|
|
|
For the first time, Freedom Fest added a "Spur Ride" to this year's event. New technical expertise from the Emporia Recreation Commission and Dirty Kanza Promotions encouraged a solid field of individuals that ran a 5K and then rode 40 miles (in a pretty tough wind) under four hours to "earn their spurs". The "spur ride" was inspired by old Cavalry traditions in the military, where soldiers would have to pass rigorous physical, technical and proficiency testing before they would be issued spurs (in part, so they wouldn't injure their horses). Thirty-seven individuals were able to finish the challenge in the allotted time, and they can earn a clasp for each year they "earn their spurs". After five years, they will earn a "golden spur".
|
|
|
Emporia Main Street
E-Newsletter
|
|
Greetings!
What a great weekend for Freedom Fest! We had a record number of participants on a fantastic Sunday. We have a lot of wonderful events coming up, and an informative article on Point of Sale systems below, so keep reading your e-news!
|
|
Veterans Banners
Emporia Main Street is working with area partners to expand the veterans banner program for next year. Banner sponsorships will be available at the Emporia Main Street office on July 1, 2016 at the Emporia Main Street office.
|
|
Quarter Mania - December 8th
Participating businesses include:
Granada Coffee Co., Tasty Kakes, Tastefully Simple, Thirty One, Paula's Creations, Kiko's Kitchen, The Purse Lady, Chloe + Isabel, Pampered Chef,
|
|
| |
Holiday Midnight Madness - December 10th
Participating businesses include:
Wooden Arrow Boutique, AKA The Sports Fan, The National Teachers Hall of Fame, Cradle to Career Literacy Center, Sole Mates, Sweet Granada, Studio 11, Farmers Market, Paula's Creations, Bath Expressions, Burnap Bros., Javacat Coffeehouse, Disciple Shoppe, Dirty Kanza Promotions,
|
|
|
Meet Katarina and Sujeily! Katarina has been mentoring Sujeily for almost two years and have loved and enjoyed every second of their match. "I think our match is great because we don't annoy each other. We have a lot of things in common." How would you describe your little: "Sujeily is very sweet, bubbly, and has a good heart; she is great at helping people. She also loves to sing and dance." These two enjoy spending time together and share the same passion for the activities they do. They love to paint canvases, go bowling, go out to eat and play tennis and Frisbee.
Sujeily's favorite match activity is painting canvases. Katarina and Sujeily get along very well. "Katarina is easy to talk to and she helps me whenever I have problems with friends." At Big Brothers Big Sisters we take into consideration similar personality types, interests, and hobbies to make it a beneficial and positive match not only for the child and his or her family but also for the volunteer. If you have ever considered mentoring or would like to learn more please call us at 620-342-5645.
|
|
|
Floral Arranging: Fabulous Fall Bouquets
Hosting Thanksgiving dinner requires the perfect table centerpiece. In this class, students will create a beautiful floral arrangement that is suitable for your Thanksgiving gathering. Join Paula Roper, owner of Paula's Creations, for an evening of expert tips and techniques on floral arranging for the holiday season.
Schedule: Thursday, November 12, 7:00-8:30 PM
Cost: $25
Kids in the Kitchen
Let's get our kids cooking! We will create some healthy foods that the kids can make on their own or with minimal adult assistance. The more involved they are, the more likely they are to try new foods! Children ages 6 and older, with an accompanying adult.
Cost: $29, plus $5 for each additional child
Schedule: November 14, 2015, 1:00 to 3:00 PM
Julie J. Cooper
Director of Community Outreach
Flint Hills Technical College
Office: 620.341.1377
Cell: 620.343.0258
|
|
|
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!
For the Web Version, click here:
www.etownapp.com
|
|
|
Property Availability Guide
| |
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.
|
|
Business Investment Guide
| |
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!
|
|
The Future of Point of Sale
Revolutionizing an Integrated &
Seamless Buying Experience
By Shane Wilson - Special Projects Coordinator
|
 Remember this old thing? During its time and place, it served a very valuable purpose - turning a business' sale into a deposit, while also doing some basic calculations. This was the height of technology at one point in time - unfortunately, widely used Point of Sale (POS) systems today are almost as ancient.
