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K&M Tire to acquire Kansas based Becker Tire and Treading
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Updated: Jan 24, 2017, 8:00 PM
Published: Jan 24, 2017, 4:48 PM

K&M Tire, Inc. and Becker Tire and Treading, Inc., headquartered in Great Bend, announced today that they have signed a Letter of Intent for K&M to acquire Becker Tire. The transaction is expected to close at the end of February 2017.
Ken Langhals, President and Founder of K&M said, “We are excited about the opportunity to add Becker Tire and its entire team of dedicated employees to the K&M Tire team. We have admired Becker Tire from afar over the years, beginning with Harold Becker and later his son Wayne and son-in-law, Larry Sisson. Their long history of family ownership is very similar to our own.”
K&M operates 20 distribution centers from Ohio to the Dakotas and down to Texas. Becker has its primary distribution center in Great Bend along with a Bandag retread facility. The original retail store remains in Great Bend with another seven retail outlets located across the state of Kansas. K&M will retain the wholesale business, whereas the retail stores and retread shop will continue to serve customers while operating separately under different ownership.
“This is a very exciting time for Becker and we are thrilled to be able to continue serving our customers in Kansas and the surrounding states,” said Gary Albright, President and CEO of Becker Tire. “With the backing and strength of K&M, this will only enhance and accelerate the growth of the combined business in Kansas and the neighboring states.”
The Becker family view K&M as the right partners and this the right opportunity for Becker to continue its legacy in the tire business. They all agree the benefits of joining a strong industry player such as K&M is a tremendous opportunity for Becker and all of our employees, as the tire industry continues to consolidate and face larger and financially stronger competition.
The Center hosts May 1 Chamber of Commerce Coffee, Open House
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Kelli Legleiter, human resources director at The Center for Counseling & Consultation, helps with the move into a new downtown building.
Published: Apr 9, 2025, 6:47 PM

The Center for Counseling & Consultation has scheduled back-to-back events to share information about expanded services, while introducing the community to the non-profit agency’s new downtown Great Bend location, 2015 16th.

The Center will host the Thursday, May 1 Great Bend Chamber of Commerce Coffee and an open house at the former BMI building. The Coffee begins at 9 a.m. and The Center’s presentation starts 30 minutes later.

The open house will last until noon; tours and refreshments will be available. Those who attend will have the chance to ask questions.

“We want to take this wonderful opportunity to inform everyone about our expanded services and outreach efforts,” said Wendy Lockwood, executive director. “It will be a great time to explain who we are and what we do for clients and their families.

“As we offer more services and programs, the community can be assured that we focus on quality care and are good stewards of local, state and federal tax dollars,” she added. “We take quality and fiscal responsibilities very seriously.”

The main reason for The Center’s growth is that it is now a licensed Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic. A CCBHC is a multi-disciplinary program that offers a holistic approach to serving clients.

“We continue to provide a variety of therapies but we also support people with their housing and employment issues,” Lockwood explained. “In addition, we offer medication-assisted treatment and have specialized services for veterans of the armed forces. It is all about caring for the whole person.

“This holistic approach requires more staff and we are actively recruiting new personnel. A larger staff and the expansion to the new building allows us to deliver the full array of behavioral-health care to meet the community’s needs.”

The downtown building will be home to the administrative staff, human resources, information technology, training and onboarding.

Approximately 20 people will work there. The remaining space is for specialized staff training in crisis intervention, evidenced-based practices, CPR and first aid. There also is room for additional continuing-education programs.

The other former BMI building at 19th and Washington allows an expansion of psychosocial-group services.

“Since one priority is to keep our clinical teams integrated as much as possible, we decided to move the administrative functions to a different location,” Lockwood summarized. “This makes space for enhanced clinical teams that offer comprehensive, coordinated care at our 5815 Broadway location.”

The Center retains locations at 5501 10th, home of Community Support Services, and 1225 Patton where staff provides case-management services for children. It also has offices in Lyons, Larned and Stafford.

The Center for Counseling & Consultation, a Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic, 5815 Broadway in Great Bend, serves Barton, Pawnee, Rice and Stafford counties. Professionally trained personnel offer: individual and group therapy; marriage and family counseling; community-support services; community-based services; psychosocial rehabilitation; peer support; and medication management. The confidential 24/7 crisis hotline number is 800-875-2544.