‘Barton County Source’ included in Sunday's Tribune
Sunday’s issue of the Great Bend Tribune includes something extra — the 2014 edition of the “Barton County Source.”
Months in the making, this magazine-style publication contains more than 130 pages of “valuable, handy information collected on Barton County and its communities of Albert, Beaver, Claflin, Ellinwood, Galatia, Great Bend, Hoisington, Odin, Olmitz, Pawnee Rock and Susank.”
The Source is intended to last all year, as a one-stop resource for information on dining, attractions, history, important phone numbers, clubs, churches and more — much more.
On Sept. 24, Pawnee County subscribers and advertisers will receive a bonus, when the “Pawnee County Source” is released.
When 500 Kansans were surveyed online about the state’s most recognized brands of companies or organizations, KU and the Jayhawks topped the list.
The top ten: 1. KU/Jayhawks 2. Free State Beer 3. Pizza Hut 4. Coleman 5. Boulevard Beer 6. Sprint 7. Russell Stover 8. Garmin 9. Dillons 10. Koch Industries.
RSA Marketing Services in Wichita conducted its first Kansas Brand Power survey this summer. Bruce Rowley, chief executive officer of the company, said he wasn’t surprised to see Pizza Hut and Coleman on the list, even though they no longer have their headquarters in Kansas.
“This survey gives us a chance to see which brands stand out to the people of Kansas,” said Rowley. “Brands define us, define a group of people. What would Silicone Valley be without Google and Apple? It seems Pizza Hut and Coleman continue to define Kansas, even after they’ve left.”
What would Barton County be without Great Bend’s Brit Spaugh Zoo and the Kansas Raptor Center?
The staff at the Great Bend Tribune comes up with its own “best of” list each year as we prepare the “Barton County Source.” While the choices are somewhat random, they also show what defines us. Maybe that’s why ad manager Dianne Lacy-Trostle chose her photo of Barusha, the lioness at Brit Spaugh Zoo, for this year’s cover. Lacy-Trostle isn’t a Great Bend native, but she remembers visiting the zoo as a child.
Other top attractions for Barton County featured in the Source include, in no particular order: SRCA Drag Racing, Barton County Historical Society Museum & Village, Great Bend Farm & Ranch Show; Great Bend Sports Complex, Wetlands Aquatic Center; Barton County Fair; Youth Academy; Women’s Expo; Kansas Wetlands Education Center; and the Kansas Oil and Gas Museum.
“We tried to show things that represent our community,” Lacy-Trostle said, adding she learned a lot about Barton County as she participated in the creation of this publication.
Later this month, the “Pawnee County Source” will be delivered to Tribune readers in Pawnee County. The Pawnee County Area All Veterans Memorial, which was completed and dedicated earlier this year, is on the cover. A Pawnee County top 10 might also include: Central Kansas Scout Museum, Fort Larned National Historic Site, Santa Fe Trail Center, Larned Fishing Pond, the Little Red House, Pawnee County Fair, Zebulon Pike Plaza, State Theater and Pawnee Rock Historic Site, even though that last one happens to be located in Barton County.
Just as future surveys of Kansas brands will provide a snapshot of history, a progression of Barton and Pawnee County Source covers chronicles our enduring features and new enhancements. Previous covers for Barton County have included the bronzes in front of the iconic Crest Theater, wheat and oil, a bird soaring over Cheyenne Bottoms, the county fair and the courthouse. And this isn't the first time a zoo animal has graced the cover.
Pawnee County covers have featured the Pawnee Valley Community Hospital, Fort Larned National Historic Site, the miniature train in Schnack Park, and the courthouse.
