This week at the Chamber:
Thursday, Aug. 20th
8 a.m. - Chamber Board of Directors @ Chamber
9:30 a.m. - Chamber Coffee hosted by Hutch Regional Hospital @ Chamber/Annual Meeting
Noon - Chamber Ambassadors Meeting @ Chamber (T&C for lunch)
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This week in our area:
October 20th
USD 431 Parent-Teacher Conferences
8:15 a.m. - 3 p.m. - WKHRMA (Western KS Human Resource Management Assoc.) annual seminar
Monday, October 24th 4-6 p.m. - Hoisington Food Bank Open 5 p.m. - Story Time @ Library 7 p.m. - City Council Meeting
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Annual Meeting this Thursday
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Thursday is the scheduled Annual Meeting and Election for our Chamber! The vote will be held directly after the Chamber Coffee hosted by Hutchinson Regional Hospital at 9:30 a.m. at the Chamber, 2nd and Main, in Hoisington.
Every business should have received a ballot in the mail a few weeks ago for the Chamber Board and Cardinal Apartment board elections. All paper ballots must be submitted at the Chamber by 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, October 20th.
Both ballots can also be found online HERE. All online votes must be submitted by 8:15 a.m. on Thursday, October 20th. |
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Sign Up to Host a 2017 Coffee!
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 This Thursday we will begin sign-ups for 2017 Hoisington Chamber Coffee hosts!
Held every Thursdays at 9:30 a.m. by different Chamber member businesses either at their location or at the Chamber meeting room, the weekly Chamber coffee is a great way to meet new people and find out what's going on in the community. We hope you will join us! There is no cost to attend the coffee, and guests are always welcome.
Interested in hosting a Chamber Coffee at your business? Our coffee hosts have the attention of 25-30 prominent Hoisington area business men and women each week! Hosts may either provide their own breakfast snacks or arrange for the chamber staff to pick them up for a small fee. Hosts may also bring door prizes which will be announced before the coffee.
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Turkey Give-Away Promotion to start soon!
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 Join Pizza Hut in supporting H.E.P.A. (Hoisington Elementary Parent's Association). Order online, by phone or on location between 2pm and 8pm, Tuesday, October 18th and 20% of your pre-tax order total will go to benefit HEPA. Throughout the year we use funds raised to provide support, learning AIDS such as the outdor States Map (coming soon to Roosevelt), guest speakers such as recent presenter Keith Bear and fun activities for the students and teachers of the Hoisington Elementary Schools. |
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Stargazing at Cheyenne Bottoms
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Cheyenne Bottoms is the perfect stargazing location - wide open spaces with few artificial lights. Join the KWEC and the FHSU Astronomy Club for an evening of astronomical appreciation! We'll be observing many of the night skies most interesting features, the big beautiful moon, and we'll even have a chance to spot the International Space Station as it orbits over the Earth.
We'll stay warm with tasty hot cocoa, but we will be outside so dress for the weather! We'll start the evenings activities at 7:30 pm, at KWEC. Give us a call at 1-877-243-9268 for more information about this fun, FREE program!
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Kans for Kids Auction and Dinner
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Holiday Bazaar Looking for Vendors
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Looking for vendors for a Holiday Bazaar sponsored by First United Methodist Women. Bazaar will be located in the Concourse area. Please call Karen Van Brimmer 620-617-1277 or message me for more information.
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Cyber security is becoming such a big deal even the politicians are talking about it. According to the FBI, billions of dollars are lost every year with cases of cyber crime. Often small businesses are underrepresented in these types of statistics because crimes against them go unreported. A decade ago, cyber criminals were working on those with deep pockets but today's cyber menace looks for low-hanging fruit - businesses without adequate security measures. If you want to avoid becoming a victim in your business, there are a few things you need to do:
Beware of Ransomware
Ransomware is one of the FBI's major concerns. It's a form of insidious malware that encrypts and locks your files. This form of electronic extortion demands payment from the victim to unlock the files.
There's very little that can be done outside of paying the ransom or using a restore point to reinstall your data, assuming you have a backup. Which brings us to the most important point - backup your files. If you have a good current backup you needn't give in to these criminals.
Most of ransomware comes from user error when someone clicks on an email link. Since ransomware often doesn't immediately show up, an employee can infect your entire network without knowing.
Educate Your Employees
If you're a one-person shop, you need only educate yourself on the dangers of the Interwebs but if you employ others and they bring their own devices to work and use your company network, you need to bring them up to speed on cyber security best practices immediately such as not clicking on questionable links (and educating them on what "questionable links" can look like. Cyber criminals have become a lot more cunning and a lot better at mimicking emails from popular brands. Some even pose as the IRS) and installing updates.
Perform Updates
Companies like Microsoft spend a lot of money on updates so you can be sure they're valuable. Most of the time they're patching a security risk. Many people simply read over the new features or bug fixes and decide whether they want to install them or not based on those things. What they don't realize is that "out-of-date" software increases your risk of being hacked. As inconvenient as applying an update may feel, recovering from a cyber attack or breach in security is a lot more so.
