By Ron Wilson, Director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University.

Aim for the stars. Have you ever heard that motivational message? Today’s Kansas Profile is about a Kansas entrepreneur who is building premier telescopes that can literally be aimed at the stars. He has built a life-long interest in astronomy into a remarkable business.

Rick Singmaster is the founder of Starmaster Portable Telescopes. He describes himself as the company's "owner, president, shop foreman, and head of custodial services."

Rick has long been interested in astronomy. He grew up on a dairy farm near Fort Scott, Kansas, and would often be out in the early morning bringing cows in to milk. When outside at those hours, he would gaze up at the stars.

His father encouraged his interest as well. Rick says, "Sometimes Dad would get us up in the night to see the northern lights."

Rick was intrigued by this interest, but it remained a hobby while he went into a career in civil engineering and surveying. He was working on bridge construction and inspection for an engineering firm in southeast Kansas while stargazing on his own time.

Rick wanted a high quality telescope, but those turned out to be very expensive. So he said to himself, "Well, if I can build a bridge, maybe I can build a telescope."

So he did some research, gathered parts, and set out to make a telescope of his own. Rick says, "I built one, tore it apart, built it again, and about the third time I got it right. Lo and behold, I discovered that I could see other galaxies."

 To find other people who shared his interest, he joined the Astronomical Society of Kansas City. When other members saw his portable telescope, they asked if he could build one for them.

That was the beginning. In 1995, Rick went full time into his telescope building business, assisted by his wife Carol. He designs and manufactures telescopes with high quality and easy portability. 

Today, Starmaster Portable Telescopes is a leading builder of these types of telescopes in the nation.

Starmaster was the first company to offer a dobsonian mount telescope with a self-contained, computer-controlled go-to system, to the public. A person can use the telescopes to point at two stars, enter the star information from a catalog into the computer, and the telescope will automatically track the star's movements.

These are telescopes for the serious amateur astronomer.

Rick says, "We insist on the highest quality components, electronics, and cabinetry, and I test every one myself."

He has a passion for astronomy and a passion for quality - but he doesn't take himself too seriously. "We're just old farm boys that work hard," he says.

Business comes from word of mouth.

"We believe if we provide high quality and take care of our customers, they will repeat or refer," Rick says.

What are the results? "We have telescopes in every state in the union," he says. He has sent telescopes as far away as Australia, Bolivia, Germany, Japan, and Norway.  And every one of these is produced by hand in the shop at Rick's home near Arcadia, Kansas, population 386 people.  Now, that's rural.

How amazing to find this internationally known company located in such a rural setting. Their Web site is www.starmastertelescopes.com.

What are the secrets of his success? Rick says, "Service, service, and service.  And our products are 100 percent made in America. We could get cheaper mirrors from China, but we build only top-of-the-line stuff."

"It is fun to see people's reactions when they can see the separation of colors of the rings of Saturn or the cloud bands on Jupiter or the nebula of stars being born,” he says. “It's rewarding to see the joy that people find in seeing thousands of other galaxies."

Aim for the stars. It's a great message, and today we've learned about an entrepreneur who did just that - and built an amazing business for high quality telescopes.  We commend Rick and Carol Singmaster and the folks of Starmaster Portable Telescopes for making a difference with their passion and ingenuity. They've certainly earned our gold star.

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The mission of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development is to enhance rural development by helping rural people help themselves. The Kansas Profile radio series and columns are produced with assistance from the K-State Research and Extension Department of Communications News Unit. Audio and text files of Kansas Profiles are available at http://www.kansasprofile.com. For more information about the Huck Boyd Institute, interested persons can visit http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/huckboyd/.