U.S. Small Business Administration
The U.S. Small Business Administration will present a National Small Business Week award to honor Andrea and Nick Felder, Co-Founders of Bright Minds Academy LLC in Hays, Kansas.
WHAT: The SBA 2026 Kansas Rural Small Business Persons of the Year Award presentation
WHEN: From 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. Friday, May 8 – coincidentally, on National Childcare Appreciation Day!
WHERE: Grow Hays Community Center, 2510 Canterbury Dr, Hays, KS 67601
ABOUT: National Small Business Week has been proclaimed by the President of the United States since 1963, honoring the vital role of small businesses in creating jobs, growing the economy, and anchoring our communities.
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) honors outstanding small businesses that started and grew thanks to the help of SBA backed financing or technical assistance.
Bright Minds Academy was nominated for the 2026 Kansas Rural Small Business of the Year Award by Frontier Financial Partners, a SBA Certified Development Company in Kansas.
Bright Minds Academy is a multi-center child care program caring for infants through five years old. The academy has served Hays and surrounding communities for six years. Co-Founders, Nick and Andrea Felder, built their center with the help of SBA 504 loan financing.
The organization has grown from its original location in Hays employed 25 staff and was licensed for 59 children in 2020. Bright Minds Academy currently employs 100 staff and is licensed to care for 329 children at two other locations.
The other Bright Minds Academy locations are owned by other entities, but we contract to manage and operate the centers. The Hays Medical Center location opened September 2023, and the Grow Hays location opened August 2025.
Bright Minds Academy is one out of four programs to be selected for an opportunity at National Accreditation through the National Early Childhood Program Accreditation (NECPA). We plan to do this review in 2026.
