Emporia Main Street
E-Newsletter
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Greetings!
Remember to welcome everyone to ESU Homecoming this weekend! Alumni will be in town, and we hope everyone will join us in celebrating Emporia State University with the Homecoming Shop Hop, the downtown parade, the football game, Art-Oberfest and all the other wonderful activities scheduled! Weather this weekend looks beautiful, and this is your chance to get out and show your Hornet Pride! CLICK HERE for the full Homecoming Schedule. |
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ESU Homecoming Shop Hop
Enjoy our first ever Homecoming Hop version of the Shop Hop! You can pick up your Shop Hop passport and lanyard at the Emporia State University Sauder Alumni Center or at various Alumni registration tables now through Saturday. You don't have to be an ESU Alumni to participate, but we do encourage you to go on ESU Campus to pick up materials and experience homecoming. Drop off your completed passport AND lanyard at the Granada Theatre on October 25th for the chance to win an ESU Prize Pack and $100 in Emporia Main Street Gift Certificates.
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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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QuickBooks Fundamentals
Instructor: Bryon Rosine
Cost: $89
Schedule: Tuesday & Thursday, October 21st and 23rd from 6-9pm
Location: FHTC Downtown Campus, 215 W. 6th Avenue Rm. 302
Note: Students may bring their own laptops to work along, or simply watch the presentation and take notes.
Get a solid foundation with this well-designed program and eliminate trail and error. Learn to set up a chart of accounts, reconcile your checking account, create and print invoices, receipts statements and estimates. Track your payables, inventory and receivables, create journal entries, memorized transactions and generate reports, back-ups. Accountant, Bryon Rosine, will share practical advice and helpful tips based on hands-on experience with the program. If you have just begun using QuickBooks in your office or need additional employee training, this class is perfect for you!
Vegetarian Cooking Class
Trying to go meatless a little more often? World Vegetarian Day is Oct. 1st and we thought we'd show you how to prepare an easy fall vegetarian meal to help you get started! The menu includes a pumpkin soup with fried sage and roasted cauliflower croutons, cornbread biscuits, and mini cranberry cakes for dessert. In honor of Eat a Cranberry Day on Nov. 23rd there will be a bonus recipe of spiced cranberry 'Martinis' (no booze, these will be mocktails)! Bring a container to take home some leftover soup!
Cost: $29
Instructor: Gretchen Russell
Schedule: Tuesday, Oct 21st, 6:00-8:30pm
Bulk Meal Prep - Take Control of Your Life!
Making several healthy, home cooked meals to keep for those hectic days has become increasingly popular as schedules get busier. In this class, learn the tips and tricks behind the planning, shopping, and prepping process of making bulk meals for breakfast and dinner. Bring a few family favorite recipes and a laptop (not required) to begin your own bulk meal plan.
Cost: $18
Instructor: Michelle Ernst
Schedule: Saturday, Nov 1st, 10:00am-12:00p
To enroll in any of these classes please visit http://flinthills.augusoft.net or call Amy at 620-341-1392.
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Halloween- Trick or Treat and Haunted Tours
Trick or Treat will take place downtown on Saturday, October 25th from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. So far, businesses that have signed up to participate are:
Town Crier, Studio 504, Sweet Granada, Rockin Accessories, the Little Red Rooster, High Gear, AKA The Sports Fan, Studio 11, Complete Works, Java Cat, Junque Drawer Emporium, Bath Expressions, Jimmy Johns, Dynamic Discs, L & L Pets, Browns Shoe Fit, Lyon County State Bank, Triad Leasing, Studio 504, Granada Coffee Company, High Gear Cyclery, Plum Bazaar, Flint Hills Music and Mulreadys. If you want to participate, we need to know by October 21st.
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The Wave Halloween Ad package giveaway!
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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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Emporia Arts Center Pottery Classes
For more information about the Emporia Arts Center, upcoming classes and events, please CLICK HERE.
