Moments of Growth: Bus Trip

Hey friends, uh, so this episode that you're about to hear, uh, is a compilation of people who have attended one of our previous bus trips. Um, when we first launched Growing Small Towns in 2021, we launched it with a bus tour. We filled a bus with about 40-ish business professionals from the Fargo-Moorhead area, which is the biggest city in my great state of North Dakota. And we, we held them hostage for an entire 8 hours or longer, actually. And we had a planned day where we came down from Fargo. We visited a couple of businesses. We met at our building here. And that, of course, was the first year was really just about introducing the concept of growing small towns. Our focus was really the discussion topically was about rural and urban collaboration in a state like ours. What does that mean? How do we help each other? And so anyway, the people on this episode today have all been on one of our bus trips. And starting in 2021, we've held 3 bus trips. We've done it around the same time, 3 summers in a row. And because we want to make sure that it doesn't kind of lose either STEAM or interest, this is a program that we again will consider a flagship program for Growing Small Towns, but it will always happen. It'll happen every other year instead of being an annual bus trip. This is a real— has been a really, really fun kind of pillar of work that we've done. And there is— it's, it's really fun to hear from the perspective of people that have been on one of our bus trips. This is also something we're working on delivering to you as kind of a guidebook or a playbook on how you might look to do this in your own community because it really is a special and unique way to— and I'll just say, make a point. The biggest key is you deciding what point you're trying to make. That's all of those kinds of thoughts and how to actually put that together is part of what the playbook will look like. So without further ado, enjoy hearing some reminiscing of some of our favorite bus trip participants since we started our organization in 2021.

Enjoy.

Uh, Roche, thanks so much for joining me on this little Moments of Growth, little episode, mini-episode, let's call it.

I think it's an honor for me to be invited and still be a part of your beautiful journey, and not just beautiful but hardworking and diligent one.

Oh, you are so— I am so excited to, um, let our listeners hear about your take on the bus tour. You were on the OG bus tour, um, the very first one that we did that was really designed to kind of introduce, um, well, me and Growing Small Towns and kind of the whole idea of urban and rural collaboration, what that might look like. So why don't you share a bit about like what made you say yes to it at the time? You know, we'll get into kind of what you experienced and then if you had any cool benefits after the fact, or, you know, ways that you were supported either professionally or personally after the fact too.

Well, I joined the bus tour because I was pretty new at Grand Farm. I was mentioned about this thing that there's a bus tour happening and there was a lot of positive conversations happening around Rebecca Andam. And I'm like, who is she? And you know, about your talk show and you talking at the Startup Brew and I unfortunately could not attend that, but your vibe was like all over Emerging Prairie. And it was like, well, if you don't attend this thing, you're missing out on life. So I was like, I can't miss this. And I'm so fortunate that, you know, everything worked in a way that I just pushed myself. I'm like, I'm going to make this happen. And I was on the bus and nothing could be better than that. The people. The vibe, the bus driver being patient with the crazy bunch of leaders. I don't want to say people, I want to say the leaders that you put in one bus. And besides the tires, it was everybody's enthusiasm and passion rolling on that bus. It was just full of positive positivity and everybody wanting to contribute and collaborate and, you know, just talk about the stuff that they're doing and Meeting new people. I mean, it was a very interdisciplinary environment where you just did not know who you might bump into and what might just happen. It was the conversations that happened in the bus, that happened outside the bus, when we stopped at different places, met with new people. A school that turned into an event space. You could host weddings and birthday parties, and I'm thinking about hosting educational events. Or maybe, you know, just some cool stuff in a place that I had never seen.

Right.

Yeah. Now I bump into people who, who are from that spot, and I'm like, wow, I was on that bus with Rebecca Undum, and she took us to that place, and I know folks from that place. And the kind of conversations that it has led into has been so unexpected. And so much productive. If I have to talk about tangible outcomes.

Yeah, well, you don't have to, but if you have some, I can— again, yeah, yeah. Our big premise with everything that we're trying to do, right, is that people are worth investing in. And when we— when people get better, everything gets better. And that's so broad. Yet it's, it's told through the stories of people like you that have been a part of something either that we did or that we started. You happen to have come on the bus Yeah. So then what happened after the bus for you?

Well, I think it was the connections. It was just learning about what other people are doing. And there wasn't— there were conversations because there was so much that happened that, you know, it's like going to a conference. You come back. Feeling overwhelmed because there's so much of information, right? You want to do so much, but at the same time you want to categorize those conversations. So I wouldn't say things happened for us right away, but we, we got great leads, we got great ideas, we found people we would want to connect. So I'm not exactly sure if things happen the very same year, but definitely A little bit after the bus tour. So at that time I was working as grower and education coordinator. Right.

Well, and you guys did— you did come down to Oaks and you did a tour. You did a grower.

