2012 Granada Bridal and Prom Expo
It was a packed house for the 2012 Granada Bridal and Prom Expo, Sponsored by 1400 KVOE, Mix 104.9 and Country 101.7!
 
In This Issue #133 01/10/12
Calendar of Events
Sunflower Gymnastics Winter Invitational
Start Your Own Business Class
2011 was Quite a Year!
Did you know? Answers to YOUR questions.

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Granada Theatre 


Emporia Market Place button

 Emporia Main Street Calendar of Events 

 

 

January 11th

Promotions Meeting

 

8:00 a.m. in the Emporia Main Street office

 

Design Meeting

noon in the Emporia Main Street office

 

January 18th

Board Meeting

 

8:00 a.m. in the Emporia Main Street office

 

 January 12-13

Kansas Main Street Quarterly Training- El Dorado

  

April 1-4

National Main Street Conference- Baltimore, MD

 

April 13-15

Glass Blown Open Disc Golf Tournament by Dynamic Discs

  

April 19-20

Kansas Main Street Quarterly Training, Dodge City

  

April 21

The Taste

Civic Auditorium

  

May 19

Downtown Car Show by the Flatland Cruisers

   

June 2

The Dirty Kanza

  

June 9th

Symphony in the Flint Hills

  
Do you have an upcoming event for your business or organization?  Let Emporia Main Street  know and we may include it on our upcoming calendars! 

 

Join Our Mailing List

Benefactors 


The City of Emporia

 

Lyon County

 

Bobby D's BBQ

 

Caribbean Sun Tanning

 

CoreFirst Bank & Trust

 

The Emporia Gazette

 

ESB Financial

 

Emporia's Radio

StationsKVOE, 104.9, Country 101.7

 

Longbine Auto Plaza

 

Roberts Blue Barnett Funeral Home

 

T2 Verizon Wireless

General Level Members 

AKA Marketing/The Sports Fan

 

Amanda's Bakery

 

Applebee's

 

Ash, LLC.

 

Atherton & Huth Attorney at Law

 

Barden & Thompson

 

Bath Expressions

 

Bennett Dental Group

 

Best Western Hospitality House

 

Black Heart Cherry

 

Brown's Shoe Fit Co.

 

C & J Woodworks

 

Cable One

 

Cable One Advertising

 

Capitol Federal

 

Cassell Insurance

 

Chester Press, Inc.

 

Clark Carpet & Tile

 

Coffelt Sign Co. 

 

Commercial Street Diner

 

Complete Works

 

Country Mart/Price Chopper

 

Dan's Hands

 

Dorsey & Wise Family Eye Care

 

Douglas Chiropractic Center

 

Dynamic Disks

 

Emporia Chamber of Commerce

 

Emporia State Federal Credit Union

 

ESU Memorial Union

 

E-Town Solutions

 

First Community Bank

 

Flint Hills Eye Care Associates

 

Flint Hills Lanes

 

Flint Hills Music

 

Flint Hills Tech College

 

Flint Hills Mall

 

Forget Me Not Productions

 

Four Seasons Apartments

 

Furniture Loft

 

Genesis Health Club

 

George Groh & Sons

 

Gerald Schumann Electric

 

Glendo

 

Granada Coffee Company

 

Granada Plaza & Lofts

 

Graves Drug Store

 

Hair Krafters

 

Helbert & Allemang Attorney's at Law

 

High Gear Cyclery

 

Hornet Residential

 

IM Design Group

 

Inno-Vest Corporation

 

Java Cat 5

 

Jimmy John's

 

Kansas Radio 96.1 The Wave

 

Kari's Diamonds by Design

 

KISS 103.1

 

Krueger & Williams Law Office

 

L & L Pets

 

Little Acorns

 

Little Caesers Pizza

 

Lyon County State Bank

 

Lyon County Title

 

Marion National Bank

 

Mark II Lumber

 

Mathis Physical Therapy

 

McDonald's on 6th Ave.

 

McKinzie Pest Control

 

Menu Foods Midwest Corp.

 

Midas Touch Golden Tans

 

Modern Air Conditioning

 

Muckenthaler, Inc.

