Editor’s note: This is the first in a two-part series examining Great Bend’s strengths through the eyes of community leaders. The second story will look at what officials and citizens are doing to continue to strengthen the community. Part two will appear in Wednesday’s Tribune.

While COVID-19 produced a lot of negative impacts, local officials also say the adversity it brought about highlighted a lot of what makes Great Bend and other rural communities great places to live.

“People were craving connection and they weren’t getting that in (cities),” said Great Bend Economic Development Inc. President Sara Hayden. “(In the cities) you don’t have time to really meet your neighbor or get to know your city government personally, and I think that’s where we really excel. You can go downtown on a Friday night, and you’re going to find 10 people that you know, and catch up with them.”

It is that personal touch that Great Bend City Administrator Kendal Francs also highlights when speaking about the city and its residents.

“The people are really what make Great Bend great,” Francis said.

Hayden described Great Bend as a, “small but big city. We have restaurants, we have places to shop, but we’re still small enough that you can get to know your neighbor,” Hayden said.

“We’re large enough that we offer a good mixture of things that are attractive to a lot of people,” Francis said. Most things people go to larger cities to do are available right here in Great Bend, Francis said. He feels the community has a lot to offer both its current residents and those looking to relocate here.

Francis noted that as COVID-19 led to a more mobile and tech savvy workforce, and people began to work more remotely, people rediscovered the desire for rural hometown values and started to seek out more family-friendly places to live. That led to a trend of more younger individuals relocating from larger cities to smaller communities like Great Bend.

Stereotypes say rural communities are aging and dying, Hayden said, but statistics show that is not the case, especially in Great Bend.

“Our average age in the area is 39.4 years old,” Hayden said. “We do have young families moving back, we do have young professionals moving back to the area.”

Family focused infrastructure

One particularly attractive feature of Great Bend to young couples, both leaders noted, is the abundance of low-cost family-friendly activities available in the community.

Francis noted the community’s deep cultural roots in the arts, with activities such as the Shafer Art Gallery, Great Bend Community Theatre, and the Golden Belt Community Concert Foundation. “People like that cultural blend,” he said.

Though the city is a part of many of these activities, Francis said these activities could not happen without a strong network of supportive community and civic organizations.

So many of the city’s family friendly amenities, such as the city’s parks, the Wetlands Waterpark, and the Great Bend Brit Spaugh Zoo, are available to the public at little to no cost, whereas the same activities in larger cities would cost people significantly more to participate in.

Hayden was quick to spotlight community organizations such as the Great Bend Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Great Bend Recreation Commission, both of which she said do a wonderful job of providing a wide variety of family-friendly events and activities at very little cost.

“If you look, and you don’t even have to look hard, there’s so many family friendly opportunities here, that it really does set us apart,” Hayden said.

“It’s a mindset (among leaders) that we’re here to serve everybody equally,” Francis said. “We’ve got to provide the things (you need) as your family grows older and stays here.”

As part of that effort, Francis highlighted a strong educational infrastructure with USD 428, as well affordable post-secondary options with Barton Community College for those with a variety of early career and continuing education goals.

“(Education) is a strong anchoring factor for us,” Francis said.

Another piece of the puzzle is access to high-quality health care, and that is a strength that Great Bend has “in spades,” Francis said.

Francis also praised the city’s first responder’s saying they play a key role in building and strengthening the community, for both current and prospective residents alike..

“People desire to be in a place in which they feel safe and secure,” Francis said. “(The police department) provides a family-friendly, kid safe atmosphere which attracts young families. It also is key to attracting new businesses as well as maintaining our current ones. 

“In a similar way, our Fire/EMS workers provide an essential life saving service. Providing that critical service in an exceptional manner, helps to add to the sense of peace and security, because citizens know that their lives and the lives of their loved ones will be well cared for,” he said.