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Clay Wallin, Heartland Game Birds

Posted on by Pat Melgares

This Kansas business is for the birds – gamebirds, that is. Today we’ll meet a young ruralpreneur who has created a business of raising pheasants and guiding pheasant hunts in his home region of rural Kansas.

Group photo, Heartland Game Birds
Pictured (l to r) Bethany Wallin, Clay Wallin, Nathan Lindberg, Shanna Lindberg

Last week we learned about Bethany Wallin, who founded a physical therapy and fitness center in her community of Courtland. Today we’ll meet her husband and learn about his business.

Clay Wallin and his friend Nathan Lindberg are owners of Heartland Game Birds. Wallin and his wife are from Republic County originally. Clay went to K-State and earned degrees in golf course management and agronomy before he and Bethany were married. He worked in crop seed sales in Kansas and Nebraska. For six years, they lived in Manhattan.

In 2018, Bethany took a position at the hospital in Belleville and they moved to Clay’s hometown of Courtland. Clay became an independent Channel seedsman and raised corn and soybeans.

Clay also joined his boyhood pal Nathan Lindberg and another friend in creating a pheasant business. “We grew up pheasant hunting together,” Wallin said. He remembered the excitement of the beginning of pheasant season. “Opening weekend was better than Christmas for me.”

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Bethany Wallin, Pivotal Health & Wellness

Posted on by Pat Melgares

“The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will instruct his patient in the care of the human frame, in diet and in the cause and prevention of disease,” said Thomas Edison in 1902.

Portrait, Bethany Wallin
Bethany Wallin

Today we’ll meet an innovative physical therapist whose focus aligns with this quote by bringing essential health resources closer to her hometown region.

Bethany Wallin is founder and CEO of a budding non-profit organization called Pivotal Health & Wellness. Wallin grew up on a four-generational farmstead near the rural community of Republic, population 82 people. Now, that’s rural.

“From a young age, community involvement through 4-H, school and sports planted the desire to volunteer and serve,” Wallin said. She earned her bachelors degree in Life Science from K-State and her Doctorate of Physical Therapy degree at the University of Kansas Medical Center.

She also married Clay, a fellow Republic Countian. They now have three children, ages six and younger, with another on the way.

Wallin has worked as a physical therapist for more than 11 years. After living and working in more urban locations, Wallin and her family moved back to Republic County where she took a physical therapy position at the hospital in Belleville

“We have an awesome team of health-care providers in our area who are doing their best to meet the needs of their patients,” Wallin said. ”Unfortunately, the gap continues to widen with regard to meeting those demands with the limited resources available, especially for our rapidly aging population. My business partner, Robin Carlson, and I saw an opportunity to better serve our hometown communities and bridge that gap.”

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Marilyn Logan, Marmaton Market

Posted on by Pat Melgares

Second Saturday. Trivia Tuesday.

Marilyn Logan, Marmaton Market
Marmaton Market (Moran, Kan.)

Do those events sound like items on the calendar at your local grocery store? They might not be what one would expect, but those are examples of creative events that one rural grocery store is using to expand and engage its customer base.

Marilyn Logan is general manager of The Marmaton Market in Moran, a rural Allen County community of 466 people – but there’s more. Marilyn grew up in the Crawford County community of Walnut, Kansas, population 187 people. Now, that’s rural.

“My dad taught us a good work ethic,” Logan said. She earned a degree in business with a minor in accounting and worked for years as an accountant and auditor. She raised four sons and is now widowed. She has 15 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

Marilyn moved back to southeast Kansas in 2016. “I like little towns,” Logan said. She serves on several local volunteer boards such as the Iola Public Library, Iola Housing Authority, Allen County GROW and SEKCAP.

In Moran, the local grocery store owners were wanting to retire. In 2018, the store was purchased by a group of citizens who formed what Logan called a for-profit semi-cooperative. She served on the board. They named the store The Marmaton Market.

“The first thing we did was take everything down to the bare walls,” Logan said. They added LED lighting, remodeled and restocked the store. By December 2019, the store was struggling financially again. Logan took over as general manager.

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Ron Evans, astronaut

Posted on by Pat Melgares

From open plains to outer space, Ron Evans experienced a remarkable journey. He was a Kansan who played a record-setting role in the United States’ final mission to the moon.

