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Emporia Main Street
E-Newsletter |
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Spring really blew into Emporia! We have a Taste Event right around the corner, a clean up next Saturday, lots of community questions and some tips for those people that want to be gracious hosts for upcoming events. Keep reading your e-news and hold on for a fun spring! |
Click HERE for the Dinner and Taste Ticket
Click HERE for the general Taste Ticket |
The Taste is April 12th from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. in the Civic Auditorium. This classic event features Kansas Wineries, Breweries and Distilleries, local restaurants, live music and a lot of fun! We also have a Taste AND Dinner option. Dinner starts at 5:00 p.m., and dinner attendees gain early access to The Taste. We sold out of tickets the last three years, so remember to get your tickets EARLY!!! Click the links above to reserve your dinner ticket or your general ticket (we will hold on-line tickets at the door). Don't wait! Get your tickets TODAY!!!
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Do you enjoy taking photographs? Why not enter our photo contest celebrating National Historic Preservation Month in May? We want to see your talent and you may win Emporia Main Street gift certificates!
CLICK HERE for Contest Details
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Main Street Merchandise
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You can order the items listed below at a variety of local merchants, at the Emporia Main Street office or on-line at www.emporiamainstreet.com
Emporia-Opoly Game Boards are in and moving QUICKLY! This Emporia version of the classic Monopoly board game features local businesses, historic sights and special Emporia Tokens. This is the perfect gift for current or past Emporians. Because there is a limited quantity, we suggest you get yours soon..
Emporia Main Street Gift Certificates are always the perfect size! Give the gift of shopping local this year with the gift of Emporia Main Street gift certificates, good at our member merchants throughout Emporia.
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Learn more about local amenities, organizations, businesses, events and more with the E-Town Mobile App! The ETown App is a joint project among Emporia State University, Flint Hills Technical College, USD 253, The Emporia Gazette, the City of Emporia, the Emporia Convention and Visitors Bureau and Emporia Main Street.
For IPhone Users, click here:
For Android Users, click here:
For the NEW iPad Version, click here:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/e-town-app-emporia-kansas/id712001984?mt=8
New additions AND a Web version COMING SOON!
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Beginning Computer and Internet Basics
Instructor: Don Eusey
Cost: $19
Schedule: Thursdays, March 27-April 10, 6:00-8:00pm
Join Business Administrative Technology instructor, Don Eusey, for an interactive, hands-on class, geared toward beginners. In this class, students will create a solid foundation and master basic computer skills. Using the Internet and e-mail programs will also be covered. Limited to 10 students; enroll today!
How to Be a Leader in the Workplace
Instructor: Julie Cooper
Cost: $25; lunch included!
Schedule: Thursday, April 3, 11:00am-1:00pm
Location: Trusler Business Center- Valu Net Smart Room, 719 Commercial
Effective leadership is an important skill in the professional arena. A skilled leader is a strong communicator, motivator and problem solver. Building teams, motivating employees, assessing client needs and managing conflicts are some of the critical tasks of a leader. This workshop will provide you with some strategies for being a successful leader in the workplace.
Building a Backpacker's Alcohol Stove
Instructor: John Crisp
Cost: $10; students will construct and take home a completed stove!
Schedule: Tuesday, April 8, 6:00-7:30pm
Learn to build a super lightweight alcohol cooking stove from a couple of discarded soda cans. Using only a pocketknife, students will construct a simple, but efficient camp cook stove that can boil water in less than 5 minutes. This is a great project for scouts, hikers, campers, and backpackers. More sophisticated soda can stoves, as well as hobo stoves and wood gasifiers will also be demonstrated.
Teaming Building in the Workplace
Instructor: Julie Cooper
Cost: $25; lunch included!
Schedule: Thursday, April 10, 11:00am-1:00pm
Location: Trusler Business Center- Valu Net Smart Room, 719 Commercial
Team building is very important if you wish to extract the best out of your workforce. Employees are urged to work smarter and not just harder, in an effort to deliver the desired results. Though it definitely contributes in its own way, individual brilliance does not singlehandedly decide the fate of an entire project. Almost always, it is the joint efforts (or the lack thereof) of the whole team that eventually decide the success or failure of a project. In such cases, team building in the workplace becomes absolutely essential for a number of reasons. This workshop will provide you with some team building exercises for communication, success and improved team performance.
Enroll today! Visit http://flinthills.augusoft.net or call 620-341-1392.
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Property Availability Guide
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For property owners with property available for rent or sale, this is a free service to collect information and post it on the Emporia Main Street Web Site. With other market information available, we hope this site makes it easier for potential businesses and property developers to find spaces they need.