Yes. So, so after that bus, we learned about your spot. And, you know, by the way, I enjoyed going to that thrift store too. I'm friends with that couple who runs the thrift store there.

I love that you're friends with them.

That's so great. And, um, we had food, uh, at that restaurant, uh, Beaver.

Yep, the Angry Beaver.

Angry Beaver. Oh my gosh.

Yeah.

So what happened was Grand Farm, uh, has an ecosystem, um, which basically comprises of policymakers, startups, corporations, educators, and we have growers. We say we have growers at the center of our ecosystem, but we didn't have a lot of momentum going around with growers, right, a couple of years ago. And so we learned about the farming community in Oaks, and you know, like, how many— like, your dad, he has his big network, and you know, those conversations that happen. Long story short, we began with creating Grand Farms Grower Advisory Board. That happened, I had attended an event that was hosted by Ellingson, the drain tile company.

Correct. And Levi was also on the bus.

Levi.

Yes.

So I attended that listening session and I still remember I was the only vegetarian person there who ended up having a bag of chips there. It was the most fun event.

They're like, we don't do that great at supporting people that don't eat meat. We need to be better about it.

Well, it's, it's two-way street, right? You gotta learn where you're going and, you know, uh, it's, it's, it's, it's a learning curve. So I enjoyed that. No complaints, but I love that. And then it was a listening session and, um, I connected with Levi Otis. I heard him and then, um, Cindy, uh, was there too. She runs on Grand Farms. Uh, she serves on Grand Farms board.

Mm-hmm.

And then I connected with Kyle Courtney. And also Drew. Yeah, I'm forgetting his last name.

Also Courtney.

Oh, Courtney.

Okay.

Yeah, they're cousins, right?

Yep, they are.

So, and I reached out to you, like, can you connect me to these growers? I'd love to talk to them. And they were fabulous. They've been the best people, like, from growers' side of things. I was like, wow. At first I thought, you know what, nobody would even want to talk to me, like, 'Who the hell is she?' Kind of like, right, right, right. What's Grand Farm? Because, you know, we were still new. I know like a lot of people still don't know what Grand Farm is. But long story short, Al Courtney serves— has been serving on our, uh, grower advisory board, by the way, for past 2 years. I have had the honor of, uh, publishing a grower pain point report. I was leading that along with my team at Grand Farm and the Grower Advisory Board, which includes Kyle Courtney. We got great direction.

I bet.

And at publishing this report and, you know, just in general giving direction to Grand Farm. And now we strongly feel that, you know, growers are at the center of our ecosystem because now we have a dedicated advisory board of We had, we started with 10 people. Right now we have 11 people serving on it, but these are the people who give us direction. These are the people who tell us about the challenges. These are the people who tell us, we have honest conversations. You know, there's a lot of sugarcoated conversations that happen, but it's important to have those hard conversations.

Mm-hmm.

Conversations that tell you if a technology is BS because that helps you save time and money.

Right.

And it's in the benefit of the larger agriculture community. So I feel having that connection with Kyle Courtney was amazing. I've run into Drew so many times. I have reached out to him for his advice and direction. I was hosting a booth at the Northern Corn and Soy Expo at FargoDome last year, 14 Feb. We were celebrating Valentine's Day. I was happy to run into Drew. You know, it's like this familiar face. That, you know, you can connect with, you know, you can openly ask for advice. You know, you— it starts professionally, but you have this friendly relationship. And Augs has been just amazing.

I love this so much. And I truly believe, Ruchi, like, that's what you just described is the best connections that we get to cultivate through work like this. Like, whatever our work is, if we're, We're in the business of making connections. It's the kind of connections that start professionally and then you literally are excited to see them, you know, and they feel like friends instead of just business partners. And it's so— it's so special.

And it's very important, you know, because as friends, you can tell your friend if something is stupid, right? If your relationship is completely professional, you might just hold on and, you know, you would sugarcoat. I mean, that's just my opinion. Yeah, but I think you make things happen when you can tell someone like, you know what, don't waste your money and time on this. It's not good. It's not helping the end users, whoever it may be.

Right.

So, so we connected with Kyle Courtney. We connected— I mean, I connected with Drew and got a lot, lot of direction and advice from both these gentlemen. And then we hosted a listening session at your place, Growing Small Towns. Right.

Yep.

We had around 35 people or more.

Yeah, that sounds about right. Yep.

It was me and our chief strategy officer, Dana Peterson, who is now in Kansas. And I still remember telling Dana, I was like, Dana, are you sure if I should go there? Because I'm this tiny woman, woman of color, not really coming from ag background, talking to a bunch of growers. I don't even know if they would want to, you know, talk to me. But it was fabulous. It was unexpectedly amazing, especially once we had the Bud Light open.

And it always helps.

