Finding Connection One Adventure at a Time: Compass Point

Denise Selbee-Koch still remembers one customer who wanted a kayak. She could have steered the customer toward a higher-end model, but instead, Denise asked a few questions first: What did she actually want to do on the water?

“If all you want to do is float and watch the sunset and drink wine, then you don’t need the fancy kayak,” Denise said.

It’s a small moment, but it says a lot about how Denise and Jennifer Woerner have designed Compass Point, the NOTO Arts and Entertainment District business they co-own. For them, selling the right experience mattered more than selling the most expensive gear.

CREATING A HOME BASE

Compass Point grew out of Dirty Girl Adventures, which Denise and Jennifer started in 2014 to bring people together outdoors through guided hiking, kayaking and camping trips. A few years later, they began looking for a permanent space where they could teach classes, host events and build experiences around health, creativity and well-being.

In 2019, they found it: a building in NOTO that became Compass Point, a name chosen to reflect its role as a home base.

“We really bought it with the intention of having our own base camp,” Denise said.

Even Denise and Jennifer didn’t expect what came next.

“We’ve become probably one of the most diversified businesses that I can think of,” Jennifer said.

The NOTO building itself offered outdoor gathering space, historic character and proximity to the Kansas River, with its future riverfront development blocks away. Today, Compass Point functions as home base for outdoor trips, an event venue, a live music destination and a wellness hub.

Originally, the business included a retail component. Denise and Jennifer stocked outdoor gear, kayaks, backpacks, and equipment, taking a personalized approach to help customers find what actually fits their needs, the same approach behind the kayak conversation above.

The retail side gained traction during the pandemic, when outdoor recreation surged. But over time, Denise and Jennifer noticed something: the gear wasn’t what people kept coming back for. The connections were.

BUILDING COMMUNITY THROUGH EXPERIENCE

Today, Compass Point still offers equipment consultation, but the business has shifted back toward what inspired Dirty Girl Adventures in the first place. “

What we’re more interested in selling is what we started with, which is experiences,” Jennifer said.

Those experiences now extend well beyond hiking trails, which range from short walks to multi-day backpacking trips, and kayak outings on lakes and rivers across northeast Kansas. Compass Point also hosts live music performances, yoga classes, art workshops, wellness gatherings, educational events and private events ranging from weddings and retirement parties to community celebrations.

Live music has become one of the business’s more unexpected developments. The space’s stage and courtyard made performances feel like a natural fit, but Denise and Jennifer built up to it gradually, starting with First Fridays, then adding Third Fridays, then occasional special events. Now, musicians from across the country reach out hoping to perform.

Denise said touring artists often tell them they’re struck by how closely Compass Point audiences listen, instead of treating the show as something to talk over.

“We hear over and over again, ‘You have such a great community. People are here to experience our music,’” she said.

Compass Point charges cover fees for performances. For Denise and Jennifer, paying artists fairly is part of building a healthy creative ecosystem.

“The musicians deserve to be paid,” Jennifer said. “Together we can pay them enough so they can keep playing music.”

MAKING ADVENTURE APPROACHABLE

Both women continue working full-time outside Compass Point: Denise has spent 25 years as a social worker, and Jennifer has spent 15 years as an occupational therapist. They have no traditional employees, relying instead on a group of volunteers and regulars who help guide adventures and support events. Over time, some of those regulars have become safety paddlers on kayaking trips or have started helping newer hikers find their footing.

Adventure participants receive itineraries, equipment lists and guidance before events, and hiking routes are chosen with accessibility in mind.

“We want people to adventure at a pace that is comfortable for them,” Denise said.

A typical adventure group includes about 15 to 20 participants, with a range of ages and experience levels. Some have never kayaked. Some don’t know what poison ivy looks like.

Denise and Jennifer describe Compass Point as an entry point, a phrase that comes up often when talking with them: not expert level, not exclusive, not intimidating. An entry point into adventure, music, movement, friendship or simply trying something new.

That extends to the physical space, too. People show up to concerts alone and leave knowing someone. Yoga students return week after week. Regulars greet each other by name.

“We try to describe that in social media and on the website, that we’re an open, accepting community,” Jennifer said. “Everybody’s welcome here.”

CREATING MORE THAN THEY IMAGINED

Since buying the property, Denise and Jennifer have made incremental improvements through grants, matching funds and reinvestment, work that was accelerated unexpectedly after a fire broke out just weeks after they acquired the building. They have restored portions of the historic property, improved lighting and safety, and added native landscaping, including a Monarch butterfly garden.

Adventure may bring people through the door, but for Denise and Jennifer, connection is what keeps them coming back.

“We dreamed of this amazing group that would be supportive and empowering and positive,” Denise said. “And it’s even better than we ever thought it would be.”