Moving Forward

Sidney might have looked a little different Sept. 22-23, or at least there were some visitors offered a tour of what the community is, and what it could be.

The tour of visitors was part of the “E3” meeting. E3 is short for Energizing Entrepreneurial Ecosystems. The idea is to develop a network of resources in Sidney to drive opportunity through sustained investments in entrepreneurships and community improvement.

What it includes is individuals, and communities, mentoring each other toward business and community development.

Communities from east-central Nebraska and as far away as western Kansas attended the two-day event. The conference included a lunch meeting at Sidney High School, followed by a tour of some of the new vocational and entrepreneurial classes. Business leaders were introduced to classes in media and a future print shop at Sidney High School. Friday morning they also were treated to fresh-brewed coffee drinks courtesy of the Raider Made coffee bus while at ESU13/Western Nebraska Community College.

The event was introduced by Sarah Sinnett, one of the facilitators of the local E3 membership. She talked about the ecosystem, the use of drone videos of Sidney, and the history of the community from the beginning to the change of Cabela's to Bass Pro ownership.

“There's a lot of controversy with Cabela's, but I know we wouldn't be where we are without Cabela's,” she said. “It's a very valuable part of our community.”

She said the change of Cabela's and its impact on the community created a lot of negative conversations.

“People think of the negative, but I think Sidney's in a better place than we've been in quite some time,” she said.

She referred to the companies that have moved to Sidney since 2016-2017, including Nelnet with 84 employees on staff in two years. The park project was credited for its success at rallying the community. Madison Wilkinson and Ally Benzel rallied the community to raise more than $700,000 to build a play area more inclusive for the community. Sinnett said the park project is proof big projects can be done with a limited number of people.

It doesn't take a ton of people to make a difference,” she said.

Each community talked about what they are doing to encourage growth and entrepreneurship, and to better their communities. Discussions addressed the successes and the challenges. Often the big question centered around where to find the funds when a project is defined.

Jana Jenson, affiliated fund development coordinator for the Nebraska Community Foundation, said funds are available. Sometimes, she said, success is as simple as the right “ask.” She talked about retired families who had funds they wanted to invest, but didn't know who to give to.

The sessions also talked about the link between workers and quality of community. It was said a community eco system is important; anyone can find a job; finding a community the worker wants to live in is important.

Sessions included each community discussing the “what next.” What does each community and its development committee need to do to reach the next goal. Some of the discussions in Sidney include possibly a point person, the person or office that can help a new entrepreneur network through the various agencies that can guide he or she to business success.