Dear Chamber Supporters:
Kansas had a visitor this past Monday as country music icon Dolly Parton visited Johnson County. Normally I’m not one to write about singer-song-writers as they visit the state on tours, but Dolly had a different reason for coming. She came to share the news about the expansion of her Imagination Library… a nonprofit that she organized in the 90s where kids in Tennessee are gifted books on a monthly basis at no charge. This program has grown to the point where as of this year they are sending 2 million books every month to the hands of our youth. This astronomical number will no doubt grow as Kansas kids from birth to their 5th birthday can now receive this monthly subscription for books as well for free. If registered at birth, this would mean that by age 5 the child would have 60 books in their home library! Kansas will be the second state to be added to this program, one that fosters a love for reading for our very youngest Kansans. If you’re interested in getting signed up, you can do so here. You can also find loads of information about the history of the program here on her website. How exciting for the youth of Kansas!
Clevermax Concert
Since I’m already discussing famous musicians, Legacy Square got a taste of this last Friday as local rockstars Clevermax took to the stage for our second community concert of the summer (pictures here). What started as a hot day, became increasingly hotter as the concert got closer to begin. It wasn't until about halfway through the performance that I think it was safe to say it "cooled down" (it's all relative of course). That didn’t stop a great crowd from showing up and sweating with us, as close to 500 attended over the three hours Clevermax played. The heat seemed to increase the beer sales as well… you won’t see Sherri or me complaining about that! As this event is one of the Chamber's fundraisers for the year. Though the beer garden is a fun way to raise some money, this event really would not be possible without our amazing Pit and Banner Sponsors (listed here). We’re so pleased to see community support for outings like these, and no better outdoor venue in town to hold the event than Legacy Square. Whether we’re worried about some rain or hoping to escape the sun with some shade, the large pavilion does wonders. Really a great use for the space, and its location seems to spur downtown economic activity as well. Double win! As we look forward to our next events, we will already be considering talent for the summer of 2024. We always take a look at suggestions so feel free to share your thoughts with Sherri and I on who you think should be on stage next.
Downtown Fun
Main Street has been popping this past week as there have been a couple of programs that have taken place to spur activity in historic downtown Ottawa. Sunday those on Main got treated to a cruise night of cars from all years and models (pictures here). In an effort to show off their sweet rides, a couple of locals started planning cruises over at Forest Park. When Interim Director of the Ottawa Main Street Association, Sara Stauffer heard about it, she thought why not on Main? Seems like a match made in heaven, as cars made their way north and south downtown as those gathered to watch on the streets, some even bringing lawn chairs. The next Sunday you can catch this specific cruise will be October 15. They’re taking a month off in September as there will be another cruise in town.... maybe you've heard of it.
The other new deal downtown will be happening regularly as well, taking place on the third Thursday of the month. The idea is that businesses are invited to keep their doors open a little later and citizens are enticed for some evening weekday shopping. Yesterday capped off the first one, here is a picture of the lot just east of the four hundred block. Fun pop-up shops were set up behind Opal Jane, one of the newer boutiques here in town, selling all sorts of neat stuff (picture here). As momentum builds, I look forward to seeing how our downtown will look when the third Thursday rolls around. Shout out to Sara once more as the OMSA helps push out participating store info on their Facebook page. Shop local!
Be In the Know
I’m super excited to announce that the first video for the Chamber’s Legislative Action Committee and the City of Ottawa video series is finished (check it out here). What an amazing end product! Big thank you to the City IT department for having the skills and offering the time to create this educational piece with us, hopefully the first of many. The name of the series that was decided upon was “Be In the Know”, where local citizens can get filled in on "what’s what". We will be posting this on our social media and on our website as well. With elections on the horizon, what a perfect time to check your voter registration. Who better communicate how to vote than our own County Clerk, Janet Paddock. We hope this video and the others that follow can be shared from year to year and catch the eyes of those online. We know that voter representation is important, local elections directly affect you and your neighbors. We don’t want any barriers to stop individuals from having the opportunity to cast their vote for the upcoming election and all the subsequent ones to follow. By spreading education like this, we hope we can make learning about topics like this easy and fun. Give it a share so we can hopefully reach as many people as possible, one way for you to take action with just the touch of a button.
Prairie Paws Animal Shelter
This morning Chamber members from both the Ottawa area and the Gardner area gathered to hear what’s new at our local animal shelter (pictures here). Though Prairie Paws is located here in town, their reach does not stop there as they have a significant amount of support and adopters from Johnson County. It's great to have our friends from the Gardner Chamber join in with some of their members as well. Vanessa Cowie, Director of Prairie Paws for the last three years or so was able to share some of the changes in personnel and in their building. Sydney Shrimpton, Director of Fundraising was introduced as she is still relatively new having been on the job for only the past handful of months. She was able to plug their upcoming Bow Meow Gala event, a great fundraiser and all-around good time coming up in September on the 22nd. Here is a link to grab a ticket before registration closes at the end of August. Vanessa also spoke about their recent/ongoing building renovations. Having secured a large grant to increase efficiency, they have been able to redo all their dog kennels and are currently updating their cat spaces as well. These changes allow them to spend less money to keep more dollars going towards the organization's mission of helping our four-legged friends. Along with these changes, they also are doing some of the old awesome stuff they’ve done for some time like spaying and neutering 500 wild cats over the course of a year to reduce overpopulation. As well as finding new homes for 1,300 cats and dogs each year (incredible numbers to think about).
A recent report that was done in Franklin County showed that we all spend over 7 million dollars a year on our pets, whether that be food, medication, and toys/accessories. To put that in perspective, we spend less than 5 million on taking care of our lawns and gardens each year (whether that be in fees for a company or our own mowers, water and chemicals) and just over five million dollars on alcoholic beverages each year. We obviously love our animals! Though Makayla and I do not have a pet, here are some photos of my family’s pups. Thanks to Prairie Paws for making it that much easier to love our furry friends.
First Week of School
Hopefully your first week back at school has been a fun one! It's been exciting for our household as Makayla had her first day as a fourth-grade teacher Monday (picture here). It seems like it's been a whirlwind of a week since that photo was taken, so much has happened for her and her class. She has shared that even though it's crazy right now, she knows as things become more routine it'll be smoother for parents, kids and teachers alike. It's neat to see how there is a real community that is built within the teachers of an elementary school, from the sound of it she has plenty of people to turn to which is exactly what any new teacher needs. It really takes a village to run a whole school district, from the top down. And we have some really good ones here in our community!
Be safe as temps start to rise once more, next week is supposed to be a scorcher. Talk to you soon,
Ryland Miller
President/CEO
Ottawa Area Chamber of Commerce
ryland@ottawakansas.org
785-242-1000
