Grow Ellsworth County isn’t the first time a chamber of commerce and an economic development organization have joined forces to benefit their community, and it won’t be the last if state rural development workers are correct in their prediction that Kansas will continue to see similar mergers as towns and counties work to make the most of limited resources.

Marci Penner of the Inmanbased Kansas Sampler Foundation, a rural advocacy organization, senses an attitude change in Topeka and in the country — state officials are paying more attention to the needs of sparsely-populated areas, and rural residents have come to realize the old way of doing business isn’t working.

Today’s generation of leaders often value cooperation over competition, Penner said.

“It’s the urgency of the situation, but it’s also because young people are moving back and they want people to get along,” Penner said.

In recent months, board members of the Ellsworth Area Chamber of Commerce and Ellsworth County Economic Development have conducted meetings to explain the reasons and benefits behind Grow Ellsworth County. The idea grew out of the chamber’s need for an executive director to replace Tami McGreevy, who wanted to retire to spend more time with her grandchildren.

Colby Richard, former chamber president who moved to the new organization as a board member, said not many chamber members spoke up about the proposed marriage, however, the response was positive when representatives reached out to them. Members also suggested questions and talked about past attempts to combine the two organizations.

“We put ourselves out there to have these conversations again and again,” Richard said.

The closest example Ellsworth could find to the kind of merger being discussed was Clay Center and Clay County north of Abilene. Their situation was similar, except instead of a chamber director, Clay County needed someone to lead its economic development efforts.

Former chamber director Shannon Stark and her board were key to the merger. She had been with the organization for more than three years on a part-time basis. During that time, she had doubled membership and received only one raise because of the chamber’s limited budget. It also was difficult to take time off when there was no one to do her work while she was gone.

“I think in these small rural communities, the old model is not sustainable,” Stark, who grew up in Clay Center, a town of about 4,100, said.

The two organizations began to work together informally in 2021. After putting out the “help wanted” sign for an executive director, they hired Natalie Muruato of South Dakota, where she was executive director of both a chamber and economic development group. Penner’s Sampler Foundation considers her “a rural leader by choice” because she moved to Kansas from another state.

Stark, who didn’t think she had the experience needed to spearhead the new Grow Clay County, said directors of the two original organizations wanted an executive in place to participate in the merger process. They also had community support.

“It was received very well by our businesses,” Stark said of the arrangement.

As in Ellsworth, the board makeup was a major detail because there weren’t enough seats at the table to accommodate directors of both organizations. However, again as in Ellsworth, the reduction seemed to resolve itself naturally as discussions took place on who wanted to serve and who was near the end of a term.

In the end, Stark said only one original board member who expressed interest in continuing was not named to the new group.

Unlike Ellsworth, the Clay Center/Clay County group included term limits in its bylaws. It became the most controversial aspect of the merger according to Stark.

The final policy said board members could serve for three years. They are eligible for a second term, but only after they sit out a term.

Ellsworth, which plans to base its new bylaws on those used by Ellsworth County Economic Development, has staggered terms. There are no limits on how long a director can serve.

Executive director of GEC Stacie Schmidt said board members plan to discuss the bylaws at their January meeting.

Grow Clay County, which markets itself as a “one-stop shop for our community’s needs,” has three-and-a-half employees.

“It’s a whole new world we’ve taken on,” Stark said, “but I think just combining staff and resources has been huge ... As long as you’re still doing the work, and that is not going to change.”

Discussion has started in other counties about similar efforts.

In Norton County, the chamber and economic development already share a building. Executive Director Dallas Gosselin said economic development works to recruit and retain business while the chamber is responsible for promotion.

“They very much work hand-in-hand,” Gosselin said. “Why not utilize the most of what you have?”

The merger issue also has been raised at community development board meetings in Mitchell County, but discussion has not gone far enough to include the public Executive Director Emily Benedick said.

Several rural advocates cite Thrive Allen County at Iola as the state’s ultimate marriage of organizations, responsible for the fulfillment of community needs and lifestyles. Under the mission of a healthier county, the group, formerly led by David Toland, now-Kansas lieutenant governor and secretary of commerce, tackles bike and walking trails, community engagement, economic development, health care, education and advocacy.

In 2017, Thrive Allen County received the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation award for “pursuing innovative ideas and bringing partners together to rally around a shared vision of health.”

The organization’s emphasis on health has allowed it to apply — and receive — grants it would not have been eligible for otherwise.

Access to child care, affordable housing and broadband all continue to be serious issues in rural Kansas, Penner said.

Still, she finds this to be an exciting time, in part because of the innovation she sees happening in the state’s smaller communities. She pointed to Lindsborg, where a state-of-the-art child care center developed from a community group that meets regularly to discuss plans and projects. Residents have to be willing to invest in their communities in order for them to be successful, Penner said.

“It comes down to people and a vision,” she said.