres for each senator and representative in each state, which was then sold and the money placed in an endowment for the establishment of colleges. Justin Morrill, a Vermont senator and successful businessman who was unable to receive a formal education himself, submitted the bill to Congress in order to ensure access to practical education for people, no matter their industry or socioeconomic background. These land-grant universities emphasized access to education in agriculture and mechanic education, creating what are known as “A&M schools.” K-State was the first of these land-grant universities, established in 1863 with a focus in agriculture, military tactics, mechanical arts and classical studies, according to K-State’s website. Nearly 80 years later, Kansas State University Research Foundation, or KSURF, was founded in 1942 with the mission of managing the various patents that emerged from K-State’s research, primarily in line with the landgrant mission of agriculture, science and engineering. Since its inception, KSURF has assisted a myriad of faculty and staff researchers in registering a patent for an innovation and protecting intellectual property. To further this effort, in 1994, what is now known as the Kansas State University Institute for Commercialization, or KSU-IC, was formed as a not-for-profit corporation to license, commercialize and market the products and ideas generated by K-State faculty, as well as assist in the formation of companies generated by academic research and innovation. Until now, KSURF and KSU-IC have operated in partnership but separately. In keeping with the theme of successful community partnerships, however, KSU-IC has now merged with KSURF and will be called KSU Innovation Partners, or KSU-IP. The merger will continue the trend of leadership and forward thinking in regional economic development. “Not only will the merging of KSURF and KSU-IC create operational efficiencies, but it will be one of a handful of university units internationally with the mission of advancing corporate engagement, technology commercialization and economic development,” says Robinson of the merger. The formation of KSU-IP lends additional support for the K-State vision of becoming a Top 50 Research University by 2025, honoring the research, technology
and agricultural heritage of the land-grant mission while creating additional economic prosperity for the region through increasing community partnerships and successful corporate engagement.
Unique Partnerships Create Unique Opportunities
One of the most recent and effective examples of the strong relationships across the community was the inception of the Knowledge Based Economic Development partnership, or KBED, launched in 2008. In an effort to create intentional and accelerated momentum around the resources and research of the university, community partners joined together across the region and multiple spheres of influence, including the City of Manhattan, Kansas State University, the KSU Foundation, Kansas State University’s Institute for Commercialization and Research Foundation, the Manhattan Area Chamber of Commerce, as well as North Central Regional Planning Commission and Pottawatomie County Economic Development Corporation. Where formerly KBED has been staffed by the chamber and KSU-IC, the newly merged KSU-IP will continue to play a role in staffing KBED as the organization delivers on the goal of creating and attracting 5,000 jobs in the region and supporting K-State’s pursuit of becoming a Top 50 Research University in the next five years. KBED takes responsibility to bring together key voices and partners to identify and align goals and create the knowledge-based, economic development strategy for the Manhattan region. According to KBED’s website, “Those strategies include the facilitation of robust private sector/university collaborations, attraction and creation of knowledge based businesses, as well as the development of infrastructure necessary to accommodate a knowledge based economy. Because KBED is organized as an LLC, the formalized partnership allows the town-gown relationship to thrive and creates an added dimension of ownership and responsibility that enables the strategic vision to be executed successfully.” The numbers speak for KBED’s impact and the success of the relationships they have worked to create. Since its creation, according to a 2019 performance report, KBED boasts a regional economic impact of $48.5 million with 503 full-time jobs created and an additional 268 projected jobs expected, with average salaries over $55,000. Jason Smith, who took the role of president of the Manhattan Area Chamber of Commerce in March 2019, says that university cities often build on the strengths of their co-located educational institutions. Referencing his previous experiences in university towns, he says, “You see infrequent collaboration in other cities, but here we meet as a KBED team a couple times a month and walk through projects, get updates and create marketing strategies. We are joined at the hip at the envy of comparable cities. We are able to achieve a lot more through that collaboration.” Since KBED is an established entity and not simply a network of informal relationships, Smith believes this mhk business news
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$28.1 Million Total Annual Salaries
$55,539 Average Salary Level DR. IGNACIO CIAMPITTI, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF CROP PRODUCTION AND CROPPING SYSTEMS AT K-STATE
$48.5 Million Projected Economic Impact
$77.3 Million Projected Economic Impact
INSIDE TOPCON’S AGRICULTURE RESEARCH CAMPUS
503 FTE Jobs Created in the Region
771 Projected FTE Jobs
$55.9 Million Capital Investment
gives the Manhattan area a unique edge in attracting and retaining business. “The business community, city and university have a formalized relationship through KBED which allows for creating consistent and collaborative programming. It allows resources and personnel to work in the same direction. It’s unique to our community in how it’s been formalized, and it’s created a consistent dialogue not seen in other university cities. In that way, we’re ahead of the curve. The uniqueness of the collaborative nature between university and city has even gained national attention with award recognition for the town-gown relationship and the work of K-State in furthering local economic development. The latest award was granted in 2016 when KBED received the Enhancing Prosperity Through Competitive Industries award from the State Science and Technology Institute. In a recent KBED Performance Report, KSURF Vice President for Research Dr. Peter Dorhout says, “The concept of Knowledge-Based Economic Development ties
KSU-IC Economic Impact 2009-2019
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Economic Partnerships To Date
Company Startups to Date
Companies Attracted To Date
Companies that the KSU-IC has assisted in advancing
Companies the KSU-IC has assisted in starting up or investing in based on K-State capabilities, IP or KSU-IC owned technologies
Companies the KSU-IC has assisted in locating to or expanding in Kansas
directly to our land-grant mission at K-State. In partnership with leaders in the region, the university leverages its talent and unique college-town atmosphere to attract corporate partners to work with us in the Flint Hills. Our KBED partnership has been recognized as a national model in integrating innovation and economic prosperity goals to build an ecosystem that supports our communities and makes the area a great place to live, work and play.”