Let's be real. Yeah. You know, once the beer opened and everybody just opened up their hearts, it was, it was a room full of men and women. And we got great feedback. About technology, about what the growers want. I still remember the pain points that we learned about, and even today I talk about them, you know, informing people, informing technology creators who think that they know what problem they're solving, but apparently they have no connection with the people who are actually using it, right? With educators. One of the, one of the, one of the growers had mentioned that, you know what, we need to update our education system. Now these agriculture implements are becoming so much software embedded. Apparently the school systems are not upgrading to that same level. I want my son or daughter to learn about coding so then I don't have to wait for the dealer to send me a guy who just comes and flips a switch, which is amazing, but then it's crucial that timing, you know, it's important to get help right away, right? But if my— if, if our kids on the farm in our family know, are educated about technology and, you know, these little things early on, you can save so much money. You can, you can, you can be so much more productive for sure. So what I'm trying to highlight is we got great insights, you know, we got insights from women saying that, you know what, technology is not going to take care of every single thing, but it will give us some time so that these men who are out there working can spend a little bit more time with their family, with their grandkids, right, right, with their great-grandkids. So it was important to get both the perspectives, you know, because sometimes women see things differently, right? Apparently everybody's in the ag industry, everybody is working towards agriculture, so that was great, uh, insight. I have pictures from our event Um, the great conversations that happened that led us, you know, like after every conference and meeting, there's always these lingering conversations that happen. So we hung out with Kyle, Drew, and their other cousin whose girlfriend was also there. Uh, I think his name is Drew.

I can't remember. I can't remember who the other grower would have been.

He serves on the Corn Council, I think.

Was it Scott?

No, no. He's also a K through 12— he's also an educator, by the way. Oh, shoot. K— no.

I can't remember who it is either. That's okay. That's right.

But it's their cousin. But so we all went out for dinner. We had great conversations. You know, we learned even more stuff. This other guy that I'm talking about, on whose name I'm blanking out. So after, so I was serving in the role of grower and education coordinator. The next year I was, I got promoted. I'm now focusing on education and research side of things as a senior program manager. And last year we were piloting our educational events. How can we support educators? You know, how can we upskill them? How can we provide them professional development credits? How can we help students know about the kind of jobs that are out there in the field of agriculture? They can be using drones, they can be using robots. You know, how can we inform people? So we host this annual conference called Cultivate. And so we piloted this event called EduConnect, which was strictly for middle and high school educators. So teachers, counselors, administrators. And I think I'm just going to call him Drew because that's what's coming to my mind. So Drew showed up and I'm like, Drew, how come you're here? Because in my mind, when we met for that dinner after the listening session at Oats, I thought he's this council guy, you know, he's, he's, he's in the leadership team. He's like, well, Ruchi, I also, I'm a K through 12 teacher. I'm like, what? And he feels so passionately about it. I think we had a conversation for like an hour about this event. So I hosted this 2-hour panel discussion. He loved it. He's like, let's make it bigger and better. He had so many ideas. And this is— I say that he's coming from Oaks because that's where I met with him. His cousins are all there. And I think it's because of Oaks. I think it's because of you, Rebecca, that, you know, we made all these connections. It's like, so these are people who are passionate. Mm-hmm. And, and I feel like in one meeting you don't, you can't really learn about so many different roles that a person holds. So for example, I did not know Drew was also a passionate educator.

Right.

And he was full of ideas. I loved it. And I'm like, man, I need this guy to give me some direction. What do the teachers want specifically in the rural parts of North Dakota?

Right.

That was so important. So I feel that was another huge impact that came out of the Oaks interaction that we had. So yes.

Well, you, you were such a, you were such a bright, shiny light on our bus. And isn't it crazy to think that, you know, how that went down? You and I didn't know each other.

Yes.

And it's, it's, you know, I, the only reason I highlight the bus trip and I've told so many stories about it is just because I want people to recognize that there's real power in an event that feels like that. Now you have to be clear about what you're doing and why you're doing it and who you're inviting and why. But the fact that there was a whole bunch of people that got on that bus that had never met me and still said yes, and then we got to build and create this magical experience together that led you to a bunch of other great things. And that's, that's the power of open, honest, you know, big hearts and open minds and what can happen when you put people like that together.

I was nervous because I was like, I have— I did not know anybody on that bus except for William.

Yeah, exactly.

Supervisor at that time. But then I think people came with open mind, open hearts, just being vulnerable, open. I loved, you know, it was such a friendly environment, you know, that made things so easy. Every time we stopped somewhere, I still remember having great conversations when we were coming back. We stopped at a bar. Oh my gosh, those fried pickles were amazing. I ordered it for like different people. I'm like, you know what, let's share, let's eat together. And you know, there were conversations happening around collaboration. We had great conversations. Frank Casey, who is the head for the agriculture department at NDSU, right? We were having conversations on that bus about collaboration between NDSU and Grand Farm, which didn't have much to do with like you directly, Rebecca, but then it's because you brought people together. Mm-hmm. It led to conversations and collaborations and we're still working together very closely. And that's with NDSU, with Precision Ag Department.

