Salina Chamber Newsletter August 2023

OFFICIAL PUBLICATION

The Salina Area Chamber of Commerce Chamber Connection (USPS 478-100) is published by the Salina Area Chamber of Commerce, 120 W Ash, Salina, Kansas 67401 Periodical Postage paid at Salina, Kansas Subscription rate to members is $1 25 per year Sylvia A Rice, Editor Consolidated Printing, layout and design Postmaster: Send address changes to: Chamber Connection, PO Box 586, Salina, KS 67402-0586

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

CHAIR Dr Alysia Starkey K-State Salina

VICE CHAIR Andrew Manley

First Bank Kansas

CHAIR ELECT Jason Gillig Hutton

TREASURER Loren Young Pinion

PAST CHAIR Travis Young

Salina Vortex

PRESIDENT/CEO Renee Duxler

Salina Area Chamber of Commerce

Melissa Anderson Kansas Wesleyan University

Sam Browning

Helio Next Holdings, Inc

Cheryl Campbell

Sunflower Bank

Mindi Davidson

First Bank Kansas

Dr Patrick Lucaci

Oral Facial & Implant Surgery Salina

Lori Perez

Sanity Boutique

Susan Young Bennington State Bank

From the President/CEO

This past summer, the Salina Area Chamber of Commerce won an Inclusive Entrepreneurship Engagement Award from the statewide group, Network Kansas. While I’m proud of so many of the things we do here at the Chamber, it was especially gratifying to be recognized for the support we provide to entrepreneurs and small businesses through our Project OPEN programming. This month’s cover story goes in depth as to what that looks like, but feeding entrepreneurship and encouraging business retention and expansion is such a vital part of economic development that often gets overlooked.

Did you know that….

• Though the nation’s largest corporations get the spotlight, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration the reality is that the vast majority of businesses (99.9 %) in the U.S. are small businesses (those designated as such by having less than 500 employees). Saline County mimics this closely as 98% of our local economy is driven by small business.

• Nearly half of all U.S. employees are employed by a small business. That’s 46.4% of all U.S. employees. In 2022, the professional and business service industries created over 1.1 million new jobs, the most out of any industry last year.

• Though the gap is narrowing, females only own 43.2% of small businesses, despite making up 50.4% of the U.S. population. Racial minorities own 19.4% of small business- of which Hispanics own 13.8%. Veterans are one of the least represented groups, owning just 6.4% of small businesses in the U.S.

• Nearly 1 out of 3 businesses still don’t have a website. Of the nearly one-third favoring going website-free, 20 % say they use social media in lieu of creating a website. That doesn’t mean that is a widely advisable move, however, as millions look to Google to discover businesses.

• Running out of capital is the second most common reason small businesses fail, right behind lack of market demand. Starting and running a small business is expensive, and so it’s vital for business owners to have the capital they need to cover operating expenses for the first number of years as the business gets on its feet.

All of this is why entrepreneurial support and infrastructure—especially education, access to capital, and resources—are so important in the economic development and health of a community. Entrepreneurial support also helps diversify markets within a community, and stop leakage from happening (i.e. when people leave a community to find a service or product because it is not offered in their own community).

Project OPEN is just one of the many ways that the Salina Area Chamber of Commerce supports small business in our community, but it is an extremely important one that makes a bigger impact than we are even able to quantify.

Best,

Renee Duxler, President/CEO

HERE’S HOW TO CONTACT OUR CHAMBER STAFF

Renee Duxler, President/CEO rduxler@salinakansas org

Sandy Cole, Accountant scole@salinakansas org

Ashley Finan, Membership Recruitment and Retention Director afinan@salinakansas.org

Sylvia Rice, Visit Salina Director srice@salinakansas org

Tiffany Benien, Visit Salina Sports & Events Manager tbenien@salinakansas org

Jo Ann McClure, Visit Salina Convention, Military & Ag Manager jmcclure@salinakansas org

Stephanie Gillig, Events and Community Initiatives Director sgillig@salinakansas org

Jaclyn Crow, Economic & Workforce Development Director jcrow@salinakansas org

Ector Diaz, Marketing & Content Coordinator ediaz@salinakansas org

Donna Smith, Office Assistant dsmith@salinakansas org

Renee Duxler

Passion for Entrepreneurship Drives Project Open

Here at the Salina Area Chamber of Commerce, we have a passion for helping entrepreneurs succeed. Project OPEN does just that by assisting small business development and retention and aiding both aspiring entrepreneurs and established small business owners with the financial and technical resources needed to create and expand successful businesses. Our mission is to help strengthen our local entrepreneurial businesses, position our community for economic development within, and create a strong, friendly environment for a small business to start and flourish.