 

Nature's Paradise

 

Navrat's Office Products

 

Pizza Ranch

 

Plum Bazaar

 

Poehler Mercantile

 

Pool & Wright

 

Prairie Sage Apartments

 

Prairie Land Partners

 

Pro Cuts

 

Pyramid Pizza

 

Redi Upholstry

 

Redline Trucking

 

Ru Yi

 

Sauder Custom Fabrication

 

Scheller's Lawn & Landscape

 

Simmons Pet Food

 

SS Graham Insurance Agency

 

Stanley Jewelry

 

Studio 11

 

Subway

 

Sunflower Gymnastics

 

Symmonds & Symmonds Attorney at Law

 

The Help Desk

 

The Henrikson Team

 

The Medicine Shoppe

 

The Sweet Granada

 

The Villiger

 

The White Rose Inn

 

Thompson Auto Repair

 

Toso Appraisal Service

 

Total Technology, LLC

 

Town Crier Bookstore

 

Town Royal

 

Water's True Value

 

Westar Energy

 

Wheat State Pizza

 

Williams Automotive

  

Non-Profit Level Members 

 Big Brothers Big Sisters

 

Community Theatre of Emporia

 

Corner House

 

Emporia Arts Council

 

Emporia Farmer's Market

 

Emporia Granada Theatre Alliance

 

Emporia High School Future Business Leaders of America

 

Emporia Public Library

 

ESU Foundation

 

Small Business Development Center

 

First Presbyterian Church

 

Flint Hills Optimists Club

 

Jayhawk Area Council (Scouts)

 

Lyon County Historical Society

 

National Teachers Hall of Fame

 

Plumb Place

 

The United Way 

Home Based Level Members 

Boyzen Bunny Fiber Arts- Tracey Graham

 

Energy Innovators

 

Family Jewels-

Leticia Rust

 

Gold Canyon Candle- Stephanie Morgan

 

Green Door Recycling- Amy Becker

 

Independant Longaberger Consultant- Judith Dieker

 

Interdependent Web- Ben Stallings

 

Joe the Furniture Doctor- Joe Kurzen

 

Kynda Kreative- Amanda Mendoza

 

Mary Kay- Brenda Braynard

 

Pampered Chef- Chelsea Gerleman

 

Patti Cakes- Patti Lipson

 

Paula's Creations

Paula Roper

 

Premier Designs Jewelry- Nikki Simmons

 

RossTography

Mike Ross

 

Scentsy- Deann Rose

 

Stampin-Up

Darcy Johnson

 

Tastefully Simple- Vanessa Apodaca 

 

 

Individual Supporters 

Anne Strobel

 

Brad Harzman

 

Dale and Carolyn Davis

 

Erin Woods

 

Fred and Patricia Gilligan

 

Julie Johnson

 

Kayla Oney

 

Mark & Amy McAnarney

 

Mary & Tim Helmer

 

Matt & Val Zimmerman

 

Pam & Fred Stephenson

 

Peggy Mast

 

Rob Gilligan

 

Sue Blechl

 

Tyler and Melanie Curtis

 

Victoria Partridge 

Emporia Main Street E- Newsletter

Greetings!
 
Just a week into 2012 and we're going to ask you to take a LONG look forward!!!  This will be an exceptional year for events, activities and opportunities for Emporia.  We want you all to take advantage of everything that 2012 has to offer, so keep reading and lets decide what 2012 can do for you!!!
Special Notification:
 
The Kress Center- 702 Commercial, has their 3000 sq. ft. lower level available for a health/fitness related business.  Rent is just $500 per month, plus utilities with a lease.  For more information, please contact Sophie Mallon at: 620-344-2250, 620-344-2249 or 620-342-6622.

Sunflower Gymnastics Tournament

Looking for a way to advertise your business to hundreds of youth and their families coming to downtown Emporia this January?

 

Can you spare some volunteer hours to help "spot" athletes on different aparatus (must be able bodied)?

 

Would you like the chance to view world class gymnastic athletes compete in Emporia?

 

Contact Stacie or David at Sunflower Gymnastics!

622 Merchant Street in downtown Emporia.

www.sunflowergym.com

sunflowergym@yahoo.com

Phone: 340-0831

 

The tournament will run from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, January 14th at the Civic Auditorium in downtown Emporia!   

  

Start Your Own Business Logo

The Start Your Own Business Class is a joint effort between Flint Hills Technical College, the Small Business Development Center at Emporia State University and Emporia Main Street.  Classes run from February 14th through March 15th. For more information on the class CLICK HERE! 

A Look Forward

2011 2012 Membership Photo 

 You might want to start getting some of these things on your calendar...

 

Opportunity.  That's a word you will hear a lot in 2012.  We have opportunities to bring new people into Emporia, to start new businesses, to expand existing businesses, to improve our pull and push this community in the right direction.  But, here's the thing about opportunities: you can miss them if you aren't careful...  Let's take a look ahead at some of the opportunities for you this year. 

