News

The Flint Hills Discovery Center Foundation announces their 2018 Friends of the Flint Hills

The Flint Hills Discovery Center Foundation is pleased to announce that Scott and Carol Ritchie, Wichita, Kan., will be recognized as the 2018 Friends of the Flint Hills. The Friends of the Flint Hills recognition honors those who have contributed significant time, effort and resources to the cause of conserving the Flint Hills of Kansas and northern Oklahoma. Scott and Carol have spent most of their lives enjoying the great national treasure that is the Kansas Flint Hills. They promote sustainable range management practices and protect the Flint Hills region from invasive development; and they have supported a range of nonprofits who utilize and advocate for the Flint Hills.  We are proud to acknowledge and recognize their love of the Flint Hills.

The Friends of the Flint Hills honor has been presented by the Foundation annually since the Discovery Center opened in 2012. Those previously recognized and honored:  Jane Koger, 2012; Brian Obermeyer, 2013; Kansas State University, 2014; Jim & Cathy Hoy, 2015; Nancy Kassebaum, 2016; and Symphony in the Flint Hills, 2017.

The Ritchies will be honored on Saturday, April 14, 2018, at the Flint Hills Discovery Center, Manhattan. The social hour begins at 6 pm, followed by the program at 7 pm.

Other important Foundation events you will want to attend this spring: the three public screening of Dave Kendall’s latest film project, PRAIRIE WOMEN: Engaging Women of the Flint Hills.

The first screening will be on Sunday, March 11, 2018, 2 pm at the Granada Theatre in Emporia.  The second screening will be on Sunday, March 25, 2018, 2 pm at the Wareham Theatre in Manhattan, with a reception immediately following at the Flint Hills Discovery Center. During the reception, you will have the opportunity to meet Dave, and his wife Laura, and personally thank them for their dedication to capturing the various aspects of the Flint Hills region. The third screening is on Sunday, April 15, 2018, 2 pm at the Great Plains Theatre in Abilene.   Admission is free to Dave’s public screenings, however, your contributions at the door help support Dave’s outstanding work. Please go to Dave’s website – Prairie Hollow Productions at https://www.prairiehollow.net/events/ and register to attend one of the screenings in your area.  The Foundation functions as the fiscal agent for Dave’s film work, and processes its charitable gifts.