Submitted Photo Cordell Volson, with his fiancee Gracee Buri, has started Small Towns Foundation, a new charitable organization whose mission is to inspire youth from small communities and rural towns to dream big and reach goals.

How does anyone make the jump to success in life that brings financial stability, professional aptitude and personal growth and enjoyment? How much does coming from a small, rural environment impact that same journey?

It turns out that being from that type of an environment might be part of what brings that success to fruition.

“I grew up in Drake,” said Cordell Volson, a starting left guard for the Cincinnati Bengals. “I lived in Belfour, yes, but all of the schooling and activities took place in Drake. So that is also my home for sure.”

Volson was one of seven in the graduating class of 2015 from Drake-Anamoose High School. He was involved in basketball and football at the small town school. Despite being from a small town, and possibly because of that rural impact, Volson was able to parlay his participation into a path to a professional career on the gridiron.

“I was lucky to have a very supportive family growing up,” said Volson. “My parents were always supportive of whatever we [kids] were interested in doing. They did emphasize that whatever we were interested in doing, be the best at it that we could and do it the right way. That was repeated by a coach that told me that you are what you are in everything. If you wanted to be a good football player, you had to be a good student.”

That way of approaching life, to do your best at what you are doing, is what has driven Volson and his immediate family to be successful at what they endeavor. Volson’s parents own and operate an excavating business that is successful and pays the bills. His older brother, Tanner preceded Cordell as an athlete at North Dakota State University (NDSU) and the National Football League (NFL) while his younger brother, Zach is being honored as a finalist for the 2024 NDHSAA Distinguished Student Award for his efforts in extracurricular activities.

“I did enjoy having my brother’s example growing up,” said Cordell of Tanner. “I found it motivating to try and beat him and do better than him. We always enjoyed the competitive nature growing up, either in the driveway playing basketball or in other areas of life. It was definitely a motivating factor.”

Another theme with the family is the desire to give back to the community that has given them so much. This theme was mentioned by Zach as a reason for becoming a registered sports official in the state of North Dakota and echoed by Cordell when discussing the newly started foundation.

“We just organized the foundation,” said Volson “It is named ‘Small Towns Foundation’ and it is dedicated to finding ways to help youth from rural and smaller communities to reach their goals. Those goals can be athletic, academic, artistic – we do not want to limit the scope of the dream. We want to be a part of finding ways to inspire the dream and then help the dreamer go as far as possible in the realization of that dream.”

The foundation was established just this spring and the Volson family is still working out details on the best way to help rural youth and small town kids be inspired and then work to realize the dreams that were inspired. In discussing the foundational thinking of the charity’s evolution from vague thought process to fruition, Volson recalled what he learned in his small community experience that helped him progress from high school to college athletics.

“In a smaller community, you are – or can be – involved in everything since there are so few people there,” said Volson. “You also learn to be a leader in all aspects as the community looks to you as an example. Both your peers on the team, as well as those who live locally. That early access to leadership training and practice helped immensely when I got to NDSU and continues to help guide my actions now.”

The combination of leadership developed early and the drive to be the best at whatever he was participating in, propelled Volson at NDSU where he started a record 65 games for the Bison and started 36 consecutive games to begin his career with the Bengals after he was selected in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL Draft.

“There was definitely a learning curve with technique, systems and style of play from high school to college and from college to the professional level,” said C. Volson. “That came at each level as the coaching became a full time activity for those teaching me. But the competitive side and the desire to be the best I could be at what I was doing started in my early years in North Dakota for sure.”

Besides continuing his career in the NFL, Volson is committed to helping the Small Town Foundation grow and help where and how it can.

“One of the initial ways to help inspire and give back was to have youth camps for those who play football,” said Volson. “The initial camp was in 2023 and this year it will be June 21-22 in Harvey [North Dakota] with 25 Division I or NFL players and coaches attending. The kids will get skills and drills, but the main reason for the camp is for kids attending to hear the stories of those that come as a way to be inspired to follow their dreams.”