Dear Chamber Supporters,
Repeat Super Bowl champions! What a game… what a time to be a Kansas City fan. It will go down as the longest championship game in history as the Chiefs and 49ers went deep into overtime. It was also the most-watched Super Bowl in the competition’s history. Makayla and I were able to nervously watch on with both our parents, and two of my brothers-in-law and their families. I still have the freeze frame of our reactions in my head when Hardman caught and scored the final six points―it sits there much like a polaroid that I can reflect back onto. What an incredible memory we now share. One of my favorite parts about having local sports (especially teams that do well together) is how cross-generational it can be. Seeing my nieces and nephews (the ones still awake anyway) celebrate with all of us at that moment is something special. Sports have the power to connect people with incredibly diverse backgrounds from one another―when huddled around a joint team, they can feel like family. Go Chiefs!
With all that said, my heart goes out to those affected by the incident on Wednesday. Thoughts and prayers to those physically and mentally affected. We’re stronger together than apart, KC Strong!
Empowering Tomorrow's Entrepreneurs
I wanted to let you know of an upcoming event you might be unaware of. The Franklin County E-Community, in conjunction with NetWork Kansas, is putting on the first Youth Entrepreneurial Challenge in Franklin County―just a couple of weeks away (February 29th from 10-11:30am). This is an event where middle school through high school-aged students who live or go to school within Franklin County can show off their entrepreneurial spirit (poster here
). Whether the student already has a business of their own or is thinking about starting one, this program will not only allow them to show it off but also give them a chance to make some cash in the process. There are over two thousand dollars in prize money that will be awarded to different students on the day, with $1,000 going to the first-place entry. I believe we will be hosting a half dozen or so students on the 29th at Ottawa University. The event is open to the public to come check out; you can participate in the “Trade Show” portion by voting for your pick of the best business. More than anything, I hope you come and show support and encourage these young entrepreneurs, who very well might be our future business leaders one day. So come out on February 29th, between 10am-11:30am in the Mabee Lounge (just outside the Schendel Conference Center above the library) on OU’s campus to show your support.
A Morning in Bulgaria
Thursday morning, Sherri and I were able to join a large group at the Ottawa Memorial Auditorium for a Cultural Breakfast. An event that at one point was annual but has not taken place since 2020 (which only barely happened before the world shut down from the pandemic). After the short hiatus, Tiffany Evans was able to pair up with Ottawa University once more to find another great speaker to share their home country with us. Like all the years prior, this is a great way to dip your toes into another culture from around the globe. We all had the pleasure of learning about the country of Bulgaria, brought to us by Yana Goranova (
pictures here
). Yana grew up in Bulgaria with her brother and parents but ended up in Ottawa through her love of tennis and the opportunity to play on a scholarship at OU. Yana’s first stop in the US before coming to Ottawa was a town in north Texas, but after taking a small break after injury, she found her way to our city. Yana was able to share with us some exciting tidbits about Bulgaria, a country with an incredible history dating back to 681 AD, but just learning about Yana was equally exciting. A student who has and is calling Ottawa home away from home. She shared that she has a deep appreciation for our community and really hasn’t met anyone here who she hasn’t enjoyed. She stated that even when it comes time to leave Ottawa, she’ll have friends and memories that will last a lifetime. Just as she shared her home with us yesterday morning, I hope she is able to share stories about our community with those back in Bulgaria.
I’m thankful Ottawa University has been the sponsor of this event since its inception. Moreover, they provide our community with students from all around the world to help make it up. With 10% of their student body being made up of international students, we have a plentiful resource for finding speakers each year! We also have a unique ability to learn more about the world through the lenses of those who choose to come and share life with us while in school.
But you can’t talk about the Cultural Breakfast without mentioning the breakfast portion. Prairie Star Catering prepared the food, and though I imagine it was difficult to find specific Bulgarian ingredients, their rendition of the meal was delicious (pictures here). Yana said they remind her much of what she would eat back home, so good work Mike and Kay Selman! Along with a great experience, participants were able to walk away with a Bulgarian coin, postcard and recipes for our meal (recipes here
). I encourage you to take a look at next year’s breakfast when February rolls around!
New Face Behind Ottawa's Gun Guys
This morning Chamber members gathered at the Gun Guys in downtown Ottawa to meet new owner Ed Christoffersen (pictures here
). Ed has been a Gun Guys advocate for several years, participating in range activities and monthly shoots, and has been a customer on more than one occasion. Ed and his wife Cathy currently live out in the Hillsdale area but frequent Ottawa regularly. Ed was able to share how he fell into buying out our local gun shop and shooting range. What started as a simple question about the business being for sale resulted in a conversation with his wife, who was all for it! He mentioned his intention, more than anything, was to keep this great asset which is having the Gun Guys in town. But this is not Ed’s first go around at being an entrepreneur; he has experience starting several businesses in his past, which I would assume has helped this transition. He shared that he was most recently involved in the amusement industry, running a business that placed glow-in-the-dark mini-golf locations in dozens of malls from Arizona to Georgia. Over the past few years, he’s now moved away from running that operation and is looking to be able to call this gun shop home. As he is still getting acquainted, he is in most days of the week to learn all there is to know about running the store/range. The hours will stay the same, 10am-8pm most days. But Ed has been able to implement small changes here and there to keep things fresh and really make it his own. He expressed his excitement to share this experience with the customers and business community. We’re glad to have his knowledge and his investment here in Ottawa!
Along with selling merchandise, the range will continue to operate as well. Whether you have a membership (which can save you money on regular visits and merchandise
) or are interested in buying a one-day pass, you’ll have an opportunity to access the indoor lanes. If you don’t own a firearm but still would like some target practice, there are a handful of choices you can rent to try out. It would’ve been just a couple of years ago my family was able to come in and shoot together, really with the purpose of educating my younger sisters and myself on handling firearms. This space allows our community a safe place to interact with guns, increase familiarity, and learn how to use them properly, which is undoubtedly valuable. An amenity that not all communities have readily available. I’m glad Ed chose to invest in this store and keep its doors open for our community and surrounding communities who come to town to shoot.
~
Hopefully, you had an opportunity to spend time with your significant other over this Valentine's week. If not already, there is no better time than the present to surprise them with a gift, gesture, or date. A quick reminder that our Legislative Coffee will be taking place at 10am in City Hall (or stream on the City's Facebook page). Taking your significant other to the Legislative Coffee might not be the romantic gesture I was referring to... but we'd love to see you there nonetheless! Enjoy the flurries while they last today and stay safe. Talk to you soon,
Ryland Miller
President/CEO
Ottawa Area Chamber of Commerce
ryland@ottawakansas.org
785-242-1000