Limit Activities on Public WiFi
If you want to check Facebook while you're at the airport using their free WiFi, go ahead. If you have a sudden desire to check your bank account on a public WiFi, fight it. If you travel often and you deal with a lot of secure information (or what should be) invest in your own hotspot or use a VPN. Don't use public WiFi for confidential information, even if only for a moment to check a balance.
Use Hover Overs
As mentioned earlier scam emails are becoming more sophisticated in design and appearance. Clicking on an email link can place your entire network at risk. Before clicking on an email, hover over the link to see the address. If it's an email from a reputable business like Amazon or Yahoo you can be assured it will be linking to @yahoo.com or @amazon.com. If you have questions about it being legitimate, close out of the email and contact the company directly. One other thing, the IRS never sends emails.
Use Strong Passwords and Be Selfish
Don't use passwords that are easily guessed from public information. Use a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and characters when allowed. Try not to share passwords between multiple sites or people. Also, if asked a security question from your account, don't use real answers. Again, many of these could be a matter of public record or easily ascertained through social media. Yes, cyber criminals are not above stalking you for information. It's better to use the security question and make up your own answer. Just make sure you can remember it since it's a work of fiction.
Don't write passwords down or keep them electronically in a Word document labeled "passwords." Whenever possible use a two-step authentication process for logging in. The chances of that being hacked are a lot less than a single sign-on.
A Final Word about Staying Safe on the Internet
As a small business owner, one of the most important things you can do to safeguard your company's future is to take care of security vulnerabilities today. Not only can cyber criminals steal valuable information from your operation but once they have it is very difficult to regain the trust of your customers. Invest the time and money to educate yourself today or invest in working with someone who can help. It's the one thing your customers will never thank you for but it means the world to them.
Christina R. Green teaches small businesses, chambers and associations how to connect through content. Her articles have appeared in the Midwest Society of Association Executives' Magazine, NTEN.org, AssociationTech, and Socialfish. She is a regular blogger at Frankjkenny.com and the Event Manger Blog.
She's a bookish writer on a quest to bring great storytelling to organizations everywhere.
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Fort Hays State University's Center for Entrepreneurship will host Kansas Startup on November 11 - 13th on the FHSU campus.
Kansas Startup is a great opportunity for anyone interested in starting a business, nonprofit, or cause-related organization to share their idea with others and create a viable organization over a weekend.
On Friday evening, participants meet each other, pitch ideas and then form teams around the best ideas. The teams work on their concepts over a 48-hour period, receiving valuable input and guidance from coaches with professional and industry experience. The event concludes with team presentations to a panel of distinguished judges on Sunday evening.
Kansas Startup is the largest startup event in Kansas and this year marks its 4th anniversary. Kansas Startup is a fast-paced, high-energy activity that brings entrepreneurs together to launch new business ideas. Anyone who is interested in starting a business - or about learning the process of forming a startup - is welcome, regardless of background or experience.
For more information, visit kansasstartup.com or contact Henry Schwaller, Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship, at [email protected].
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The SBA is now accepting nominations for its 2017 National Small Business Week Awards, including the annual Small Business Person of the Year. Since 1963, National Small Business Week has recognized the outstanding achievements of America's small businesses for their contributions to their local communities, and to our nation's economy.
The SBA Small Business Week website provides criteria and guidelines for submitting a nomination.The nomination criteria have been streamlined and simplified. Now the nominees are only required to submit one form and questionnaire.
The SBA Awards are given in celebration of National Small Business Week, April 30 - May 6, 2017.
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Barton County Young Professionals Corner
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You're Invited -
Personal Development Nov. 2
Starting Your Own Business &
Building a Business Plan
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Members of the Barton County Young Professionals group are invited to participate in a free personal development series designed to help YP's grow personally and professionally.
The next presentation, entitled "Starting your own business - building a business plan" presented by Mark Mingenback, will take place at the Pizza Hut buffet, 4101 10th Street, on Wednesday, November 2ndfrom 12-1 p.m. AND 6-7 p.m. We heard member feedback, and are now offering this series over both the lunch (12-1 p.m.) and dinner (6-7 p.m.) hours. We look forward to seeing you at whichever time frame works best with your schedule!
The presentations are free to attend, but each participant must pay for their own buffet meal before leaving. The two sessions will begin at 12 p.m. and 6 p.m., and each will conclude with door prize drawings. And remember, you get an extra ticket in the drawing for wearing your professional nametag at BCYP events! RSVP's are not required.
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Join the BCYP Facebook Group:
Like the BCYP Facebook Page:
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In the interest of keeping the eBlasts and Newsletters manageable in size, the Job Opportunities from our investment members will be listed on our website under the "About Hoisington" link under "Employment".
TO SEE WHAT JOBS ARE AVAILABLE FROM OUR MEMBERS.
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Call for Content eBlasts and Newsletters
If you have exciting news that you would like to share in our monthly newsletter or weekly eBlasts with nearly 200 individuals in our business community, please send it to the Chamber office at [email protected] three business days prior to the 1st of the month.
If you would prefer to get a printed copy of the monthly newsletter, please let the office know.
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Hoisington Chamber of Commerce
123 N Main St
Hoisington, Kansas 67544
620-653-4311
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