ACDC celebrates 10th anniversary at annual banquet

The Adams County Development Council (ACDC) organization celebrated a 10-year milestone at the annual ACDC Banquet on June 17.

Community members, business owners, organization leaders and entrepreneurs gathered in the American Legion Hall to recognize 10 years of success for ACDC and hear about upcoming opportunities.

ACDC Chairman David Baumann welcomed the crowd to the event, highlighting the continued success of ACDC to assist with Adams County residents with development and business opportunities.

Baumann emphasized the organization’s goal to “Grow Adams County” together and partner with locals to help the overall success of the county.

After a meal provided by Classy Country Catering, ACDC Business Development and Marketing Coordinator Julie Flyckt highlighted the achievements of ACDC in the past year.

The seven main goals for ACDC to assist in growing Adams County is to retain and expand, recruit, assist, develop, build, market and grow, Flyckt stated. In June 2016, ACDC launched a five-year strategic plan to help focus on goals and track local achievements.

Flyckt informed the crowd ACDC had assisted 23 small businesses and 15 entrepreneurs within the year, and provided eight workshops that attracted over 225 attendees.

The workshops included the expansion of Reviving Rural Downtowns, Social Media Boot Camp, Defining Your Business Model and presenting at the Washington Main Street Conference.

Flyckt also shared the experience of partnering with the Ritzville Classic Car Club, WSU Extension and Washington Association of Wheat Growers to offer a Vets on the Farm community presentation.

She added WSU Extension is hosting a “Building a Sustainable Business” course in the winter, where they will partner with Vets on the Farm to offer the six-to-eight week class to veterans, entrepreneurs and small businesses.

Another main component of the goals set by ACDC is to improve marketing of Adams County. The improvement in marketing this year was the creation of branding campaigns in Ritzville and Othello, Flyckt stated.

Flyckt briefly mentioned the financials of the organization, emphasizing ACDC is a nonprofit, and the banquet will help increase the total revenue for the group.

Baumann returned to the stage to assist Flyckt in presenting special recognition awards to individuals who had been involved with ACDC since it’s inception, and those who continue to assist with the economic development within the county.

The individuals receiving a Certificate of Recognition are Ann Olson, Ritzville; Ken Johnson, Othello; Dan Hille, Ritzville; Stephen McFadden, Ritzville; Lloyd Stoess, Washtucna; and Adams County Commissioners Roger Hartwig and John Marshall.

After presenting the certificates, Flyckt also recognized the government, community, gold, silver, bronze and individual partners of ACDC. She also highlighted returning partner Spectrum Crop Development, and new partners, MJW Grain Inc, and Ritz-Zen Tea House and Studio.

The program continued with a presentation by Dr. Donald Sebesta, owner and creator of the Lasting Legacy Wildlife Museum in Ritzville. The museum continues to be developed, and is nearing it’s completion date where it will be open to locals and travelers alike.

Sebesta told stories of his life, reaching back to early childhood when he nearly died from an ailment. After defying the odds, Sebesta said his mother told him constantly that he was destined to achieve something great, and he remained determined to succeed in all that he did.

Sebesta said the best trait he possessed to help him succeed was stubbornness. He continually ignored the naysayers who said he would not amount to anything, and remained dedicated to prove them wrong.

He received his doctorate and spent the majority of his life working as a surgeon. As an Othello resident, Sebesta had a unique hobby and collection that attracted neighborhood children to his room.

While many hunters pride themselves on a trophy room, Sebesta’s collection far exceeded what the majority of people had ever seen in a lifetime. His wife encouraged him to display and share the collection with others, but not from their home.

After consideration and a recommendation, Sebesta determined Ritzville would be home to the museum. The wildlife collection to date includes more than 600 animals, and spans two floors in a more than 20,000 square foot building.

Sebesta said the importance of the museum is not only to show and teach about wildlife, but also to teach geography and culture.

Through his travels, he has been fortunate to learn and meet people from across the world, and he believes in the value of sharing his knowledge and experiences.

The opening of the museum will attract travelers from across the nation, as well as overseas travelers, Sebesta explained. The intersection of two major highways helps Ritzville be an ideal location for the museum, as it is an already popular stopping point for travelers.

When discussing the museum with a contact in China, they estimated the museum could attract as many as 50,000 Chinese tourists a year because of offering audio guides with their native language.

Sebesta stated he does not believe in debt, and he has worked hard to ensure they did not exceed their budget during the completion of the museum. He added they have been fortunate to receive donations of animals to add to the expansive display.

Sebesta said his advice and recommendation for others to succeed and create a lasting legacy, is to create a list of 10 ways to achieve the individual goal.

While many of the options may result in failure, there will always be one option on the list that will result in success, as long as the individual remains dedicated to the task at hand.