Topcon One of Many Recent Success Stories
Cloudy daylight pours in through a massive wall of windows on the east end of K-State Office Park’s second floor. A crisp conference room and white work counter sit ready for use just outside the newly-opened Topcon Agriculture Research Campus offices. Overhead, the radio station is tuned to Joe Cocker bellowing, “I’m feeling alright.” Aside from the music, the floor is bright and quiet, yet full of an expectant energy. Inside the Topcon office, an open layout hosts work desks and computers waiting patiently in set-up mode. A generous wall of windows overlooks the view of several of K-State’s agricultural offerings: the Agronomy North Farm, the Hal Ross Flour Mill and the Kruse Feed Technology Innovation Center. This location seems ideal for the precision agriculture company, Topcon, one of the newest companies to make a home in Manhattan due to the corporate engagement efforts of KBED and KSU-IC. “Global food systems is one of the primary industries KBED engages,” Robinson says early one morning from a table at the Bluestem Grill, one floor below Topcon’s new office at the K-State Office Park. Today she’s between meetings, huddled over a cup of coffee, still wearing black. “That includes everything from animal health, plant science and other related fields, but also includes biosecurity and biodefense related to infectious disease research for animals. We have the Biosecurity Research Institute next door to NBAF, which is another bridge for industry to engage the university.” In October 2018, Topcon formally announced the opening of their K-State location, another step in an in-
creasing series of partnership movements encouraged and facilitated by KSU-IC and KBED. “Topcon Agriculture and K-State have been working together for two years on various projects, and both entities sought a deeper, multifaceted partnership that would differentiate the typical vendor and university relationship,” said Fabio Isaia, CEO of Topcon Agriculture, in a press release regarding the opening. “This strategic partnership will boost our R&D technology advancement to accelerate the commercialization of farmer-driven innovation.” The partnership with Topcon is a win for the region, the university and the company, Robinson explains. “Topcon sponsors research and invests philanthropically in the university, and K-State is developing a training program for their staff. They also hire K-State interns and alumni. This robust partnership led to opening a location here.” She adds, “Other companies are in that corporate engagement process as well.” In keeping with the goal of utilizing the university’s global food systems resources and research, various city-university partnerships like KBED appear to be gathering meaningful momentum in the North Campus Corridor, just as they predicted. “We’re leveraging KSU’s capabilities and areas of strength, like global food systems,” Robinson explains rapidfire as someone who speaks on this topic daily. “This is one of the best and broadest examples.” The ambitious goal of creating 5,000 jobs by 2035 is a daunting one, but Robinson and her partners are ready to follow through on the pledge made by the current and previous university presidents. “We keep telling the story because we are serious about this commitment.” Her voice picks up intensity again. “How many people thought we could get a one and a quarter billion dollar federal investment into our community? But we did.” Leaning forward, she adds, “This is a bold plan, and we plan to deliver.” ■ Sarah Siders is a freelance writer, author and coach who specializes in leadership and healthy relationships. mhk business news
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CO-OWNERS OF MANHATTAN BREWING COMPANY GARRETT PAULMAN, JACOB VOEGELI AND ADAM KREBSBACH
STARTUPS
New Brews
Article by Kyle Hampel Photography by Killian Millner
Craft beer aficionados and former Tallgrass Brewing Company employees are starting a craft brewery in downtown Manhattan.
When Tallgrass Brewing Company announced it would be closing its doors indefinitely in August 2018, Garrett Paulman, former head brewer at Tallgrass, had only one word to describe the mood at the Manhattan-based brewery: disappointment. Tallgrass Brewing Company was famous in several states for selling a variety of flavorful craft beers, including favorites such as Buffalo Sweat, 8-Bit Pale Ale and Raspberry Jam. While these beers can still be enjoyed today at the defunct company’s sister restaurant, Tallgrass Taphouse, those outside of Manhattan, Kansas, will have to travel if they want to taste their favorite beer again. “It wasn’t like we had a shroud pulled over our eyes or anything like that,” Paulman says. “They were pretty transparent about what was going on at any given time... My entry into the brewing world was with Tallgrass for the most part. It was a little shocking, [but] there were definitely signs it was going to happen.” 26
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Tallgrass was founded in 2006 by former geologist Jeff Gill, a local man who learned to brew beer at home as a hobby. After seeing years of initial success, the company moved from its original location in 2014 to secure a larger warehouse space capable of producing 3 million gallons of beer annually, making it the largest brewery in Kansas for a number of years. By the time of its closing, Tallgrass distributed its beers in 18 states. However, another former employee says this widespread distribution was one of the key factors in the business’s downfall. “I left in 2016, and honestly, the writing was on the wall then,” says Jacob Voegeli, former director of sales at Tallgrass. “They didn’t do a lot of the things that we wanted to do. One of them was focusing more on this town, and on Kansas...At that time, a lot of local breweries were popping up in a lot of the outer markets that [Tallgrass] was in, like Chicago and Minneapolis. Instead of learning from that
and shrinking back in, they kept expanding out, trying to do more, trying to fill in the void that way. The sales were dropping in those towns.” Paulman reiterates his disappointment regarding the closure of Tallgrass—but not without being hopeful for the future. “It was a wide net instead of a deep roots type of thing,” Paulman says, “and that’s where we’re flipping the script.” Together with their friend and business partner Adam Krebsbach, former head cellarman at Tallgrass, Voegeli and Paulman are starting a new business to fill the void left by Tallgrass’s surprise closure: Manhattan Brewing Company.
From Mr. Beer to Brewmasters
Krebsbach, Paulman and Voegeli all say they are excited to use the knowledge they gained from working at Tallgrass to create a new brewing company in Manhattan that they hope will be even better than the last one. “We’re going deep with our roots,” Paulman says. “That’s essentially what we’ve learned from being at Tallgrass.” All three of Manhattan Brewing Company’s founders have spent years living and working in Manhattan, and they say they plan to use this shared background to their advantage. While the founders have been close friends for the majority of the 2010s, their experience with brewing beer at home goes back even further. Appropriately enough, Voegeli, Paulman and Krebsbach all started their craft brewing journey with the same equipment: a Mr. Beer homebrewing kit. “About whenever I turned 21, I asked my parents for a homebrew kit, and they bought me a Mr. Beer kit,” Krebsbach says. “It didn’t take long after when I just started upgrading the system and...brewing beer a little more frequently.” Meanwhile, Voegeli says he prefers to handle sales and leave the brewing to Paulman and Krebsbach after a few mishaps brewing beer at Kansas State University. Still, his appreciation for the art of craft beer has never waned. “I started drinking craft beer early on in college,” Voegeli says. “While my friends were all buying cheap beer, I would buy a different craft beer each week...I actually saved all the six-packs that I was drinking so I would remember what I had.” Even with a common background, the three men are easy to distinguish between each other. Voegeli has a thick beard, Paulman has stubble and Krebsbach has a bare face with dark hair down to his shoulders. Krebsbach’s long locks actually earned him the nickname “Tasting Room Jesus” during his time at Tallgrass. “I started volunteering at Tallgrass back in about 2012 or something like that,” Krebsbach says. “I was in the tasting room every Friday, and yeah, that’s where I got the name ‘Tasting Room Jesus.’ Then I graduated from K-State, asked them for a job and they hired me.” Voegeli interjects with a joke, barely able to contain his laughter. “What’s funny is that, at Tallgrass, he turned water into beer all the time,” Voegeli says.
