Dear Chamber Supporters:
School’s out! Seniors have walked across the stage and are about to head into the next stage of life. Congratulations to all our students but even more thanks go out to all our teachers, administrators and school faculty for the work they’ve put in over this most recent semester. The summer season doesn’t officially start until June 21, but all the students and teachers won’t feel that way, sweet sweet freedom is all that's on their mind. It’s the perfect time to spend some time outside and start grilling which is exactly what my family did this past Saturday to celebrate Mother’s Day. We all got tickets to watch Sporting Kansas City and did some tailgating before the game… which we won! (pictures here) It’s been a pretty dreadful season up to this point, hopefully we’ve turned a corner. I’m not sure if it’s just a coincidence, but maybe we need to all go together more often if it means the team pulls out a W. Looking forward to plenty more nice evenings like this over the next handful of months.
Chamber Blue Insurance
You might remember us promoting the Blue Cross & Blue Shield (BC&BS) insurance last year that was available to all our Chamber members. This health insurance is made possible through our affiliation with the Chamber of Commerce Executives of Kansas (CCEKS) which partners all participating Chambers across the state. This allows access to health insurance savings associated with large group medical coverage to our member’s businesses, regardless of their size. Referred to as an association health plan (AHP) that allows employers to join together to purchase insurance. The larger pool of people enrolled in the plan allows the possibility for more plan options and potentially, lower costs. Our Chamber was able to enroll over sixty individuals into Chamber Blue this past year, statewide there were over 2,700 individuals who got insured through this program thanks to the sixty Chambers working together.
If you and your business did not get enrolled in Chamber Blue last year, we’ve got good news! The survey period will be opening up this coming July and last until about halfway through August for potential new onboarding businesses. After surveys are compiled, BC&BS will assess the group rates and give all those who were surveyed the opportunity to sign on for the 2024 calendar year. It’s important to note that by filling out the survey you are not locked into any contracts, just allows you to consider the rates come fall time. If you’re interested in a bit of info now, you can check out the Employer Brochure here, as well as the Benefits Guide here. With only a month and a half to get surveyed, we will be pushing out as much info on this as we can to you to make sure you’re informed. If you think you would have any interest at all, click here to let me know and I’ll make sure you’re the first to get surveyed in July.
New Fire Engine
If you have run into any of our Ottawa Fire Department workers extra cheery this past week or so, it might be because of their new toy (pictures here). Chief Matthias brought it to the City Commission meeting Monday, and it looks great. There’s nothing like that new car smell. The truck isn’t fully ready to go right on arrival, the OFD still has to get it stocked with the right equipment before it can be used for any calls, which still takes a week or two. If you’re wondering what happens to the oldest truck in the fleet, it actually continues to live on through a rural fire department. A great example of reduce, reuse, recycle… a real win-win for everybody. If you’re interested in seeing the truck in person, we actually have a Chamber Coffee scheduled for OFP on June 23rd. Fingers crossed we get a firetruck photo op, I’m in need of a new profile picture. Along with seeing the truck we also hope to learn more about different programs our fire department facilitates as well as general fire safety.
Draws with Paws
Our boys in blue invited the public out to Not Lost Brewery Wednesday for the second annual Draws for Paws event. Special guest, K9 unit Yuri, was present checking IDs (picture of our furriest member of the OPD here). This is an event put on by the Ottawa Police Foundation that started in 2022 to raise money that would be used on equipment for Yuri, hence the name Draws for Paws. Having met their goal last year, they were able to purchase a ballistic vest to keep our K9 officer safe. The timing of the event isn’t random as this week is actually National Police Week. The primary purpose of National Police Week is to recognize the sacrifices made by police officers and express gratitude for their service to the community which goes way beyond just police work. Whether you’re an officer who walks on two feet or four, we thank you for protecting us. If you missed the event on Wednesday and want an opportunity to give back, Pizza Village is donating 20% of all sales on May 20th to the Ottawa Police Foundation. Looks like pizza is on the menu!
Great Southern Bank
Chamber members were introduced to Paige Henkle, Banking Center Manager of Great Southern Bank this morning (picture of Paige and her team here). Located at 2040 S Princeton Street in south Ottawa, Paige shared a brief history of herself, having been in banking for eight years in total, two have been here in Ottawa at Great Southern Bank. Previously she worked with Goppert State Service Bank at their Garnett location. Paige made sure to introduce her team as well as what it means to be one of their clients. The original Great Southern Bank opened exactly a hundred years ago in 1923. Headquartered in Springfield Missouri, our Ottawa branch garnered the name in 2009. You can tell Paige has come into this role with loads of energy and excitement, I'm looking forward to having her involved in the growth of our community. I mentioned this morning that I always get excited seeing other young individuals have the opportunity to exercise leadership, I look forward to seeing Paige's youthful leadership style propel Great Southern Bank forward through the years.
Chamber Events x3
Sherri and I love Chamber events and we are stocked with some great upcoming ones. We’re currently participating in the Patriots Bank Open House and Ribbon Cutting as we speak, more to come in next week’s newsletter. Tomorrow is our annual Flea, Junk & Trunk Craft Fair, with over 40 vendors, Legacy Square will be packed. Throw in some local fiddlers who will be playing at the venue, Mexican food as Maria’s will be in attendance with breakfast burritos in the morning and tacos for lunch, and an Antique Store Fun Run put together by Front Porch Antiques (more info here). Also can’t forget that you can get a free carwash down at Club Car Wash with donations benefitting Prairie Paws! Possibly my favorite thing about Saturday is the forecast, FJ&T has historically been the rainiest day of the whole year, but the weatherman is calling for blue skies. Luckily we have a few days to recoup before we’re hosted at the newly constructed OakStar Bank on Wednesday the 24th for an Open House and Ribbon Cutting.
What a lucky time it is to live in Ottawa and Franklin County, so much to be excited for. See you at one or all of our upcoming events!
Ryland Miller
President/CEO
Ottawa Area Chamber of Commerce
ryland@ottawakansas.org
785-242-1000