 

 

 January:

 

The Sunflower Gymnastics Winter Invitational- January 12 For more information on this Saturday's Tournament, click HERE.

 

Dirty Kanza Registration- January 12 To view the Dirty Kanza Registration, Click HERE.

 

Glass Blown Open Disc Golf Tournament Registration- NOW  To view the Glass Blown Open Registration, CLICK HERE.

 

Business Grand Openings- Furniture Loft and MR Sister Sweets

 

 

Furniture Loft
Furniture Loft at 709 Commercial Street carries brand name furniture, electronics and appliances at very reasonable prices.  During their Grand Opening month in January they will have additional discounts and drawings available.  Now's the time to check out a big screen TV, new recliner or a replacement for that beat up washer and dryer at home!

 

 

MR Sisters Sweets
Check out Emporia's newest stop for cakes and confections, MR Sister's Sweets!

 

Quarterly Training- January 10-11 in El Dorado

 

February:

 

Valentines Day Guide- February 7th- Last year, Emporia Main Street collected YOUR specials for Valentines Day, and we compiled them in an on-line guide that we sent out via e-mail and social media.  This is a great FREE way to let people know what you are doing for Valentine's Day.  To participate, all you need to do is send us your images and/or text that you would like to use by Friday, February 3rd.  You can see some of last year's "ads" by clicking HERE.

 

Start Your Own Business Class- February 14th- Whether you are looking to start a business, expand your business, brush up on your business skill set or you have an employee that could become a valuable asset with a little more training, you should check out this year's Start Your Own Business Class.  Click HERE for more information.

 

Historic District- If we pass the negative ballot procedure, the State Historic Society could vote to establish a historic district in downtown Emporia during February.  For those looking for a Historic District refresher course, please Click HERE.

 

Preservation Slide 3

 

Sacred Heart Auction

 

March: 

 

The Kansas Hunting and Fishing Expo- March 2nd & 3rd This Flint Hills Mall Event brings thousands to town in one of the largest outdoor expo of its type.  For additional information on the Expo, contact the Flint Hills Mall, or you can Click HERE.

 

Kansas Hunting and Fishing Expo

 

St. Patrick's Festivities- March 17th- The parade will take place at 1:00 p.m. starting at 4th and Commercial.  There may be additional festivities associated with this Saturday event, coordinated by the Emporia St. Patrick's Day Committee.  For additional information, contact the Emporia Main Street office and we will do our best to connect you with the appropriate individual.

 

Quarter Mania- March 29th- This Emporia Main Street Event is a great way to connect to customers in a fun atmosphere.  Think of it as a combination of bingo and an auction with a lot more cheering...  Interested?  Contact Emporia Main Street to get involved in the next Quarter Mania!!!

 

April:

 

National Main Street Conference- April 1-4 in Baltimore, MD

 

The Glass Blown Open/Moonlight Madness- April 13-15- The Glass Blown Open will bring several hundred disc golf enthusiasts to town, and we may qualify to bring the world championship to Emporia if we can help Dynamic Discs grow this great event.  For more information on the Glass Blown Open, Click HERE.  Contact Emporia Main Street if you would like to participate in the Moonlight Madness late night event associated with the Glass Blown Open to introduce new customers to your business from 7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 14th.

 

The Taste- April 21- One of our favorite events, The Taste brings Kansas wineries, breweries, distilleries and local food vendors together in a wonderful atmosphere with music and other fun surprises!  Tickets are $35 and can be purchased through the Emporia Main Street office.  Ticket quantities ARE LIMITED!  If you are a food vendor or restaurant and would like to participate, we want to talk to YOU!!!

 

The Taste Crowd Shot

 

Quarterly Training- April 19-20 in Dodge City

 

May:

 

The Flatland Cruisers Car Show- May 19- Classic cars on three blocks of Commercial Street and a classic car movie at the Granada Theatre...  Yes please!

 

Graduations

 

Mother's Day

 

Outdoor Farmer's Markets begin

 

June: 

 

The Dirty Kanza- June 2- Several hundred individuals from 25 states and a few foreign nations will bring their families to Emporia, Kansas for the 200 mile gravel road race.  On the evening of June 2nd, Emporia Main Street will sponsor the Finish Line Party, complete with vendor booths, food options, kids activities, music, a beer garden and more.  Would you like to participate?  Contact Emporia Main Street!  For more information on the Dirty Kanza, click HERE!