 Take a look at this. The "future" of POS systems, some sci-fi pipe dream, is in small- to-medium sized businesses as we speak. ( Disclaimer: this system, developed by former head of Google Wallet Osama Bedier, is touted by some as "future proof" - as made evident by the comparison between these two pieces of technology, nothing is truly future proof.)
The point is this - your POS, while being the foundation of your cash/credit exchange system, can do so much more, and an outdated POS system can hinder your business' growth for years to come. Below I'll outline a bit about what the future of Point of Sale will look like and how you can seamlessly get your business up to speed.
1) POS systems will continue to enhance not only the customers experience, but also the business owner's. Deeper integration between front end and back office systems means greater insight into inventory management, in-store customer tracking, supply chain management - you name it. These links are working constantly, giving the business owner more time to focus on extrapolating that data and making it work for them.
 2) Customer experience (Customer Relationship Management) is becoming one of the most critical elements as they relate to POS systems. This includes endeavors into loyalty rewards programs, mobile-integrated payment methods and savings mechanisms - even self check-out becoming more widely available. Customers, especially those in the Millennial generation, crave new, intuitive ways to interact with businesses during both the shopping and inevitable transaction experience. A quick, seamless way into this is the use of tablets (digital in-store advertising, for instance) that allow the customer to interact via QR code or similar mechanism.
3) Revolutionary authentication systems are on the way - and quickly. The use of traditional scanners may soon go the way of the dodo bird, as more businesses make way for biometric scanners, visual identification systems (for in-store customer tracking and personalized advertising), and voice recognition. Imagine customers lining up to shop at your store and make transactions via fingerprint scanner that contains all their relevant card information, making the process incredibly efficient and secure!
 4) The benefits of a cloud-based POS system are becoming too good to pass up. (If you're unfamiliar with the cloud and its benefits, check out this nice tutorial). In lieu of buying a bulky register system, many cloud-based systems offer applications for tablets, which really adds to the customer experience. Free (or nearly free) technical support, integration with other relevant applications, mass data storage, mobility & flexibility, and little to no installation fees are other great benefits to these systems. For more information about this topic, read this article. 5) "Retailers run the risk of the productivity plateau if they do not adopt POS systems that can keep pace with customer demands." This point is simply here to drive the theme home for business owners - this time is now (yesterday, in all actuality) to start having the conversation about POS conversion. The implications could be dire, and none are better poised than small-to-medium sized businesses to easily make the transition.
I hope this primer serves as a stepping stone for your business in the conversion to a more customer-driven POS system. The resources are out there, and they're staggering in number and scope, I realize this. To not start thinking about these concepts would serve to put your business at risk of getting behind the competition. Get ahead of the game with this advice, and please don't hesitate to ask Emporia Main Street for any additional insight!
Extra guides for further reading:
|
|
Did you know???
|
Last week we held an event coordination meeting, consulted with a few member businesses, hosted a board meeting, met with local media outlets about some
|
| |
5K runners from this Sunday's Freedom Fest!
|
upcoming projects, met with some consultants about some large scale funding projects, coordinated with city and county staff about some potential legislative issues, assisted some local aspiring business owners, and we hosted the largest ever Freedom Fest (with a great coordinated effort from a lot of partners and volunteers from throughout the community). We have a lot of great events right around the corner, and that means we get some great questions from all of you!
1. "What is this year's Emporia Main Street Christmas Ornament?"- From a collector. This year's ornament features the former St. Mary's Hospital (now the Hill Crest Apartment complex) The hospital was dedicated on June 13, 1928 and is a great example of Gothic style architecture. The hospital was owned and operated by the Sisters of St. Francis until 1984. Ornaments are $10 and can be purchased at the Emporia Main Street office, Poehler Mercantile, Studio 50.4, Emporia Chamber & Visitors Bureau, Plum Bazaar, Granada Coffee, Graves, Sweet Granada, and Studio 11. Each ornament is individually boxed and contains the history of the building.
National Teachers Hall of Fame Auction
We will have the silent auction November 9-13 at the Industrial branch of Emporia State Federal Credit Union [9 to 5 except closed on Wednesday Nov. 11]. Finale for silent and preview for live auction items 5:30 to 7:30 PM on Friday the 13th there. The live auction will be on KVOE and livestreamed on kvoe.com on Thursday, November 19th starting at 6 PM.
