Connecting the Dots: The Bill Menner Group Does It Best

Like most people, Bill Menner didn’t want to look for a new job. At the time, he was wrapping up a lovely 8 years as the Iowa state director for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development, a department focused on support and successes of small towns.

“I liked doing this work and I wanted to keep doing it, but I didn’t want to look for a new job,” Menner laughs. So his logical next step? Create his own business.

“My consulting firm came at the heels of my time with the USDA,” explains Menner. Once his business opened in 2017, he recruited his first client: the Iowa Rural Development Council (IRDC), a statewide nonprofit dedicated to small towns. How fitting!

With Menner’s help, the IRDC was revitalized — the board began meeting regularly for the first time in 5 years and its members were fired up to take their new-found energy into small towns across Iowa. Together, they launched a one-day rural summit in a Jefferson casino.

“The summit is intended to be a connecting point for everyone,” says Menner. “Small town leaders, Chamber directors, economic developers, business owners, volunteers, and even community people who live in small towns can come to figure out how to make their small towns more interesting.”

Over the years, the rural summit has become so popular that it has become an annual event — plus, it’s been hosted all over the state, including Ames, Cedar Rapids, and even Hotel Grinnell!

“We purposefully bring in people from small towns to tell their stories,” shares Menner. “There’s nothing more compelling than hearing people speak from a town with a population of 900 and explain how they pulled together an event or initiative.”

Menner’s work with the rural summit spread like wildfire. The summit, which started in 2016, now boasts audiences of over 400 people, forcing the event to move to bigger venues.

“The nice thing about this summit is that people will happily write out and give you their blueprints for their past work. No need to reinvent the wheel,” laughs Menner.

The rural summit also hosts a series of breakout sessions with different topics, from rural innovation for education levels K-12 to the future of public media.

“With closures of certain newspapers, the closing of radio stations, and the disappearance of local newsrooms in small towns, how do you reimagine rural media now?” shares Menner. “It’s fascinating.”

Attendees can also listen and learn from several anchor keynote speakers who hail from local Iowa towns, like Sheldon, Iowa native Jeff Stamp who specializes in entrepreneurship, and Clinton, Iowa artist Gabriella Torres, who is dedicated to her vision for public art. Attendees can write down the information they learn in their provided workbooks, with the hopes of bringing their ideas back to their communities.

The root of this summit, says Menner, is this idea of being a connector. “Often, I have people tell me that their communities need help, but they don’t know where to start. The rural summit is usually a good place to start. One person even called it the “best thing ever,’” smiles Menner.

Registration for the summit doesn’t open until March 1, 2027, but The Bill Menner Group is open to new partnerships. “At the very least, I can point you towards somebody who knows somebody who can make your project happen,” says Menner.

If you or your team is looking for someone with chops in community and economic development, contact Menner at 641-990-4757, or email him at bill@billmennergroup.com today! Who better than Menner to help you connect the dots?

Chamber Ambassadors, from left to right:

• Becky Broadston — Comfort Inn & Suites
• Desiree Strayer — German Plumbing Heating and Cooling
• Monica St. Angelo — Grinnell Area Arts Council
• Nikki Armstead — Grinnell Chamber
• Rachel Arseneault — Ramsey-Weeks Inc. Real Estate
• Jennifer McAlexander — JM Consulting & Hawkeye Lock & Security
• Blake Pearson — Converge Chiropractic PLLC
• Donnette Ellis — Grinnell College with Grinnell College Community Connections
• Dan McCue — McCue & Associates LLC - American Family Insurance
• Fran Conn
• Matt Moyer — Bayer Crop Science
• Bill Menner — The Bill Menner Group
• Trent Arment — MCG - Mahaska Communication Group
• Nicolle Donnelly — Poweshiek Insurance Agency
• Yesenia Mozo — Grinnell Chamber
• Charlie Isaacs — Theisen's
• Dedee Lehman — All In Real Estate Inc.
• Erin Bustin — Grinnell School of Music
• Evan Petig — The Grinnellian
• Libby Eggert — Grinnell College with Grinnell College Community Connections
• Stephanie Lair — UnityPoint Health - Grinnell Regional Medical Center
• Donna Fischer — UnityPoint Health - Grinnell Regional Medical Center
• Marcus Brandenburg — Anthem Heating & Cooling