CLICK HERE to enter information about your available property and view previously submitted information.
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Business Investment Guide |
Do you know a business that should locate in Emporia? Maybe you know an entrpreneur looking for resources or a business owner looking to expand? The Business Investment Guide is community information designed to help you point your contacts in the right direction!
CLICK HERE for the INVESTMENT GUIDE |
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Play to Our Small Town Strengths
A lot of big events are coming up, here are some little things you can do to help...
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Looking ahead to jam packed May full of tremendous events we find ourselves asking two questions:
1. What the heck were we thinking? And,
2. How can we make sure all of our visitors have a wonderful experience in Emporia?
Big events always look daunting before they happen, but the second question is always an important one to ask. When we look back at the past few "big" events, certain things stood out to our guests. Other suggestions were filled this past year, but we need your help to pass information along. Below are some very simple things you can do to help make upcoming events a little more special for visitors.
1. Here's your sign- As corny as it might sound, "welcome" signs for Glass Blown Open Disc Golfers, Flatland Cruiser Car Enthusiasts and Dirty Kanza riders go a long way towards letting visitors know they are welcome. If you have a marquee, electronic signs or you simply want to put a poster in your window, do what you can to let people know they are welcome in Emporia.
2. Introduce yourself- If you see someone that seems like they are from out of town, reach out your hand and say "hello". Thank people for coming to Emporia. You will be shocked at how thankful people are to receive a welcome from a local. Generally, visitors want to know more about our community, so...
3. Become a unique information conduit- One of the most important things a citizen can do during a visit from "out of towners" is to highlight our unique features. Amenities, unique shops, local restaurants, special  entertainment options and historical features all allow a visitor to differentiate Emporia from every other community they have visited. Most communities of a significant size have a Taco Bell, so sending people there probably won't make Emporia stand out in the mind of a visitor, but introducing people to a Casa Ramos might. Sending people to a Walmart instead of a local merchant doesn't make Emporia stand out. Think and communicate unique options for better visitor relations.
4. Decorate your windows!- Themed windows that incorporate an event occurring lets participants know that your business is "friendly". Decorations in windows also serve the vital purpose of educating the public. Even though our local media does a fantastic job adding coverage and context to local events, you would be amazed at the number of people that have no idea what's going on during the Dirty Kanza or other local festivals. When you decorate, you encourage the public to engage your knowledge about community events.
5. Share tech- A relatively new feature that we believe can give Emporia a competitive advantage with visitors is the ETown Mobile Application. Downloading the mobile app turns your smart device into an events calender, a business directory and a community map (among other things). The ETown App can help you answer questions for visitors (or show them directions), but you can also encourage visitors to download the app in their Apple App Store or Google Play Store (the web version will be done shortly), and take all the information they need with them. The new mobile app technology gives people a significant amount of community information at their finger tips if you help make them aware of the app's existence.
6. Volunteer- When people volunteer, they often become the first line of information for visitors to Emporia events. Set up, clean up, watching gates, manning booths... Volunteers have a vital role in the success of events in the Emporia area. While volunteers are engaged in a variety of tasks, they are often approached by visitors and asked for community and event information. Consider being an information conduit by volunteering. If you are interested in volunteering for an upcoming event, please e-mail Emporia Main Street at [email protected] and we will get you connected to the appropriate individuals.
7. Just be your nice, friendly, smiling happy selves.- In large cities it is hard to form personal relationships and rare to see someone you know on the street. When visitors from the city arrive in a smaller Kansas towns, they can either feel like they are instantly part of the family, or that they are being stared at by strangers in a "children of the corn" movie. Midwest culture is generally kind but shy, and people from larger areas don't always "get" shy. Be a little more outgoing with visitors. You will meet some really neat people, and the visitors will get a chance to interact with our best local asset: our people.
Each year local events grow when locals support them. Each year our regional events grow when locals act as effective community advocates. The growth in activities is more than a cosmetic community pride issue; real economic benefits are derived from successful events and activities. As events descend on the Emporia area en masse, remember to take some ownership in your community's success by offering support.
What ideas do you have to showcase community support for upcoming events?
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Did you know???
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Last week we met with Dynamic Discs about their upcoming Glass Blown Open, we attended a CVAB meeting, we connected with Hutchinson concerning an upcoming
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The Taste is approaching quickly. Do you have your tickets yet?
