Dear Chamber Supporters:

We’re so glad to be such an active Chamber, with activities going on what seems like all the time. I wanted to make sure you knew a couple of things we’ve been up to given how busy we all are. If you are unaware, we are currently asking Chamber members to take part in our end-of-year survey. The results of this survey will hopefully give our staff and board the information needed to move into a new phase of strategic planning in the new year… even more fun to come! If you have just a couple of minutes to spare, click here to submit your thoughts. It’s completely anonymous, but your opinions really matter. Thanks in advance for your continued support.

We also have an event, Eggs and Issues, in just a couple of weeks that will be hosted and served at AdventHealth Ottawa on 11/1 at 8:00 a.m.. Our Legislative Action Committee has procured the President/CEO of the Kansas Hospital Association to be the keynote speaker, discussing the challenges that are facing rural hospitals across the state and region. He should be able to give a really unique perspective on the issues in healthcare he is seeing affect so many Kansans. We know this will be an informative session, but we also hope it will give a starting place for our community leaders to have meaningful conversations about the topic moving forward. We would love to have you and your staff/coworkers attend while tickets last, click here for the registration link. Oh and there is food! Breakfast is included with each $12 ticket (hence the name Eggs and Issues).

Insights to Our Upcoming Local Election

Tuesday evening we saw USD290 Board and City Commission candidates converge on Ottawa City Hall to participate in the 2023 General Candidates Forum for the Ottawa area (pictures here). Big shoutout to our Legislative Action Committee who helps organize and run this event, as well as the City of Ottawa’s IT team who worked our A/V throughout the event. A great crowd gathered in the Commission Chambers which left just a few open chairs when the event started. With the City of Ottawa’s help, we were also able to stream this event live on Facebook. Now after the event, the recording can be viewed both on Facebook here, as well as on the public access channel. Up first, USD290 Board positions which consist of four at large openings and has five candidates on the ballot, including Julie Dandreo, Diedre Altic, Harold Wingert, Malydia Payne, and David Harvey. You can view all five candidate’s bios here. Julie was unable to join us that evening, but the other four were able to share their thoughts on the questions presented by the audience. After starting with an introduction of themselves, they covered the following topics (I have included the time stamp that correlates to the start of the question in the live stream if you want to jump straight to that question).

If elected, how they will address the challenge of staffing (8:32)
What they hope to accomplish in their first 6 months to a year, as well as their full tenure (15:37)
How they plan to engage with the community (21:33)
Their thoughts on banning books (25:51)
How to evaluate school and student performance (30:30)
How to address safety of the schools and students (37:07)

The City of Ottawa Commission race includes three open positions, with four names on the ballot: Eric Crowley, Pierre Johnson, Sara Caylor, and Zach Clayton. If you were unaware, Pierre Johnson unfortunately passed away in July of this year. Truly taken from the earth too soon, we continue to pray for his friends and family. Given his filing took place before his passing, his name will remain on the ballot for this election. With that being said, the other three names present are all incumbents and are running once more. Given the nature of this race, we were pleased to have them participate in this forum as it gave the public the opportunity to learn more about the candidates, as well as their thoughts on certain issues. Below you can see the topics covered Tuesday evening by the City of Ottawa Commission candidates.

What is the biggest challenge inhibiting community growth (56:37)
Ways they can help ease the financial burden of Ottawa citizens (1:01:25)
Their thoughts on the strength of the downtown business community in Ottawa (1:07:43)
The city’s relationship with the Ottawa Recreation Commission (1:12:45)
How the city works with the community in policy making (1:17:40)

There were several other questions presented that did not make it to the discussion because of time restraints. Which shows the engagement the community has with its elected officials. If you have a question that either did not get answered or maybe just came to mind, all three commissioners stated they are always open to questions via email. Check out their contact information here to get in touch.

If you’re interested in seeing a ballot before early voting starts next Monday, you can go ahead and click here. If Ottawa is not your home, go ahead and click this link to look up a sample ballot for your area. It’s important to note that all Franklin County voters will also have a special question included on their ballot which reads: "Shall sale of alcoholic liquor by the individual drink in Franklin County be allowed in public places without a requirement that any portion of their gross receipts be from sales of food?", with the options “yes” or “no”. The background behind this resolution and why it is being voted on by the public can be viewed here. A quick summary, in 1986 the State of Kansas approved an amendment allowing for the sale of liquor by the drink. Eight years later in 1994, Franklin County citizens approved this amendment locally, with the caveat that those same establishments must have at least 30% of their gross sales come from food, not alcohol. At the time, this acted as a compromise. Now, almost thirty years later, Franklin County voters can choose to remove this 30% requirement for businesses. This rule does not drastically affect our Franklin County restaurants in one way or another, as they have food sales that are significantly higher than their alcohol sales. But for some businesses who do not primarily run food-centered businesses, like Not Lost Brewing or OnCue, this 30% rule impacts them in an inhibitory way. Businesses like those aforementioned are the reason this question is on your ballot. By voting “yes”, you are voting to remove the food sales requirement for our Franklin County businesses and as a result, giving them a higher chance of success as they continue to serve our community.

How Checklists Help Human Error

Leadership Franklin County hosted retired Lt. Col Dave Young at the Ottawa Memorial Auditorium yesterday morning to speak to the class of 23/24, as well as those in the public who joined (picture here). Each monthly class for LFC has a different theme, this month was “negative leadership”. Mr. Young’s title to his presentation was “Why we fail?”, looking at human error and how it affects the workplace. Young believes these human errors can stem from two mistakes we all make, either personal mistakes or premeditated noncompliance. Noncompliance looks like a daily choice, whether from pride, position, apathy, or overconfidence that can influence our decision-making, and eventually result in errors. Personal factor mistakes include situations where there is a lack of clarity for an employee, when a task is too complex, when multitasking is attempted, or when there are inadequate procedures. When in an office setting, these errors can lead to delays or maybe wasted resources. In work settings that involve police force, flying aircraft, using heavy machinery, etc. this human error can result in travesty including death. Young shared with those in attendance how these moments have played out across the nation, often covered on news stations when disaster took place.