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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 "tanker tough" obstacle course challenge which will raise funds for the families of reserve 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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Holiday Continuity
You (and the community) asked for some direction to improve consistency, and here it is...
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Emporia Main Street has the ability to communicate "best practices" or "generally agreed upon traditions" with the local area without saying "you MUST do this." We don't have the power to compel independent businesses to do things they don't want to do, but we find that many businesses understand that everyone can improve through a little cooperation and consistency.
After last year's holiday season, a few businesses asked Emporia Main Street to put together a guide for holiday hours, days of operation, decorations and activities. Our Promotions Team and Design Team, whose members are local merchants, advertisers and other concerned citizens, discussed the question and have offered these suggestions:
1. When should businesses start "late hours"? The general consensus among volunteers was that extended hours should start immediately after Thanksgiving.
2. What days/hours should my business be open once late hours start? Team volunteers stated that businesses should be open seven days a week, with store fronts open until at least 7:00 p.m. every day but Sunday (Sunday hours were a suggested 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.).
3. What should I do for decorations?- The Design Team suggested that every storefront (and upper story, when applicable) window be lined with lights and storefront lights be left on even past hours of operation to encourage window browsing and the "billboard" effect.
In response to other questions about the holiday shopping season, the two teams offer the following ideas:
1. What should my window theme be for this year's window decoration contest?- Emporia Main Street usually judges windows during the evening of the Chamber Christmas Parade and hands out prizes to the top three windows. We also submit pictures of participating windows so the public can chose their top three window designs. In the past, we have suggested a theme that corresponded with the parade theme that window designs needed to adhere to. After some thoughtful input from the Promotions Team, we have decided to drop the "theme" requirement from the window design contest. Be creative in ways that help customers identify with your business type and draw people into your location.
2. For earlier holidays, like the downtown Trick or Treat on October 25th, should I have candy outside of my front door, or inside my store?- The Trick or Treat is a great way to introduce the public to your products and services IF they actually see your products and services. We suggest having a candy table inside your storefront towards the back of your store. Yes, it gets a little more chaotic, but if you are giving away free candy you should get some free advertising. We also strongly suggest that you have coupons or event flyers for adults that come into your storefront with children. A little extra attention to adults could provide some great business opportunities during a prime shopping season.
3. Should I have an open house? We encourage businesses to have independent events, and Emporia Main Street would love to help you market your events through our newsletter and social media. Send us your flyer, and we will do our best to include it in weekly updates!
4. How can we help promote shopping specials around Thanksgiving?- Emporia Main Street will promote our electronic Holiday Shopping Guide again this year with your "Black Friday", Small Business Saturday and "Cyber Monday" specials. Look for our request for information, and fill out your store specials. We will send your specials out through a special electronic newsletter and social media to encourage shopping.
5. With the extended holiday hours, are we still doing a late night? The Promotions Team suggested late night activities correspond with Horse Drawn Carriage Rides downtown. Team members said that the Thursday nights in between Thanksgiving and Christmas provided good late night activities, with stores being exposed to carriage riders until 8:00 p.m. on Thursday nights. Midnight Madness is on December 11th ( a Thursday), so planning on staying open late on Thursdays is a good practice to get into.
6. Can we carry Emporia Main Street ornaments and other merchandise for the holidays? Yes. Main Street members can carry certain merchandise, including Emporia-Opoly, Historic Playing Cards and Christmas Ornaments. You simply need to notify us that you want to be an outlet, and we will take care of the rest.
7. Can we decorate the lamp posts on our block? This is something we've been asked the last couple of years... A combination of L & L Pets, Emporia City Public Works and Main Street work together to light corner lamp posts and trees. Interior lamp posts can be tastefully decorated with lights if businesses want to brighten up their block. Although lamp posts are tough, they can be damaged, so be careful with planning. Again, these are voluntary activities, but at your request we collected suggestions for you. Look through the ten items above and decide what works best for your business. Working cooperatively with your neighbors can create a more attractive atmosphere for the consuming public and result in a more profitable fourth quarter. Extending hours, creating new activities and establishing programming above and beyond the "norm" can be daunting, but the fourth quarter is the defining profitable quarter for many retailers restaurants and service businesses. Take some time to determine what you can do to enhance your market position this holiday season.
