Our children are our future. Yes, it is an old cliche but it is also true.
If we want to make our communities better in the future, we need to make investments. More specifically, we need to make investments in our children.
There are a variety of ways to make investments in our children. It is investing time, perhaps by coaching your child’s soccer team and building their confidence and social skills. It is investing talent, maybe by sharing your joy of playing the guitar by teaching a young person.
And it is investing treasure, by putting financial resources toward our young people and their ideas. This is where the McCook Community Foundation Fund (MCFF) is making an investment, by putting funds toward two programs this summer which support youth entrepreneurship.
Fund from a Youth Engagement Grant from MCFF and the Nebraska Community Foundation are supporting the Hormel Youth Entrepreneurship Camp and Lemonade Days.
Designed for fourth graders through seniors in high school, these two programs are designed to teach young people what it is like to own and operate a business. They will learn that it is possible to take their idea and make it a reality. And most importantly, they will learn that their community wants to invest in them, wants them to succeed and wants them to be here.
The Hormel Youth Entrepreneurship Camp is a simplified version of the Hormel Business Competition held every two years in Southwest Nebraska. The youth competition - yes, it is a camp where they will learn a lot, but it’s also a competition where the winners will win cold, hard cash - is open to anyone entering 8th through 12th grade this fall. They must also live in the seven counties served by Mid-Plains Community College (Red Willow, Hayes, Furnas, Frontier, Chase, Hitchcock and Dundy counties), a sponsor along with MCFF and Red Willow 4-H Extension.
Otherwise, there are no restrictions and even better, no costs to the student. They don’t even need to have a plan…just an idea, a dream, a concept for a business they would like to see in Southwest Nebraska.
It includes a week-long camp June 21-25 where they will get to visit local businesses, learn what how to start a business and take their ideas from concept to concrete plan. In July, they will have access to an online marketing class and in August, they’ll develop an actual business plan.
The competition culminates in September with a formal presentation to judges, with the top three winning cash prizes including $5,000 to the top business plan. Open to just 20 students, every will benefit by learning how to own and operate a business. And maybe more importantly, whether they truly want to be a business owner.
The entrepreneur camp actually wraps up in November when the winners will present their business idea during the Nebraska Community Foundation’s annual training and banquet, held in McCook this year.
But not to leave out our younger entrepreneurs, Lemonade Days is open to those in fourth through sixth grades. Sponsored by the McCook Economic Development Corp., the McCook Chamber of Commerce and MCC, Lemonade Days will have our young people operating their own lemonade stands along Norris Avenue on Saturday, July 10 during McCook’s Crazy Days.
The concept behind Lemonade Days is to introduce these young people to the steps of running a business. It includes everything from “renting” a location to obtaining a “loan” to purchase supplies. There will be marketing and promotion and of course, repaying that loan at the end of their lone sales day.
For more information about Lemonade Days, call the McCook EDC at 308-345-1200 or visit www.lemonadeday.org/mccook. Registration is due by June 10.
Registration for the Youth Entrepreneurship Camp is due by June 14, with brochures around McCook or online at www.bceregister.mpcc.edu.
Both of these programs are great opportunities to show our young people that they can make their business happen here and that they can make a difference.
But more importantly, these investments show that their ideas matter and that they are valued. The investment shows that we are willing to listen to them and that we are willing to put our time and resources into their ideas. The investment shows that we are willing to take a chance on their hopes and dreams to make McCook an even better place to call home.
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Organizer for Buffalo Commons Storytelling Festival and former librarian named Oct 2025 volunteer of the month.
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Long-time community advocate Barb Ostrum received the Sept 2025 McCook Volunteer of the Month award.
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With so much going, it is time for a “This, That and the Other Thing” column, where we will cover several topics, not very deeply but hopefully with a sense of humor as we clean up and prepare for a busy week in McCook. *** McCook again made state and national news this week for ice. This time, it was in the form of hail that pounded the community for hours upon hours. Conversations this week begin with “where were you….?” or “how many windows did you lose?” And while they may be legitimate and are offering their services, it is like vultures with all the roofing repair and dent removal businesses which have descended upon McCook following the storm. As city officials noted, do your due diligence with any company doing repairs for you and follow the old adage, which is old and still around because it’s true: If something seems to be too good to be true, it probably is. And one last note on the storm, we need to be careful what we ask for. As storm after storm approaches McCook and then splits in two to go around the town, we finally got one to roll right over us. The storm liked McCook so much it slowed down and just there. I was in Lincoln during the storm and trying to determine when I would drive home. I thought the weather app had frozen or the radar was broken because every time I looked, the storm was still sitting over McCook, doing its damage. I guess we can be thankful the next time a storm seemingly just goes around us. *** We are in the thick of McCook’s Heritage Days celebration. Congratulations to all the Heritage Days Royalty, which was announced at the MNB Bank Mixer this week. A special shout-out to Bill Donze, better known as Mr. Bill and his wife, Kathy, who were honored as royalty for their impact in McCook. As many know, Mr. Bill is fighting cancer and the prognosis isn’t good. The chances of him selling snow-cones and candy out of his van next summer near the McCook Aquatic Center are not good. One judge of his impact was the response to my column about Mr. Bill a few months ago. The post was shared thousands of times, viewed nearly 70,000 times with just as many comments by people sharing their fond memories of Mr. Bill. So when you see Mr. Bill riding down Norris in the convertible this weekend in the Heritage Days parade, send extra prayers and well-wishes to the man who has brought so much joy to so many kids - and adults too - over the years. *** Continuing on the Heritage Days theme, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that the McCook Rotary Club is tossing all egos and formality out the window this weekend. As the president of the McCook Rotary Club, I invite everyone to at least watch, if not participate, in the Rotary’s first inflatable costume relay race on Saturday as part of the festivities in Norris Park. These are those giant, blow-up costumes you usually see around Halloween. The first costumes were usually T-Rexes but now there is everything imaginable available as a design. With the idea for the race originally conceived by Melanie Goodenberger, she has purchased everything from corn on the cob to a cowboy riding a chicken. This is a fund-raiser for the Rotary Club with a cost of just $20 for a team of four to participate in the relay race. But it is also a chance to giggle, perhaps make a fool of yourself and just have fun. Come to the park Saturday afternoon for the Wiener Dog races and stay for the Rotary Relay races. While the dogs will already be close to the ground, the relay race participants will likely just end up on the ground. *** With so much going on in McCook this week, I debated whether there should be another activity the next week but the response has already been great for the Lied’s Arts Across Nebraska’s next production in McCook. Hosted by the McCook Creative District, the Omaha Street Percussion ensemble will perform at the Fox Theater on Wednesday, Sept. 24. There is a matinee showing at 10:30 a.m. but I will be up-front…we are testing the capacity of the Fox with every seat already claimed with students. If that is the only show you can make, please come and we’ll find you a seat but it may be those up in the rafters. Otherwise, please plan to attend the 7 p.m. show on Sept. 24. And even better, there is no cost thanks to the Kimmel Foundation and the Friends of the Lied. This is a busy week and a busy weekend but this is a great opportunity to sit back and enjoy a fun, entertaining evening of live music.
Most likely, we aren't going to be good at something at the start. But that shouldn't stop us from trying.
