Participants from the 2026 Leadership Kansas class visited Pittsburg and sites throughout southeast Kansas last week for sessions on business, education, historic preservation, research, industry, economic development and government.
“Our community’s success is a result of the partnerships we share with the Chamber, Pitt State, and so many businesses and agencies across the region,” Hall said. “From economic development to housing and infrastructure, our greatest achievements have come from organizations working together toward common goals.”
Kasi Morales, Executive Director for the McPherson Industrial Development Company and the Key Accounts Manager at the Board of Public Utilities, shared that she was impressed by the relationships among different entities.
“I love to see your collaboration between the college and the community,” she shared about her time in Pittsburg and Southeast Kansas. “I think that you guys have done a really great job with that. It is something that I’m definitely going to take away.”
Morales is planning a “field trip” with her colleagues to return to Pittsburg and learn more.
“I want them to see it for themselves and talk to some people that have orchestrated all of this,” she said. “You think you know the state, but seeing it in this way really opens your eyes and gives you a lot of great takeaways to bring back to your own community.”
Patrick Vogelsberg, Manager of Government Affairs at the Kansas Gas Service in Topeka, shared the same sentiment.
“This is a model for how other communities should operate,” he said. “What I see here is the relationships are built upon high levels of trust and respect, and they’re breaking down some silos and really working together –and it shows.”
Like Morales, Vogelsberg is coming back to the area and bringing his family with him.
“This is the first time I’ve spent some time here, and it’s impressive. It’s stuff that I want to bring back to Topeka, and I want to bring back to my hometown in Marysville,” he said. “I literally called my wife and said, we need to come back through here and stay to tour the area.”
About Leadership Kansas
Leadership Kansas is one of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious statewide leadership programs, according to a release from the Kansas Chamber and Kansas Chamber Education Foundation. Participants are nominated by their peers or community leaders and then selected to join the program. The class aims to develop and inspire leaders from across the state.
This program runs from April to November, with sessions in Dodge City, Garden City, Hays, Hutchinson, Kansas City, Leavenworth, Manhattan, Pittsburg, Salina, Topeka, and Wichita.