 

Dirty Kanza Party

 

The Symphony in the Flint Hills- June 9- The Symphony will be held in Lyon County this year for the first time in several years.  Over 7,000 people will descend on Lyon County, and we are working with several other individuals and agencies to draw participants into Emporia before and after the event.  Do you want to get involved?  Contact Emporia Main Street!  For more information on the Symphony, Click HERE!

 

Live in the Lot- Wednesday's at 7:00 p.m. in June in the 700 Block of Merchant St.

 

Brown Bag- Wednesdays at noon at the Emporia Public Library

 

Jazz Week- June 4- 8- A week long jazz camp for kids during the day and a week of different genres of jazz performed at night for the people of Emporia!  This Flint Hills Music Activity will bring up to 40 students ages 12-18 to Emporia for a week long of instruction from jazz experts.  Businesses can help by providing a sponsorship ($100) that covers the education of 5 students, offering lunch deals for kids, or sponsoring a faculty member ($500 sponsorship).  Individuals are also encouraged to sponsor a students jazz education for just $20.  Contact Flint Hills Music or Emporia Main Street for more information.

 

Mother's Day

 

Farmer's Market  Open Wednesday's

 

July:

 

Midnight Madness- This replacement for the sidewalk sale went over better than we could have hoped last year!  This second version should be even better!

 

The Shrine Bowl- July 28th- Thousands of people coming into town watching Kansas All Star Football Players...  That could be good for the local economy, right?

 

Live in the Lot- Wednesdays at 7:00 p.m. in the 700 Block of Merchant Street 

 

Brown Bag- Wednesdays at noon at the Emporia Public Library

 

August:

 

Welcome Back Block Party- We had close to 2,000 participants at last year's block party...  Can we make it bigger and better?  OF COURSE!

 

ESU Welcome Back Block Party

 

School is back in session!

 

Quarter Mania

 

September:

 

The Great American Market- Saturday, September 8th- This multi-block street festival downtown includes hundreds of booths and other activities.  The Great American Market always takes place the second Saturday in September, so set your calendars NOW!

 

October:

 

Kansas Main Street State Conference (IN EMPORIA)- October 16-19- We have the opportunity to showcase our community to the entire state as the host of the Kansas Main Street Conference.  By working with other agencies, we are working to make the conference bigger and better than ever, but we will need volunteer, sponsor and business support to make the conference a success.

 

Halloween Events- The downtown trick or treat, haunted tours and more were a success last year, and we look forward to keeping up the tradition this year!

 

Public Improvement Auction

 

Oktoberfest- This event will take place immediately preceding Emporia State University Homecoming, and the fun should entice even more alumni to visit this year!

 

Oktoberfest 2011

 

November:

 

Freedom Fest

 

Veteran's Day Activities

 

Shop Local/Small Business Saturday

 

December:

 

Midnight Madness

 

Red Ribbon Merchants

 

Carriage Rides

 

Breakfast with Santa

 

Kris Kringle's Kids Shoppe

 

Quarter Mania

 

  Kansas Main Street Logo

 

Through all of you, Emporia Main Street receives clear guidance to achieve our vision and mission objectives.  Through the Main Street Four Point Approach, we have a successful economic development program to help our local businesses and community achieve sustainable success.  We record data to ensure that our activities have a positive impact on the local community and to generate data tied to new work programs.  When we ask ourselves what is working and what isn't, we need real numbers to back up our assertions!  What once was considered "fluff" by some (like a little bike race, or a late night shopping event) can become a critical economic driver for our community.

 

Thank you for all of your hard work in 2011, and we hope to produce even more for our community in 2012!

Did you know?  Answers to YOUR questions... 

 

Last week was a little hectic!  We met with three potential entrepreneurs, attended a kick off for a 5th grade project at the5th Grade Students future entrepreneurs   Emporia Arts Council, we held a board meeting, participated in some press activities, worked on some legislative awareness, hosted a board meeting, met with the new President of Emporia State University (Dr. Shonrock was wonderful to talk too), and we helped with a little thing called the Granada Bridal and Prom Expo that was sponsored by KVOE, Mix 104.9, and Country 101.7 with formal wear from Kari's Bridal, tuxes from Designs by Sharon, a grand prize from Water's True Value Hardware and support from the Granada Theatre and Emporia Main Street!  Haven't quite caught up on sleep yet, but it was an eventful week full of good questions!  

