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Build it and they will comeBuild it and they will come

Legendary KARL Leadership: Atwood, Kan., population of 2,528 is a case study in local leaders building a future for their community.

February 4, 2025

4 Min Read
Class XVII tours the packaging division of 21st Century Bean in Goodland, Kan., with company President Alan Townsend
21ST CENTURY BEAN: KARL Class XVII tours the packaging division of 21st Century Bean in Goodland, Kan., with company President Alan Townsend. 21st Century Bean, started in 1998, provides consumers a wide variety of wholesale dry edible beans and dry bean flour milled in-house, including providing more than 100 million meals annually to USDA food assistance programs and food banks across the U.S. Photos courtesy of KARL

By Clinton Glaser

“If you build it, they will come.” We have all heard that cliché a thousand times. But this is exactly what KARL Class XVII experienced and witnessed during our recent tour of agricultural and rural industry in northwest Kansas. This was particularly showcased while touring and visiting with SurePoint Ag Systems and Fort Hays Tech Northwest.

SurePoint Ag Systems (formerly SureFire) is a company that focuses on providing custom and compatible solutions for the application of crop inputs. The company is headquartered just outside Atwood, Kan., in Rawlins County. In 2022, its population was 2,528.

The company started in 2007 with three partners: Matt Wolters, Josh Walters and Blaine Ginther. Since then, the company has grown exponentially, with more than 130 employees coming from both in state and other countries.

SurePoint has become a prominent name in the agriculture industry. Its products and services are used nationally and globally. The company recently entered a joint venture with John Deere and is expanding further.

KARL Class XVII listens to SurePoint Ag Engineering Manager Albert Popp during a tour

The company is an economic driver both locally and regionally. This is a testament to its talented team and work culture. SurePoint also prides itself on being a local leader in addressing other needs to help the community thrive in the future. Wolters often uses the term “misfit leadership.” He says that if you are truly leading, you probably need to be somewhat misfit, different and stand out.

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Fort Hays Tech Northwest (formerly Northwest Kansas Technical College) is a technical college located in Goodland, Kan., led by President Ben Shears. The college recently partnered with Fort Hays State University to further its reach and services. Its mission statement is to prepare individuals for gainful employment in technical and professional careers, productive personal lives and lifelong learning.

Fort Hays Tech Northwest offers numerous programs such as welding, plumbing, construction, civil engineering technology, graphics technology, precision agriculture, cosmetology and more. The college focuses on retaining talent in Kansas and helps its students with finding jobs in Kansas after graduation.

Class XVII heard the story of an aging plumber in a rural western town who contacted the college expressing that he had interest in retiring but did not have anyone to take over the business and serve his community. At this time, the college did not have a plumbing program, but it started one shortly after. A student within the program was able to shadow the plumber and, after graduation, the student took over the business.

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Class XVII tours downtown Atwood, Kan., with Matt Wolters, KARL Class X fellow and co-founder of SurePoint Ag

The successes and influence of SurePoint and Fort Hays Tech NW illustrate that no matter what your location, if you build something worth visiting, people will come. If you build a hard work ethic and skills, good things will come. If you build quality products and services, successful businesses will come. If you build a strong culture and work environment, talented employees will come. If you build relationships, opportunities will come.

And if we build all of the above, a stronger, more vibrant and successful rural Kansas will come.

To better your rural communities and the great state of Kansas, I leave you asking: What are you going to build? 

Glaser is a real estate appraiser and the owner of Smoky Hill Appraiser Inc. in Salina, Kan. He is a Kansas Agriculture and Rural Leadership Class XVII associate. Legendary KARL Leadership is written by current class associates sharing lessons from their seminars. For more information about the KARL Program, visit karlprogram.com.  

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