The Welch Farm, Macksville attends Jon Schallert’s Destination BootCamp
Grant recipients, Kevin & Michell Welch of The Welch Farm, an event and catering venue outside Macksville, recently returned from a Colorado-based business improvement “Destination Bootcamp.” The Welch Farm was among a group of business owners from Kansas who attended the two and one-half day, 20-hour workshop. The grant was funded by the Stafford County Economic Development E-Community Partnership with Network Kansas.
“Destination Boot Camp”, created by the internationally recognized business expert and marketing consultant Jon Schallert, focuses on independent business owners and ideas as to how to reposition their businesses as “consumer destinations” using a 14-step strategy. The principles taught at Destination BootCamp are designed for business owners who want to accelerate their learning curve and receive in-depth instruction, strategies, and specific tactics on how to become a dominant “Destination Business” preferred by customers, both in and beyond Stafford County, Kansas.
The Welch Farm is the first business from Stafford County, Kansas ever to attend the
Destination BootCamp.
Kevin & Michell Welch, along with their daughter Megan Welch Schnoebelen, are the visionaries behind the venue. The Welch Farm is a renovated and repurposed barn and pavilion with 5,000 square feet of covered roof. The venue was designed for both personal enjoyment and to host the September 2014 wedding reception of Megan and Kade.Schnoebelen. The property is surrounded by trees to the north and overlooks a tranquil pond to the east and south. Located on the west side of the venue, is a “bunkhouse” built by Mr. Welch and his son-in-law, Kade Schnoebelen in the fall of 2015. The bunkhouse includes a commercial kitchen for the catering portion of the business, public restrooms, a large room that doubles as the “brides room” on wedding day as well as a space to entertain guests for small dinner parties or showers. The bunkhouse is also home to 4 guest rooms. Each room highlights unique re-purposed items in the décor and provides a private bath, a queen bed and a pull-out couch bed. Located adjacent to the barn, is an outdoor chapel that can accommodate the most intimate ceremony or seat up to 350 guests with unlimited standing room.
The Welch Farm, located in rural Stafford County Kansas, 1 ¾ mile south of highway 50 on 140th Avenue, was an abandoned and neglected 1880’s pioneer homestead. Patent Records indicate that homestead certificate, No. 4145, had an application date of March 4, 1885 and was granted a patent record by Grover Cleveland, President of the United States of America. The property was homesteaded by Mr. Rueben Webb and then sold to Mr. and Mrs. D.H. Welch in 1886. The property then transferred to their son, Walter Welch, before it was deeded in 1924 to Michell’s maternal great-grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. John E. Seibert. A June 1880 census reveals that the Webb, Welch and Seibert families relocated to Kansas and were all farmers with Mr. Seibert’s father, Clifford Seibert, coming to Stafford County Kansas in 1882 as a 10-year-old boy to care for his brother’s sheep.
The Welch Farm provides an atmosphere full of rustic grace and is the perfect setting for weddings and receptions. The Welch’s have numerous weddings scheduled in 2018 as well as several in 2019. They are organizing events such as a Women’s Conference (June 16, 2018), Biker’s ride (July 2018), family reunions, “steak night”, murder mysteries, symphonies in the sand and numerous other events to make The Welch Farm a destination location. They are also listed on air B n B and have guests stop from all over the county.
Schallert’s Destination Business Boot Camp is held in Colorado three times annually. Schallert has worked with independent business owners since 1983, speaks to thousands every year, and is the President of The Schallert Group, Inc., Longmont, Colorado. Business owners interested in attending may contact Kevin or Michell Welch at 620-352-0160 for more information on their Boot Camp experience, or to book an event.
Credits: The Welch Farm
