FAIRBURY - It's a question small and mid-sized cities in all states are always asking: how can we help our communities not just stay afloat, but stand out?

That's what Kelly Gewecke is tasked with. She's a business development consultant with the Nebraska Department of Economic Development.

Based near Kearney but overseeing many towns in the eastern half of the state, she told the Jefferson County Commissioners this month that the best ways for small cities like Fairbury to subsist is through strategic planning.

"Let’s say they contact me and say “we need to work on certain things.’ The first thing I would ask is have you done any strategic planning for your community to know which area you wanted to move forward with first. It’s like eating an elephant: you can’t take it all at once or you’ll get sick. You’ve got to do it a little bit at a time, and you’ve got to figure out which is the most important part," Gewecke said. "So we try to help them with strategic planning and similar resources like SENDD, we do it as well. We try to bring in resources to help address whatever [citizens have determined] the issue is, and then go from there."

Gewecke touted programs like LB 840 and Tax Increment Financing as established difference makers for communities like Fairbury.

We work with new businesses, we try to help them keep growingm and keep going," she said. "We also work with existing businesses too, because those are the ones where you’re going to get the best traction – they're already here, they already know how good it is to be here. We can try to help them get whatever they need and keep moving forward as well."

Especially in the wake of the news of the impending Tyson Foods closure in Lexington next month, Gewecke, who lives in that part of the state, says it's even more essential that Nebraska cities invest in infrastructure to help local businesses of all sizes survive and thrive.

"You start losing Tyson out in Lexington and stuff like that - what if you lost Endicott Clay? That would be scary for a town like Fairbury. Even the smaller businesses, no matter how big they are, you start losing some of them...it's devastating."

On top of the more pragmatic elements for potential success like planning and financing, Gewecke stressed the importance of the human element in this industry as well, reminding everyone to spread kindness and gratitude for people working to make a difference - in business, government, and in daily life.

"Communities need to be thanked, businesses need to be thanked, commissioners need to be thanked...we don’t thank people enough. We just take them for granted, and then we move on," she concluded. "So we need to thank people for what they’re doing in our communities, because they get asked for everything, from Homecoming donations and so on...but they don’t get that many ‘thank you’s."

Ultimately, Gewecke and the commissioners underscored that in communities like this all across the state, the most pressing concerns remain: access to reliable internet, affordable housing, and quality childcare.