BARTON COUNTY — Skip Yowell, a man who has made it his life’s goal to discover for himself and possibly climb all four corners of the earth, who chooses to motivate with kindness, respect and fun, will inspire nature lovers with his spectacular photographs and stories of his adventures at the Kansas Wetlands Education Center at 7 p.m. April 15. Snacks will be served at 6:30 p.m.
Yowell was born in Hays and grew up in Great Bend, graduating from Great Bend High School in the ‘60s. He then moved to Seattle, little knowing that he and his friend and cousin would develop high-quality outdoor sporting equipment company known as JanSport. What began in the second story of a transmission repair shop is now an international business.
JanSport’s quality designs have transformed the sporting equipment industry with products including day packs for school books, the dome tent, and the adjustable aluminum frame backpack, their first product.
Yowell uses the lessons he has learned to motivate others to dream a dream and to listen to a lot of music along the way.
"But for those with a passion for their dreams, no mountain is too high," said Yowell in his book, "The Hippie Guide to Climbing the Corporate Ladder and Other Mountains." And, he has lived his life that way, having flown over 3 million miles, and having had adventures which includes climbs at such far-flung places as Mt. Rainer, Mt. Kilimanjaro and Mt. Everest as well as some unique,close, personal experiences with llamas and yaks.
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Yowell encourages those who only skate inside the lines to take a calculated risk and skate outside the lines, to break out, test your wings and experience the joy of flight.
He is still out there seeking the next adventure. He will climb Machu Picchu in Peru in the near future. After that, about all that is left is the North or South Pole. Despite all of his adventures, Kansas remains the home of his heart, and he has recently moved back in to the state.
"The evening will be interesting," said Travis Thompson, vice president of FOCB. "Yowell is an entertaining and fun speaker."
The lecture will benefit the Friends of Cheyenne Bottoms, of which Yowell is a board member. The FOCB provide a second-grade education day for area students in the fall. All of the second graders in the county will participate on Sept. 1 and experience the heritage in their own backyard.
"We have a dream that in 50 years, Barton County will be a place that is prosperous, and that people will want to come here," said Thompson. "We can teach our children to value what is special about Cheyenne Bottoms, and the birds that stop and refuel for the remainder of their migratory flight.
Yowell will also have a book signing with the proceeds benefitting the FOCB. The second grade education day is provided free-of-charge to the schools.
The evening is free with the purchase of a membership to the FOCB. Otherwise, a tickets costs $20. The cost of a family membership to FOCB is $20 or a single membership is $10
The FOCB are a non-profit (501)3c organization. The members of the board of directors are Yowell, Thompson, Marcia Westhoff, Larry Panning, Art Baker, Diane Feldt, Karen La Pierre, Dr. Dan Witt, Roger Butler and Kristy Rupe and ex-officio members are Curtis Wolf, Robert Penner, Karl Grover, Pam Martin and Eric Giesing.
