Kansas Sampler Foundation

The Kansas Sampler Foundation is a public non-profit 501(c) organization. The Foundation is located at the Kansas Sampler Center near Inman, Kansas

Inman, Kansas

Inman is a city in McPherson County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 1,377.- History :It was founded in 1887 as Aiken. It was renamed Inman, in 1889, after Inman Lake which is located approximately east of the town...

. According to the organization's web site http://kansassampler.org/ and publications, the mission is to preserve and sustain rural

Rural

Rural areas or the country or countryside are areas that are not urbanized, though when large areas are described, country towns and smaller cities will be included. They have a low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture...

 culture

Culture

Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...

 by educating Kansans about Kansas

Kansas

Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...

 by networking and encouraging the support of rural communities. The support is generally in the form of encouraging awareness of, and commerce with, rural businesses. Methods include positive messages of motivation encouraging people to celebrate the sunflower state. Founded in 1993 by Mil and Marci Penner, the Kansas Sampler Foundation is based at the Penner family farm

Farm

A farm is an area of land, or, for aquaculture, lake, river or sea, including various structures, devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food , fibres and, increasingly, fuel. It is the basic production facility in food production. Farms may be owned and operated by a single...

.

The Foundation stresses keeping rural Kansas vigorous. Accentuating rural culture elements like architecture

Architecture

Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...

, art

Art

Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....

, commerce

Commerce

While business refers to the value-creating activities of an organization for profit, commerce means the whole system of an economy that constitutes an environment for business. The system includes legal, economic, political, social, cultural, and technological systems that are in operation in any...

, cuisine

Cuisine

Cuisine is a characteristic style of cooking practices and traditions, often associated with a specific culture. Cuisines are often named after the geographic areas or regions that they originate from...

, customs, geography, history, and people — the goal is to get more Kansans to realize (and visit) the treasures in their state. Any one of these elements puts a person, place or thing on the list of places to see. They are reasons to celebrate towns. There is also a checklist to help communities catalog what they have to offer. Small rural towns are seen as critical to the continued character of Kansas

Kansas

Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...

.

Kansas Sampler Festival

Supporters sample rural Kansas culture elements by attending the Kansas Sampler Festival. It takes place annually, roving to different Kansas communities every two years. About eight thousand people attended the 2006 festival in Garden City, Kansas

Garden City, Kansas

Garden City is a city in and the county seat of Finney County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 26,658. The city is home to Garden City Community College and the Lee Richardson Zoo, the largest zoological park in western Kansas.-History:In February 1878, James...

. Approximately four hundred volunteers worked together to help put it on. It returned to the Lee Richardson Zoo in the spring of 2007. It has taken place in Inman, Kansas

Inman, Kansas

Inman is a city in McPherson County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 1,377.- History :It was founded in 1887 as Aiken. It was renamed Inman, in 1889, after Inman Lake which is located approximately east of the town...

, Pratt, Kansas

Pratt, Kansas

Pratt is a city in and the county seat of Pratt County in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 6,835. Pratt is home to Pratt Community College.-19th century:Pratt was founded in 1884 and named after Caleb S...

, Independence, Kansas

Independence, Kansas

Independence is a city in and the county seat of Montgomery County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 9,483.-Geography:...

 and Ottawa, Kansas

Ottawa, Kansas

Ottawa is a city situated along the Marais des Cygnes River in the central part of Franklin County, located in east-central Kansas, 50 miles southwest of Kansas City, Mo., in the central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 12,649. It is the county seat and most populous...

 and in Concordia, Kansas

Concordia, Kansas

Concordia is a city in and the county seat of Cloud County, Kansas, United States. Located on the Republican River in the Smoky Hills region of the Great Plains, Concordia was founded in 1871 and is an economic and cultural center in north-central Kansas...

, in the years since.

Much of the work of the Foundation matches the grass-roots, forward-thinking example of businesses and attractions featured at the Kansas Sampler Festival. The currency of awareness is spread in newsletters, and attitudes among member-supporters are tilted towards accentuating positive, mutual success and common survival — indeed a core value of the Foundation. There are group outings, and campaigns by members to trek across Kansas, finding out-of-the-way attractions, people and stories.

There several area of interest under the umbrella of the foundation, and many ways to participate. Principal among them is the Kansas Explorers Club. Foundation director Marci Penner said, "The club helps people know what there is to see and do in the nooks and crannies of the state." The Foundation's goal is to get 5,000 Kansas Explorer Club members.

Organizers believe that "with that number of explorers driving around the state and spending money in small town cafes and specialty shops and appreciating the historic sites and natural landmarks it will help keep our towns alive and thriving."

