By Ron Wilson, director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University.

“Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships.” Those words come from Michael Jordan, considered by many to be the most talented basketball player of all time. Even he noted that the most talented of individuals cannot reach their full success without teamwork.  In today’s Kansas Profile, we’ll learn about a regional partnership that demonstrates the benefits of community teamwork in the Kansas Flint Hills.

Sharon Brown is the mayor of Clay Center, Kan. and president of the Flint Hills Regional Council. Last week we learned how a Tri-County Congress helped set the stage for this new regional organization which she heads.

Sharon was mayor of Clay Center in December, 2007 when the commanding general at Fort Riley invited her and other mayors and spouses to a holiday dinner.

“He wanted to make contact with the communities where his soldiers live,” Sharon said.

She and the other mayors greatly appreciated this interest. They later served on Community Partnership Councils with the fort, where every other month some 30 to 40 community leaders in the region came together to discuss key issues surrounding Fort Riley.

“We would talk about issues such as health care, housing, workforce, recreation, and education and how to make them better,” Sharon said.

Meanwhile, the Governor’s Military Council – directed by Manhattan’s John Armbrust -- was working on behalf of the state’s military installations. A Tri-County Congress had convened representatives of Geary, Riley and Pottawatomie Counties.

The culmination of these efforts to work cooperatively around Fort Riley came with the creation of a Flint Hills Regional Council. In January, 2010, members of the new council were seated.  The president of the Flint Hills Regional Council is Sharon Brown.

Sharon sees first-hand the impact of the military, and specifically Fort Riley, on the economy of the region. A 2004 study estimated that the military had a nearly $2 billion impact on the economy of Kansas.

A 2009 Wichita State University study commissioned by the Governor’s Military Council estimated that the value of military contracts to Kansas companies was $7.7 billion and generated more than 169,000 jobs both directly and with civilians. Wages generated $5.7 billion. In 2007, Fort Riley was the largest employer in the state of Kansas.

These economic impacts are huge, and they transcend county lines. The Flint Hills Regional Council is a way to work together and communicate about issues surrounding the fort and how it impacts its neighbors, such as in housing or education.

John Armbrust, director of the Governor’s Military Council, said, “This allows us to work together to benefit the region and each community. Communities need to be part of a regional organization to collaborate where it makes sense.”

The Flint Hills Regional Council is a non-profit 501(c)3 corporation whose membership is made up of local governments and whose board is formed by elected officials from member municipalities and counties, plus non-voting representatives from Fort Riley, K-State, and the Governor’s Military Council. It is intended to be a tool to increase the flow of information in the region while working toward mutually agreed upon goals.

Sharon Brown sees the importance of the military in the impact on the rural communities around the fort: “We have 65 soldiers living in Clay Center plus 135 civilians who are working here. We also see soldiers in the smaller towns around the fort.” That includes rural places like Wakefield, which has 854 residents and 85 soldiers, and even three soldiers living at the rural community of Green, population 137 people. Now, that’s rural.

Sharon said, “I observed military dads coaching the kid’s soccer teams. It just enriches us having them here.”

Talent wins games but teamwork wins championships, as Michael Jordan pointed out. In the northern Flint Hills of Kansas, counties and communities are teaming up with Fort Riley to work together. We commend Sharon Brown and all those involved with the Flint Hills Regional Council for making a difference by coming together to work on issues affecting the region. Our military families in the region make a cause which, together as a team, we can champion.

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The mission of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development is to enhance rural development by helping rural people help themselves. The Kansas Profile radio series and columns are produced with assistance from the K-State Research and Extension Department of Communications News Unit. A photo of Ron Wilson is available at  http://www.ksre.ksu.edu/news/sty/RonWilson.htm.  Audio and text files of Kansas Profiles are available at http://www.kansasprofile.com. For more information about the Huck Boyd Institute, interested persons can visit http://www.ksre.ksu.edu/huckboyd/.

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