The Great Bend Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors has honored Mark Calcara with the 2025 Legacy Award, recognizing a lifetime of service that left an indelible mark on the community.

He stood with Business of the Year Stueder Contractors Inc., Citizen of the Year Nancy Sundahl and NextGen Leader of the Year Cody Harris as an honoree during the chamber’s 104th annual awards banquet Saturday, Feb. 28, at the Great Bend Events Center.

The Legacy Award is a discretionary honor selected by the chamber board, reserved for individuals whose influence spans decades. It was first established to honor the legacy of JanSport founder and Great Bend native Skip Yowell.

Calcara’s influence on the local business landscape was significant, including his service as the chamber’s board chair in 1986. His professional work and civic involvement helped set the standard for leadership in the region.

“The Legacy Award honors those who have made a lasting impact on the fabric of our community,” the chamber stated. Calcara’s dedication to Great Bend continues to be felt through the businesses he supported and the community leaders he mentored over his years of service.

A lifelong resident, Calcara’s roots in Barton County run deep. A graduate of Great Bend High School, he is a fourth-generation farmer who still lives on his childhood homestead. His professional legal career began in 1980 when he opened a private practice before partnering with Earl Watkins in 1983; that firm has since grown to include nine attorneys and 11 staff members.

Calcara’s civic resume includes serving as chamber board chairman in 1986 and being named Citizen of the Year in 2000. He was instrumental in founding the Golden Belt Community Foundation and has served on boards for the Great Bend Co-op, American State Bank, and the University of Kansas Health System.

His leadership extended to regional infrastructure as well, serving 15 years as general counsel for Sunflower Electric Power Corp. Locally, he contributed to the Downtown Streetscape Project and chaired the Great Bend Economic Development board.

He is a member of the First United Methodist Church and is an active supporter of USD 428, where three of his grandchildren are currently enrolled.

Calcara earned his business degree from Kansas State University and his law degree from Washburn University in Topeka.  

“Originally, he was not planning on coming to Great Bend,” his wife of 46 years Melanie, said. 

After graduating from KSU, he joined the Air Force for three years. He planned to serve his country then attend law school and go out on his own.

But while at Washburn, his father passed away. “He has five siblings (two sisters and two brothers) and none of them were interested in coming back to run the family farm,” she said.

“He felt the responsibility to come back,” his wife said. So, during the summers while in law school, he came home and farmed.

After graduation, he moved back to stay. “He did farm for the first 20 years of our marriage,” she said.

“He’s from here and he knew a lot of people,” she said. So, he threw himself into the community, meeting more people and getting even more involved.

“I couldn’t understand this at first,” Melanie said.  She thought he was spreading himself too thin.

“I didn’t understand the importance of community,” she said. But Calcara did and “eventually, he won me over.”

Today, both are integral components of Great Bend. 

They have two sons: Taylor, his wife Kelly and three children of Great Bend; and Chris, his wife Vanessa and three children of Lenexa. “We are blessed with six grandchildren,” Melanie said.

Taylor is continuing the family’s legal legacy. He joined his father’s law firm.

Melanie noted his deep devotion to the city. “Most people will say that he ‘bleeds purple,’” she said. “While this may be true, I’ve always said he has a great big ‘GB’ branded on his heart.”