“Economic development isn’t always just about recruiting big companies or creating hundreds of jobs at a time,” Renee Duxler, president and CEO at the Salina Area Chamber of Commerce said, “The backbone of this community is small business and we’re proud to have entrepreneurial infrastructure that is able to support and cultivate new and expanding small business.”

For new and existing entrepreneurs, Project OPEN provides gap financing. Gap financing is the amount of money needed when conventional lenders are unwilling to assume 100% of the risk of lending. In order to access funds from Project OPEN, applicants must secure anywhere from 20 -40% of the financing needed from a bank or credit union, and then Project OPEN works to come in with a loan for the remaining needed to fully fund the start-“The gap loan funding program through the Salina Area Chamber of Commerce allowed us to expand and realize the full potential of the customer service we wanted to provide,” Chris Mikesell owner of Salina RV said, “Being able to

In 2022, the Salina Area Chamber and Project OPEN was able to give out $320,000 in lowinterest loan capital, and $20,000 in grant funding for start-ups and expansions in Saline County.

In a special collaboration with Kansas State University-Salina, Project OPEN also offers FREE business training courses. ‘Basics of Marketing, Management, and Strategy’ focuses on essential information to assess the feasibility of one’s ideas to start or grow their business. ‘Financial Basics and Tools’ is geared to accurately calculate future sales and costs, determine working capital needs, and prepare for the future needs of new and existing businesses. These classes are intended to be taken together, as they walk entrepreneurs and start-ups through the creation of a full business plan. Anyone is welcome to attend, however, both classes are mandatory for businesses interested in gap financing. Registration for Summer 2023 courses are open now!

In addition to our partnership with Kansas State University-Salina, we have also partnered with Wichita State University and Network Kansas to provide an entrepreneurial certificate program. “Growing Rural Business” is an 8-week training course, custom-made to meet the needs of existing rural business owners who are ready to grow. Taught by faculty and staff from Wichita State University’s Center for Entrepreneurship who are experts in running businesses, this program provides hands-on, practical solutions and techniques to grow and modernize business ventures while living in a rural setting. More information and registration links for the Growing Rural Businesses Entrepreneurial Certificate Program can be found at www.wichita.edu/grb.

“As a relatively new entrepreneur with a business about four years old, I sometimes found myself sort of ‘hunting and pecking’ for the right keys and solutions related to operational questions and growth opportunities,” Joanne Smith, a graduate of the certificate program said. “While trial and error is a great teacher and a necessary part of my business evolution, I was grateful for the opportunity to have a more formalized education offering provided right here close to home.”

purchase the inventory to have at-the-ready for our customers was a crucial piece in growing our business. We’re now getting ready to hire our 4th employee because of the demand and fast growth.”

If you’re ready to turn your good idea into a GREAT business reality, Project OPEN is for you! For more information about Project OPEN, please contact Jaclyn Crow at (785) 827-9310 x127, or email: jcrow@salinakansas.org You may also visit: www.projectopensalina.com

“The backbone of this community is small business and we’re proud to have entrepreneurial infrastructure that is able to support and cultivate new and expanding small business.”

Renee Duxler, President/CEO

Salina Area Chamber of Commerce

OCCK to host 33rd Annual Employment Expo at Tony’s Pizza Events Center

The 33rd Annual Employment Expo is scheduled for Thursday, October 5th from 11am to 2pm at Tony’s Pizza Events Center in Salina.

The event is jointly sponsored by a partnership between The Salina Area Chamber of Commerce, Eagle Communications, City of Salina Community & Development Services, Y93.7, Salina Human Resource Management Association (SHRMA), Kansas Workforce One, KansasWorks, Tony’s Pizza Events Center and Workforce Solutions of OCCK, Inc.

The event will feature regional employers looking to hire employees to fill their open positions. Area employers have the opportunity to set up a booth to talk about hiring needs both now and in the future for their business. Attendees are encouraged to bring their resume; employers may conduct on-site interviews. Job applicants are expected to come from all over the area. Eagle Communications will have a live remote on site and some employers will have the opportunity to voice their hiring needs live during the expo.