And it's amazing. And I'm just— I want to thank you for saying yes to that experience way back then. Um, for still just being a champion for the work we're trying to do, that you see the impact we're trying to make. I, I really, I can't thank you enough for that.

No, I, I, I, every time I'm trying to plan something, Oaks always comes to my mind. The only thing is sometimes logistically, the drive for 2 hours, right, that kind of makes it difficult. But then it's like, let's just call Kyle. Let's see what Kyle thinks about it and he's like, I'll come over.

Yeah.

Oh, it's special. And the work that you're doing at Grand Farm, it matters. And you matter to me. And I'm so glad to be able to call you a friend now after all this time. It's been almost 3 years since you first got on that bus. 2 and a half years ago you got on that bus. So thank you for being one of the people that helped launch everything we're trying to do with Growing Small Towns.

I would love to be of any help Wherever, whenever I can, Rebecca, you can call me at midnight. I'd love to figure out how I can help out with any damn thing.

You're the best. Thank you so much, Ruchi.

Thanks, Rebecca. You have a wonderful time and thanks for having me.

Yeah, thank you for joining us. You're the best.

Same page.

Well, Haley, thanks for joining me today.

How are you doing, Rebecca?

So good. So good. So good to see you. So we're talking about— yeah, go ahead.

No, you're great. I was just admiring the backdrop behind you.

Oh, thanks. Yeah, it's all my little tchotchkes and stuff. Yes, my office here. So yeah, I appreciate you so much coming on to talk about the bus trip. So you are one of the lucky humans, I guess, that actually joined us 2 years in a row. So, um, I think because this, this has been— it's interesting, of all the kind of things that we've done. I would say this is one of the things I get asked about, you know, from other communities, like, what is this bus trip? What did you do it for? That kind of thing. And every year had a, a slightly different reason for why we were pulling people together. But I think sometimes versus me just saying, here's what I was thinking about as the host of it, it's fun to hear from the people that were on it, like, you know, what'd you take away? What was cool about it? That kind of thing. So Do you want to tell maybe just a little bit about both of the experiences? Because yeah, you did. You came 2 years in a row.

Yeah, I think the first time I got invited, I kind of knew some of the people that were going to be on the bus. So a lot of the reasoning to, to go was just to be around those people. And I mean, I think there's so many great things that happen on the bus trip both years I've gone is that, hey, you're getting on a bus with 40 people who you already know kind of think like you do.

Mhm.

That in itself is valuable. It's a great place to express yourself without feeling like you're going to be judged for what you say. And it's a great place to not only talk about your successes or other people's successes, but also to just bounce new ideas off people. Because like I said, it's a community of people who you already know are, are very supportive and very entrepreneurial and very, like I said, just the kind of people that you want to be around and spend more time with.

Right.

And for me personally, it's so easy to get locked into the day-to-day operations of whatever you're doing, whatever your job is, day after day after day after day. And every time I've gone on the bus trip, I've gotten off that bus that night thinking, why do I not do more of these things? Why do I not make more time for this, for these valuable excursions, so to speak?

Right.

And I'm, and to top it off, you also have the added mission of going around to some small businesses and really trying to help them and, and sitting down in a classroom setting and with, with the guy who ran the theater and, and trying to help. Yeah. And if, even if you don't, can't help them in that entire busload of people, there is somebody who has the answer.

Yeah. Right.

Or somebody who knows somebody who has the answer for all these small businesses and Like I said, there's just so many different ways that that bus trip is valuable. And there's adult beverages, if I didn't mention that.

Yeah, adult beverages always help.

It's always—

it's super funny. So our first year we had, um, Microsoft was our, was our company, like our corporate sponsor. And Thea, um, who again, this isn't for people— people that don't know her wouldn't know this, but she— oh gosh, she was so much fun. And she was the one that talked about like we're moving to the back of the mullet, was the big joke. Like, you know, business in the front, like the front half of the day, and party in the back half of the day. And so yeah, for everybody that We're going to be sharing a bit of the details about what these trips look like. But yeah, we work hard until about 12:30 or 1:00, and then we hop back on the bus and make sketchy decisions all the way back to Fargo.

And whether we get it home on time or not is irrelevant to me.

So keep that in mind. That's always been so. Bailey and I, as we're trying to corral people, we're like, oh, we're going to miss our deadline again. And it's hard.

Most people are okay with it, but you guys did such a nice job of facilitating it, for giving everybody a chance to speak and give everybody a chance to contribute. It's like I said, it's really well done, and it's, it's something I wish I could do once a month, let alone once a year.

