Each month, Eagle Radio in Great Bend will recognize groups or individuals that make a big impact on our community. This Appreciation Month is highlighting the Great Bend City Council.
By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
Jolene Biggs’ attention to detail has served her well.
Loving to read as a child, Biggs eventually started a career in insurance and now
serves on the Great Bend City Council. The focus on the finer points has
carried over from one aspect of life to the next.
“One of things you have to do for insurance is learn all about a person’s
business in order to make sure you have the coverages in place that they need,"
said Biggs. “That has helped on the City Council because I am one of those
individuals that likes to learn and find out all the details before I come to a
conclusion on what is best for the city.”
Her attention to detail started as a child growing up in Great Bend. One of 13
children in her family, Biggs often rode her bicycle to the library. She
eventually attended Barton Community College, but was not quite sure what she
wanted to do for her career after two years at the college. Biggs accepted a
position with an insurance agency with the idea of taking the job until she
figured out what she wanted to do.
“It ended up being 43 years in the insurance field,” said Biggs. “It is very
detailed, you have contracts and you are always working with different people.”
Biggs retired from Insurance Planning at the end of 2019, but worked part-time
through most of 2020. Prior to her retirement, several community members
approached her with the idea of running for a seat on the city council.
“I am not on the council for the attention,” said Biggs. “I want to solve problems.
I thought my skillsets might be helpful in bringing a topic to fruition and working
out the best details.”
Biggs was first appointed to the City Council in September 2017 to fill a
vacant seat. Since then, she has won two elections to represent Ward 2.
“Once on the board, I found out how long it can take to get things moving,”
said Biggs. “The other thing you don’t realize is how the dollars have to
spread out to so many pieces of the pie. What you hope to accomplish, yet keep
taxes down, can be difficult sometimes.”
As the City of Great Bend restructured their economic development in 2020,
Biggs was excited to be part of the board to attract and retain businesses.
“People need to understand it is not that easy to recruit new businesses,” said
Biggs. “You want to make sure the businesses, and what they are offering to pay, benefits the city. We need jobs with better pay scales.”
Biggs is a firm believer that it takes the whole community to grow Great Bend,
not just the economic development committee.
“Keep your eyes and ears open,” Biggs mentioned. “If you hear something, pass
it on. Talk positively about Great Bend. It takes all of us.”
Through a passion of reading, an insurance career and now a city council
position, Biggs continues to look at all the details to find the solutions for
Great Bend.
“When I am trying to gather all the
information, I am persistent on trying to figure out the story,” said Biggs. “I
ask a lot of questions. A lot of people go with the flow and I am not very good
at that. I want the public to have all the details.”