“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.
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.
