Kyra Lampe, economic development specialist for JenRus Freelance, will be taking on the lead role for Jewell County Community Development starting in May per the JCCDA board’s approval at their April meeting. The Jewell County Community Development board hired JenRus Freelance in 2013 as a company to serve in the community development role as opposed to a single person, as the advantages of this include having continuity in the role if or when transitions happen and support by multiple staff. Because of the pressures and politics of economic development in general, turnover in the position was common and the board spent large amounts of time hiring and transitioning which distracted from the core work of economic development in the county.

Harley Schuster, JenRus Freelance staff architecture lead, will also be available for utilization by the board. Housing in Jewell County and in rural areas is an increasingly pressing issue. In addition, it has become a high-level concern locally, within the State of Kansas, from the Dane G. Hansen Foundation, and with the Northwest Kansas Economic Innovation Center. Because of this, JenRus Freelance hired Harley Schuster, a former Dane G. Hansen-Republic County Economic Development intern, in 2022. Harley is a Jewell County native and has a master’s degree in architecture. At the March 2022 meeting, the board heard how her services could be used within the confines of the economic development budget to tackle housing and downtown building projects.

Jenny Russell has served in the community development role since 2015, she will move to an advisory role. During Russell’s time in the coordinator position, she worked with the board on a number of projects including bringing Dollar General to the county, promoting entrepreneurship through the Jewell County Entrepreneurship Fair, establishing land banks in many Jewell County towns, promotion of Rural Opportunity Zones (ROZ), and further development of opportunities from the 300,000 visitors to Lovewell Lake. Also during this time, wealth building happened in the communities through the launch of the Jewell County Community Foundation and county participation in Dane G. Hansen initiatives. The organization annually reported a 500 percent return on investment.

Kyra Lampe has been on staff with JenRus since May 2021. Before joining the company full time, she was an intern for Republic County Economic Development working on housing issues. She worked as a housing assistant at the North Central Flint Hills Area Agency on Aging, as a legislative intern in Topeka, and as an intern at the Dodge City Area Chamber of Commerce. Lampe added “I am eager to take on the role of JCCDA coordinator. Having been with JenRus for nearly a year, I’ve been able to be a part of many projects within Jewell County and so I feel I have a solid foundation and a strong understanding of the communities’ strengths and needs. Jenny has been a great teacher and the JCCDA board is always so supportive and helpful. I look forward to building on the many successes of Jenny and the board being a part of the county’s continued growth.”

“In my time with Jewell County Community Development, I have been very proud of the accomplishments that the board and the citizens of Jewell County have accomplished by working together. We have implemented tools to build capital in our communities, programs to build more capacity in our workforce, and initiatives that help improve quality of life in the county. Thank you to all of those who have served with me in various capacities throughout the years. I truly appreciate all of you and know that we have left the county at an even better place than where we found it. I know that Kyra will do a tremendous job and I hope that you will be able to work with her soon,” said Jenny Russell.

Jewell County Community Development Association was formed in 1996 with the mission to help improve the economic diversity of Jewell County. It is overseen by a board of directors with members from all throughout the county and financed by a mill from the Jewell County Commissioners.

The contact information for JCCDA will stay the same and Russell will still serve the organization in an advisory capacity. If you have any questions, feel free to contact [email protected] or give them a call at (785) 378-7036.