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Kansas Main Street meeting, we had a conference call with the National Main Street Center, staff completed several updates to the ETown Mobile App, we toured some upper stories of buildings for an upcoming work day, we helped present the Community Initiated Development Phase III Plan to the City Commission (they adopted it), we met with a couple of prospective new businesses looking for financing, we worked with the Economics Department at ESU and a very talented student to develop the most comprehensive and realistic view of the Emporia market ever undertaken (can you tell we are excited?), AND we did some development work. The great folks at IM Design Group did a serious functional upgrade to the www.emporiamainstreet.com web site. Spring has finally sprung! With e-mails, texts, Facebook messages, calls to the office and stop ins this week, we received some a lot of
good questions from all of you
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1. "What is a C. I. P.?"- From a phone call to the office. Oh, the wonderful world of acronyms! An Emporia citizen heard that large projects would impact the CIP, and didn't know what that was, so they contacted the Emporia Main Street office. CIP stands for "Community Improvement Plan". Think of it like a prioritized budget for the infrastructure items that need improved within the city. Obviously, a community has limited funds, so on a yearly basis different items go up or down the list based on priorities and funding availability. Large scale projects within a definite time frame can alter the CIP by making auxiliary improvements a necessity, thereby altering the priority list and fast tracking items related specifically to the development and relegating other planned improvements to a lower status.
2. "How long is your loan process?" From two interested businesses. Once we get ALL the loan information we need, it typically takes between a month and six weeks. State or federal programs have their own time tables which are outside of our control, but most locally administered programs fall within that time window. CLICK HERE for a new brochure that gives a brief description of our loan programs. We often work very closely with commercial lenders as they are putting their loan packages together, so allowing us to communicate directly with a local banker can speed up the process substantially. Answering any questions we may have in a timely manner also helps. Once we obtain all the necessary financial and interview questions (we fill out "grant" forms on the businesses behalf), we convene the Finance Committee. The Finance Committee is made up of local bankers and an agent of the Small Business Development Center. The Finance Group can take three actions: recommend passage, recommend denial or request additional information. The Finance Committee is the only group that looks at extensive financial information, and they issue recommendations with the knowledge that the loans provided are riskier in nature than a traditional loan. Once the Finance Committee makes a recommendation, the loan issue proceeds to the Main Street Board, and they vote to accept or deny a request based on the project application and guidance offered by the Finance Committee. The Board sets the loan duration (within guidelines) and any special payment requirements. If the Board chooses to approve a loan, we work with a local attorney to produce a loan contract and a personal guarantee that must be signed and notarized. Once we have the appropriate signed documents, we either receive a check from a third party which we deposit and then issue a cashiers check, or we issue a cashiers check directly. Certain programs require that we withhold full payment until receiving all required documentation verifying the expenditures listed within the loan application. Unless stated otherwise, all loan payments are due on the 15th of each month. With the exception of the Capitol Multiplier Loan Fund, and certain USDA Fund pass through's, all Main Street loan funds are zero interest revolving funds.
3. "Aren't you being kind of demanding?" From a national organizational call. When it comes to trying to help local members, the Emporia community and other Kansas communities, you bet I'm demanding.
4. "What does it mean now that the City has adopted the CID Plan?" From a citizen that stopped by the office. It basically means that we now have a plan for an area of the community that we can execute and utilize to solicit new development and the rehabilitation of existing buildings. In addition, we have identified several issues and created solutions for those issues to create a higher functioning community core. It is our hope that this new focus on the community creating a plan and then executing the plan we have created as a community will replace the current development paradigm and allow for the redevelopment of several existing portions of Emporia (not just the downtown).
5. "What do you need help with in the near term?" From a potential volunteer that stopped by the office. April 5th is clean up project day downtown. We will be working on a variety of projects, from taking boards off of windows, painting bulkheads, cleaning up some lamp posts and caulking. If we have enough volunteers, we can even do some preliminary trash pick ups. We will meet at the Emporia Main Street office at 9:00 a.m. on April 5th to start projects. If you want to help make the community look better, you are welcome to attend.
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President's Circle
Emporia Realty Group
www.emporiarealtygroup.com
608 Commercial
620-412-9850
IM Design Group
www.imdesigngroup.com
17 W. 5th
620-343-3909
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541 Sherman
www.kiss103.1.net
620-343-6144
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Emporia Main Street Calendar of Events
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March 26
Business Enhancement Team Meeting
8:00 a.m. in the Emporia Main Street office
April 12th
The Taste
Dinner at 5:00 p.m., and the General Taste runs from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. at the Civic Auditorium
May 2-4
The Glass Blown Open. This Dynamic Discs tournament will take place throughout the Emporia area.
May 10th
The Flatland Cruisers Car Show
May 18-20
National Main Street Conference in Detroit Michigan.