Portrait, astronaut Ron Evans
Ron Evans

The year was 1972. NASA had planned for a series of moon missions but budget limitations cancelled additional lunar flights. Instead, NASA changed the focus of future flights to the space shuttle and lower earth orbital flights.

Meanwhile, NASA moved forward with what would be the final deep space manned mission to date. It was named Apollo 17. The person selected to serve as command module pilot on Apollo 17 was a Kansan, Ron Evans.

Evans was born in the rural northwest Kansas community of St. Francis, population 1,329 people. Now, that’s rural.

Evans had two younger brothers, Larry and Jay. When Larry came down with liver cancer, the family relocated to Topeka to be closer to treatment. Unfortunately, Larry passed away in 1951.

Brother Jay played football for K-State. By his senior year, he was team captain and was second in the Big 8 in yards receiving. Jay went on to play in the NFL for the Denver Broncos.

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Brett Schmidt, Learning Cross Child Care

Posted on by Pat Melgares

Do children have superpowers?

Logo, Learning Cross Child CareOther than in the movies, they may not be able to fly or use X-ray vision. But in the case of one innovative Kansas project, these children have learned that they do have smile-power. This is part of a remarkable intergenerational childcare program found in rural Kansas.

Last week we learned about Allen Schmidt and Resurrection Vineyard in Hays. Allen’s son, Brett, was born in Hays. The family moved around due to Allen’s military career.

Later, Brett Schmidt earned a degree in early childhood development and master’s degree in brain-based teaching and learning. He went on to teach kindergarten in Independence, Kan. where he met – and later married – Ashley.

When Brett’s folks returned to Hays, Brett and Ashley moved back as well. Brett took a teaching position at the rural community of Stockton, population 1,480 people. Now, that’s rural.

He went on to work for Child Care Aware, training and coaching childcare providers.

While in southern Kansas, Brett observed an intergenerational day care program in a nursing home. “I thought it was cutting edge,” he said. He wanted to establish such a program in northwest Kansas.

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Allen Schmidt, Resurrection Vineyard

Posted on by Pat Melgares

“My doctor said I need glasses (so I got wineglasses…).”

That’s a paraphrase of a light-hearted saying posted on a sign in a winetasting room in rural Kansas, where an innovative family is producing wine and using it to create new opportunities.

Man holding wine bottle, Allen Schmidt
Allen Schmidt, Resurrection Vineyard

Allen Schmidt and family are owners and founders of Resurrection Vineyard near Hays. The vineyard is located on the fifth generation family dairy farm where Schmidt grew up. He went to the University of Kansas then earned a masters degree in school psychology at Fort Hays State before joining the Army and earning a masters from the U.S. Army War College.

Schmidt served in the Army Medical Service Corps for 32 years, including 12 years in the Army Reserve, and retired as a colonel.

Schmidt left the service in 1981, returned to run the dairy, and then was recalled to the Army. He completed his active duty career as the deputy commander for readiness of the Army Reserve Medical Command, with responsibility for 27,000 soldiers in 165 locations.

After his second stint in the Army, Schmidt and his wife Ellen returned to Ellis County permanently. They have nine children and 21 grandchildren with more on the way. Schmidt served in the Kansas Senate and on the Kansas Board of Regents, among other organizations.

He now serves part-time as planned giving officer for Developmental Services of Northwest Kansas, a non-profit charity that serves persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities. For more information on that, see www.dsnwk.org.

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Julie Mulvihill, Humanities Kansas

Posted on by Pat Melgares

Connections. They are a vital part of human relationships, connecting us to our past and to each other.

Portrait, Julie Mulvihill
Julie Mulvihill

Enhancing those human connections is one of the roles of the humanities, meaning the various aspects of human society and culture. For 50 years, an organization in Kansas has worked to enhance the humanities in communities across our state.

Julie Mulvihill is executive director of Humanities Kansas. She makes her home in Jefferson County, near the rural community of Perry, population 929 people. Now, that’s rural.

Mulvihill recalls being motivated by the humanities when going to a museum as a student in elementary school. “Since I was a little kid, the humanities have inspired me, spurred me into action, and given me reason to pause for some serious thinking,” she said.

“I remember learning about the Galapagos Islands and sitting there on my carpet square and thinking, ‘there is a whole world out there that I know nothing about.’ I felt like it was an important responsibility to know more.”

