Happy New Year! I hope your 2025 ended as splendidly as mine did. Makayla and I were able to unplug for nearly two weeks as we drove around to see family, friends, and eventually down to Nashville for New Year's (photos here). The time off has really energized me as we jump into 2026. There are so many great things happening throughout our community, and the Chamber is poised to play an integral role. You’ll want to stay tuned to the many programs, updates, and opportunities 2026 will bring. We’ll be savoring this season. All the while, knowing that the best is yet to come!
A Community Guide Made to Be Shared
At the beginning of each year, all of our members should have received their newest copy of the Ottawa Area Community Guide (view the virtual version here). This annual publication is a several-month process with our publishing company, E&M. This year, JieJie took the lead on this guide, and as she usually does, she exceeded my expectations! Her vision to modernize the publication's style is evident throughout. She also organized, wrote, and compiled a handful of local articles on rural living, downtown shopping, and the 1907 Plaza Theatre. All of this, in addition to the great information about our community, its history, local events, and the many things that make Ottawa a wonderful place to live, visit, or relocate to.
If you did not receive one, stop by our office, and we’ll get you a copy. If you would like to have several for your lobby, magazine rack, or to give to friends/family/clients, we’ll hook you up! This year, we printed more copies than ever before. Additionally, these guides have been sent to six communities across the region for display in their visitor centers. We also plan to place them throughout town, including our hotels, to catch the attention of guests visiting our community. The City of Ottawa is also planning to share guides with new residents moving to town. If you have an idea for how we can help spread the word and get people plugged into shopping, eating, and experiencing all things Ottawa, let us know!
Working Together for Safer Streets
It’s always encouraging to see grant dollars from any level make their way back to our community. This week, we learned that the City of Ottawa, the City of Wellsville, and Franklin County were awarded more than $800,000 in federal funding to improve road safety across the region. The Safe Roads grant targets hazardous areas on our streets and roadways and was made possible by a strong regional partnership between local leaders. The City of Ottawa, FCDC, the City of Wellsville, and Franklin County staff all came together to make this possible. In total, the project represents an $825,820 investment. Our local governments are only responsible for just over $8,200, a remarkably low match for the work that will be implemented. Over the coming months, this funding will enable these groups to test and implement strategies to reduce risk and improve safety across the county and within our cities. It’s a great example of what collaboration can accomplish. A big thank-you goes to those who helped secure the grant and will be managing the work and reporting throughout the life of the project. What a great way to start off 2026!
Young Professionals Program is Connecting the Next Generation of Ottawa’s Workforce
This morning’s Chamber Coffee was hosted by the Chamber’s newest emerging committee, the Ottawa Area Young Professionals (YP). This group is led by our Community Liaison, JieJie, and her leadership team. When JieJie joined our office in June, we knew that getting this group back up and running was a high priority. Over the last four months, this team has been strategizing on how to offer opportunities to the youngest members of our business community (photos here).
Today kicked off the program and informed attendees of what’s in store for YP's first quarter. Their goal is to have a three-pronged approach for activities. These will revolve around social, service, and educational opportunities, all with the goal of connecting and developing our “younger” workforce. For their first program, they’re pairing up with the Ottawa Rotary Club on February 10th. On March 12, they’re hosting what they’ve dubbed “Speed Networking”. This will be a casual, fun way to meet other group members at the new Library on Walnut Street. They are also planning various Lunch and Learns, volunteer opportunities, and, of course, some fun social events such as bowling, trivia, or even a lake day. This is just the start of what will hopefully be an eventful year of YP gatherings.
There are a couple of ways that folks can get involved. If you consider yourself a YP, you can join (click here for more info on joining YP). If you are not a YP but have employees who would benefit, your organization can sponsor them (click here for more info). If you don’t fall under either of these, but you would like to get your business/organization in front of the YP either through a programming opportunity or find a way to sponsor programming, get in touch with JieJie, and I’m sure she’ll be delighted to work with you (her email here).
A successful YP program will benefit our community in so many different ways. Connection, retention, professional development, and communication are all things our business community gains from this demographic coming together, supporting one another, and finding belonging in Ottawa and Franklin County. I’m incredibly proud of the work the OAYP has done to date and look forward to engaging in their programming in 2026.
Your Invitation to the Chamber’s Biggest Night of the Year
We are only three weeks from the Chamber’s largest annual fundraiser, our Annual Awards and Banquet. We hope you’ll join us on January 29th to celebrate all the great things in 2025 and help us recognize deserving community members. This will be taking place at Ottawa University once again, a great space and great partners each year. Capacity is filling up quickly, so if you’re thinking about grabbing a ticket or two, I would not wait (view those tickets here)! With that being said, next Monday, the 12th, is our RSVP deadline. If you have any questions, our Office Manager, Sherri, and her Ambassadors are happy to help (email Sherri here).
Don’t forget to have your bidding finger ready, as the Chamber’s annual virtual auction is also right around the corner. Each year, we receive sooo many great items from businesses throughout our community. Once our auction site is up and running, we’ll ensure it is distributed across all of our communication channels. The best part is that anyone can bid from any location at any time during the weeklong auction period. All that money goes toward supporting the Chamber’s mission to promote growth and economic vitality in our region. It also showcases our generous business community and the many great items they have donated. We hope you’ll participate in the Chamber’s mission in this fun way (and end up with an item you can’t live without). See you soon,
Ryland Miller
President/CEO
Ottawa Area Chamber of Commerce
ryland@ottawakansas.org
785-242-1000
