For nearly 70 years, Southeast Kansas Inc. has worked to shape the region’s economy. Founded in 1957 by a group of business leaders intent on bringing industry to the area, the organization has evolved alongside the communities it serves.
Today, SEK Inc. is focusing as much on the needs of the workforce as attracting new industries.
Don Alexander, owner of Alexander Manufacturing in Parsons, was recently named president of the organization, marking his third term in the role over roughly 20 years of involvement. He succeeds Sam Budreau of Chanute.
With his sons taking over his business of 20 employees, Alexander said the timing feels right, both personally and professionally.
The organization today is different from what it once was, Alexander said, with board members coming from across Southeast Kansas and representing manufacturing, education, housing, childcare, chambers of commerce and economic development.
“Our board is super diverse and a very strong group of individuals who are doing pretty amazing things,” he said.
ORIGINALLY known as Mid-America, Inc., the organization’s early years were focused almost exclusively on recruiting manufacturers as Southeast Kansas transitioned from a largely agricultural and railroad-based economy. Those efforts brought in companies that remain major employers today.
“They brought a lot of business down here,” said Alexander.
Over time, however, the region’s dynamics changed. As manufacturers began competing more intensely for workers, SEK Inc. shifted its mission away from simply recruiting new companies toward strengthening the region as a whole.
That shift is evident in the organization’s current priorities. Southeast Kansas Inc. now focuses on workforce development, career and technical education (CTE), housing, childcare, transportation and legislative advocacy. The group hosts housing and childcare conferences, coordinates manufacturing plant tours with educational components, and organizes an annual “Day on the Hill” to engage state legislators on regional issues.
“We are not a political group, so we’re not aligned with a party,” Alexander said. “We’re a regional group that is 100% privately funded. So, we’re there representing our members.”
PATTY ANN Sanborn, director of Southeast Kansas Inc., said the organization serves as a unifying force for 12 counties, bringing together chambers, economic developers, employers and educators under one umbrella.
“SEK Inc., brings everyone together so we can all work together as one,” Sanborn said.
Sanborn, who has led the organization for more than two years, said recent progress includes growth in membership and renewed visibility. Membership in the organization had once fallen as low as 34 but has since rebounded to around 100.
“We’ve come a long way in the last few years,” she said.
Sanborn said two of the most pressing issues facing the region today are childcare and housing, both of which directly affect workforce participation and retention. SEK Inc. has hosted multiple housing conferences in recent years, including events in Independence and Chanute, drawing strong attendance from across the region and even western Kansas. The focus, she said, has been on “thinking outside the box” and promoting housing that serves more than just low-income residents.
