Financial Advisor Caleb Frye spoke at Thursday’s Great Bend Chamber of Commerce Coffee, hosted by Strategic Partners Financial Group, 1618 Main.
“We are an independent financial advisory team, originally started by our founder Shirley Flick back in 1999,” Frye said. The Great Bend firm has been under the Strategic Partners Financial umbrella since 2020, primarily working with clients as a fiduciary service.
In his four years with the firm, Frye said, he has enjoyed the range of clientele he’s been able to help. This includes self-employed people and their spouses and employees. As the name implies, Strategic Partners can serve as a partner in its clients' business decisions, helping them plan for retirement and everything in between.
Anyone between the age of 50 and 60 planning for retirement has a lot of big decisions to make, figuring out how everything fits together, he said. “I think we’ve been able to provide a lot of really great value to folks who need a little help there.”
The firm also helps promote financial literacy coaching and education.
“I had an opportunity last year to speak to the JAG (Jobs for America’s Graduates) class over at Great Bend High School and talk about budgeting basics and how to set yourself up for success. I’ve also done it for small business employees and nonprofit organizations.”
When as, “So, Caleb, what’s your favorite thing to work on?” by an audience member, he said he enjoys complex tasks that engage his “financial planning brain.”
“I don’t know if I necessarily have a favorite thing I love; I like working with someone who has kind of a more complex situation, like multiple income streams, multiple business ownerships, like maybe a side hustle too. I really like the complexity, helping all those puzzle pieces fit together, and all the opportunities as far as saving for retirement, really maximizing the tax bill and everything along those lines.”
He introduced Janis Dimick, client relationship manager; Colby Hill, advisory team coordinator; and Jason Brotsky, managing partner from Wichita. The coffee was followed by a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Chamber Announcements
• Central Kansas Community Partnership meetings will be at 1:30 p.m. Monday, June 9, at the courthouse.
• Wednesday, there will be a free webinar, “Fundraising for nonprofits,” covering grant writing and donor strategies at 2 p.m. Sign up at https://www.score.org/kansascity/event/20250611-fundraising-non-profits-basics.
• Thursday, June 12, there will be another free webinar, “eMail Marketing,” hosted by SCORE at 9 a.m. Learn more online at https://www.score.org/kansascity/event/20250612-email-marketing.
• The first-ever Connecting Entrepreneurial Communities conference will be held in Kingman, on June 26 and 27, with a pre-conference concert event on June 25. The Great Bend Chamber is willing to sponsors up to six (possibly more) businesses. Julie Mazouch, member services manager at the Chamber, said anyone who is interested should contact the Chamber.
• FUEL Barton County’s Casino Night is Friday, June 13, at the Columbus Club and is open to anyone 21 years of age or older. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. There are opportunities for ticket sales and business sponsorships. If interested email fuelbc@greatbend.org.
• Toby Elliott at MyLawn! Turf & Tree noted that some trees around Great Bend are showing signs of chlorosis, a yellowing of plant leaves due to a lack of chlorophyll. His business will be treating trees for chlorosis for the next month and would be happy to assist anyone with concerns about trees on their property.
• The next Chamber Coffee will be at 9 a.m. Thursday, June 12, hosted by Proper Boards and Picnics in the former Tellers restaurant. Enter through Parks. That will be followed by a ribbon cutting at Heart of Kansas Family Health, 1910 18th St.
