Gene Winkler came to Marion County, Kansas in 1961 and has strived to be a good neighbor there ever since. He speaks about his work for the county food bank and about the ways Ørsted contributes to his community.

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I got married in 1961, and we moved to the town of Marion, which is the county seat. I love it here. I wouldn’t ever move.

It’s a nice, safe town, with kids riding their bicycles up and down the streets. The old train depot is now a beautiful library, with activities and classes for everyone who wants to participate. We’ve got a good downtown area right now, but I’d like to make it even better. There’s room to grow here, some space for new businesses to come in.

I’ve held a lot of different jobs during my life in Marion, but what I’m really proud of now is the work I’m doing with the county food bank, which is part of the Kansas Food Bank system. I’ve been the treasurer for several years now.

We get a shipment of about 8,000 lbs of food on the third Tuesday of every month from the Wichita food bank. Anyone who lives in the county can come and get the food that they need. In 2024, we served 8,008 people, 50% of whom were seniors and children. We’ve got a lot of volunteers who come the day the truck arrives to help unload the supplies. Sometimes, school groups come and volunteer. We wouldn’t be able to operate the food bank if we didn’t have such a dedicated group of volunteers in the community.

Ørsted has been here for the last few years, building wind turbines on local properties, and right from the start, they were asking how they could help out around town. They’ve made donations to the food bank, and to the school and other institutions here. I know some people debate whether wind farms are good for communities, but here Ørsted is doing a fine job, offering a good deal to the landowners and bringing more business to the town. I want to see Marion continue to bring in new businesses, and new people. And I hope this food bank continues on for many more years.