Prospective employees are encouraged to attend to learn more about the hiring needs of businesses, brush up on their job search skills, and network with others. KansasWorks will also have their mobile unit available that day.

This event is an incredible opportunity for hiring businesses to reach multiple job seekers at one time and booths are now available. To reserve a booth, please contact Shanna Sowers at 785-827-9383 ext 176, or ssowers@occk.com.

RIBBON CUTTINGS with the Bluecoat Ambassadors!

Chamber Blue Coat Ambassadors joined Salina Tennis Alliance to celebrate the City’s beautiful tennis facility!

Nex-Tech wireless cut a ribbon to mark their new facility!

Network Kansas has partnered with NXTUS to provide the NXTSTAGE Enterprise Engagement Series . This is a free program designed to educate and open doors for Kansas businesses who have a business-to-business product or service . With their target client being mid-, large- enterprise business, this program aims to demystify the partnering process, to build customer pathways, and accelerate innovation and startup growth . The program kicks off in September with in-person and virtual options available Apply now! For more information, please visit: https://www.nxtus.io/enterpriseseries

THANK YOU

to these Chamber members who continue to support our programs through their membership renewal:

 24/7 Travel Center

 Ace Hardware Home Center

 Child Care Aware of Kansas

 Construction Rental, Inc .

 DAV Thrift Store

 Discover Dental Center

 Elmore Plaza, Inc .

 First Presbyterian Church

 Great Plains Periodontics & Implant Dentistry, PA

 GSI Engineering, LLC

 Hannebaum Grain Co ., Inc .

 HDR Engineering, Inc

 Hillside Liquor

 Homewood Suites by Hilton Salina Downtown

 Inspire Hearing Center

 JAB IT PC

 JCRP Consulting

 Kansas State University Salina Aerospace and Technology Campus

 KARA - Kansas Agribusiness Retailers Association

 Kohl's Department Store

 L & L Advisors

 Lauck Insurance Agency

 Rent One

 Residence 600

 Sage Products, Inc .

 Salina AM AMBUCS

 Salina RV LLC

 Scientific Engineering

 ServiceMaster of Salina

 Sign Gypsies - Salina Area

 Taco Bell

 Taco Bell of East Salina

 Taco Bell of Salina

2023 Leadership Salina Roster

Name Employer

Aaron Wedel Wedel Financial Group

Alyssa Wendel Kansas State University Salina

Anabel Feauto Saline County Health Department

Annika Wilson Greater Salina Community Foundation

Cameron Roehlk Great Plains Manufacturing - Land Pride

Cherie Grigsby Salina Family YMCA

Christina Small Salina Area United Way

Cody Heiman First Bank Kansas

Cyleste Hellmer The Bank of Tescott

Dakota Rohleder The Bennington State Bank

Dan McFadden Central National Bank

Darren Morawitz Salina Art Center Warehouse

Drew Sprague Salina Fire Department

Dusty Farris Sunflower Bank

Ector Diaz Salina Area Chamber of Commerce

Esther Kency Central Kansas Mental Health Center

Jaclyn Crow Salina Area Chamber of Commerce

Jamie Boatright Salina Family Healthcare Center

Joel Bicknell Catholic Diocese of Salina

Joey Racki Mead Lumber

Justin Owens Kaw Valley Engineering

Katie Zey Salina Public Library

Kelley Drake Salina Regional Health Center

Kirsty Hartley Prairieland Market

Lee Speirs Kennedy Berkley PA

Megan Ayers Superior Contracting and Manufacturing Services

Patrick Parker Ashby House

Shane Clark Fili Creative

Tanner Colvin Vortex

Thomas Cook Spectrum Metalcraft

CLEARWAVE FIBER

Diane Neubecker 713 High St Baldwin City, KS 66006 913-295-0008

www.clearwavefiber.com

FOUNDATION WEALTH PLANNING

Philip Francois 2035 E Iron Ave #2 785-376-6334

www.foundationwealthplanning.com

HARMONY HIDEAWAY

Milt Allen 3488 N . Crystal Springs Rd 217-218-6458

www.harmonyhideawayks.com

UCENTRIC SOLUTIONS, LLC

Chuck Underwood 785-414-5594

www.ucentric.biz

Congratulations to the following who were selected for the 2023 Leadership Salina program.

