After moving from Iola at age 10, Chris Weiner is back in town and here to “do something great for the community.”
Whether at the Allen County Fair, the Charley Melvin Mad Bomber Run For Your Life or any other area events of Thrive Allen County, the health, wellness, recreation and education-focused organization’s newest team member is heavily involved, trying to make Allen County the best place it can be.
Having earned a degree in public administration, Weiner, Thrive development coordinator and administrative assistant, has a passion for making a difference in people’s live through community building, fundraising and improving health and economic conditions.
Thrive is a great opportunity to put that passion in motion, said the 23-year-old Kansas University graduate.
“This organization is very unique in its scope. There are a lot of nonprofits that do a variety of things but there aren’t a lot of organizations, like Thrive, that make an impact on counties as a whole,” he said. “We’re focusing on getting people to be healthier and make Iola (Allen County) a more enjoyable place to live.”
Another Kansas University public administration graduate, Thrive Executive Director David Toland said he hired Weiner because he is “adaptable — which is essential to working in what’s still a relatively young organization.”
Weiner isn’t afraid of pursuing opportunities and working outside of his comfort zone, a key attribute to a successful fundraiser, Toland said.
Whether its coordinating the Allen County Meltdown, writing grant requests or managing a handful of Thrive projects simultaneously, Weiner, the grandson of Iolans Bonnie and Dick Perkins, has stayed busy since coming aboard the Thrive team in April.
If there is one aspect of the day-to-day routine at an organization like Thrive that wasn’t expected, he said, it is this: “You just never have enough time to get what you need done.”
But that could have been expected as Allen County and the entire nine-county region of southeast Kansas annually rank among the least healthy counties in the nation, Weiner said, adding Allen County was 95 out of 108 Kansas counties.
When he sees those figures coming from the part of the world he calls home, it motivates him to act, which is another reason he is thrilled to be in Allen County.
“You can really see the impact in a small community like Iola,” Weiner said. “Here, something you or a program you create can really affect so many people.”
And Weiner has the energy to follow through, Toland said.
“He’s young and fresh and full of optimism both for the future and for the role he and Thrive can play in shaping that future,” Toland said. “We are very fortunate to have someone of Chris’ caliber join our team.”
Weiner ‘Thrives’ in new role