Kansas Explorer's Club

Simply put, The Kansas Explorers Club is a group of people bound by the common interest of exploring Kansas.

The Explorers Club newsletter comes out six times a year. In the pages, there are examples of places where the membership might go to explore, to find locally owned businesses, and to experience lesser-known aspects of the state. Suggested day-trips often lead the Explorer on a themed trip, such as visiting suriviving examples of the Old West in Kansas, a western-themed local eatery, and a bed and breakfast that dates back to frontier days.

One of the guiding principals is that Explorers 'dare to do dirt' - that is, they will seek out elusive best-kept secrets, and don't mind coming home tired, sunburned and with muddy boots for the experience. The stories, cautions, and recommendations from the trips appear in the newsletter. One motto is "It's About the Journey" which speaks to exploring.

Celebrated explorers have taken it upon themselves to venture across Kansas for a certain purpose; Explorers might wish to eat lunch in as many towns as possible, or try to drink a beer in every Kansas county. The list of such Explorer accomplishments grew significantly after one explorer in particular gathered nationwide media attention for his crusade.

There is a secret, ritual greeting among members, and there is an annual 'Happening', specifically for the purpose of lots of Explorers trekking to one spot en masse.

The Kansas Explorers Club was founded in 1994 already has 1,800 members and is growing every day. The club also plans Group Adventures to places not normally accessible to the public and once a year they have a Grand Expedition. The Grand Expedition is a bus tour designed to help the public see common sights of Kansas with new eyes. Individual membership to the club is $18.61 (the year Kansas became a state). Members receive a membership card, the regular newsletters and information about trips, but they also learn the secret explorer greeting ritual. The club web site is http://explorekansas.net or http://www.explorekansas.org/ . Address and contact information for the Kansas Sampler Foundation is 978 Arapaho Road, Inman, KS 67546 or call (620)585-2374.

We Kan!

The We Kan! section of the Sampler Foundation's on-line information calls the We Kan! network and newsletter "a support group and information flow among rural communities to help develop the unique identity of each town and to attract visitors in a way that will help keep towns alive and thriving." Furthermore, it states "It is a group of community leaders, volunteers, and supporters striving to make their communities better. Whatever the focus, We Kan! members enjoy the camaraderie of each other, the sharing of ideas, and a one-for-all, all-for-one attitude." according to the Sampler Foundation website http://kansassampler.org. We Kan! awards are presented to distinguished Explorers annually.

The We Kan! newsletter is published to motivate, and to educate about strategies to help sustain rural Kansas culture. Articles outline the importance of spending in favor of small businesses, in order to keep them alive. The pages often bring tactics for making a difference, however small, in the life of a small town, and explains in some depth how and why rural commerce struggles to survive. There are also pointers as to changes in businesses around the state, and simple inexpensive steps for the individual to take to make a difference. An example is buying postage stamps at smaller post offices, so small towns can keep their U.S. Post Office open, and take a step back from the brink of disappearing.

Lizard Lips

In the tiny Woodson County town of Toronto, Kansas

Toronto, Kansas

Toronto is a city in Woodson County, Kansas, United States, along the Verdigris River. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 281.-Geography:Toronto is located at...

- population less than 300 in 2003, there is Lizard Lips Grill and Deli. "The Kansas Guidebook for Explorers"
http://kansasguidebook.com/ says the "combination deli, convenience store, and bait shop" is a good source for area information. But is also a part of We Kan! lore. Lizard Lips is an example of a small, private business - vital to a community and on the cusp of bankruptcy, until We Kan! came along. They were challenged to go to the store and spend five dollars to keep it vital. The plan worked. The business stands out as a practical example of grass roots success in rural cultural commerce.

Marci Penner

Marci Penner founded the Kansas Sampler Foundation with her father, Mil Penner in 1993. The two had seen much of what the state of Kansas had to offer in their travels co-authoring a series of guidebooks, and found themselves championing small town survival not long after. She is the editor and publisher of the foundations newsletters, and her most recent book —"The Kansas Guidebook for Explorers"
http://kansasguidebook.com/ — came out in 2005. Marci Penner serves on the state government Rural Kansas Task Force, and is the recipient of the Kansan of the Year award. Penner organized the first Valley Falls Retreat to promote the western heritage of rural Kansas.

External links

Kansas Explorer's Club http://www.explorekansas.org/

Kansas Sampler Foundation http://kansassampler.org/

The Kansas Guidebook for Explorers http://kansasguidebook.com/

Interactive 2011 Kansas Sampler Festival Guide http://www.lawrencemarketplace.com/kansas-sampler/