SculptureTour Possible through Sponsors, Friends and Partners

N ow presenting its 13th exhibition, SculptureTour Salina has been embraced by the local community and visitors alike since its inception. There are many reasons people respond to the program. It brings a collection of beautiful and diverse original art to Salina each May, on loan for 11 months. Also, it provides a free opportunity for everyone to expand their art experience, with a healthy walk as an extra benefit.

The exhibit creates yet another component in making Salina, and particularly Downtown, a destination for visitors to come and spend dollars in our local economy. Everyone can vote for their favorite sculpture each year – any age, local or visitor – as part of the People’s Choice Award. The winning sculpture is purchased by the City to become part of our permanent public art collection.

There are of course expenses for the overall program. There are cash awards for juror-selected pieces, the cost of providing accommodations, honorariums to have the pieces here, insurance, and marketing among others. Staffing is provided by the Chamber with support from Salina Downtown and many, many volunteers. These are all very important in creating an attractive opportunity for the artists to select Salina from among many similar exhibitions, in the hopes of ultimately selling their work.

We thank the many generous corporate sponsors who have supported SculptureTour. The companies each invest from $1,250 - $2,000 private dollars annually to bring this art to Salina. If you are interested in becoming a Sponsor, contact Sylvia Rice at: srice@salinakansas.org or Chairman Mike Hoppock at: mike@landtitlesalina.com.

The Friends of SculptureTour group is a way for businesses and individuals to lend their support to the program as well. Whether you have $50 or $1,000 to donate, it would be so appreciated, and essential in our hopes to enhance the program. Contact Sylvia Rice to receive a Friends application.

Most importantly, go Downtown, pick up a ballot from one of the silver boxes at the Santa Fe pedestrian crossings or from a merchant. Enjoy the exhibit and VOTE! Learn more at: www.sculpturetoursalina.org

Where in Salina am I?

Answer: The Temple

Answer: The Alley

Marquee Welcomes

August

4 Recruit Look College Softball Showcase

5 Sharp Performance Volleyball Camp

24 XWE Pro Wrestling

Promoting Salina for SPORTS!

Take a look at some of the latest ads we’ve created to market Salina to 1) sports Rights Holders to check us out as an event host city, and; 2) to sports fans to discover ALL there is to this community for visitors. Current placements (print & digital) include: Vype, KS Pregame, KWU Media Guide and SportsEvents.

Promoting Unavoidable Art!

Our ad for the fall issue of KANSAS! magazine promotes some of what Salina has to offer, including ‘unavoidable art’, particularly the upcoming BOOM! Salina Street Art & Mural Festival!

Theatre

Music

Golf

Murals

Zoo Sculpture

Museums

Festivals

Great Eats

Art Cinema

Unique Shops

Hospitality

where art is unavoidable!

Cool Spaces and FRIENDLY FACES!

Scan for Visitors' Guide!

SculptureTour

Rolling Hills Zoo

The Garage Downtown Murals

MANY THANKS to the BEST TEAM EVER for helping us host KKOA 2023!

CHAMBER NEWS

Cash-Wa Direct – July 13

August 10

Tri-Rivers Fair

Tri-Rivers Fair at 800 The Midway is popular for locals, particularly rural families, to showcase their livestock, horticulture, and home economic talents Join us for an evening of entertainment including presentations by current 4-Hers on their projects, BBQ and refreshments

August 24

Salina Art Center

The Salina Art Center at 242 S . Santa Fe, Incorporated in 1978 "to create exchanges among art, artists, and audiences that reveal life " Come on out and hear how they carry out their mission through visiting artists, education, exhibition, film and video, and outreach programs.

REFRESHMENTS – TOURS – DOOR PRIZES

$ It Pays to Attend $

DOOR PRIZES (MUST BE PRESENT TO WIN) $250 CASH ATTENDANCE DRAWING

For reservations call (785) 827-9301 or email dsmith@salinakansas.org

Admission – Fast Pass or $5 at door

Hours – 5-7pm

Questions – contact Stephanie at 785.827.9310 ext. 124 or sgillig@salinakansas.org

Cash Wa Direct Attendance Winner - Linda Huseman

7-13 Cash Wa Direct BAH Winners.