Why Our Residents Love Ellsworth County.... a testimonial

Don't take it from us why you should Love Kansas and Love Ellsworth County. Take it from our residents. Here's a great story shared by local Colby Richard.

Colby's full story testimonial is below, and yes, that’s Colby’s talented voice you’ll hear in the video, sharing his beautiful rendition of “Home on the Range” (in part).

"When I was younger and growing up in Concordia, Kansas, I had big eyes for getting out of town. The world I didn't know told a better story than the one I thought I was living. I went to K-State and from there headed out to Ohio for my first job. And althought I found success there, my search for more actually med me to Nashville, TN. I had this idea that I wanted to write songs. Songs that would change the world and give it all I had. I shook hands with people I heard on the radio and I played for crowds that loved my stuff. It was a lot of fun but I kept feeling like there was something I was missing. In this city of hundreds of thousands of people, I will still just trying to get through each day alone and on my own. I was missing connection. I was trying to change the world but I wasn't doing anything to participate in the world around me. The world I could touch. I didn't know my neighbors and I didn't really connect with where my place in it all was. See, when you're growing up in a small town you don't realize how you naturally connect to people. Through schol or sports or church or community, you're always on a team. A group of people working together and headed in a direction. So, when it came time for me to once again make a big choice about my future, this time, I looked towards home. I traced the family roots back to Ellsworth County, Kansas and I started to dig in. I said yes more than I said no and surely but slowly that feeling started to come back. That feeling of connection and purpose. The understanding that when I give my energy to further the good in my community, my community gives that energy right back. In Nashville, I wanted to change the whole world and it was easy to get lost in that idea. But back home, I can reach out and touch and impact so many things that directly matter to me and my neighbors. That means something. It's living a life that's real. That's the kind of thing that fills your heart. I've been fortunate to have met my wife here and together we are building something. So, you know, why Kansas? Because I'm on a team again. I have a purpose and a place. My time away from Kansas has taught me great lessons about myself, about empathy and humanity and I'm thankful for it. I would recommend it to everyone. It's important to feel the world and see how similar we are in all our differences. But when you find yourself searching for that thing you're missing, that thing in your heart that feels empty or lost, come on back. It's here in Kansas waiting for you. It's in our small towns and it's been here the whole time."

Today, you can find Colby as Executive Director of Smoky Hill Community Foundation making his impact on our community, and also a productive and engaged board member for Grow Ellsworth County. Colby, we are glad to have you on our community team!