Bergstrom Receives We Kan! Award

Kylee Bergstrom, Seneca Area Chamber and Downtown Impact director, was surprised with a We Kan! award November 18 at the public library.     

The presentation was made by Marci Penner of the Kansas Sampler Foundation. The Inman-based non-profit has been choosing recipients every year since 1993 to show appreciation for dedicated work in helping preserve and sustain rural culture. KSF's We Kan! Network is made up of community leaders, doers, entrepreneurs, volunteers and rural advocates who desire to help rural communities be the best they can be at being themselves.  

Bergstrom’s award had the words “Yo, VIP, you're kicking it” engraved on a round plate made by artist Stacy Barnes of Greensburg. 

Penner said, “Kylee, a Very Impactful Person, gives every extra effort to make Seneca a wonderful place to live and visit. She supports businesses in a myriad of ways, including marketing; plans events that help a community come together; and gives Seneca exposure with her involvement in regional and statewide tourism and Main Street efforts. She is a fun person so we thought she'd appreciate the award title reference to one of her favorite songs, Ice Ice Baby by Vanilla Ice."

Kylee's mom, Lex Luckeroth, and Julie Bergman helped plan the surprise attended by Kylee's husband, Alex, and son Sam; her father Tom; Brandon Nordhus; Alan Meyer; Kate Haynie and Clara Reinecke. 

Kylee is the sixth of ten to receive the We Kan! award in 2025. The first five were Caryl Hale, Norton; Shelly Hansel, Harper County; Sarah Kessinger, Marysville; Nick Levendofsky, Courtland and Susan McKenzie, White City. 

To see a list of all previous We Kan! award winners go to kansassampler.org.