It contributed to her lifelong love of reading and history, among other things.

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Doug Bjerkaas, Dynamic Discs, part 2

Posted on by Pat Melgares

Let’s go to the disc golf capitol of the world. We could travel around the globe looking for such a designation, or we could go directly to… Emporia, Kansas.

Man standing in front of shelf filled with discs
Doug Bjerkaas, Dynamic Discs

Today we’ll learn more about a remarkable business in Emporia which, in many ways, has made its community the center of the disc golf universe.

Last week we learned about Dynamic Discs, the disc golf products company that was founded by Jeremy Rusco in Emporia.

Doug Bjerkaas is the president of Dynamic Discs today. Bjerkaas is an Illinois native who had a career in higher education administration and was playing disc golf for fun.

In 2007, Bjerkaas was living in Denver and attended the disc golf Frontier Open in Hays. He bought some Dynamic Discs t-shirts out of the back of Rusco’s truck. “I was very impressed with how approachable and friendly he was,” Bjerkaas said.

As a player, Bjerkaas was sponsored by Dynamic Discs, as was his daughter in later years. After serving as a tournament director for Dynamic Discs, he joined the company in 2016 and moved up through the ranks to become president in 2021. Through the years, he has seen the remarkable growth of the company and sport.

“Our purpose statement is simple: Dynamic Discs enriches lives through disc golf,” Bjerkaas said.

Continue reading “Doug Bjerkaas, Dynamic Discs, part 2” →

Jeremy Rusco, Dynamic Discs, part 1

Posted on by Pat Melgares

Let’s go to the Super Bowl – that is, the Super Bowl of disc golf.

It’s the Professional Disc Golf Association World Championships in Ogden, Utah. Many of the top competitors are using discs from a remarkable Kansas company.

Portrait, Jeremy Rusco
Jeremy Rusco

Jeremy Rusco is founder and CEO of Dynamic Discs, the business that provides the discs for many top competitors in the sport. Jeremy was a Great Bend native who came to Emporia State to play football, run track and study business. Jeremy also discovered the sport of disc golf.

Disc golf is played just like traditional golf in that the goal is to get to the target in as few tries as possible, except the player is using a round plastic disc instead of a ball, and the target is a metal pan mounted on a post, with chains hanging down to break the disc’s momentum when it reaches the target.

Of course, the player doesn’t use a club, but throws the disc at the target like throwing a frisbee.

However, the player needs different discs just like a golfer needs different clubs. In other words, discs are designed differently for drives, putts, etc. A competitive disc golfer might have 15 or more discs with a bag to carry them.

Rusco discovered the sport as a student at Emporia State. He found it was a lot of fun and figured he could buy more discs and sell the extras to others. He bought discs, put on cool designs and dyed them, and sold them on eBay. As interest grew, he set up his own business. After asking his girlfriend (now wife) Wendy what to name the company, he settled on the name Dynamic Discs.

“I never expected it to be anything more than a college hobby, but after graduating in 2006, it was evident that there was something special about the disc golf community,” Rusco said. Continue reading “Jeremy Rusco, Dynamic Discs, part 1” →

Deb Goodrich, Santa Fe Trail Association

Posted on by Pat Melgares

Can one man’s journey change history?

Portrait of woman with long brown hair
Deb Goodrich

“Yes,” said writer and historian Deb Goodrich. She points to William Becknell’s 1821 trade mission to Mexico as a pivotal point in the history of the west. Now she is leading the effort to commemorate the bicentennial of the Santa Fe Trail.

Goodrich is a journalist, historian and television host. A Virginia native, she was a student at Washburn University who became enamored of western history. She is now historian in residence at Fort Wallace in Kansas. Among many other things, she chairs the Santa Fe Trail 200 committee, which is commemorating the bicentennial of this historic trail.

“In 1821, change was racing across the west like a prairie fire,” Goodrich said. “Missouri was a brand new state and Mexico was a newly liberated nation.”

Missouri was also in a financial depression. A Missouri salt-maker named William Becknell was one of those in financial trouble. He was on the verge of going to jail because he could not pay his debts.

In September 1821, Becknell and five companions headed west to hunt and trade horses and mules. They traveled hundreds of miles by horseback through challenging territory. Nearly two-and-a-half months later, they arrived in Santa Fe.

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