Friends of the Flint Hills Fund Established to Support Educational and Preservation Programs in 22 Flint Hills Counties

(Oct. 8, 2008) Alma, KS — The Flint Hills Tourism Coalition (FHTC) recently established the Friends of the Flint Hills Fund, an affiliated fund with the Kansas Rural Communities Foundation headquartered in Wamego. The Fund will support educational, conservation, preservation and maintenance programs in the 22 Flint Hills counties.

“Our goal is to build a community of Flint Hills enthusiasts,” said FHTC Executive Director Linda Craighead, Alma, “including natives, business owners, attractions, governments and organizations. We want to promote the Flint Hills as a top destination spot for travelers and tourists because we have so much to offer.”

FHTC is an alliance of tourism marketing agencies from the Flint Hills counties along with Flint Hills Resource Conservation and Development and the Kansas Division of Tourism. The Flint Hills counties include Butler, Chase, Chautauqua, Clay, Cowley, Dickinson, Elk, Geary, Greenwood, Harvey, Jackson, Lyon, Marion, Marshall, Morris, Pottawatomie, Riley, Sedgwick, Shawnee, Wabaunsee, Washington and Woodson.

“One of our objectives is to help residents of the Flint Hills recognize the treasures in their own back yards,” noted FHTC President Bill Smith, Emporia. “We want to promote conservation of and appreciation for the Flint Hills as well as economic growth and tourism in the 22-county area.”

Craghead noted that the trends in tourism point toward parks, outdoor recreation, cultural and historic sites—all of which the Flint Hills has an abundance of. Tourism can improve economic development and job growth, with economic benefits coming both directly and indirectly.

“It’s a win-win situation for everyone,” she said. “The tourist spends money to buy goods or services; the local worker spends a paycheck in their community; and that money is spent again and again in our towns, ensuring the vitality of our rural communities.”

For more information about the Flint Hills Tourism Coalition, please visit www.kansasflinthills.travel; for more information about the Friends of the Flint Hills Fund, visit www.thekrcf.org.

About the Kansas Rural Communities Foundation
The formation of the Kansas Rural Communities Foundation in 2006 as 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation created an efficient mechanism through which individuals, families, corporations, nonprofit organizations, and private foundations have been able to create funds and make gifts to benefit their communities.

Donated dollars have established scholarships, built new community playgrounds, assisted families who have children with disabilities, and aided historical preservation, just to name a few. Some of the communities that have benefited from the services provided by the KRCF include Belvue, Havensville, Norton, Olsburg, Onaga, St. George, St. Marys, Wamego, Westmoreland, and Wheaton.

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For more information about the KRCF, contact
René Eichem, executive director
Kansas Rural Communities Foundation
P.O. Box 25 | 529 Lincoln Ave. | Wamego, KS 66547
Phone: 785-456-8444 | Fax: 785-456-8443
E-mail | http://www.thekrcf.org