Marci Penner and the late Emerson Carey Sr., Inducted into the Kansas Business Hall of Fame

by Beth Ginter

Emporia, KS (04/18/2025) — Marci Penner and the late Emerson Carey Sr., have been announced as the 2025 Kansas Business Hall of Fame Contemporary and Historical inductees, respectively. These two individuals will be officially inducted at the Kansas Business Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on Thursday, June 12, 2025, at 5:00 p.m. in Cremer Hall on the campus of Emporia State University.

This year marks the 37th induction into the KSBHF, located in the School of Business and Technology at Emporia State University. Business leaders selected for induction into the KSBHF are widely known for their contributions to Kansas and for being role models to future business leaders. KSBHF recognizes historical contributors and present-day leaders who have made private enterprise work in Kansas and throughout the country. The KSBHF board is made up of individuals from across the state of Kansas and from Kansas universities who are passionate about recognizing our 2025 inductees.

The public is invited to celebrate with us at the Induction Ceremony:Thursday, June 12, 20254 p.m. reception5 p.m. inductionKansas Business Hall of Fame, Cremer Hall, Emporia State University, 1428 Merchant St, Emporia, KS

Please call or email Rachael Richardson by June 2 to RSVP or to help sponsor this event: 620-341-5274, rrichar6@emporia.edu. There is no charge to attend this event, but RSVPs are needed for space management purposes.

About the inductees

Marci Penner

Visionary, Rural Champion, and Author

Contemporary Inductee

Marci Penner grew up on a farm near Inman in McPherson County. After getting degrees from the University of Kansas and the University of Wisconsin and spending five years in the Philadelphia area as an elementary school guidance counselor and coach, Penner returned to Kansas in 1990.

She immediately started driving around the state with her father, Mil Penner, to gather research for their first Kansas guidebook. While visiting with people in communities and those who attended their slideshow programs, the Penners realized that Kansans didn't know their own state very well and there were some great efforts going on to improve rural communities. What was lacking was an effective way to share that information with other small communities. In 1993, they formed the Kansas Sampler Foundation to network and support rural communities and educate Kansans about Kansas. Marci Penner has been its executive director since the inception of the nonprofit.

Lessons from the road became the building blocks for all that KSF does. Researching for five Kansas guidebooks gave Penner (and either her dad or coauthor WenDee Rowe) a reason to go into communities and ask questions. Twice she has visited every one of the 625 incorporated cities in Kansas, and part of that journey included visiting owners, clerks and customers in retail businesses throughout the state. This face-to-face method of gathering common challenges and grassroots efforts led to the creation of one-of-a-kind initiatives that were functional and useful for the smallest of places.

KSF's We Kan! Conference, the Big Rural Brainstorm and do-alogues became known for their peer-to-peer sharing and partnerships with state agencies and rural advocate organizations. One outcome of the statewide journey in the early 2000s was the initiation of a small-town grocery store network, now known as the Rural Grocery Initiative.

Penner also noticed that towns with young adult involvement were more energetic than others. With the help of a core team, she initiated the PowerUp Movement. The intent was to connect, engage, empower and sustain 21- to 39-year olds who are rural by choice in a way that would lift all ages to sustain a community.

Being on the road also provided a great amount of knowledge applied to educating the public about what there is to see and do in Kansas. Within that framework, KSF consistently worked at teaching the public why and how to support locally owned businesses. Along with the guidebooks, some of the projects to create a thoughtful rural audience include the Kansas Sampler Festival, the Kansas Explorers Club, the 8 Wonders of Kansas and the Big Kansas Road Trip.

Penner was presented with the Governor's Tourism Award in 2000 and was appointed by Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius to be co-chair of the Governor's Rural Life Task Force in 2004. In 2005 she was named Distinguished Kansan of the Year by the Kansas Native Sons & Daughters. She has received other awards but is most proud to say she is a Kansan and rural by choice.

Emerson Carey Sr.

Entrepreneur, Statesman, and Philanthropist

Historical Inductee

Emerson Carey Sr., was born in a log cabin in Grant County, Indiana, on Jan. 22, 1863. Carey's father, Samuel, moved his poor farming family from Indiana to Illinois, and then another three times from county to county. In 1878, Samuel hopped a train to the Quaker community of Sterling, Kansas. Emerson's mother, Nancy, trading the family farm for a wagon and a team, followed later in the year with her family of 10 children. The Careys eventually left Sterling for McPherson County, later settling in Hutchinson, all while young Emerson supported his struggling family by farming, raising cattle and shooting prairie chickens for food.

After completing an abbreviated high school education, Carey farmed and later worked for Marshall Hale, a coal, building materials and hide merchant. In 1884, determined to improve his fortunes, Carey partnered with an acquaintance and formed his own coal, lime and hide company. Carey's company prospered quickly. Carey purchased an Arkansas coal company, speculated in land investments and became an active and philanthropic member of the Hutchinson community. In 1888, Carey married Anna May Puterbaugh, the daughter of the wealthy founder of Hutchinson. At the age of 25, Carey was well on his way to developing his business acumen and building an industrial empire.

In 1889, the region's economic boom burst, and Carey was forced to sell many assets to cover his debts. He and his coal company, however, weathered the financial storm. In 1896, he founded successful ice and cold storage companies. He continued his land investments, farmed, entered banking and was sought out to reorganize struggling businesses. He and other investors organized the Hutchinson Street Railway Co. of which he later became president.

While salt is synonymous with the Carey name, he was a late entry into the industry. In 1887, a vast underground salt vein, which supplies much of the Hutchinson industry, was discovered. Many salt mining and processing companies sprang up, but Carey did not organize the Carey Salt Co. until 1901. As with his other pursuits, Carey's salt company was highly successful, distributing products to 27 states and to Latin America. The company was sold in 1991 and today is known as the Hutchinson Salt Co.

Carey served Kansas as a state senator from 1908 to 1916, presenting and supporting legislation to equalize railroad tariffs and to have Hutchinson declared the official host city of the state fair. He was appointed by U.S. President Woodrow Wilson to serve as the state fuel administrator during World War I.

Years before his death in 1935, Emerson summed up his vast business experience and lessons learned in one of his well-known "Careyisms" - "The most profitable thing a man can do is just to stick." His legacy and name remain distinct in his hometown of Hutchinson.

About the Kansas Business Hall of Fame

For more information on the Kansas Business Hall of Fame and to read about all the past inductees, please visit http://www.ksbhf.org. Visit here for a virtual tour of the Kansas Business Hall of Fame.

Emporia State University

Marci Penner and the late Emerson Carey Sr., Inducted into the Kansas Business Hall of Fame

Emporia State University

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