2. "How many participants did Freedom Fest have?" From a spectator. Approximately 300, which makes this year's Freedom Fest the largest yet! The Freedom Fest event is a collaborative effort between local veterans groups, the Emporia Recreation Commission, Dirty Kanza Promotions, and Emporia Main Street. The event itself wouldn't be possible without the support of local sponsors, a BUNCH of volunteers, and local participants. Proceeds for the event go to two areas: the local All Veterans Memorial and the families of deployed soldiers. We are so very thankful that people continue to get up early on a sometimes cold and blustery morning to run, ride a bike, or simply volunteer so we can actually DO something to support our veterans and families of active duty soldiers. We've received several comments like, "I wish every city would honor veterans like Emporia does" from visitors to our community, and that is a compliment to each one of your individual sacrifices and support for local programs.
 3. "Can non-members participate in Midnight Madness?" From a member. Midnight Madness is scheduled for December 10th from 8:00 p.m. until midnight. For a lot of our members, they describe our coordinated late night shopping events as some of the "biggest days of the year," both in terms of traffic and sales. Some of our members set up temporary "pop up shops" downtown. The Main Street organization purchases advertising, buys posters, and emphasizes Midnight Madness through social media "call-ins," and at a variety of speaking events. What seems like a fairly easy event looks simple because of the logistical work that goes into its formation. So, some of our members have gotten a little upset in the past when non-members take advantage of the increased traffic downtown for Midnight Madness by opening late, and we've had some awkward conversations with consumers that were confused as to why some businesses "weren't on the map" of participating businesses. All we can do as a Main Street organization is try to add value to the business climate and our members. Some simply aren't joiners, but if we all continue to work hard on the creation of great consumer events, our community wins..
4. "What are (other) downtown businesses doing for Small Business Saturday?" From a downtown business owner. Small Business Saturday is the Saturday immediately following Thanksgiving. We know of at least one new business that plans to launch that day, and several other businesses will be giving away Small Business "swag." Some businesses will have refreshments, some will start extending their hours, others will start offering gift wrap and many will start pushing advertising through traditional local media and social media. Small Business Saturday becomes a big deal when we all MAKE it a big deal, so work to highlight Small Business Saturday in your discussions with customers, in your media interaction and through your social media posts. When small businesses do well, we ALL win.
5. "Can we have food trucks in Emporia?" From a visit to the office. Yes, but there are some limitations. Currently, food trucks that are not participating in a preexisting large event (think the Great American Market or the Dirty Kanza Finish Line Party) are limited to four different food truck temporary licences per year. The City of Emporia is currently considering updates to the Food Truck policy which can augment licencing and location of operations. Many communities are using food trucks as a restaurant incubator to help entrepreneurs build capital and a customer base prior to moving into a bricks and mortar location. As a community that emphasizes entrepreneurship, we may want to consider ordinances that encourage entrepreneurial development. We also want to find ways to help our traditional restaurants take advantage of the food truck craze to extend their reach and maximize profitability. Luckily, we have some forward thinking individuals within the city that are working on this issue right now.
|
| |
Thank you to the Freedom Fest sponsors! We couldn't do it without you!!!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
President's Circle
 96 one The Wave
www.ksradio.com
 Brickyard 20 Ale House
402 Merchant
www.brickyard20alehouse.com
Emporia Realty Group
www.emporiarealtygroup.com
608 Commercial
620-412-9850
Evergreen Design Build
813 Graham Street
620-342-6622
| |
| |
2326 Industrial Road
620-342-0150
|
|
Benefactors
ESB Financial
Flint Hills Roofing & Gutter
Haag Management
KVOE
Longbine Auto Plaza
Mulready's Pub
Red Line Trucking
Roberts-Blue-Barnett Funeral Home
Subway - Main Office
Sutherlands Lumber Co.