The key to overcoming this inevitable human error? Dave says that checklists and procedures are a proven method. Good checklists are those that are precise/ultra-clear language, efficient/to the point, easy to use in real applications, and do not spell out every single step. What seems like common sense can often be what keeps our organizations on track and efficient. A point that I wanted to make sure I included was his thoughts on communication, specifically making sure teams know one another and that roles have been clearly assigned. There have been studies that show that when everyone on a task force knows each other’s roles, there is increased engagement. Those in lower positions feel more open to speak up and even correct those in higher positions of power if an error is likely to occur, as well as decreased second-guessing/missed duties when everyone understands their and other’s roles. A process we often overlook when we are in the weeds each day but can result in a more effective work environment. Click here for Dave Young’s notes on effective checklists, hopefully this has allowed you to think about your own processes and whether or not checklists can be a helpful addition to your workflow.

Axes, Brews and Extended Hours

Downtown Ottawa was looking extra “sharp” yesterday evening as the Ottawa Main Street Association invited ax throwing across from Haley Park to those downtown shopping for October’s Third Thursday extended hours. I was able to get some throws in and I was quickly reassured that I did not miss my calling as a lumberjack or carnival act… as my throws were less than perfect (picture here). With that being said, what good fun! OMSA paid for this amenity for the evening, allowing individuals to throw for free. A unique way to entice those to shop small as 28 business made a conscious decision to stay open until around 8pm for the working crowd to make their way downtown.

Along with ax throwing, our Ottawa Rotary Club partnered with Not Lost Brewing for another rendition of Pints for Polio. This doesn’t involve polio being served to patrons, quite the opposite actually. Every beer purchased entailed $1 going towards a cure for polio, Rotary International’s main focus. You can check out some great individuals helping the cure here. It was discussed whether it was a better strategy to throw axes and then attend Pints for Polio or the other way around, I’m not sure if the verdict is in yet on which should come first…

Brave Athlete and Community Leader

I had the pleasure of being on Ottawa University’s campus yesterday evening to celebrate the accomplishments of four OU alums for their athletic performance as they entered the Braves Athletic Hall of Fame. This award is the most prestigious athletic award Ottawa University has on offer. Those inductees include Clarence Anderson, Matt Cline, Molli (Morgan) Pierce, and none other than our very own Donald Anderson (pictures here). Along with his great achievements playing football, Donald has gone on to have great success at Ottawa University as a faculty member, currently serving as Dean of Student Life. If you’re familiar with Donald at all, you very quickly associate him with having a strong work ethic, even-tempered, and incredibly professional. The Chamber is so blessed to have Donald serve on our Chamber Executive Committee, where he will serve as chairperson for the 2024 calendar year. As his role continues to grow at OU, I look forward to continuing to see the difference in the lives of students and community members changed through his commitment to Ottawa. You can read Donald’s bio from the program last night here. Onward Donald!

Adding a Fresh Coat of Paint to Ottawa's Agriculture

Our Chamber Coffee this morning took place at the Ottawa COOP, which has been located in town for almost 75 years now, serving over 1300 members currently across their 14 locations (pictures from this morning here). With this long history comes a level of consistency that you expect from a veteran organization. With that being said, this group continues to find ways to innovate and grow. This can be seen with their expansion to Spring Hill at the end of last year, as they acquired a small independently owned operation. One of the aesthetic ways this can be seen is when you drive past their grain office on Main Street (picture of mural here). This fresh coat of paint was done by a Kansas City muralist who did just a splendid job capturing the nature of the organization. This addition was finished about a month ago now but we continue to hear individuals talking about the great looking mural you can see from the Keokuk and Main Street stoplight. A great addition to the collection of public art that can be seen across town. The logo that is incorporated in the mural actually has a neat bout of history attached to it. Having been the logo for Farmland Industries (FI), starting all the way back in 1957. When FI went bankrupt in 2002, the trademark lapsed in 2017. The Ottawa COOP then began using it for a couple of different promotions before realizing that no one moved to recapture it, so they jumped on it. Now giving them the rights to the logo moving forward.

Another topic brought up this morning as painting was part of the conversation, was why the Ottawa COOP doesn’t paint the grain elevators just north of the river. Clark Wenger, Manager of the COOP, said the reason for that is not a lack of desire, but from a safety standpoint. They’ve been told that by painting the structure could cover up signs of wear which could have negative effects down the road. Knowing the health of that elevator is extremely important from a maintenance lens, which is too big of a deal to overlook. Though the elevators might not be brightly colored, their size makes them hard to miss. If you’re coming over the hill from Baldwin on the north side of town or over the hill on I-35 from the Williamsburg exit, you can look into the distance and see it peaking over the ridge. We’re lucky to have this storied business in our community, helping our farmers in Franklin County and those around us.

OU Homecoming continues on this weekend with several alumni classes in town for the festivities. A great weekend to catch some football or soccer, on campus. Makayla and I have tickets to the tailgate on Saturday before the game to cheer on the Braves. Loving this Kansas Fall season! Talk to you soon,

Ryland Miller

President/CEO

Ottawa Area Chamber of Commerce

ryland@ottawakansas.org

785-242-1000