In The News

September 21, 2005
For Immediate Release

THE STRATEGY GROUP PLANS MOVE TO
WILSON ESTATES OFFICE PARK

Group Prepares to Launch Teaching and Training Division

(WICHITA, KS) - The Strategy Group, LLC, a full-service strategic marketing and advertising firm in Wichita, will move to the SNB Bank building at Wilson Estates Office Park, 8415 East 21st Street, Suite 200. The announcement was made jointly by Jeffrey and Laurie Carney, co-owners and principals of The Strategy Group, and Paul Jackson, president of Vantage Point Properties, developer of Wilson Estates Office Park. The move is effective November 1.

Concurrent with the move, the agency will launch a teaching and training division called The Creel Institute(SM). The division will offer multiple training opportunities ranging from weekly sessions on a variety of strategic planning and marketing topics to quarterly events featuring regional and national speakers.
The name, The Creel Institute, derives from the well-known proverb, Give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he'll have food for a lifetime.

The Strategy Group will occupy 5,000-square-feet, an increase of 2,000-square-feet from their current location at 555 North Woodlawn, Building 5. According to Laurie Carney, "We chose Wilson Estates for the beauty, energy and corporate aesthetic of the location and its proximity to restaurants and lodging for our Creel speakers and guests. We chose the SNB space because of our ability to build out to the unique specifications of Creel, including a conference room for 50 and flanking offices for the marketing/advertising side of The Strategy Group."

The Creel Institute is the result of a long-held vision and passion to help churches, para-ministries and businesses become more strategic, directed and relevant, according to the Carneys. "We see two things on a recurring basis: organizations with strong, stated visions without a solid plan to move those visions forward, and individuals cast into planning and marketing roles without experience in those disciplines," said Jeffrey Carney. "The result is often a wide gap between organizational vision and effective implementation. The vision is strong but the needle doesn't move. The Creel Institute is designed to help educate and equip organizations to put feet to the vision."

The Creel Institute will offer four teaching platforms: 1) facilitation services for vision-inspired ministries and businesses, built around a proprietary Creel strategic planning/problem-solving model, 2) weekly sessions designed to develop vision and identity and build basic strategic planning and marketing competencies, 3) full-day, intensive workshops based on specific strategic planning and marketing themes, and 4) events featuring respected state, regional and national industry leaders.

Established in 1990 by Jeffrey and Laurie Carney, the Strategy Group serves local, regional and national accounts across all market segments. The firm employs six people.

A development of Vantage Point Properties, Wilson Estates Office Park is a 25-acre campus-style office park located on 21st Street just east of Bradley Fair Parkway. Ground was broken for the project in 1997. Since that time, the park has grown rapidly, offering 216,000-square-feet of office space that is 96% leased. Currently the park is home to more than 30 businesses including Hinkle Elkouri Law Firm, Security Title, BlueStone Television, American Express Financial Advisors, Depew & Gillen, KANZA Bank, Cozen O'Connor, Morgan Stanley and Preferred Health Systems.

Wilson Estates Office Park features more than 10 acres of landscaped lakes, walkways and water features, and is located just steps from Wichita's lifestyle shopping center, Bradley Fair. For information on Wilson Estates Office Park and Vantage Point Properties, visit www.vantagepointproperties.com.