A New Arrival This Summer

One of my goals as President/CEO is to ensure our Chamber continually improves. That pursuit of excellence is often seen by growth in connection, progress, and impact. As an organization, we’ve seen so much growth over the past year. I am extremely excited to share that, along with professional growth, Makayla and I will experience personal growth this year. We are expecting our firstborn in August (picture here)!

We are extremely excited to introduce baby Miller to the community in late summer. Makayla and I have had a blast in our nearly 4 years of marriage, but we are so ready to bring this new element into the fold. It’s something we’ve looked forward to for some time, and feel extremely blessed to move into this new season of life. When thinking through how to celebrate with all of those we are close to, we knew we couldn’t leave out our Ottawa/Franklin County people. As a result, on May 30th, we hope that you’ll celebrate with us for a community baby shower at the new library location on Walnut Street (the old Bottle House). You can find the Facebook invitation here for more details (view that here). More than anything, we want to say thank you to the community that has taken us in like one of their own. We feel so blessed to have such amazing support!

Legislative Coffees Wrap Up

This past Saturday, all four of our state legislators who oversee areas in Franklin County convened for the last time this spring, but the first time since the session had concluded. They were able to give a recap to those in attendance (and those online), who were interested in what happened in Topeka during those 90 days of the session. If you would like to watch this back, you can do so on our Facebook page (view that here). Here are a few things I heard when listening in:

They shared what future committee engagements they are interested in.
They talked about wins the public might not have been aware of, including a memorial highway, support for statewide food programs, distribution of iLottery funding, a property tax freeze for seniors and veterans, first responder support, and senior housing support.
They talked about fraud across the state.
Water in Kansas was discussed.
Education was a topic, talking about recent legislation and future school funding.
They finished with the topic of the veto session.

I’m thankful for each of these legislators taking time out of their Saturdays throughout the spring to connect with the public. It’s also great to see citizens engaged in these conversations. Each coffee had an average attendance of 20+, with many more online. We hope to keep our community informed through programming like this! With Legislative Coffees coming to an end, we begin to turn our eyes towards the 2026 elections. We will hold a Primary and General Candidate Forum on July 8 and October 7, respectively. Save those dates, more details to come!

Turning Businesses into Destinations

I traveled west on Wednesday to join Anderson, Coffey, and Osage County and their local Chambers for a regional event. Six different organizations came together to host nationally known speaker, Jon Schallert (picture here). Jon is the creator and owner of Destination Bootcamp, a destination marketing organization that has helped thousands of businesses learn how to become destinations. Jon is known for his time at Hallmark in the late 90s, when he led several major marketing campaigns that substantially elevated the Company before starting his own business. What he learned during that role, he took on the road to work with small businesses. In just a year, he met with over 1,000 different business owners to better understand what makes a destination business worth visiting. He now has 30 years of experience that he leverages annually in Colorado with large groups, and while speaking across the country. Here are a few of the things I found interesting while listening to him speak this Wednesday:

There is power in the word “only”. If you are the only business that does something, even if it’s extremely specific, it drops the blinders of potential customers and draws people in.
The real goal for anyone looking to become a destination business is to be so compellingly unique that people are drawn to what you offer.
It’s important to note that plenty of studies show that people outside your area spend more than the locals. Some of the best clients are those who travel in to see what you have to offer. The only way to draw in those out-of-towners is by becoming a destination.

This breakout in Lyndon is in conjunction with Network Kansas, the statewide organization through which the Franklin County E-Community works. Though much of our E-Community works with Gap Financing, there are also program dollars to be spent on educational activities. As a result, our E-Community will be sending 5+ businesses to Colorado this May to participate in Jon’s Destination Bootcamp class. A three-day course that will lead our Franklin County businesses step by step to learn how to engage with customers outside the local market and to become a destination. I want to give a huge shoutout to Network Kansas, which partners with communities like ours to make opportunities like this possible.

A Program That Continues to Shape Local Leadership

For over 40 years, Leadership Franklin County has played an integral role in connecting and training community leaders. This year, 17 more alums joined the ranks of the hundreds who have come before them (picture here). This nine-month leadership course teaches leadership competencies, community engagement, and is a fantastic networking tool. On graduation day each year, participants start off by giving recaps of their time in the class. The parameters for this presentation are extremely loose—really, it just needs to be around 8 minutes. As a result, creativity and individuality shine through the varying methods and topics of these presentations. This is one of the days I look forward to most because I get to hear the journey the class member took to get to this point. Oftentimes, with a testimony that this class impacted them in a way they didn’t expect, but were extremely pleased with. Here are some quotes from yesterday’s presentations that stood out to me:

“This class was the push I NEEDED to truly grow.”
“Leadership doesn’t have to look like standing at a podium, being a manager, or supervisor. Anyone can lead.”
“Before this class, I wouldn’t have thought about my role following the recent storm. But I found myself thinking about how I could help those affected. LFC changed the way I think about those in need.”
“It’s easy to criticize a leader’s decision when you don’t understand it. This class has shown me to think before I react and ask, ‘Why might they have chosen to do that?’”
“Leaders don’t need to know all the answers, and that’s been freeing.”
“Leadership Franklin County is positively different than any other leadership class I’ve taken.”
“We were already leaders before LFC; they just helped us develop those traits.”

