By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
It's difficult to think of downtown Ellinwood without thinking about Mel Waite. But that was not always the case. Waite moved his family from Concordia to Ellinwood in 1993 after he was named city administrator in Ellinwood. For the past 20 years, he's been the manager at Astra Business Solutions, LLC, right in the middle of downtown. Waite has served on various boards and committees in Ellinwood, and his contributions to the city were recently recognized with Ellinwood Rotary's Distinguished Citizen of the Year award. Mel said it could not have happened without his wife, Mary.
"Part of it is just the philosophy that Mary and I share that, as we've been blessed, we feel like we should bless others," Mel said. "We have been richly blessed with our family, with our community. We really have stayed here in the community because we enjoy the closeness it provides. We can't go anywhere in town without seeing somebody we know by first name."
Mel spent nearly a decade as Ellinwood city administrator before spending a brief stint as the Barton County administrator. He was on the ground floor of creating National Billing, which later became Astra Business Solutions. He has served on several local boards, including current roles with the Golden Belt Community Foundation and Housing Opportunities Inc. He was heavily involved in the Ellinwood Optimist Club before its recent disbanding, and he played a large role in bringing the Ellinwood Recreation Commission and Wellness Center to town. He spent many years as a youth basketball and baseball coach and helped create the Babe Ruth Baseball Program in Ellinwood which later turned into the Ellinwood High School team. All the while, Mel and Mary raised four children.
"We're empty nesters now, but raising our family here, we had comfort here knowing our kids could walk across town or ride their bikes to the swimming pool or across town and we felt like it was in relative safety," said Mel. "We appreciated that and opted to stay here and raise our family."
Mel has also been active with church organizations, serving as Eucharistic Minister at St. Joseph Catholic Church. He is a former Grand Knight for the Knights of Columbus and a former school council member at St. Joseph School. Mel was also the retreat director for the ACTS Retreat.
"Our greatest treasure is our faith and family," he said. "Everything else falls into place behind these. We have been given the task to bless others with the blessings we receive. We are simply stewards of these blessings."
Waite will be recognized in the After Harvest Festival Parade that has fallen on the third Saturday in July for the past 50 years. This year's parade falls on July 20, just one day shy of Mel and Mary's wedding anniversary.
"We will be celebrating, that exact weekend, 45 years of marriage," he said. "We're having a family get-together. Our children and their families will be here. As part of the recognition, we're going to all get on a float and ride in the parade to commemorate that milestone in addition to being the distinguished citizen."
Former Ellinwood Mayor Frank Koelsch will also be honored during the parade as the grand marshal. The 2024 AHF Parade will work its way down Main Street in Ellinwood on Saturday, July 20 at 10 a.m.