By December 2019, the trio had already secured funding, construction contracts, a space downtown and even baseball caps sporting their logo. Voegeli can occasionally be seen wearing one of these caps, although he is more of a football fan—only natural for a former Kansas State offensive lineman. “I did play football up here,” Voegeli says. “I was lucky enough to be on the team in 2003 and win the Big 12 Championship, be there for Snyder’s first retirement game and graduate in 2007.” Because he knows full well how packed Manhattan is during K-State football games, Voegeli says he hopes Manhattan Brewing Company will be open for business in the summer of 2020 before the next football season begins. “We’re not a sports bar, and we don’t want to compete against sports bars, but we will have TVs,” Voegeli says. “Obviously, we’re in Manhattan and K-State is king.” What kind of bar is Manhattan Brewing Company going to be, then? Krebsbach, Paulman and Voegeli all agree they want it to be a casual bar for responsible adults who want to enjoy drinking beer for reasons other than getting drunk—but that’s the simple answer. The space itself is located at 406 Poyntz Ave. within the Strecker Nelson West Art Gallery building in downtown Manhattan. It’s quite roomy thanks to its tall ceiling and long central corridor, and it will only be getting roomier throughout 2020 as more of the superfluous walls get demolished. Manhattan Brewing Company doesn’t look like much now due to the piles of wooden debris littering the floor, but Voegeli, Paulman and Krebsbach are already inviting people over for beer thanks to a single wooden seating area and operational brewing equipment. Somehow, even among all the splinters and refuse, the three founders act as though they’re right at home.
Brewing with Pride and Purpose
Now that they have years of experience—both in brewing beer and doing business—the three founders are confident Manhattan Brewing Company will be a success due to quality products, affordable prices, a casual atmosphere and a heavy focus on their community niche. “When Tallgrass closed down, there was this huge hole in the town waiting for another brewery to come in and do something,” Voegeli says. “We are just solely focused on beer...We have a lot of experience brewing, a lot of experience selling. We know how to make really good beer, and we know how to make a ton of it in a ton of different styles.” Manhattan Brewing Company will be offering a wide selection of brand new, original recipes created by Paulman and Krebsbach when it opens in 2020. They will be offering India pale ales, English stouts as well as more original offerings like the delicious Peachy Wheat beer and the Cucacabra, described by Voegeli as “a blood orange cucumber tower.” The brewery will also be selling snacks to accompany these drinks. One of the trio’s other company goals is to help bolster Manhattan’s beer drinking culture and provide better edumhk business news
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cation on craft brewing. Part of this will come from selling a variety of beers and making frequent new additions to the menu, but there will also be community drinking events hosted at Manhattan Brewing Company, such as a “beer versus wine” night and other similar shindigs focused on light, responsible drinking. “The craft beer market here is incredibly young,” Paulman says. “There’s great beers at all the liquor stores around town, but the market is really underserved right now...We want to help create this craft beer culture that Manhattan can be proud of. We drink because we like the flavor, and we respect it.” The trio acknowledges that the citizens of Manhattan are no strangers to beer, but most of the city’s bars and alcohol-serving restaurants are in the Aggieville business district. Voegeli says they originally wanted to open shop in Aggieville, but they decided to move to the downtown area. Although they have their worries about the location, Voegeli says he and the other founders are confident they can succeed downtown because they think the area is a better fit for the business relationships and customer base they want Manhattan Brewing Company to have. “It’s not just another bar opening up to get you drunk down in Aggieville, and it’s not another restaurant in town competing against everyone else,” Voegeli says. “We are filling a need right now in Manhattan, and we’re just going to have fun while we do it...We want to have a place for young adults—or anybody—to come out and have a good time with their friends.” Paulman adds that the craft beer community is notorious for a willingness to collaborate and give back to surrounding businesses, and he says he thinks this is Manhattan Brewing Company’s unique selling point. “In as many cases as possible, we use local ingredients,” Paulman says. “Once you start showing that you care about
the community and use ingredients like honey and wheat and things like this that are grown right here, people react to it...We’re embedding ourselves in the lives of the people here by using ingredients they’re making themselves.” The founders all agree community support is the key to their business’s success. Manhattan Brewing Company’s opening is currently being financed by investments from members of the founders’ families and the Manhattan community in addition to a loan from the U.S. Small Business Administration. “Hardly any of it is coming from outside sources,” Voegeli says. “We’re incredibly lucky to have that.” In addition, Voegeli says he has been hard at work building as many relationships with other local businesses as possible to establish suppliers for beer ingredients and food. He remarks that some of the local restaurant owners seem just as excited as he is for the opening of Manhattan Brewing Company. “They believe in us, and they know we can do well,” Voegeli says. For now, Manhattan Brewing Company is more of an idea than a business. Walls are actively being torn down, decorations are being put up and a thin layer of dust covers it all. But later this year, Voegeli, Paulman and Krebsbach are certain the space will be a sight to behold: a few couches in the corner, board games on the shelf beside them, a long counter that can seat a dozen guests at the bar. People from every corner of the Manhattan community, all sharing drinks that taste like the town itself. ■ Kyle Hampel is a freelance writer and journalist with immense passion for art, storytelling and a good barbecue. He graduated from Kansas State University with a creative writing degree in 2019 and is currently writing his first novel. He’s also surprisingly good at playing the saxophone. mhk business news
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Get
Hyped
Manhattan’s revamped young professionals program offers a multi-faceted approach to community engagement.
Article by Megan Saunders
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Photography by David Mayes
The term “young professional” has a tendency to be both ubiquitous and misunderstood. Traditionally defined as a 20or 30-something professional in a white-collar occupation, in today’s business world, the category has evolved to encompass young (even young-at-heart) professionals looking to expand their networking capabilities and engage within their community, blue-collar, white-collar, or no collar. For young professionals, networking is especially important in growing communities like Manhattan, where young professionals find themselves stuck between the post-college crowd and mentor-level professionals. In response, the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce recently revamped its young professionals program, rebranding it as hype, to better facilitate connections between future-focused individuals.
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As one of the youngest cities in Kansas, Manhattan has had a strong young professionals program for many years, focused primarily on connecting through social-based networking events. The new hype program—Helping Young Professionals Emerge—will seek to further those goals and update them for future needs. Blade Mages, a chamber board member and the principal and founder of 502—a strategic marketing agency, said that the success of his business relies on a thriving young professional community in Manhattan. In fact, 100% of his 14-person staff is comprised of young professionals. “Today, people choose where they want to live before choosing where they want to work,” says Mages. “I’m passionate about creating a Manhattan that young professionals want to live in—my business and many others depend on it.” 502—a strategic marketing agency worked alongside the chamber’s dedicated young professionals to develop the branding, logo, messaging, website and other promotional materials to kickstart bringing the hype program to fruition. Wayne Sloan, former chamber chairperson, says ensuring young professionals are engaged in the Manhattan community is key to its success, as is developing a program that gives these individuals a platform. “It’s their futures—and their families’ futures—that are being shaped in every decision we make,” says Sloan. “Their input is vital in planning our community’s future. We’re responsible for helping young professionals become well-informed leaders for tomorrow with a program that fits their needs. We’re giving them connections to both seasoned professionals and peers in the community.” Mages acknowledges that Manhattan’s demograph32
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ics can make it difficult for young professionals to meet, interact and break through existing career circles. While developing hype, their committee considered five pillars for the program’s mission, each developed by a team responsible for creating programing within that purview: Engage: Keeping the door open for Kansas State University students, transitioning military, new-to-town professionals and others to gain community understanding and employer engagement. Connect: Helping young professionals make new connections through networking, particularly for those interested in creating opportunities explicitly for networking and relationship building. Develop: Accelerating young professionals’ personal and professional development through ongoing educational opportunities. Play: Creating fun, social opportunities for young professionals to unplug and get to know peers through casual, network- and relationship-building opportunities. #LoveMHK: Building deep, meaningful connections between young professionals and Manhattan through community, civic and nonprofit engagement. Mages adds that this categorical approach to events and programming means there are opportunities available for young professionals from all industries and aspirations, as well as what each individual is seeking. “If grabbing a beer with other young professionals in the community is your thing, there will be events for that,” says Mages. “If you’re looking to level up professionally, hype will have a team dedicated to professional development and programming to help you achieve your goals.”