Some had slides, some didn’t. Some played games, while others read letters. All of them had the same underlying message: I’m glad I went through LFC. A program like this doesn’t happen overnight, but rather through the work of decades of refining and community engagement. If you have not gone through this class, regardless of age or title, LFC has a spot for you! If you have employees that you would like to see grow exponentially, don’t overlook the impact this program can have on your staff.

I have to give a quick shoutout to some of our newest LFC alums, Makayla and JieJie (picture here). I’m so proud of my wife! She continues to surprise me with her many talents. This course has impacted her like all the others, and it is exciting to see her take hold of those opportunities. I am also extremely proud of our employee, JieJie. Having only been in Ottawa for two months prior to the start of class, she jumped in and made waves. Her leadership ceiling is so high, and I look forward to more professional development opportunities down the road. Two awesome gals for Ottawa and Franklin County!

A Morning of Optimism

This morning's Chamber Coffee highlighted our local Optimist Club and its continued support for youth through programming in our area (pictures here). This service group is composed of Optimist members, who are all dedicated volunteers who organize community activities each year. These activities include scholarship programs, youth sports, and educational initiatives. Annually, they participate in and/or host 20+ programs/projects across Franklin County (info here). Optimist member Parker Olmsted shared how his involvement in these programs positively affected him from a young age, having grown up in Ottawa and taken advantage of their dictionary giveaway, golf training, and the annual duck run. Now he serves as a way to keep that spirit of engagement alive, impacting a thousand kiddos each year, just like he experienced when in school.

At the center of all these activities is a culmination of individuals partnering together to choose to inspire young people to achieve their full potential. The results they have achieved and continue to achieve would not be possible without a cohesive team working together to create opportunities for youth development and community enrichment. It also takes optimism and a drive to servant leadership! If this kind of work is something that you’re passionate about, stop by one of their meetings at PrimeTime Grille. They meet on the 1st and 3rd Thursdays of the month. The 1st Wednesday at noon and the 3rd Wednesday at 6pm. What you’ll find is a room full of optimism and opportunity!

New Life at 504 Main Street, Wellsville

This morning was double the fun, with two Chamber Coffees back-to-back. I went straight from the Optimists to join the Wellsville Chamber, highlighting Henry Financial Services. Luke Henry has been in the finance industry for over 16 years and has owned his own business for about 2 years. And though the work he does for his clients might not be new, his office in downtown Wellsville is (pictures here). 504 Main Street in Wellsville was one of the most dilapidated buildings in the downtown corridor when Luke first saw it. For some, the old carpet and gross ceiling tiles would have scared them away. But Luke saw potential! What started as a few-month project quickly turned into nearly a full year's worth of work. However, that hard work and extended timeline can now pay dividends, as they have done a really brilliant job with the building.

Now, this location is the home of his financial services group, as well as a massage salon, and a medical health spa. He shared that they also have another 5,000-square-foot portion in the back of the building that will be revitalized at a future date (one step at a time). A transformation that wouldn’t be possible without foresight and investment. Kudos to Luke and his family not only for living in Franklin County, but also for making it better than they found it. Exciting times in Wellsville!

If you missed this morning’s coffee and would like to see Henry Financial Services' new location for yourself, you’re in luck. Next Thursday from 4-7pm, they are throwing a party! Open House, including drinks, food, and fellowship (info here). If you’re free and in the area, come out to support Luke and the amazing work they’ve accomplished at 504 Main Street.

Representing Ottawa on a Regional Stage

Next week, JieJie and I will join over 200 Chamber professionals across Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas, and Oklahoma for a regional Chamber conference. This is the premier Chamber conference in our region, and an amazing opportunity to learn from communities of all sizes. This will be my fifth year attending, and each year I walk away with plenty of great ideas and new contacts. Currently, I have the privilege of serving on this regional board (MAKO) and our state organization (CCEKS). The MAKO board has 16 members in total across the four states represented, and it’s an honor for our community to be represented in this way. I’ll make sure to continue to ensure our community is well represented at these tables!

Ryland Miller

President/CEO

Ottawa Area Chamber of Commerce

ryland@ottawakansas.org

785-242-1000