May 31
The Dirty Kanza
riders leave at 6:00 a.m. from the 800 Block of Commercial Street.
June 21
Business Stroll
August 23
Trilogy Disc Golf Open
September 13
The Great American Market
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!
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General Level Members
AKA Marketing
Amish Woodworks
Applebees
Ash LLC
Atherton & Huth
Bank of America
Bath Expressions
Ben Moore Studio
Bennett Dental Group
BG Consultants
BLI Rentals
Bluestem Farm and Ranch
Brown's Shoe Fit
Bruff's Bar and Grill
C & J Woodworks
Candlewood Suites
Capitol Federal
Cassell Insurance
Chester Press
Clark Carpet and Tile, Inc.
Coffelt Sign Co.
Complete Works
Country Mart/Price Chopper
Dan's Hands Massage
Davis Paints
Disciple Shoppe
Dorsey Eye Care
Douglas Chiropractic
Dr. Kerri Thompson, DDS
Dynamic Discs
Eastwood Lake Apartments
Ek Real Estate
Emporia Construction and Remodeling
Emporia Radio Stations: KVOE, 104.9 & 101.7
Emporia State Federal Credit Union
E-Town Solutions
ESU Memorial Union
Evergreen Design-Build
Flint Hills Eye Care
Flint Hills Mall
Association
Flint Hills Music
Floyd's Automotive
Forget Me Not Productions
Four Seasons Apartments
George Groh and Sons
Gerald Schumann Electric
Granada Coffee Company
Graves Drug Store
Haag Management
Hair Krafters
Heart Center Studio
Helbert & Allemang
High Gear
Java Cat Coffeehouse
Junque Drawer Emporium
Kansas Radio 96.1 The Wave
King Liquor
L & L Pets
Lyon County State Bank
Lyon County Title
Mark II Lumber
McDonalds
McKinzie Pest Control
Midas Touch Tans
Mike Alpers Agency
Mr. Sisters Sweets
Modern Air Conditioning, Inc.
Mulready's Pub
Navrats Office Supply
Papa John's Pizza
Pizza Hut
Pizza Ranch
Plum Bazaar
Poehler Mercantile
Pool and Associates
Prairie Sage Apartments
Pro-Cuts
Rand Simmons Law Office
Redline Trucking
Reflxns Salon
Rhinestone Cowgirl Salon
Sauder Custom Fabrication
Schellers Lawn and Landscape
Scott's Lawn and Landscaping
Second Love Gifts
Stanley Jewelry
Studio 11
Subway
Sunflower Gymnastics
Sutherlands Lumber Co.
Sweet Granada
Textbook Corner
Thompson Auto Repair
Toso Appraisal
Total Technology
Town Crier Bookstore
Triad Leasing
Uncommon Threads
Value-Net LLC
Waters True Value Hardware
Westar Energy
Williams Automotive
Wright CPA Group PA
Wright's Furniture
Xan-A-Do Salon
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Non Profit Level Members
Big Brothers Big Sisters
Cradle to Career Cneter
Emporia Eastside Community Group
EHS- FBLA
Emporia Arts Council
Emporia Chamber of Commerce
Emporia Farmers Market
Emporia Friends of the Zoo
Emporia Presbyterian Church
Emporia Friends of the Library
ESU- Alumni Association
ESU- Small Business Development Center
ESU- Memorial Union
ESU- Theatre Dept.
Flint Hills Community Health Center
Granada Theatre Alliance
National Teachers Hall of Fame
Saint Francis Community Services
Salvation Army
SOS
TFI Family Services
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Home Based Business Members
Avon- Amanda Hopkins
Gold Canyon Candles- Stephanie Morgan
Green Door Recycling
Interdependent Web, LLC
Longaberger Independent Consultant -Judy Dieker
Mary Kay- Lori Engle
Nicole Bradshaw Designs
Origami Owl- Angela Dowell
Paula's Creations
Pampered Chef- Chelsea Gerleman
Purse Lady- Nancy Crawford
Scentsy/ Grace Adele- Kelly Long
Tastefully Simple- Vanessa Apodaca
Thirty One Gifts- Linsey Hopkins
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Individual Supporters
Amy and Rick Becker
Amy Evans
Brad Harzman
Dale & Carolyn Davis
Don Hill
Erin and Casey Woods
Joyce Zhou
Julie Johnson
Kayle Oney
Kelly Wade
Lynn Knechtel
Mark and Amy McAnarney
Michael and Karen Shonrock
Valerie and Matt Zimmerman
Roger Heineken
Smitty Smith
Sue Blechl
Tim & Mary Helmer
Tyler & Melanie Curtis
Yvonne Pool
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