Anita Campbell
County Reporter
The Connecting Entrepreneurial Communities (CEC) conference was held September 20-21 in Benton County. Sessions were held in Cole Camp, Lincoln and Warsaw with speakers providing several days of learning about rural innovations for leaders with an eye on business growth.
“This conference was designed for people who decide where resources go,” said Annette Kendall, assistant extension professor of business and innovation in the University of Missouri Division of Applied Social Sciences. “Those in government, banking, education, libraries who can provide services to entrepreneurs who want to do something differently.”
The event was presented by MU Extension with Benton County Economic Development and Benton County Tourism and Recreation.
“Our communities are so beautiful; all three of them are different and unique,” said Jo Ann Lane, director of Benton County Economic Development. “Cole Camp has German heritage, and most of their downtown is on the national historic registry. Lincoln is smaller, but we have a great event planned for Lincoln. Warsaw is so beautiful, located where the Lake of the Ozarks and Truman Lake meet.”
“With breakout sessions in shops and businesses throughout Benton County, the 2023 CEC conference offered the unique opportunity to learn about and experience an entrepreneurial community up close and personal,” said Amie Breshears, MU Extension ag business specialist.
“The key to success in Benton County and surrounding counties is working together,” said Breshears. “Networking is key. A rising tide lifts all boats.”
“Bringing the whole county together is how we do it,” said Lane. “Every month, we have a three-chamber meeting, along with tourism, economic development and MU Extension. We decide how we can help each other and not overlap events, or make sure our events complement each other.”
Breshears and Lane attended the 2022 CEC in Hannibal and decided Benton County would be a good fit for the conference, Lane said. “We’ve been seeing more growth in the county in recent years – even during COVID, when a lot of business were shut down. Our high-speed internet services are attractive to those who wish to work remotely and enjoy smaller-town living.”
Breshears said it’s important to remember that rural communities are structured around agriculture. “Ag business IS business. There are no businesses without ag business,” she said.
“Rural people tend to stick around,” she continued. “They step up and take care of things in rural communities. They’re a great source of stability, the foundation of the rural social structure. They volunteer and help each other out.
“Family farms are passed from generation to generation, and increasing entrepreneurship helps bring kids back to agriculture and ag businesses.”
“There’s no formula to revitalizing rural communities, but it starts with the efforts of local people – people with a vision,” said Kendall. “Rural people are the most innovative. They just get on and do things, new ways of doing things that better peoples’ lives.”
On Saturday there was a break out session held at the Yellow Deli in Warsaw with the speakers including Benton County Presiding Commissioner Steve Daleske, Warsaw Mayor Eddie Simons, Lincoln Mayor Glenn Nelson and Cole Camp Mayor Robert Meuschke. Breshears was the moderator of the session.
Presiding Commissioner Daleske spoke about the advantages of living in Benton County. He pointed out that many people retire to Benton County because of the largest lake in the state, Truman Lake, as well as the beauty of the area with opportunities for farming, hunting and fishing.
“During the summer the population of Benton County swells with people coming here because it is a very unique place,” said Daleske. “We offer a great deal of opportunities for people and they are discovering the advantages of rural living.”
Warsaw Mayor Eddie Simons agreed. “We have all kinds of sports such as kayaking, fishing, boating, hunting and fishing,” said Simons. “Warsaw recently received a $25 million grant to improve the infrastructure and soon we will be able to change the streets and sidewalks of Warsaw to accommodate the growth to the city.”
Lincoln Mayor Glenn Nelson reported that many people who work in Sedalia prefer to live in Lincoln and that there is a need for housing in Lincoln.
“We need additional housing in Benton County,” said Nelson. “There are no rentals available in Benton County and people are requesting housing every day.”
Cole Camp Mayor Meuschke said that Cole Camp has a very active Chamber of Commerce and that they are on the verge of getting COMO internet service to Cole Camp which in turn will encourage people to move to Cole Camp.
“People want to live in small towns but they need to be able to work remotely so fast internet is necessary,” said Meuschke.
Lincoln Mayor Nelson spoke about how the Lincoln community had been working to clean up their city.
“Lincoln was looking rather shabby and the community came together to clean up and attract new businesses,” said Nelson. “We have a long way to go but Lincoln is definitely looking better and we now have a grocery store which we had been lacking for several years.”
Warsaw Mayor Simons agreed with Nelson on the need to keep the city looking good. “We have to keep people from trashing up property and continue to inspect buildings to make sure they are structurally sound,” said Simons.
Presiding Commissioner Daleske pointed out that it takes time to make things better. “People in Benton County aren’t always receptive to change,” said Daleske. “They don’t want the government telling them what to do, but we have to work together to make improvements.”
Cole Camp Mayor Meuschke agreed with Daleske. “I am not originally from Cole Camp and it is sometimes difficult for people to accept change, but while we want to retain our traditions, we have to attract people to this area if we want to remain a vital community.”
All three county mayors spoke about the need to improve the water and sewer systems in their respective cities.
“That may mean an increase in rates to install improvements,” said Simons.
At the closing session of the CEC Conference Senator Sandy Crawford and Representative Roger Reedy presented resolutions to the oldest businesses in each of the three Benton County cities: MFA Producer’s Exchange in Lincoln; Farmers Insurance in Cole Camp and the Benton County Enterprise in Warsaw.
The CEC Conference will be held in Fulton in 2024.
