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Emporia Main Street
E-Newsletter
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No rest for the weary! We have Quarter Mania this week AND a lot of exciting activities coming up. Keep reading for more information about all the exciting stuff going on in your Emporia! |
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Quarter Mania
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Quarter Mania is TODAY September 18th at the Granada Theater. If you aren't sure what Quarter Mania is, or are still fuzzy on how it works, check out this video! So far, our vendors are Thirty One Gifts, Paula's Creations, Premier Designs, Stampin UP, The Sweet Granada, Green Door Recycling, Tastefully Simple, the Purse Lady, Gold Canyon Candles, Xanado, Rockin' Accessories, Studio 50-4, Little Red Rooster, Beauty Bar, Pink Zebra, Pampered Chef and Mary Kay. If you are interested in begin a vendor, please contact Emporia Main Street at 620-340-6430 or by email at [email protected]
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Big Brothers Big Sisters
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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 iPad Version, click here:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/e-town-app-emporia-kansas/id712001984?mt=8
For the Web Version, click here:
www.etownapp.com
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Self Defense
Empower yourself with a self-defense class oriented in Tae Kwon Do & Hapkido. Learn how to protect yourself in real-life situations while in a fun and exciting environment. Master Troy Hobelmann is a 6th degree black belt with 25 years of experience. All levels are welcome.
Cost: $55
Instructor: Troy Hobelmann
Mondays, Sept. 22-Nov 10, 7:15-8:15, 8 classes
Introduction to GPS and Geocaching
Participate in a modern day "treasure hunt" called geocaching using the GPS technology. Learn how to use a hand held GPS unit. Discover how the Global Positioning Systems work and how they can be used. We will show you how to use GPS devices like Garmin but also ways to participate using your GPS enabled smartphone. Teachers and parents can also get tips on how to use in the classroom or at home! Much of the class will take place outside, so plan accordingly.
Cost: $15
Instructor: Mandy Kern
Monday September 22 - 6:30-8pm
To enroll in any of these classes please visit http://flinthills.augusoft.net or call Amy at 620-341-1392. |
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| How it's Made Tour
Due to the popularity of "The Upper Story Tour", Emporia Main Street has come up with another exciting community event. On Thursday September 25th at 6:30 the first" "How It's Made " tour will commence.This will be a series of tours throughout the community demonstrating how local products and services are produced right here in Emporia . It is a great way to spend a Thursday evening ,strolling our streets, meeting with the local businesses and seeing first hand "How It's Made " right here in Emporia. The first tour will showcase Complete Works, The Sweet Granada and Uncommon Threads. Each site will demonstrate what they make, have some hands on activity and send you home with a special gift. Please reserve your spot early by calling the Emporia Main Street office at 340-6430 or e-mailing us at [email protected] Please reserve your spot no later than September 23rd.
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ESU Homecoming Shop Hop
October 18th is ESU Homecoming, and this event represents an opportunity to bring ESU alumni and guests into your business. We have tested the "shop hop" concept on three separate occasions, and we are now ready to step up to a potentially larger crowd. For this Shop Hop version, we are looking for businesses open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 18th. If your Main Street Member business would like to participate, please forward the specials that you will run no later than Thursday, October 9th. We will include those specials on a Shop Hop lanyard map that encourages individuals to shop or dine at participating locations. As individuals finish their "hop" they can drop off their lanyard and passport map to the Granada Theatre for the chance to win prizes in a drawing at a Granada event held that evening.
So far, participating businesses include:
2nd Love, Town Crier, The Sweet Granada, Studio 504, Rockin Accessories, Little Red Rooster and Complete Works. If your business would like to participate, contact Emporia Main Street with your special no later than October 9th.
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Halloween- Trick or Treat and Haunted Tours
Trick or Treat will take place downtown on Saturday, October 25th from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. So far, businesses that have signed up to participate are: Town Crier, Studio 504, Sweet Granada, Rockin Accessories, the Little Red Rooster and Lyon County State Bank. If you want to participate, we need to know by October 21st.