Right, right. Well, you know, for us, I think again, as, as people are listening to this and trying to better understand what something like this could mean, there's something really special about, um, Well, first of all, just the captive nature of the audience. And I, you know, I've joked, I've joked in other places like just trap them on a bus and then you can kind of do whatever you want with them. And sounds super wrong and not kind, but if you're trying to help people experience something that maybe shifts their beliefs about something or get them to think about something differently, there is nowhere else for them to be but with you in it, you know. And so we are, we try to be pretty thoughtful about what we do while we're while we're traveling, where we're going, and make use of that time. But like, for us, it was just the fir— the very first year that we did it, it was mostly just to introduce this whole bus full of people to Southeast North Dakota, to Growing Small Towns, to our organization, to, to me as the founder and all of that. And every year we've had kind of a different theme and a different thing. But the goal is always to use the incredible brains of the people that are on the bus to solve problems for people that they'd never have access to otherwise.

Yeah.

And honestly, too, this is such a small part of all the wonderful things you do in, in your hometown and elsewhere. But just think, even if there was just a nonprofit whose sole job was to throw 40 people on a bus, go visit Morton, a metal shop in Morton, North Dakota, and try to help them solve their problems, how valuable that would be just all by itself.

Right. We, I think we kind of made that joke, like back of the bus consulting, the idea that you would put, because I think, you know, I think too, the, and then last year, and I don't know if last year we really focused on nonprofits. So that was our big focus last year, which you were, you were on the bus then. Um, but just this beautiful reminder that every single human has so much value to add, and it's not all just connected to what you do for a living. Like, we get really hung up about that. That's one of the things I think that makes it special too, right? You're not, you're not standing up and saying like, I'm Rebecca and my background is in organizational development and facilitation. Talk to me about those things. Could be like, who cares? You know, like, what you do is important, obviously, any of us, but that's not always the most interesting thing. And so the fact that we got to highlight that, how did that hit you? Because You know, you're, you're really, you're a philanthropic guy. You, you actually are quite involved in things and, um, you were a great fit for this last year's tour.

But well, I think, like I said, when you have that many people on the bus as a captive audience with basically, uh, missions kind of divided out throughout the day, you know, we're going to go visit this nonprofit and we're going to talk to them about their challenges. And everybody on that bus wants to help. In fact, we almost stumble over each other trying to get our ideas out or try to get our points across because everybody's just so anxious to try to help. And you've done just such a magnificent, magnificent job of facilitating this where you have small-town nonprofits and companies that need advice and need resources. And then you have all these people, you know, from Fargo and elsewhere who are just looking for things like this to do, to try to help people. And somebody had to bring them together. And that's you and the bus.

Yeah, well, I appreciate that. It was really fun. And, you know, people have been like, where did that idea come from? And I was like, I don't know. You know, we were launching, we were launching Growing Small Towns. And I thought to myself, like, that's what I wish we could do is just fill it with people that have maybe never been out to our neck of the woods and start to have this conversation about the fact that, like, in a state like North Dakota, It can't be Fargo and everybody else. And it is a little bit like that. It feels a little bit like that, especially like resource allocation, right? Where, where are we putting our resources? Um, but the people are what makes the difference. And if so, if we can show that there's talented, creative, good, energetic people and stuff happening out in these places, people from Fargo want to be a part of that, and they just need the invitation, right?

It's the thing, you know, there is that Fargo bias. And just like in Minnesota, there's a Minneapolis bias where, yep, a lot of people think that what happens in the outstate doesn't matter to those people in, in the big cities. But I think you're proving them wrong for, by, by doing it this way. But I also think it's just so important to be able to show support for people who are willing to take the risk of starting a business in a small town who probably for the most part, most of the time feel like they're on an island. Feel like they don't have support, they don't have the resources, they don't have a business after hours of their own, or even a happy hour crowd that they can network and bounce ideas off with, a peer group. You're basically bringing them the peer group.

Right. Right. Yeah. I love that. It's just so fun. I appreciate you so much taking a few minutes and just sharing your experience. You're absolutely just going to be a forever bus rider, at least you're going to get invited every year that we do it. Because you are, you're so, you're generous, you're thoughtful, you've worked a lot in small communities, so you understand kind of the dynamics there. Yeah, it's just super fun to have you on the bus, Lee.

Well, kudos to you for creating this. I mean, that's the tough part.

Yeah.

Facilitating and hosting it. I know how exhausting it could be to host something all day long too. So like I said, just keep doing what you're doing. I just hope that, uh, your enthusiasm stays where it's at, because it's very easy to, from where I sit, to think about what challenges you must be facing, how tough it is for you to start your own business up and get this thing rolling, and in addition to trying to be as helpful as you can to everybody else. So be selfish if you need to.

Thank you. I appreciate that. Thanks so much for joining us, Lee. I'm sure this won't be the last our audience hears from you.

Okay, take care, Helen. Good to talk to you.