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The hype program also benefited from the leadership of Jason Smith, chamber president and CEO. Smith worked in both Abilene, Texas, and Lincoln, Nebraska, to develop new young professional programs in those communities, both with impressive success. Particularly in Lincoln, Smith helped grow the program to include 1,500 members. “This has been a priority of Wayne’s and the chamber’s,” says Smith. “Everyone loved Manhattan’s existing young professional’s program, but we really wanted to take it to the next level. People were looking for new opportunities to get engaged. There was a strong social aspect, but we wanted to develop more opportunities for initiatives and getting involved in the community while maintaining a welcoming, inclusive environment.” Smith adds that the hype program was developed for young professionals by young professionals, allowing for flexibility in designing the program as they saw fit for their own needs. Summer Dierks, attorney and partner at Seaton, Seaton & Dierks and a chamber executive committee member, played a key role in assisting the committee to acquire the tools needed to begin forming the new hype program. Additionally, she helped define and implement the program’s goals. “A revamped young professionals program is essential to growing not only our community, but the region,” says Dierks. “We’re attracting and retaining young professionals as well as encouraging them to grow professionally and personally. We hope that businesses in the Manhattan area feel the positive effects of the hype program and
want to get involved, which would ensure future economic prosperity for all.” Dierks says she is thrilled to have so many new community members involved with the hype initiative, highlighting Manhattan’s desire to allow young professionals to invest in the community’s future. She adds that hype will present a plethora of opportunities for leadership and development of individuals within the Manhattan community. “We’re particularly excited about hype’s dedicated areas of focus, particularly in sectors of diverse engagement,” says Dierks. “However ‘young’ these young professionals feel within their careers, they will have a program or event to attend that suits their needs and interests.” The hype program officially rolled out at the chamber’s annual meeting on Feb. 21. Smith says the chamber and its committee, which operates on its own budget through the chamber, are focused on establishing the program’s continued success. “If it’s for young professionals, it should be created by young professionals,” he says. “We’re very engaged and interested in attracting and retaining great talent in Manhattan. The only way that works is if we’re able to create an organization that allows those individuals to integrate more quickly within the community. I’ve seen it work in other places—it can work here, too.” ■ Megan Saunders is a freelance writer in the Manhattan, Kansas, area. She is a lifelong Kansan and has been in a longterm relationship with the Little Apple for 15-plus years. mhk business news
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View of some of the city’s current maintenance facilities which have “significant shortcomings” according to a study by BBN Architects Inc.
FINANCE
Taxing Decisions
Article by Greg Doering Photography by David Mayes
With failure of ballot measure, the commission will weigh options to fund $100 million in projects. Manhattan voters resoundingly rejected a sales tax measure in November that would have covered a nearly $100 million shortfall for projects across the city. Some rejected the initiative because it would permanently add 0.3 percentage points to Manhattan’s sales tax. Others balked at one or more of the six projects it was designed to help fund. And some voted for the measure, fearing its failure would lead to property tax increases. Whatever the reasoning, the proposed tax hike became only the second this century to fail at the ballot box, casting a shadow of uncertainty over how to fund projects that were pitched as ways to fuel Manhattan’s growth prior to the election. One project has been funded, and the other five are still live issues. They now will require tough debates on what type of taxes are used, the order in which they’re completed and likely more ballot measures for voters. Voters also elected two new commissioners—Aaron Estabrook and Mark Hatesohl—along with incumbent 36
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Linda Morse. Their victories sent somewhat of a mixed message on spending. Morse was clear that she saw all the projects as needs when sending the sales tax measure to voters. “We can’t just stop spending and say we’re not spending any more money,” she said at a June commission meeting. Hatesohl and Estabrook both campaigned on keeping property taxes flat, but campaigns are different than governing. Hatesohl is seen as a solid vote for fiscal restraint, similar to Wynn Butler, while Morse and Usha Reddi are generally more willing to spend on city projects, setting up Estabrook as a deciding vote on several issues, if the commission becomes contentious. “There are areas where I align with Mark and Wynn, and there are areas where I think I’ll align with Linda and Usha, but my hope, and I’m not naive about this, is that we will find the common ground amongst the entire commission,” Estabrook says, pointing to his time on the USD
Manhattan Regional Airport runway rehabilitation is one of the city’s top priorities.
383 Board of Education as time when he built consensus for issues. “It won’t be 3-2 votes. I think our goal is to get to a 5-0 vote and be unified.”
What Voters Didn’t Like
Estabrook and Hatesohl spent plenty of time on voters’ doorsteps campaigning for their seats on the commission. Those talks gave them plenty of insight after the election. The biggest issue for voters was the permanence of the tax, though its perpetual nature would have allowed the city to issue bonds backed by the future receipts “That was a big catching point for people that I spoke to,” Estabrook says. “They didn’t like the idea that it was a permanent sales tax, and it wasn’t earmarked. That was a pretty easy thing for them to say, ‘We don’t like this.’” Hatesohl echoes Estabrook’s assessment. He also expresses surprise that Americans for Prosperity, a small government and anti-tax group, spent tens of thousands of dollars on mailers urging voters to reject the tax increase. “The failure was, in one respect, one of education by proponents of the sales tax,” Estabrook says, noting an onslaught of misinformation by opponents like AFP and left-leaning detractors worried about the tax’s effect on lower-income households. “I think if they’d promoted the sales tax as property tax relief and capping it...I think they would have had better luck,” Hatesohl says. Stakeholders, like Aggieville Business Association Di-
rector Dennis Cook, know the defeat complicates efforts moving forward. “What we do know is that the [sales tax measure] would have been the easy path,” Cook says. “We’re going to go the not easy path.”
The Projects
While the sales tax failed, most of the projects it was slated to fully fund have continued to gain various amounts of momentum. The commission seated Jan. 7 will have to make decisions on how to keep that momentum going or decide if some projects need to be scaled back. The new commission will have to decide how to move forward on five projects after commissioners voted in late December to build the Southeast Recreation Center at Douglass Park, in what was seen as a roadmap for other projects. The commission also gave the go-ahead for the $10 million Phase VI of the North Campus Corridor, which will add pedestrian amenities along College Avenue from Dickens Avenue north to Kimball. Kimball improvements will include a second left turn lane and median at its intersection with College Avenue. More than half of that money will come from the City-University Projects Fund, which comes from sales tax collected on campus and money from K-State Athletics. Finally, the city committed to spend $13.4 million on the levee with construction set to begin this year and run through 2022. The federal government will pick up the remainder of the cost on the project, which will raise the levee mhk business news
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Phase VI of the North Campus Corridor will add pedestrian amenities and road improvements.
