Osawatomie Chamber of Commerce Newsletter
June 2011 |
|
| Board of Directors | |
President: Donna Darner
Osawatomie State Hospital
Vice President: Diana Neal
USD # 367
Treasurer: Pat Fagan
First Option Bank
Jim Adams, State farm Insurance
Cami Akes, Landmark Bank
Grady Atwater, John Brown Museum
Susan Barrett, Tri-Ko
Spencer Stanchfield-Crane, Spencer Nicole's Tammy Daulton, Great Southern Bank Steve Eichorn, Donna and Viola's Shirts & Etc. Amanda Moon, Moon's Hometown Market Lori Needham, Hanes Florist Amiee Seck, Life Care Center Hitomi Warren, Eyecare Associates
Tamara Maichel and Mike Moon, City Council Liaisons
|
|
|
|
Hello,
Warmer weather has arrived! The 20th annual Citywide Garage Sale and the John Brown Jamboree and Music Festival are both right around the corner.
Both of these events bring many visitors to our community. Much planning goes into making these a success and we'd like to thank everyone that devotes their time, energy, and hard work into promoting Osawatomie through these annual events. |
| Welcome New and Renewing Chamber Members | | |
Kissing Frogs Boutique - New
Penwell Gabel Funeral Home and Crematory - New
Great Southern Bank - Renewal
Osawatomie Journal - Renewal
Our 2011 Membership continues to grow! We are currently 80 members strong. The above businesses and individuals renewed in the month of May. For a complete list, visit our website at www.osawatomiechamber.org
It's not too late to join or renew your memberships! Dues remain the same as last year, and an installment plan is available, for your convenience. Renewal forms are available from the website, at the Chamber Office or via e-mail. |
| Business Spotlight - Spencer Nicole's | | |
Spencer Nicole's celebrated their one year anniversary on Main Street as the host of the May Coffee. Fifteen people attended. Chamber announcements were made, Donna Eichorn shared information about the Citywide Garage Sale, and everyone had an opportunity to guess the number of active clients that the salon currently serves, in order to win the door prize.
Spencer Stanchfield-Crane is the owner. She is a 2005 graduate of Osawatomie High School and holds a Business Management Degree from JCCC.
She always wanted to have her own business and saw purchasing this business in 2010 as a great opportunity that would keep her close to home.
Her first year has kept her busy. She has repainted and redecorated the rooms, expanded the tanning services to include spray tanning, and she has brought in lines of clothing, purses, and jewelry. The thirteen hour work days during prom season were daunting, but overall she says she loves her job.
Currently, she has four tanning beds. The tanning makes up 60% of her profit, with the clothing and accessories bringing in the other 40%. Within one year, she hopes to add two additional beds. In the next two years, her goal is to add a second location!
Dorothy Powell won the door prize of 2 tickets for the "Just for Her Expo" coming to Overland Park in June. She guessed that Spencer had 811 active clients. The correct answer was 803 so she was amazingly close! An active client is someone that has tanned in the last year.
Spencer's is open Monday - Thursday 8:00am - 8:00pm
Friday 8:00am - 7:00pm
Saturday 8:00am - 1:00pm
Call 755-8929 for an appointment, or stop in and see what a nice job she has done with her store.
The next monthly coffee will be Tuesday, June 14th at the Chamber Office. The American Red Cross will host and they plan to have three of their disaster relief vehicles on display. We'll plan to be outside in the courtyard. The coffee will begin at 9:00am. Hope to see you there!
|
| Inspire Together Luncheon | | |
Dave French and his team met with Chamber Members on May 18th to share information about the YMCA scholarship fund. The meeting took place at Whistle Stop and eight people attended.
The presentation included a slideshow of Healthy Kids Day, a free community event that took place recently, along with information on services that the YMCA provides. Many people would not be able to enjoy these services without the help of the scholarship program.
Every little bit helps. Several fundraisers are planned with this in mind, every year. Proceeds from the annual Gala, and upcoming John Brown Jog, and others will all benefit this program.
$50 will allow a child to participate in one of the many programs and activities made specifically for them. $100 will teach a child to swim. The list goes on and on. To date, they have raised over $19,000 towards their goal of $35,000.
Their presentation is short and to the point, filled with personal stories and examples. If you are interested in donating, would like to hear the presentation, or need more information, please contact Ashley Wohlgemuth, Executive Director of the Miami County YMCA, at 913-755-3622
|
| Marketing Campaign | | |
The "Top Ten Reasons to Shop at Home" flyers are being distributed, along with the Chamber's new window stickers. The large banners (with the list) were recently picked up from the printer. Look for those around town this summer, in area businesses.
Several businesses have already volunteered to display them in their stores. This week, they are at First Option Bank and Moon's Hometown Market. We plan to have these large signs travel and change locations week to week, in the hopes of getting the message out to as many people as possible.
