This past Saturday, we got our hands dirty and had a project day at the house. Our family came over to help with a myriad of projects that have been piling up. My father-in-law and I spent the morning building a new gate for our fence (pictures here). A few months back, a windstorm blew the existing door off, which wasn’t too hard to do given it was already falling apart without any help from the wind. Now it’s better than before! We took care of flower beds, chopped up some fallen limbs, planted some flowers and bushes, and even had some help with the electrical outlets inside. It ended up being a perfect day to work on things!
Chamber Welcomes JieJie Burleson as Newest Staff Member
For those who attended this morning’s Chamber Coffee, you already had the chance to meet our newest employee. For those who haven’t, we are incredibly excited to have JieJie Burleson join our staff (photo here)! JieJie is a recent graduate of Emporia State University, majoring in business administration with a concentration in marketing. We first met when she was finishing up her senior year, as she was planning on relocating to the area. After conversations, she had a deep interest in continuing her education. As a result, she will be pursuing her MBA at Ottawa University while working for the Chamber—just like I did a few years ago. Ottawa won’t be her first Chamber position, as she worked as an Intern at the Emporia Chamber of Commerce and comes to us with glowing reviews. We are looking forward to seeing her grow personally and professionally in our office and in the classroom over the next couple of years. Here is her email if you'd like to send a welcome message (JieJie’s email is here).
Supporting Entrepreneurs Through Network Kansas
This week, Paul Bean (FCDC Director) and I went to Topeka for an annual retreat with Network Kansas (picture here). Through their organization, we are a certified E-Community, enabling our local board to provide gap funding to entrepreneurs seeking capital for their businesses. Since Franklin County was awarded this designation, nearly $500,000 has been loaned out to local businesses. Throughout the state, there has been $148.2 million leveraged! These funds are most often going to the purchase, expansion, or start-up of small businesses throughout the state. Along with the gap financing, there are also programming and technical assistance opportunities for our board to engage with. One of those programs includes the Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge (YEC), which has taken place in the winter for the past two years. Thousands of dollars have been awarded to middle and high school students for their prospective and active businesses.
The purpose of this retreat was to learn about changes being made and also to engage with other NE Kansas communities to learn what has been effective and what challenges have arisen over the last year. FCDC is the organization that leads this local board. Big kudos to Paul and the work he does behind the scenes to keep the Franklin County E-Community in good standing and when the time comes, helps facilitate crucial funding for small businesses. If you're interested in serving, seeking additional funding for your business's growth, or would like more information about our E-Community, please let me know, and we can chat more!
Carrying the Flame
Each year, the Ottawa Police Department plays a vital role in the Kansas Special Olympics. This can be seen this past week as officers helped bring the torch through town with a bit of help from Kalmar Ottawa and COF Training Services’ clients (pictures here). The excitement from the COF folks walking down Main Street was palpable―smiles on every face as they waved and cheered. Once the torch made it to the south side of town, officers from Wellsville, the Sheriff's office, and Ottawa continued to walk, run, and bike it all the way to Emporia. Eventually, the torch arrived in Wichita, where the athletes will compete in the state-wide tournament. About a dozen COF clients from Ottawa headed down for their shot at gold this weekend. We wish you the best of luck!
Hometown Vet Clinic Opens Its Doors in Ottawa
This morning, we celebrated with Ottawa’s newest animal veterinary, Hometown Vet Clinic, with a Chamber Ribbon Cutting at their new location at 1220 E Logan St. What was once a real estate office is now a state-of-the-art animal hospital (pictures here). This new venture is led by Dr. Holly Harris, an Ottawa native who is now working in the town where she grew up and continues to live. Holly has spent the last five years at Paola Veterinary Clinic before opening up this new establishment. When the opportunity arose to open this new facility, it was an easy decision for her. This new Ottawa location is a sister to four other veterinary offices in Kansas and Missouri, including the Paola office where Holly is coming from. This allows all the clinics to lean on one another for support and resources. This network began with Dr. Aaron Stohs, who has witnessed communities rallying around their local vets over the last decade. Along with Holly, the Ottawa team is made up of Taylor Growcock, also an Ottawa native, as well as Stephanie Carroll and Alison Dillard. These four ladies, along with the support of Dr. Stohs, are providing a whole range of services for pet owners and their loved ones.
Between 7:30am-5pm on Monday through Friday, you can stop in with your pet for a variety of care. This includes wellness exams, vaccinations, and preventive care, designed to keep pets healthy. They offer full medical diagnostics, including in-house lab work and imaging. Surgical services range from spaying and neutering to more advanced procedures, including the removal of foreign objects. The clinic also offers chiropractic care and acupuncture services to support mobility and healing. One story shared this morning was that an owner was certain their dog would need to be put down because it was experiencing extreme mobility issues. To be thorough, their team performed a chiropractic procedure, and, following a pop, the dog hopped right up and started licking their face. This is just one example of how Hometown Vet Clinic enables pets to lead full, healthy lives.
One other point that was made this morning was by Dr. Aaron Stohs. He said prior to their decision to branch out to Ottawa, he and his family spent some time moving through our community to get a feel. We should have been recording him as he spoke, because it would have made for a great commercial! He shared that the friendliness of the people in our town, the activity in our stores, and the support we give our small businesses are something that he greatly admires. There is so much positivity in our community, and these Friday mornings are a great example of that! It’s great to see 60+ people come out to celebrate with one another for Chamber Ribbon Cuttings and Coffees. If you missed this morning but still want to engage with their team, they are hosting an open house on June 14th and invite you to bring out the family as there will be face painting, bounce houses, and kids can even practice their surgery skills on their own teddy bear (more info here). We’re so excited to have Holly and her team back home working in our community!
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I’ll be curious to see how much more rain the Marias De Cygnes River gets over the weekend. We were just a few feet away from needing to take precautionary efforts and close the Main Street bridge (picture here). This weekend Makayla and I have a very important elementary school dance recital to attend. Our nieces have been taking dance for the first time this spring, meaning this special evening has been on our calendar for some time. Stay dry and talk to you soon!
Ryland Miller
President/CEO
Ottawa Area Chamber of Commerce
ryland@ottawakansas.org
785-242-1000