Bye-bye. Hey, Leah, welcome to the show, friend.

Hi, thanks.

Hi, let's talk about your, your bus trip experiences.

Oh my gosh, one of the best days ever of the year.

It, it kind of ends up landing in people's brains that way, huh? Well, we have a lot of fun.

I mean, it's so much fun, but it's so impactful at the same time. Like, it's just bundled up to a perfect day.

Yeah. So let's maybe let's go back. See, you're a two-timer. You're a two-peater.

I am. I'm a two-peater looking for that three-peat.

So let's talk about the first year. Like, what made you say yes to it? What do you feel like you gained from it? Because something we talk about a lot with this is every year has a slightly different theme or kind of purpose of what we're doing the tour for. Yes. So, yeah. So what, what do you feel like, um, you got from that experience the first, first time around?

Yeah.

Well, the first time I was like, we're piling everybody into this bus. I heard bits and pieces cuz you know, it's so secretive until you, it's like the day of. I feel like you give out a little tidbits here and there, but right.

We don't really tell people the agenda. That's cut right a bit.

Yeah.

It's just a show up at this time. You're gonna be gone for this length of time. Like, yeah.

Yep.

All these people are piling into this bus. So, like, I'm a people person, so of course I'm excited when I hear, you know, a group of people spending the day together to, you know, be led by Rebecca. I mean, sign me up, right?

There might be some internal bias there because we like each other so much, but, you know, that's okay.

That's okay.

Yeah, it is. So, yeah, I mean, hearing that you're going to go and help you know, at that year for-profit business, um, and just kind of put your brains together to hear what their problems are and come up with a solution, um, in your own way. That's so fun. That's so fun. So not only do I get to meet new people, hang out with new people all day, but then problem solve with people to help people. Like, that's just—

yeah, that's the whole point of the trip. So like, let's real quick for people that maybe, you know, again, wouldn't have known this, But our for-profit business was a manufacturing company, right? How much experience did you have supporting manufacturers prior to coming on the bus?

None.

Zero.

Absolutely none.

So let's talk about that, just because I think that's part of what we hope to encourage just through Growing Small Towns, period, is that every single person has something of value to contribute. Yeah, right. So you didn't know anything about manufacturing. Talk, talk about like the process of actually solving. And do you remember what his problem was and what you guys were solving for?

Gosh, I remember. I remember his company. I just don't 100% remember. Last year's is coming more to mind then.

Sure. Yeah, that makes sense. He basically needed new customers and he needed— do you remember? And like he was kind of at this point, you know, he had a good core team of people, but they were all pretty hands-on, like technical people, like in the plant. And so that was the big challenge that on the bus ride down then from there to Oaks, we talked about. And so talk about that process. Did you feel like, oh my God, I don't know where he should go for— did you have those feelings or was it— how did it go?

At first, I think when we heard the preliminary of where we are going, I'm like, you're saying I have no idea about this company. I have no idea manufacturing. Small town, like super rural, what, what input am I going to give? But then once you hear his problems and like what you were solutioning, it was like— and then you got going with your small group on the bus, it's like, yeah, you can put your brains together and come out with a, a few good solutions. I always think that there's always relatable parts of everybody's journey, if you will, no matter what field they're in, that you can relate it back to something with your experience or kind of brainstorming to figure out that solution. So at first I probably felt like that, but then after hearing more and seeing what he did, and then you get your wheels turning with your group of people, it just— yeah, I didn't think it was— I didn't think it was super hard to come up with things, right?

Yeah, it's, it's such a fun and engaging process, and we actually make a material difference for, for him, for Chris. He was so, he was so pleased. Like, we summarized everything. I think we gave him like 60+ ideas or something just insane like that. And then this last year we did the same thing, but we served exclusively nonprofits, which means a lot to you given what you do. So why don't you tell our fair listeners a bit about what you do?

Yeah. So here at Do Good Better, we help small to medium-sized nonprofits with fundraising, board management, and events. So yeah, it hit a core for us here at Do Good Better to hear what the problems they were facing and how to, yeah, how to solutionize for those. Yeah, it was super fun.

Yeah, it was, it was special to be able to invite the 5 here and then we stopped at and worked on a nonprofit, toured a nonprofit, you know, did the same thing you did the year before but just with a different company and a different challenge, right? And it's just— I think it's just so special. Like, the point of Growing Small Towns is that when people get better, everything gets better.

Oh my gosh.

And so, so true to give people— like, I know our golf course was a fun example. They were just so— they were just kind of like blown away that this group of smart people— and again, I, I really believe that everyone's got something to contribute. So it's not like I give you an IQ test before you get invited on the bus, you know what I mean? It's literally like— and, you know, last year too was very much focused on you as as individuals, not what you do, not the lens you came at it with. And honestly, last year was a collaborative effort between Do Good Better and Growing Small Towns, so of course you were on the bus because you helped like facilitate the whole thing. But I think it's just a really unique and fun way, and I've loved having you on the bus. And yeah, like, you're totally going for a 3P belt or like, um, metal or a crown.