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Are improved roads, utilities, streetscapes and public Wi-Fi still in Aggieville’s future?
between 1 and 3.3 feet. The earthen barrier starts at the intersection of Casement Road and Hayes Drive, follows the Big Blue River south to its confluence with the Kansas River then heads west to 15th Street. It protects more than $1 billion in property in eastern and downtown Manhattan. A joint maintenance facility for the city’s fleet of vehicles would consolidate work currently done at four sites across Manhattan. A study by BBN Architects Inc. found “significant shortcomings” at all four of the facilities. The commission moved ahead with acquiring land near the city’s wastewater treatment facility for the estimated $12 million complex. The city has identified funding mechanisms for the bulk of the total, but still needs approximately $1 million. The city has yet to commit general tax money to projects in Aggieville and at the Manhattan Regional Airport, though those are still in the works. In Aggieville, the plan is to build a parking garage, improve roads, utilities and streetscapes and boost public Wi-Fi. The top estimate for all the work is about $30 million, including about a third of that amount going to the parking garage. The city has created a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district that will use rising property values to offset some of the cost, but it will still need to find about $20 million to fund all the improvements. Commissioners could elect to only approve projects that the TIF could cover or vote to spend more money to fuel growth in the business district.
The commission still has time to decide on the runway improvements, but the potential cost also has increased to keep it at its current width.
A Range of Options
The next commission will have no shortage of options to cover the roughly $100 million shortfall for all the projects. Commissioners can put another sales tax on the ballot, raise property taxes, use fees for water, sewer and stormwater for some projects, delay others, transfer economic development money, reallocate money as debt is retired or some combination of all of the above. The city will build the nearly $4 million recreation center without raising property taxes, but it also won’t reduce them as it pays off debt. Commissioners will use temporary financing to get the project going and wait to issue permanent debt until it pays off previously issued bonds. By 2024, the city will retire bonds that have required an annual payment of about $1 million. The rec complex and North Campus Corridor Phase VI will use a portion of those payments going forward. While the temporary financing will blunt the impact of the rec center, it also buys commissioners time as they consider how to fund other projects. The short-term debt can be used for about four years before the city issues permanent bonds. It’s like paying off a credit card with a home equity loan, but the city receives much more favorable interest rates. mhk business news
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Flooding in Linear Park demonstrates the need to raise the levee.
“With interest rates as they are, the city’s never in a hurry to permanently bond stuff because they get such cheap temporary note rates,” Hatesohl says. Hatesohl and Estabrook both express support for a new sales tax initiative, but this time it would be targeted toward a specific project or two and include a sunset clause. “I would like to see specific questions dedicated to projects with an end date,” Estabrook says. “That would be one way to fund them, in addition the blend of federal money for some projects, outside assistance, TIF districts. It’s a blended approach.” Both listed the airport runway and levee as top priorities. The projects will receive substantial money from the federal government, but timing and scope are still unsettled, especially at the airport. In November, the FAA notified airport officials that they would only foot the bill for a 100-foot-wide runway, trimming a third off the current 150-foot-wide tarmac. Before that notification, officials predicted the city’s shortfall for the runway rehabilitation would be $3.5 million. If it wants to keep the runway at its current width to accommodate charter flights for K-State and Fort Riley, it will have to contribute an estimated $8 million to $9 million. The largest project without dedicated funding in place is the North Campus Corridor, which has another seven phases at an estimated price tag of $33 million. It will expand and modernize the corridor along Kimball Avenue 40
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from North Manhattan to College avenues, paving the way for the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility, a federal laboratory that will research diseases affecting livestock. Officials project the work could support nearly 2,000 jobs in the corridor, with some estimating it could be much more. That makes it a likely target for some economic development money, of which the city is projected to have about $6 million when the current sales tax expires in 2022. That’s well short of the goal, but officials are expected to seek reauthorization of the tax with one tweak. Currently, the tax supports economic development efforts and some infrastructure and property tax relief. Estabrook, Hatesohl, Butler and others are interested in making the tax citywide, rather than specific to Riley County. This would capture sales on the Pottawatomie County side of the city. Renewing the tax in Riley County would generate an estimated $30 million over 10 years, compared to a citywide tax that would net $50 million. The economic development renewal also plays into how the city proceeds with asking other sales tax questions. “You don’t want to have a sales tax election every year,” Hatesohl says. “You can’t go every year asking for a sales tax increase, but if these projects are as important as we’ve been told they are, then we’ve got to figure out some way to fund them.”
The Growth Option
While Aggieville’s TIF district will generate enough money to build a parking garage, to make all the improvements in the business district will require new funding sources or exceptional growth, which would help fund every other project as well. “I think there’s a component out there that sees Aggieville as a living area—it’d be great for high-density housing, like the apartments across Bluemont,” Cook says. “We have a chance for more things like that. A little bit of an urban feel. With that is the businesses that want to come in and be a part of that.” It’s possible the garage paves the way for more investment in Aggieville, which would put more money into the financing district to pay for more improvements. “You’re going to have a hotel that’s got a value of $8 million to $10 million that goes on the tax roll,” Cook says. “That will help us in the TIF because it wasn’t part of the district before the TIF was established. That tax base will come right back into the district for redevelopment.”
While the TIF creates a direct link to investment and redevelopment in Aggieville, that same feedback loop exists throughout the city. The levee improvements could give businesses and homeowners more confidence to invest in their properties, increasing tax revenue. The airport saw record use in 2019. If the North Campus Corridor helps lure thousands of new jobs to Manhattan, there will be new office buildings paying property taxes, new residents buying groceries paying sales taxes. That will take some time to sort out. “It’s that return on investment,” Hatesohl says. “Is the North Campus stuff going to get us that return—going to get us all the extra sales tax, property tax, jobs that have been promised from NBAF? Or is it going to be $30 million and 10 years until we get any return from that? I need to get more information.” ■ Greg Doering is a writer and photographer at Kansas Farm Bureau. He resides in Manhattan, Kansas, with his wife, Amy. mhk business news
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Waters St.
Wreath Ave.
Vegetated Roofs
On-Grade Parking Entrance
. on Ave
Anders
The Linear Trail Loop
E-Carts MHK
Tiered Parkland
SPONSORED CONTENT
This is Possible. Imagine a resilient Wildcat Creek entertainment district. It’s possible, but we must create it. Content Sponsored & Art Created by Anderson Knight Architects
Wildcat Creek likes to flood, but instead of denying it, fighting it and bearing the costs of demolition and construction every 10 years, the new Manhattan Live! entertainment plaza and ecological park was designed with resilience in mind. Approaching the district from Seth Child Road and Anderson Avenue, you stop and take in the glass facade of the Midwest Dream Car Collection. There’s a crowd inside, a classic motorcycle club, who has come to see a 1970s superbike that’s traveling the country. A long-haired child and his gray-haired grandfather walk by, and as he points to a Firebird on the second floor, you overhear him
Rooftop Experience
GolfMHK
S et h C hild Bl
Pedestrian Connection
vd.