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Public Improvement Auction
Proceeds from the Public Improvement Auction this year will go towards banner replacement and some other very needed aesthetic upgrades downtown. The Public Improvement Auction is Thursday, October 30th at the Granada Theatre. Silent auction begins at 5:30 p.m. and the live auction begins at 7:00 p.m. Auction donations and participation are appreciated!
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Freedom Fest
Freedom Fest, a fundraiser for the local All Veteran's Memorial, is Sunday, November 9th at the All Veteran's Memorial and Soden's Grove. A new addition to this year's activities is the new "tanker tough" obstacle course challenge will raise funds for the families of active duty military personnel. For registration information, please CLICK HERE. |
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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
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Do you know a business that should locate in Emporia? Maybe you know an entrepreneur 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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A little blast from the past...
Our very first electronic newsletter in 2009 had some free business tips. How do they apply now?
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10 FREE Things you can do RIGHT NOW to improve your business!
1. Keep it clean. Did you know that consumers determine whether they will enter your business in a 3 second time frame? A clean exterior and attractive windows can make a BIG difference.
2. Stay POSITIVE. Positive work environments are more fun for everyone; consumers included. Negativity drags everyone down, kills morale and will inevitably lead to a less productive work environment. 3. Train your employees to embrace your philosophy, not just follow your standards. People can tell when employees don't believe in a product ( yes, your business is a product). Explain the "WHY"  behind your business practices. Employees that embrace your business will undoubtedly succeed. 4. Get INVOLVED! The most powerful form of advertising is "word of mouth", and the easiest way to create word of mouth is community involvement. For example, you could set up a FREE booth or pass out coupons at a "Live in the Lot" event. Need ideas? Contact Main Street! 5. Don't be afraid to try new things! Businesses adapt and grow, or they can slowly wither. A new promotion, floor plan, event or internal company contest can liven things up AND lead to future successes. 6. Utilize new media and new technology. E-mail marketing, social media pages and certain types of web listings are all nearly FREE and can be very effective in the right hands. Talk to your staff or the Main Street office to see how you can best utilize these new business tools! 7. Hone your message with words that sell. Did you know that you can boost your visibility and sales just by utilizing certain words? Check out what I mean by clicking (here). 8. Take advantage of expert resources. (I'm changing this one a bit, because certain state  resources no longer exist). The Small Business Development Center at ESU, Flint Hills Technical College Community Connection Classes, Emporia Main Street consulting, local business mentors, and a load of on-line information can help you learn the skills you need to improve your business. But, you have to take advantage of the resources around you. 9. Plan for success. Successful business, people and organizations don't happen by accident. They plan their success well in advance of its actual occurrence. Use down time to timeline events, create a work calendar and set organizational expectations. Involve others in the realization of your plan, and be clear about their responsibilities. After a plan's completion, write down what worked, what didn't and what you should do the next time around. 10. Realize that you have people rooting for you! Sometimes business can be a lonely enterprise, until you realize that others have a vested interest in your success. You are appreciated. You mean a  lot to this community. And, you have help available from your good friends at Emporia Main Street! So, beyond number 8, most of the things we talked about in 2009 are still relevant today, right? Technology and trends change, but most business techniques are timeless. What free things will you take advantage of to improve your business prior to the 4th quarter this year?
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Did you know???