That should make you already the crown.

Yeah, okay, fair. Um, but I, I, it's it's knowing amazing people like you, and you're only in Fargo, right? But bringing you here, letting, letting the cool, amazing humans that I've gotten to know come and influence, you know, businesses or nonprofits. Like, that's— there's something so magical about it.

It is. There really is. And, and like, we— yes, we work with nonprofits and you know their missions, but when you go and visit them and you're hands-on and you're listening to them and you're touring their building, like I've known who, you know, who, who it was the whole time, but the depth of what they do or issues they're facing, like, that's just stuff that firsthand being a part of it is just, it's just something you don't even get just talking to them over the phone, you know. Yes, we know who they are, like I said, but it's like, yeah, to be able to like touch and feel what they're doing and hear, yeah, what they live and breathe. Yeah, it's just such a fun experience.

And take you to them. That's the thing too, right? Like physically take you to them. It's so funny. I've talked about this bus tour. People love the concept of this and I'm like, well, you can get— you put people on a bus and they're hostages for like an entire day. You know, you kind of get to do whatever you want with them, but it's not nefarious. It's all super fun. And I just— I'm super grateful to you. I just love having you. I've loved, of course, having you on the bus and I appreciate you just sharing a bit about your perspective. With it.

It's so fun. Um, I would say even going back to Growing Small Towns, you know, when we go have lunch and we have local nonprofits there telling us what, you know, their issues are, and we're sitting over lunch, you know, Oaks Ambulance, you know, that's right. It was just— yeah. Or the small groups, and each, each one had nonprofits at each table. And, you know, the theater that we were trying to work through, it was— yeah, so impactful. And yet such a— I mean, it's a full day, yes, but such a short period of time. Like you say, you put a few hours together with a bunch of amazing people and their brains, it's— yeah, you get great outcomes. So fun. I'm so happy to be a part of that day.

Yeah. And it's absolutely something we hope to continue to do. So yes, just be looking for that 3Pete invite.

Oh yeah, I'm already on board. Yep. Sign me up.

Thanks, buddy. Thanks for coming on. Appreciate you. Of course.

Thanks for having me.

Welcome to the show, Emma. Hello.

Hello.

Hello.

So good to see you.

I'm honored to be here, truly.

Well, listen, you are a two-peat because you were not a three— were you?

You were a three—

no, you were not a three-peat. You weren't on our last bus tour. You were on the inaugural one, and then you came a second year. So I would love to hear, being a downtown Fargo girl, kind of And now, like with work and just everything, what was the experience like for you? And like, maybe go back to the very first one. What made you say yes to begin with?

Well, I think the thing that made me say yes to begin with was obviously Rebecca and the meeting I sat in with you and initially describing the vision of the bus tour. So I hope the fact that I was a 2P speaks volumes on how spectacular the bus tour was because I absolutely loved it. And then getting asked back a second year was honored to just be honestly an advocate for it. I thought it was really spectacular. I grew up in Fargo, North Dakota. I'm a proud North Dakotan. But to be able to go visit parts of our state that I haven't maybe had an excuse to just pop on into with one of arguably the world's best tour guides, really special. And I just absolutely loved it.

Yeah. So, so for the listeners, this is going to be something that'll be an enduring part of our programming. Just, it honestly is just too special to not continue to do. So, but each year has had a slightly different theme. So the first year was really, you know, the goal was just to introduce everybody on the bus to our area, to Growing Small Towns as an organization, and we discussed urban and rural collaboration. Like, what is it? What would it look like if we more intentionally partnered up? If you can, that was a while ago, it was in 2021. What, what if anything was kind of the big takeaway that first year?

I think one of the big things for me the first year was visiting with all the small businesses that existed in the towns that we stopped in. It felt so special to hear from the founders and why they chose to stay in rural North Dakota. I think their passion spoke volumes about the work that you're doing and made it more personal, more personal than just listening to your own story, perhaps, on what it's like to live in Oaks.

Right. Well, and by the way, I've talked about you several times now because The artists that I met at Startup Brew, we, we've had them on the, on the, they'll be featured in this series too. And of course we talked about you, Emma Mack. You were the, you were the person that like hosted me and were right on stage with me. So that was really special for me because truly it was like one of those things where it's like, what, what is the benefit really of a super rural person coming in, you know, downtown Fargo and sitting in front of all these people in Island Park, super cool venue. But like, you kind of think, what's really gonna come of this? And so many amazing things came of that. So many connections. And it was a perfect platform for me, like, as a human, it was perfect. Like, just got to field questions, just got to be. And that was— that's one of my— I have such a fond memory of you in that with me. I just was so happy to have you right there beside me, leading me through that. It was fantastic.