Public Entertainment Plaza
Ecological Park
The Gateway (Car Museum and Unique Experiences)
telling tall tales about the hot rod that he used to own. It’s a warm, sunny day, so you follow the rest of the crowd to the rooftop. As you walk, you hear the thwack of golf clubs striking balls behind you at Golf MHK and the requisite cheers from a bachelorette party wrapping up a round of drinks. You hear laughing and joyful chatter from a group of cyclists parking their e-bikes in the bike
share rack. No doubt, they’re all here to join the crowd on the rooftop. For car drivers, the pedestrian bridge over Seth Child Road has made this district a park-and-stay, all-day experience, but many take advantage of the ATA bus stop in front of the plaza. Reaching the rooftop, you’re surprised to see the crowd gathered below, but remember that it’s the Chiefs first preseason game. Since opening, Manhattan Live! has become one of the hottest sports locations in town. With heated pavers, ambient heating and a covered section, the plaza is a year-round, all-weather option for entertainment. In the
summer, Tuesday evening classic movies have become one of the town’s favorite events. Looking out toward Wildcat Creek, you try to count all the people enjoying the trails. On Linear Trail, there’s three joggers, two stroller pushers and two, no, three bicyclists rolling by. Further, out in the ecological park, there are at least 10 people walking around “The Wallow,” as it’s known. A mother passes around sandwiches to two children as her partner wrangles a third from the tallgrass onto the checkered red picnic blanket. Nearby, young lovers stop to look at a pawpaw tree (which has borne fruit again this year). They
read the informational sign, smile at one another, and carry on, hand-in-hand, to the next station, which focuses on the role of beavers in waterway management. Just five years ago, this watershed was considered a problem. They said that it should be controlled—detained—for doing what creeks in Kansas do. Today, looking out over the ecological park, and the sports fans and drinking buddies, picnicking families, strolling lovers, curious hikers, laughing cyclists and the child who’s wandered back into the tallgrass, it seems that we were fooling ourselves. A creek cannot be contained. We can only detain ourselves. ■
Content Sponsored & Concept Art Created By
Managing Partner Dr. Anderson, Associate Veterinarian Dr. Lewis and Associate Veterinarian Dr. McAtee
WOMAN-OWNED BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT
Article by Dené Dryden Photography by David Mayes
History, Passion, Family in Practice TimberCreek Veterinary Hospital treats companion animals big and small with attention to the experience.
A touch of home comes in many forms: a lighted candle, shoes clustered near the front door, a fresh cup of tea. At TimberCreek Veterinary Hospital, Raja the clinic cat brings his touch of home as he nuzzles against visitors’ shins. The cat is only part of the equation; with the property’s history and family connections ingrained into this veterinary practice, a homey experience fits with TimberCreek’s mission and culture. Before the northeast Manhattan property became TimberCreek Veterinary Hospital, the Kansas State Equestrian Team called 9000 Elk Creek Road home. Up until the equestrian program’s end in 2016, TimberCreek Stables provided a place for the team to practice their sport. Dr. Paige Andersen, TimberCreek Veterinary Hospital co-founder and managing partner, frequented those stables as a K-State equestrian athlete. “Dr. [Alecia] McAtee and I, we both rode for the equestrian team when we were undergrad students,” Andersen says. 46
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Now, TimberCreek uses the indoor arena to walk horses and check their gait for lameness. This former horse barn structure connects to a large equine exam room, operating room and patient stables that Andersen and her father, co-founder Dr. Kelly Lechtenberg, built into the vet clinic. The clinic itself is a remodeled apartment building. As K-State phased out its equestrian program, the property owners contacted Lechtenberg, who has practiced livestock veterinary care in Nebraska since 1987. “I remember calling Paige when she was a junior in vet school, and I said, ‘Hey, 30 years ago when I graduated, people did this all the time,’” Lechtenberg says. “’You got out of school and just went and started a practice. Nobody does that anymore, but you still can.’” With a plan to start a new practice right after graduating from K-State’s College of Veterinary Medicine, Andersen and Lechtenberg took possession of the TimberCreek property in July 2016, turning around enough
Dr. Anderson with her father and co-founder Dr. Lechtenberg
renovation to start providing care that September. Andersen began as a solo practitioner, but she now works with Dr. Kellie Lewis and Dr. Alecia McAtee, who are also K-State graduates, and a team of veterinary technicians and assistants.
Compassionate, Quality Care for Companions
Born out of a family interest in caring for animals, TimberCreek provides services for small companion animals and equine patients, and the smallest details help define the history of animal care on the property. In the waiting room, a TV plays a slideshow of client pet pictures. Some are posed, like the white cat sitting still on the arm of a couch, and some are goofy, like the pug mid-motion as it wrestles a rope toy. On the north and south walls, two paintings mirror each other: a lion-like orange cat, and a sweet-eyed, black-and-white dog. One might think that they only represent the kinds of animals TimberCreek treats, but the paintings are actually portraits of Andersen’s childhood pets. After all, every home displays family photos. In addition to TimberCreek’s friendly and welcoming atmosphere, the clinic passes all 900 standards for American Animal Hospital Association accreditation, helping assure a consistently high quality of care for their patients. Andersen says that the AAHA standards include details down to how cleaning supplies are stored and how records are managed. According to AAHA, only 12% to 15% of veterinary practices in the U.S. and Canada hold this accreditation.