|
|
Emporia Main Street Calendar of Events
| |
November 11
Promotions Meeting
8:00 a.m. in the Emporia Main Street office
Design Meeting
noon in the Emporia Main Street office
November 18th
Board Meeting
8:00 a.m. in the Emporia Main Street office
November 25
Business Enhancement Meeting
8:00 a.m. in the Emporia Main Street office
November 28
Small Business Saturday
December 3
Horse Drawn Carriage Rides
December 8
Quarter Mania
December 10
Midnight Madness
Horse Drawn Carriage Rides
December 17
Horse Drawn Carriage Rides
February 2
Destination Business Presentation by Jon Schalltert
April 23
The Taste
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!
| |
|
|
General Level Members
AKA The Sports Fan
Applebee's
ASH LLC
Atherton & Huth
Bath Expressions
Beauty Bar
BG Consultants
BLI Rentals
Brown's Shoe Fit Co.
Cable One
Candlewood Suites
Capitol Federal
Capstone Insurance Solutions
Chan Enterprises
Chester Press, Inc.
Clark Carpet & Tile, Inc.
Coffelt Sign Co.
Complete Works
CVS
Dan's Hands
DG Wingz
Dirty Kanza Promotions
Disciple Shoppe
Do-B's
Douglas Chiropractic Center
Dynamic Discs
E:24/7
Eclectic Bikes
Greg Seibel
Edward Jones
Ek Real Estate
Emporia Construction & Remodeling
Eye Doctors
Miles Shirk
Farm Bureau
Flint Hills Music
Forget Me Not Productions
French Lily
Frontier Farm Credit
George Groh & Sons
Gerald Schumann Electric
Goodwill Emporia
Granada Coffee Company
Graves
Gun Den
Hair Krafters
Heartland Office Systems
High Gear Cyclery
IM Design
Jimmy John's
Junque Drawer Emporium
Kaw Valley Engineering
King Liquor
L&L Pets
Little Red Rooster
Lyon County State Bank
Lyon County Title
M&M Military Surplus
Mark II Lumber
McKinzie Pest Control
Menu Foods Midwest
Midas Touch
Golden Tans
Mike Alpers Agency
Modern Air
Navrat's Office Products
Newman Therapy Services
Nikki B's
Orange Leaf
Paper Moon Antiques
Patricia Dorsey Eye Care
Patrick Werly Realtor
Patton, Putnam & Dean
Pizza Ranch
Plum Bazaar
Poehler Mercantile
Pool & Associates
Prairie Sage Apartments
Pro Cuts
Radius Brewing Co.
Rhinestones & Rust
Sauder Custom Fabrication
The Scoreboard Sports Bar & Grill
Scott's Lawn & Landscaping
Sears "White River Sales"
Sole Mates
Studio 11
Studio 50.4
Thompson Auto Repair
Thompson Family Dental
Thrifts & Gifts
Time Travelers Clock Repair
Total Technology
Town Crier Bookstore
Trust Point Insurance
United Country
ValuNet
Williams Automotive
Wright CPA Group
Xan-A-Do Salon
|
|
Non Profit Level Members
Big Brothers Big Sisters
Cradle to Career Center
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
Emporia State Federal Credit Union
ESU Alumni Association
ESU Foundation
ESU Small Business Development Center
ESU Memorial Union
ESU Theatre Department
Flint Hills Community Health Center
National Teachers Hall of Fame
Saint Francis Community Services
Salvation Army
SOS
| |
|
Home Based Business Members
Clark Rentals
Green Door Recycling
Hornet Fire Protection
Keko's Kitchen
Party Emporia
Paula's Creations
Plexus - Leanna Reilly
Stampin' Up
Tastefully Simple - Vanessa Apodaca
The Purse Lady
Thirty-One Gifts
|
|
Individual Supporters
Brad Harzman
Julie Johnson
Kaila Williams
Lauren & Nathan Woolard
Mary Helmer
Roger Heineken
Tyler & Melanie Curtis
Yvonne Pool
|
|
|
|
Casey Woods
Emporia Main Street
12 E. 5th Avenue
Emporia, KS 66801
(P) 620-340-6430
(F) 620-340-6434 |
|
If you only want to go where you've already been, always do what you've already done. If you want to achieve something different, you must do things differently.
|
| | |
|
|
For more information on various innovations in the point of sale industry, 