To coordinate with this campaign, we're planning a series of posters with local people on them, along with their personal quote of why they shop at home. These posters will feature different faces and quotes and will be displayed at area stores and businesses. Look for these coming soon! |
|
|
| Incentive Package for new Homeowners | | |
Many local businesses have offered free or discounted services and other special offers for future new residents that purchase a home in our community. The home must be owner occupied to qualify.
We already provide the City with "welcome bags" for residents turning on utilities. Those are filled with helpful items such as phone books and maps, along with information about Osawatomie. Businesses that have pamphlets, brochures, business cards, etc. on display at the Chamber Office have their items included in these bags.
The Incentive Package is different in that the offers are much larger. This package will be distributred to area realtors and lending institutions. On the bottom of each there is a signature line and date, for the closing agent to sign. That gives the new resident the proof they need to visit all the participating businesses to redeem their special offers.
Businesses participating in this special offer (to date), are The City of Osawatomie, Coach light, First Option Bank, Eyecare Associates of Osawatomie, Midwest Regional Credit Union, Moon's Homtown Market, Osawatomie Graphic, Osawatomie Journal,
State Farm Insurance and the YMCA.
We'd like to thank them for their generosity and support. Hopefully this will boost home sales while attracting new residents to our community! |
| Kansas Department of Commerce seeks Nominations | | |
June is Business Appreciation Month. In celebration of Minority Enterprise Development Week, The Kansas Department of Commerce, Office of Minority and Women Business Development is seeking nominations from across the state Of Kansas for minority and/or women-owned businesses, advocates, and young entrepreneurs who have exhibited outstanding achievements. Deadline for receipt of nominations is Friday, July 1st, 2011.
Nomnation forms can be completed on-line by visiting their website at KansasCommerce.com/medweek. If you have any questions, please contact their office at (785) 296-3425. |
| Yard of the Month | | |
The Yard of the Month contest is back in full swing. I've passed along several of your suggestions to our out-of-town judges. They will be driving our community and making their selections over Memorial Day Weekend. The June winners will be announced in next month's newsletter.
I recently heard a Councilman say that "company is coming", meaning we have several upcoming events that will be bringing droves of people to our community. Just like we clean up our houses when we're expecting guests, we should do the same with our yards, homes, sidewalks, and storefronts when we have the opportunity to showcase our community to large amounts of visitors.
Many of these people may be visiting Osawatomie for the first time. We have a wonderful community and we should all work together to put our best foot forward for Alumni, the Citywide Garage Sale, the John Brown Jamboree and Music Festival and other events throughout the year.
The City crews have done a great job of repainting the street lines, and hanging the new banners along Main Street. The businesses uptown always work hard to keep things looking neat and tidy, every day. Osawatomie Pride recently planted beautiful flowers in the new flower pots downtown.
Let's show all these individuals how much we appreciate their efforts by following suit with our own contributions with making our town beautiful. I've recently noticed that cleaning up is contagious. In my neighborhood, when one lawn mower starts, you hear several more follow suit. If one person plants flowers, pretty soon the neighbors do too :) Sometimes, all it takes is one person to get things started.
Osawatomie has so much to offer, let's take these upcoming opportunities to show that off to all these visitors. |
| Chamber Fundraiser | | |
The Chamber will be selling cold drinks and snacks during the parade this year. We will be set up in front of the office in the courtyard. Plan to stop by if you're thirsty!
We'll have our new Top 10 Banner on display, and will have Top 10 Flyers and stickers with the new logo to give away.
We're planning a fill in the blank contest, in connection with this campaign. They will be available that evening as well. Completed forms must be turned into the Chamber Office by July 1st. A name will be drawn from all the correct entries. The winner will receive $25 in Chamber Bucks.
We'll also have a car in the parade this year! Our Board President, Donna Darner, has volunteered to ride and represent the Chamber. Thanks Donna! |
Get Motivated Business Seminar | | |
The Get Motivated Business Seminar featuring world famous speakers was at the Sprint Center on Tuesday, May 31st.
Speaker's topics included "Take Charge Leadership" (Powell); The Tenacity to Persevere: How to Make it Through Any Crisis" (Giuliani); "The Keys to Stability in Uncertain Times" (Bush); "Success Strategies for Turbulent Times" (Putnam); "How to Lead your Team to Victory" (Montana); "How to Lead with Excellence" (McChrystal); "America's Promise: Your Keys to Growth and Prosperity" (Forbes); "Humor at Work: the Secret Success Factor" (Cosby); "Achieving Goals" (Walsh); "Tough Times Never Last, But Tough People Do" (Schuller) and "How to Strengthen your Sales and Negotioation Skills" (Harrison).
The Chamber received 35 free tickets to this event. Many people, including several Board Members and myself are planning to attend. Hopefully it will be a day full of inspiration and new ideas.
|
Contact us:Osawatomie Chamber of Commerce628 main Street, PO Box 63Osawatomie, KS 66064(913) 755-4114 chamber@osawatomiechamber.org Office Hours: Monday through Friday 8:00am - 12:00pm
Alternate Contact Number: 913-731-0518 Sincerely, Shelagh Wright Director
|
|
|
|
|