“The AAHA standard really allows us to be operating closer to what a human hospital would,” Lewis says. Additionally, some of the staff are Fear Free certified professionals. The goal of Fear Free treatment is to minimize an animal’s discomfort when they visit the vet, says Lewis, taking steps to create a tranquil, trusted place for that pet. “If you’ve ever been to the dentist or the doctor and you’ve just been scared to death, it’s miserable to be there,” Lewis says. “You can talk and tell them, but our patients can’t, so they bite more, they scratch more, they hide.” Special consideration for nervous dogs and cats starts in the waiting room—the cat-friendly section of the room has a privacy wall so cats that are afraid of dogs won’t be near them. Out of three small animal exam rooms, one is cat-only and features a wall plug-in that emits calming pheromones to help relax the patient. For a distraction, scared dogs might get a dollop of peanut butter to eat during their examination. Ultimately, the AAHA standards and Fear Free tactics build into a shared philosophy of providing great care at TimberCreek, and certain features add to its hominess. Resident cat Raja (who is on Instagram as @rajathecliniccat) is known for wandering all around the facility. The scruffy orange cat will sometimes make friends with patients and their humans in the waiting room. Outside, the resident miniature donkeys also find new friends; Andersen says sometimes clients go missing from the exam room because they leave to feed treats to Mimi and Molly. mhk business news
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“If we were going to welcome these people into our home, onto our farm, we would want them out petting our animals and talking to them.” “We love that because, you know, if we were going to welcome these people into our home, onto our farm, we would want them out petting our animals and talking to them and following their Instagram,” Lewis says with a laugh. Raja and other furry friends at TimberCreek add a unique experience, Andersen says, both for patients and the staff. Katie Huyer, practice manager and registered veterinary technician, shares that another vet tech loves to hold Raja when she is stressed or feeling down, since her own cats are not there at work. “I think that we’re in a really unique position in private practice to be part of peoples’ extended family in a way, and I really like that,” Huyer says. “We have their pets boarding with us for extended times. We sometimes work them through some really advanced medical conditions or have them here for surgery...I like the people aspect of it as much as the animal portion of it.” 48
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Skilled Team of Providers
Another unique aspect of the clinic is that, apart from Lechtenberg, all the staff at TimberCreek are women. The clinic doesn’t exclusively hire female staff, but the allwoman crew represents shifting demographics in the field of veterinary medicine. When Lechtenberg graduated with his doctorate degree, he says the balance of men versus women in veterinary school was about 80% to 20%, respectively. When Andersen and her peers graduated, those proportions flipped; according to Veterinarian’s Money Digest, male enrollment in veterinary programs dropped below 20% in 2017. “As our field becomes more companion animal-based, they say that women have a great skill for bonding with people and animals, fostering that feeling,” Lewis says. It is a compassion-based career, Lechtenberg says. He adds that he has been impressed by this staff and their success, as the veterinarians and assistants at TimberCreek are all early-career practitioners. When Andersen started out solo at the clinic directly out of school, she says her confidence came out of necessity. “I only went eight months before I hired Dr. Lewis,” Andersen says, “and she had been out [of school] a few years longer than I had. With those few years of extra experience, it created an enormous amount of mentorship on the practical side...Where I felt like I was lacking, I filled the holes with really amazing people.”
“I think that we’re in a really unique position in private practice to be part of peoples’ extended family in a way, and I really like that.” One of those holes was animal chiropractic care, which TimberCreek now offers thanks to McAtee. For horses, chiropractic treatment can help performance issues, McAtee says. This interest in equine care fits well with McAtee’s passion for horses, as she grew up with them on her family’s farm and competed on K-State’s equestrian team. “I don’t know that it replaces some of our traditional medicine, but it goes hand-in-hand,” McAtee says of chiropractic care. “It is nice; it’s not quite as invasive as some of our previous traditional medicines such as [injections].” For equine patients, McAtee watches the horse walk and trot, then feels the horse’s body to find tight muscles or other inhibiting issues. “We go into actually adjusting them, so it’s just making them move appropriately,” McAtee says. “It’s not that they
are hurt necessarily in that area, but making them move more appropriately. It’s pretty similar on the small animal side, just smaller joints.” In the future, Andersen looks forward to expanding TimberCreek’s care options, especially with a property built to accommodate equine patients. “I think identifying what our community needs and what our clients need from us determines where we go next,” Andersen says. “Of course we have ideas and things that we think will be really cool, but at the end of the day, we’re trying to fill a need and give a service.” Wherever the practice takes Andersen and her team, that semblance of a home away from home will surely remain. Driving up the dirt road away from TimberCreek, the barns, outbuildings and paddocks give the impression that people are leaving a rural farmstead after a visit. As caregivers for extended family members—pets—the folks at TimberCreek know that when a client comes back, it should feel like coming home. ■ Dené Dryden is a Kansas State University student journalist and freelance writer. She currently broadcasts local news and weather as the morning news anchor for Wildcat 91.9 FM and is involved with many other organizations on campus. Dené graduates in May 2020, is happily engaged and can’t seem to function without coffee these days.
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2020 • Quarter one
49
KEVIN AND ALYN WEST INSTALLING ART IN THEIR GALLERY
ARTILLERY TO ART GALLERY STRECKER NELSON WEST GALLERY With five deployments and two decades of military service under his belt, Kevin West was ready to take on an art business. Article by Sarah Siders
Photography by David Mayes
The narrow, wooden stairs creak expectantly as patrons make their way upward into the Strecker Nelson West Gallery. At the top of the stairs, Alyn West clasps her hands together in front of her red cardigan, pleasantly nodding a greeting to patrons as they enter. Tucked behind the receptionist desk, Kevin West peers over blackrimmed reading glasses into the computer screen as he assists a patron in an art purchase. The bright afternoon sun illuminates the front half of the gallery, overlooking Poyntz Avenue through a wall of windows. The couple’s dog, Madi, winds between gallery guests, happily welcoming newcomers before temporarily finding a resting place in a warm patch of sunshine on the hardwood floor.
Kevin and Alyn West appear at home in the warmly lit gallery, pointing out the improvements they made in the last two and a half years of their ownership and sharing favorite pieces tucked into a corner. Yet just a few years ago, if you had asked Kevin, a retired Army artillery officer and battalion commander, if he and Alyn would buy an art gallery, he might have been surprised. But, Kevin West’s military service prepared him to be adept when the plan changes. “At times during deployments, from what you are trained to do and what you’re actually doing, it’s not even close.” He elaborates, “We had to secure power plants, grain elevators, we had to conduct dismounted patrol and we were artillery so we were not trained to do that. We did it reasonably well.” He adds, “We had no idea any of that is what we would do.” Looking back, Kevin notices the environments in which he experienced the most satisfaction in his work tended to be places still in the formation process and without established infrastructure, requiring his every ounce of skill and creativity.
“Four out of five of my deployments were brand new theater. There was more of a sense of accomplishment in the first four deployments because you could see tangible results from what you could do.” Kevin West joined the Army in 1989, and shortly after, deployed into the Desert Storm conflict in 1991. But not before he met Alyn. “In 1990, she was going to KU and came out to Manhattan with a friend, who was dating one of my friends,” says Kevin. “We started dating and after we married, she went to Delaware to complete a master’s in art history from the University of Delaware, while I went to Captain’s Career Course.” And so began the life together of a career military family, with West spending exactly 20 years and five deployments in the Army before retirement in 2009. Following his first tour in Iraq, West recalls, “I spent the ‘90s in Europe, and I got Bosnia and Kosovo over there.” Then 9/11 happened. “After 9/11, all the assignment rules changed. I had two tours in Iraq between 9/11 and my retirement in 2009.”
We do the things that have to be done whether or not [the soldiers are] at home. When the cannons were making all that noise two years ago, that was one of my projects.” He laughs, “I’m also the informal historian because I’m old, and I’ve been here for 18 years.” A few years into his work as a civilian, West again felt the desire for change. “About five years ago, I was watching TV one evening, and I decided I could be more productive than drinking beer and watching ball games every night. “We realized this was a once I enrolled in the personal financial in a lifetime opportunity and planning master’s program at K-State.” decided to do it.” He adds, “This was a key way station on the way to the gallery.” After finishing his master’s in the summer of 2016, he planned to eventually transition to work as a financial planner. And that is when plans changed again.