 

1.  "How was the Expo?"  From several people.   We had the largest Bridal and Prom Expo ever!  Now, I'll admit that I was a little nervous going into the event simply because we had a lot of people that were working the Expo for the first time, but things turned out well.  We had several different volunteers (thank you everyone) that stepped up to model, help with registration, keep things moving back stage and work the event.  The leader of this event, Jessica Buchholz of the Granada, is on bed rest until her little bundle of joy arrives, so several people had to step up, and I think they did.  Any event can be improved, and I have a list of ideas for next year, but the vendors and attendees were happy, we had a huge crowd, the fashion shows were very well received and the vendors made a lot of valuable contacts.  A special thank you goes out to Events Coordinator Becky Smith: she really stepped up and made sure that the fashion shows were a success.  We literally could not have done this event without her.  A young Granada staff stepped up to the challenge, and all of us are thankful to the wonderful support we received from KVOE. 

 

To view pictures from the 2012 Granada Bridal and Prom Expo, click HERE!

To view a video of tux guys getting their groove on to "Move Like Jagger" during the wedding fashion show, click HERE! 

To view the last run of the wedding fashion show, click HERE!

 

2.  "What did you think of the new President?"  From a friend of mineAny time you meet someone new, you're wondering what you are in for...  But, I was very happy with my meeting with Dr. Shonrock.  Actually, I don't think that I could stop smiling for a few hours after our meeting.  President Shonrock seemed genuinely interested in helping the community, and after I detailed the multiple ways Emporia Main Street was working to help ESU, Dr. Shonrock fired back with something unexpected: "How can I help you achieve your goals?"  To say that I'm excited to work with someone who is already reaching out is an understatement.  ESU is a critical part of this community, and if we can work together to build a successful area around ESU, everyone will benefit. 

 

 

3.  "Is the Expo a fundraiser for you?" From a community member. No.  The Bridal and Prom Expo is actually a fundraiser for all of YOU.  Any proceeds we derive from the Expo are used for business grants.  As we get numbers back from the Expo, we will inform all of you with potential grant information for sign and facade improvements.  So, we work to give your businesses exposure through the Expo, we work to bring people into the community by aiding in the formation of the Expo and then we turn around and provide you with the proceeds...  That's just another example of Main Street working hard for you!

 

 

4.  "What do you think is going to happen in the upcoming legislative session?" From an out-of-town friend of mine. I don't know that any of us have a solid grasp on what our political leaders plans are.  We will know a lot more by the end of this week.  I know a lot of people are nervous about things like potentially passing the burden of school funding onto local taxpayers, taking away programs that have shown consistent success in creating jobs/development and potentially de-emphasizing areas important to small businesses and entrepreneurs.  But, we won't know for sure until we see the Governor's proposal.  Even then, we have our local officials placed in the House and Senate that will decide the fate of our state's tax structure.  As long as our elected leaders make their decisions based on sound facts and not rhetoric while focusing on creating a net benefit for those that actually constitute the majority of economic growth in this state (small businesses and entrepreneurs), I think we'll be fine.  If they don't do those things, well, I guess that's why we have elections...

 

5. "Why is it important to teach kids about entrepreneurship?" From a member of the media. Senator Moran recently introduced data indicating that a majority of all new jobs created over the past few decades came from entrepreneurs.  We know that over 90% off the private jobs in the U.S. are in small businesses.  We also know that technology, industries and job markets are changing at breakneck speed in response to the amount of knowledge generated in today's world.  We are literally doubling our knowledge on planet Earth every six months.  That means, the future of jobs will be determined by small, nimble companies that can rapidly adjust to the changing market place and adapt to new information quickly.  There is a name for those types of people: they are called entrepreneurs.  If we want long term success as a community, we must educate this next generation to create their own jobs, identify their own opportunities and facilitate their own industries.  If we only teach our children to work for someone else in a static skill, we aren't teaching them the skills they need to survive in the new marketplace, and we aren't creating the citizens we need for Emporia to grow and prosper.  

The volunteers, members and staff of Emporia Main Street are working extremely hard to improve our business climate and build a successful community.  In short, we are working hard FOR YOU!  We appreciate your support, and we will continue to aggressively pursue opportunities to benefit our membership in the future.  Because, as we all know: small steps lead to BIG impacts!

 

Have a question?  Submit it to the Emporia Main Street office and we'll do our best to help you!
1st Kansas FinancialCasey Woods
Emporia Main Street
12 E. 5th Avenue
Emporia, KS  66801
(P) 620-340-6430 
(F) 620-340-6434
Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare.- Joel A.Barker