Storytelling festival gets a happy ending thanks to Kansas farmer

All-Star Farmer: Glennys Doane
Hometown: Downs, Kansas
Favorite Nonprofit Organization: Kansas Storytelling Festival



Glennys giving an interview for her local radio station, KD Country 94 & Z-96.3, at the festival.

 As both a farmer and a volunteer coordinator for the Kansas Storytelling Festival, I knew I had to sign up for America’s Farmers Grow Communities. I actually heard about the program back in 2011, but my county, Osborne County, did not become eligible until 2012. Let me tell you, as soon as I heard the news, I was online signing up for the program.

I became involved with the Kansas Storytelling Festival through the Downs Art Council many years ago. The Downs Art Council is an organization run solely by volunteers, just like the Kansas Storytelling Festival, but encompasses both visual and performing arts. I’m very passionate about the arts, particularly performance arts, such as storytelling. I believe that communication in the form of a story provides value in education, relationships, and, of course, comedic relief. So, after learning about the Kansas Storytelling Festival from the Council, I joined as a volunteer coordinator.



Donald Davis, the headliner from last spring's festival, on one of the stages. He is considered the "dean" of storytelling as a performing art.

 After working with the Festival, I realized that it is a privately-funded nonprofit organization, and that it sometimes struggles to maintain the event if it is not able to collect the funds and volunteers necessary to make it possible. When my county became eligible for Monsanto’s grant through America’s Farmers Grow Communities, I knew exactly which organization I would enter into the program. When I found out the Kansas Storytelling Festival won, I was ecstatic! Thanks to Monsanto’s grant of $2,500, we were able to secure international and national storytelling experts to come to our statewide festival last year. With this grant, we now have the security to continue the festival for years to come. Additionally, the increased traffic for our new and improved festival also gave the community of Downs higher visibility and promoted economic development across the area.

This program is a great way to give back to your community and it’s so easy to do. I encourage all farmers out there to go online and sign up because you never know who will be randomly selected! It is also fun to go online and look at all the other winners; some people around me have won two years in a row. It’s nice to know that corporations like Monsanto have ag in their heart and are working to make sure the values and programs in rural America are preserved for generations to come. For more information on the Kansas Storytelling Festival, visit www.kansasstorytelling.com.

Farmers can participate in America’s Farmers Grow Communities through Nov. 30, 2012 by visiting http://www.growcommunities.com.