At a high top table along the gallery’s wall of windows, West, in a blue and white paisley button-down shirt and jeans, sits atop one of two stools, each a work of art itself. The winter sun warms the brown stripes of hardwood, as Madi finds herself a heated spot between the slanted shadow, blinking the light away and settling in for a short nap. Noting the unseasonable warmth of the day, West draws the blinds. West remembers how, in 2008, his decision to retire quite literally struck him. “I had a freak softball accident one year before I retired. I shattered my left clavicle and dislocated my right knee so I got a ride in a helicopter.” He laughs, “I turned 41 on that lifeflight down to Wichita. My leg was sideways, and I knew that it was probably time to retire.”
Despite leaving active duty military service, he was not ready to leave the service of his country and the military culture he had come to appreciate. “I got a phone call a month before I gave up battalion command for a position at Division. I’ve had a couple different positions there, but currently I am the chief of force integration, which isn’t what you would think.” He explains, “I coordinate equipping and testing support and force structure changes. 52
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2020 • Quarter one
A Gallery for Sale
Warm, gray winter light pours through the balcony window of Jay and Barb Nelson’s cozy flat high up in the Wareham Apartments. The wall of windows renders interior lighting unnecessary, even on a morning in January. As the walls of the apartment feature art pieces favored by the former Strecker Nelson gallery owners, the panoramic view from the balcony is its own work of art, featuring several key
A creative agency for the bold.
landmarks of the Manhattan skyline. At a wooden table tucked into the corner, Jay and Barb Nelson, both in artists’ signature black, sip coffee in colorful ceramic mugs and recall the decision it took them nearly a year to make. In September 2016, they finally concluded it was time to retire and sell the gallery. The only problem was they didn’t expect anyone to buy it.
A 21st Century Art Business
After the purchase of the gallery over two years ago, Kevin and Alyn brought fresh ideas and vision to the space as they imagined what they wanted to see develop in art and business. Some things, however, remained the same. When they bought the gallery from the Nelsons, the Wests made the unique decision to simply add their name to the title. “They kept the Strecker name because she started it, and it’s an important thing to honor her,” Barb Nelson sets her coffee cup down thoughtfully. “Alyn and Kevin care about the history and are honoring that history.”
Jay recounts the nearly impossible feat before them at the time. “It’s totally rare to be able to sell a gallery. They usually close.” At the end of September 2016, The Mercury featured a piece about the Nelsons’ intent to sell the gallery. Kevin West remembers returning home one afternoon to a stack of newspapers, and the gallery feature instantly stood out. “We had been on vacation in Colorado for a week, and when we came back, I went through a stack of The Mercury, “They have both taken the and there was an article that Jay and idea of owning the oldest Barb were going to sell the gallery. They commercial art gallery in the wanted to be out by the summer of state of Kansas and taken it 2017.” He gestures across the room to forward. I’m glad they moved Alyn. “She and I looked at each other, it into the 21st century.” and said, ‘We could do that. You know, art, and I can figure out the money stuff.’ But then we talked ourselves out of it.” Despite the magnitude of the decision to purchase an art gallery, the idea stayed with Kevin and Alyn. “The next day we were at Coco Bolos, and several carafes of sangria later, we realized this was a once in a lifetime opportunity and decided to do it.” He adds that his financial planning education was the clincher in their decision. “Had I not had the financial planning background, understanding how the taxes work, how money can be freed up and some of the things we can do to generate up-front funds, we would not have felt comfortable.” From his breakfast table, Jay Nelson hoists his coffee cup in the air triumphantly, “It was a natural fit for Alyn. They approached us, and we were thrilled.” He smiles, wearing his grateful relief all over again. “It was fortuitous for all of us that they bought the gallery.” 54
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2020 • Quarter one
Kevin walks proudly through the gallery, noting one by one the visible improvements he and Alyn made since their ownership of the gallery. He explains the hanging system they installed, drawing a line with his finger parallel to the metal strip supporting cables, on which hang the individual art pieces. Behind each painting, the walls in various warm grays provide a nearly invisible backdrop on which to display their artists’ work.
“When we purchased the gallery, we painted the walls with more neutrals to get every color in the gallery on the same palette. We didn’t want the color to dictate where we could hang something. Then, over a period of time, we realized we should always have some place in the gallery that has something approachably priced for ‘emergency art.’” Alyn laughs at the phrase, joining Kevin as they walk through the gallery, picking up the pace as they reach the collection of pieces deemed “emergency art” toward the back of the space. “There are a lot of ceramics, watercolors and smaller paintings on the north end of the gallery. We made a decision to show different types of paintings so there is something for everyone.” Alyn West adds a story about a recent “art emergency” in which a patron made a last minute art purchase as a gift for his wife. She smiles, recalling that she had to overnight the piece out of state in order to keep her patron out of marital trouble.
A strategic partner for the innovators.
is useful. Now Alyn is selling online, and the systems Kevin Some of the improvements Kevin made to the gallery were developed are essential to that. He has enabled them to be less visible, however, but perhaps even more impactful on a contemporary, modern company. They have advanced the the gallery as a business. Although a starkly different setting gallery. It has not gone downhill.” than combat, West’s love for an environment with minimal infrastructure and the right amount of chaos set him to work. “He organized it and made it work!” Barb snaps her fingers “Right away, we knew we needed a major technological with a flourish. “They have both taken the idea of owning upgrade. The system had been set up in the mid-’90s, and the oldest commercial art gallery in the state of Kansas and I spent about two weeks deconstructing the database and taken it forward. I’m glad they moved pulling the information I needed out.” it into the 21st century. That was really He explains that selling their art online important. I’m really proud of them.” was initially a cumbersome process. “The point of sale was not tied to the “We want those in their 20s inventory or the web, and to get a piece As Kevin and Alyn West establish not and 30s to come in and enjoy onto the website, there were multiple only a thriving gallery, but a successful and collect. We want to get the business, they are eager to include stops to get it done. We use a program next generation of collectors upcoming generations in their love of now, Masterpiece Manager, and it’s to see the value and want to art. The couple plan to target younger much simpler.” He walks to the back of patrons by including a variety of artists, the gallery, opening what appears to be a do it.” pieces and price points in their inventory. closet door, revealing paintings carefully Kevin considers aloud the question they wrapped and placed onto carpeted are still answering. “How do we develop shelves. “We installed professional that and get a connection, get them with shelving in here. It’s all organized now,” he beams. the artists, get them thinking about a piece? We are in our early 50s, and we want those in their 20s and 30s to come in Over their morning coffee, Jay and Barb Nelson gush and enjoy and collect. We want to get the next generation of about the progress Alyn and Kevin bring to the gallery. collectors to see the value and want to do it.” ■ “The inventory was a mess,” Jay Nelson laughs, recalling the organization methods he and Barb utilized under their Sarah Siders is a freelance writer, author and coach who specializes in leadership and healthy relationships. ownership of the gallery. “He organized that inventory so it 56
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2020 • Quarter one
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2020 • Quarter one