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Did you know???
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Last week, we helped a businesses with some individual consulting, met with the city concerning some incentives to enhance development, spoke at the Rotary
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Make sure you attend ESU Homecoming Activities this week and weekend!
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Club, hosted a Promotions Meeting, held a Design meeting, met with Network Kansas officials, started the planning process for the Start Your Own Business Class, attended an RDA meeting, participated in a joint "acronym group" meeting with Dr. Shonrock at ESU and highlighted some potential financing options for a couple of local businesses and property owners. Starting this weekend, major events will take place in Emporia just about every week through 2015 (yikes). But, all those extra activities mean some
good questions from all of you
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1. "Does the last round of Adopt A Garden judging end this year's Adopt A Garden project?"- From an organization that adopts a garden downtown. For most years, the answer would be "yes", but Emporia Main Street Special Projects Coordinator, Lauren Woolard, is working with local adopt a garden participants to voluntarily create Christmas Decorations within gardens this November/December. You will hear more about this extension of the Adopt-A-Garden project in following weeks.
2. "When is the ESU Homecoming Parade?" From an individual that stopped by the office. 11:30AM, beginning at 4th Avenue and Commercial street, heading north to 12th Avenue. For a complete list of ESU Homecoming Activities, please CLICK HERE.
Community Patrons:
Please take a few minutes to respond to a short online survey from the Emporia Public Schools. This community survey is now open for all community members who are not district employees, students in our schools, or parents of students in our schools. Those groups will be asked to take another version of the survey.
Your opinions are important to us. Thank you in advance.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/EmporiaSchoolDistrict2014CommunitySurvey
3. "Where can we pick up Shop Hop passports?" From a local volunteer. You can pick up passports at lanyards at the ESU Alumni Association and various Alumni registration events.
4. "How will the Veteran's Banner map work, exactly?" From a few calls to the office. There will be two components of the map. First, a lead section will identify the banners that exist in a given block. We won't say which banner is on a specific pole, but we will be able to tell you all the banners hung in the 300 block, for example. The second part of the banner project map is the biography section. This portion of the map will be arranged alphabetically in ascending order utilizing the last name of the veteran or active duty individual. Maps are arranged in this way because banner placement may change from year to year, and we may need to insert updates to biographies or new biographies as additional banners are added in the future. When placement is set, we will upload the banner project map to the www.emporiamainstreet.com .website, on our Emporia Main Street social media pages and we will send the map link out to local media. This is the first year of the project, and staff felt that this was the most efficient way we could design placement and biography notification, but we welcome your input as we make improvements in future years.
5. "Can only downtown businesses participate in Shop Hops or the Midnight Madness?" From a new business in Emporia. No. For Midnight Madness, any Main Street member business is welcome to participate. Some of our "outlying" members have reported huge days during Midnight Madness, but you do need to let us know that you plan on joining in. The Shop Hop is a little more problematic. For extended time periods (like this Saturday's 9-5 shop hop) it is pretty easy to include a wide geographical area for the Shop Hop. For more compressed time frames that cater to out-of-town visitors, the shop hop is a little more difficult to include businesses all over town. It simply depends on the event.
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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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October 15
Board of Directors Meeting
8:00 a.m. in the Emporia Main Street office.
October 18
Art-Toberfest
4:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. at the Granada Theatre.
October 22
Business Enhancement Meeting
8:00 a.m. in the Emporia Main Street office.
October 25
Eek Town Trick or Treat and Haunted Tours
October 30
Public Improvement Auction
November 9
Freedom Fest
November 29
Small Business Saturday
For more community event listings, please visit:
www.etownapp.com
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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