Oh, that event is so special. And I feel, I do feel like a lot of individuals in Fargo moved here from rural communities and have somebody who has so much pride for their rural community stand in front of an audience and talk about how you're like increasing vibrancy in rural North Dakota was so special and resonated with majority of the audience.

Yeah, well, you, you really hold space well for people. Like, I just— it was truly, it was wonderful. Okay, so, and then the bus trip happened like a week and a half later or whatever. It was just a couple weeks after that. Um, so then the second year, our focus, um, was really on highlighting what the future of rural really looks like and, and having you guys actively put your brains on the problems of people, like, which was a very, very fun experience. So what was kind of your big takeaway from year 2? If there was anything kind of different from year 1?

Absolutely. Well, year 2 felt extra special because year 1's invitation was just so warm. It was great to be there in year 2 with individuals who maybe hadn't experienced some of the businesses we went into. I felt so cool being like, oh my gosh, I've been here. This is where the bathrooms are. This is my favorite part. See the t-shirts? You have to get a t-shirt.

Yeah, you helped hold— again, you held space very well for our newbies. It was so good.

Um, I'm trying to think specifically. I think the way that you just hit home on the message of, okay, but what can we do? Like, what are the actionable steps that come from this day? Was incredibly impactful. Um, because I think oftentimes it's easy to just ingest and like soak up what's happening, but to really challenge people to think beyond that. Um, just hopping on a bus to just go see rural North Dakota. Like, we all live in the state together. This is our collective community, what can we all do to make change? So I thought that was really— that was great. And just to have those actionable steps, I did feel like I was probably more of a sponge year one and then being able to put it into action year two, it made me feel more useful.

Yeah, well, I think, I think that's part of it. It's for, for people that— and again, we've done a few dedicated podcasts about each bus trip just because they were so different. But if you remember stopping at Chris Burns' manufacturing company in Morton, right? And I— so that was a special thing to me. Like, for me to just— we put all these people on this bus and it's not as if we were like, okay, we're only filling the bus with people that have manufacturing experience because we're going to be stopping at this manufacturing place and this guy has a challenge and he needs You know, it's like that, that was the entire point was that you bring a group of people together and you let a passionate founder like that guy is passionate about his work, right? And you don't have to understand the ins and outs of what he's doing to feel his passion, get what he's doing. And then I had prepped him, right? Like these bus riders are going to help you solve a problem. So let's give them a problem that they can absolutely put their brains on. And it was about how do I get more customers? That was his problem. It was a marketing challenge, right? Like, how and where do I— and so you had all these people, all these backgrounds. And again, like, I'm always— I always want to say, like, I don't really care what it is that your job is. Like, it's who you are and everything you've done. Like, every weird job you ever had, you picked up something that makes you uniquely equipped to approach the problem. And so that guy, I mean, I think when we summarized that activity from the bus tour, I think he got like over 60 different ideas, and then we tried to kind of bucket them, you know, whether it was like making personal connections or it was software. I mean, you guys just killed it with the options and the ideas, and it was— that to me is really, really fun. It's the magic of a collective group of people that have a spirit for helping, and they get the experience of being in it, and all you want to do then is help him. Right?

Exactly. You give a bus full of North Dakotans a problem and let me tell you what.

Yeah.

They're down to solve it. That's all they would like to do in that moment.

Totally. And then of course, good food and fun little bars on the way back and such a, such a special thing. And I absolutely loved that you were a toupee. When we, when we were going to be moving to our like biannual schedule, I expect to see your face on the bus again, like Absolutely. Kind of a given, maybe, huh?

I'll put it on my Google Calendar right now. Please.

Yeah, I do.

We, Bailey and I, have been talking about it. I'm like, we do need to just be like, okay, 2025, here is the date, market people.

Yeah, you're going to need multiple buses.

Possibly. Yeah, we'll get a fleet. A whole fleet. Yeah, that's exactly all I want to say. First of all, thank you for taking the time to share your experience about this. But you are What I love so much about you is that any time I mention your name, if that person knows you, which most of the time they do, it— we all unequivocally have just decided, all of us, like the big we, it's like she is just the best human. Like we, we, everybody feels that way about you. You are so, so special. You really are. And I'm so glad that like this organization brought you into my life. I am better for knowing you without question.

Well, I felt I was so grateful when we met because I was like, oh my gosh, we're running on the same juice. This lady and I, I finally feel like I have somebody to match the energy. So I appreciate, I appreciate our friendship. I'm so grateful for it.

Same, same, same. And yeah, next bus trip, we'll get the date to you soon.

Perfect. Or I'll just drive by on my own bus. I'll pass you.

Yeah, right. Yeah. You can make all the same stops. Whatever we need to do, Emma, we'll figure it out. Thank you, friend.

Thank you.