
By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
Forward ever. Backward Never. That was one of Bob Schmidt's rallying cries to his KAYS Radio staff in Hays. Schmidt purchased KAYS in 1989, later turning it into the Eagle Media company that today serves markets in Missouri, Nebraska, and Kansas, including Great Bend. Bob and his wife, Pat, created a foundation to serve those communities. Dakota Tucker, general manager of Eagle Media in Great Bend, attended Thursday's ribbon-cutting ceremony at the new Little Panthers Preschool on behalf of the Schmidt Foundation, which sponsored one of the classrooms at the facility.
"The rising tide lifts all the boats," said Tucker. "If you give back to your community, it begins a chain reaction. That's what it's all about with the Schmidt Foundation is giving back to the communities where Bob and Pat did business."

With the Champions of Commerce Campaign, the Schmidt Foundation pledges $50,000 a year to the communities in which the Schmidts did business, including Great Bend. When an application is submitted, it goes through the Foundation but the local teams ultimately decide which projects to fund.
"When we saw the application come through for the Little Panthers Preschool, what better thing to give to than education?" Tucker said. "That is one of the pillars Bob Schmidt believed in supporting. What a phenomenal facility. My little one absolutely enjoyed all the colors and all the photos on the walls. It's going to be a great experience for all those kids."
A $10,000 suggested donation allowed groups to sponsor classrooms. Other classroom sponsors include the USD 428 Education Foundation, First Kansas Bank, Dan and Alicia Lear and Family, McCown Gordon Construction, the University of Kansas Health System - Great Bend Campus, Larry and Kathy Schugart, and TruStage.
Eagle Media in Great Bend is still searching for projects to fund with this year's contribution from the Schmidt Foundation. CLICK HERE to learn more or apply.