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Last week, we held Promotions & Design Team meetings, started selling historic playing cards (already 150 packs sold so far!), participated in the Kansas Preservation  Conference, hosted the Great American Market, held a Freedom Fest meeting, met with the City about Master Developer agreements, hosted a passenger rail informational meeting, conducted downtown tours, met with new ESU faculty/staff and made a couple of group presentations. It was kind of a crazy week at the office, but this wonderful activity provides us with great opportunities to get some
good questions from all of you
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1. "How did the Great American Market go?"- From a few board members. The Great American Market has grown into a ten block event (the tracks to ESU plus one side street). The weather started a little cold (it was 38 degrees at 3:00 a.m.), and the first few hours of any event that large cause some logistical issues (barricades, electricity, vehicular traffic, etc.). But, overall I think it went well. We talked to a few store fronts that saw sales increases compared to the last market of 15-20%, which is solid. We need to continue to grow the market, find partners and add new elements. Plus, we need to do a better job of directing consumer traffic to appropriate parking lots, but I think that people had a lot of fun. The Great American Market is the largest community one-day event in terms of size, scope and attendance, and it takes a community to pull it off. Special thanks goes out to the Kiwanis Club, the City of Emporia Public Works Department, the City of Emporia Police Department, the Honea family, John Decker, Rick Becker, the Emporia Main Street Design Committee, the Emporia Main Street Business Enhancement Committee, Anne Orender of the Promotions Committee, Smitty Smith, Kevin Nelson (and his daughter Reagan), Jeff Young, Tyler Curtis, Jessica Hopkins, the Weltha family, the Hamman Family, The Emporia Recreation Center, the Emporia Golf Course & Ed Rathke. Emporia Celebrates the Flint Hills provided some wonderful entertainment this year, and Gilbert Rodriguez took on the car show, which really freed us up to take care of many other things at the market. Thanks to everyone that helped!!!
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Volunteers gather to help clean up after the Great American Market
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2. "What did people at the Preservation Conference think of Emporia?" From some volunteers that stopped by the Main Street booth at the market. One of the attendees reached out to us on social media to say: "We had never been to Emporia before the conference-we didn't know how great it is! We will be back soon." That sentiment was pretty common among the preservation attendees. We work hard to bring groups into town, but even harder to ensure that they are exposed to the unique elements of our community that bring people back. Based on responses we obtained, we think that the KPA will be back in Emporia soon, and we look forward to hosting the conference again.
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One of the presentations at the Kansas Preservation Conference
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3. "Can any business do Quarter Mania?" From a call to the office. Any business can participate, but non-members pay a $30 entry fee while entry is free for members of Emporia Main Street. Quarter Mania is a fun and unique way to expose your business to a passionate group of people from the local area in a really fun environment. We STRONGLY encourage businesses thinking about doing a Quarter Mania to attend one as a consumer first. So, if you want to participate in the December Quarter Mania (everyone does), then make some time to stop by the Granada Theatre this Thursday.
4. "Have you received many stories for the Veteran's Banner project yet?" From a banner sponsor. Yes, and they are awesome. We've been getting several stories a day dropped by the office, and they range from basic military information coupled with the veteran's "life after" to some active duty stories in war time situations. Becky Smith has been compiling information from the stories into sheets that will correspond with maps showing the general location of banners for the Veteran's Banner project. Our military is made up of extraordinary citizens that made (or are making) sacrifices to our nation. We are happy that we get to play a small part in bringing their faces and stories into the public eye.
5. "How do you pull all of these big events off?" From a local citizen. First, we have two outstanding staff members that put things together very well. Becky Smith and Lauren Woolard are simply outstanding at detail work, volunteer recruitment and community involvement. Secondly, we have a core of outstanding volunteers that constantly give their time to ensure that we can hold large events. Third, your support of the Emporia Main Street organization creates the structure that makes the series of events we are involved in (about 36 per year) happen. Good things happen because people are willing to work hard and commit resources to make them happen. We can put things down on paper, but flowery language doesn't move trash dumpsters at 4:00 a.m. Real work donated by real people make events in town occur.
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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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September 17
Board of Directors Meeting
8:00 a.m. in the Emporia Main Street office
September 18
Quartermania
September 24
Business Enhancement Meeting
8:00 a.m.in the Emporia Main Street office.
September 25
How It's Made Tour
6:30 p.m.
October 18
Oktoberfest
October 25
Eek Town Trick or Treat and Haunted Tours
October 30
Public Improvement Auction
November 9
Freedom Fest
November 29
Small Business Saturday
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
Jimmy Johns
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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