Dear Chamber Supporters,
Double birthdays this past weekend as we celebrated baby Knox’s first birthday (my cousin's first child) on the 13th with a baseball-themed party. Makayla also gained another year on the 14th; we surprised her with family on Sunday following church. A secret key was hidden for partygoers to get into our place, and once we arrived and made it into the living room, she was met with a host of “Happy Birthday!” as they revealed themselves from their hiding spots. Though the two parties were quite different, both Knox and Makayla had birthday cakes; Makayla chose to share hers and eat with cutlery, while everyone was okay with Knox having the cake to himself as he dug in with both hands (pictures here).
Ottawa is now a Gigabit City with new KWIKOM Fiber
Tuesday evening, Chamber members were invited to celebrate with KWIKOM Communications as they cut the ribbon for the new high-speed fiber internet connection in Ottawa (pictures here). This signifies their entrance into the city limits following a decade of serving large portions of Franklin County. Definitely not strangers to our community, as a Kansas company that started in Iola back in 2010, many homes in rural areas around Ottawa have been connected to their fixed wireless internet options. Since merging with WANRack, which has an extensive background in fiber networks, they’ve been connecting communities in our area with fiber options, including Gardner, Edgerton, Pomona, and Wellsville. As a result of their expansion, they are now present in 75 different counties across Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Oklahoma. Not all of these communities have fiber being laid, but we do! When this project is complete, all of Ottawa should be able to access this utility. I was able to get a quick progress report with the KWIKOM team following the ribbon cutting. Currently, north Ottawa is fully lit and is available for residential and commercial use. The project will hopefully be completed South of the river within the next couple of months, finishing the construction.
The introduction of the fiber internet has been highly anticipated; many citizens look forward to seeing the speeds that fiber will bring to their homes and businesses. For those who are curious what those speeds might look like, the City of Ottawa has been named KWIKOM’s first Gigabit City, a testament to the power that the fiber provides (see the full press release here). This designation goes a long way in communicating the type of community we have here and is a solid addition to our quality of life. Along with our city meeting infrastructure needs like water, electricity, and sewage, the ability to offer high-speed internet is a determining factor for many when relocating their family or business. As more and more of our society relies on upload/download speeds, this has shifted from a desire for reliable internet to a need. KWIKOM has made a massive investment to allow Ottawa to be a leader in innovation across the state and region as a Gigabit City, I’m so glad they chose to partner with our community in this way. If you are interested in seeing more about these options, check out their website here.
Franklin County Fair
Makayla and I joined the many folks throughout the county to visit the Franklin County Fair yesterday evening. We were able to watch some pig judging, check out all the fun projects inside Celebration Hall, and partake in some Kansas BBQ before washing it down with a funnel cake (pictures here). With a couple of day’s worth of entertainment still available, you can’t beat the good weather in the forecast. Head over to the fairgrounds for a beautiful summer evening (list of events here).
Win Big with Onward Ottawa’s Adventure Bike Raffle
Onward Ottawa has an exciting announcement: The group has paired up with Ottawa Bike and Trail to put together an Adventure Bike Raffle (check out all the details here). This raffle offers more than just a beautiful new bike; it is also paired with a two-night stay at one of our local Air BnBs gifted by the Deitz family. And to aid the vacation (or possible staycation) and the new bike, $200 in local spending has been tossed onto the prize pot by Edward Jones – Ryan Henningsen. The winner of this fantastic combo only has to spend $10 for a chance to win! All the proceeds go towards Onward Ottawa’s mission of providing vital community projects. I’m thankful for the generosity of our community and look forward to seeing someone ride away on a new bike fitted perfectly for them by Jeff Carrol and his team here in downtown Ottawa. If you’re not an avid bike rider, it’s never too late to jump in with community rides happening practically every week. If you’re interested in buying a ticket, head to the raffle website here to snag your virtual tickets before August 15 (tickets here).
BMO Bank Welcomes Jennifer Cramer as New Branch Manager
This morning we got to formally introduce Jennifer Cramer, the new Bank Manager at BMO Bank located at 7th and Main (picture here). Jen stepped into this role as fearless leader a few months ago following her ten years of banking experience just up the road in Gardner, where she still lives with her family. When Bank of the West transitioned to BMO Bank, they started the search for a new manager to coincide with the new brand. It’s not hard to guess how Jen’s name rose to the top, as her enthusiasm is contagious, and she is just a blast to be around. She says her mentality towards management was shaped significantly by her time working for Disney in the retail sector prior to banking, where being intentional about bringing the “magic” to customers was the norm. Along with giving customers a great experience, ensuring her employees also feel empowered is vital to working as a team―this entails involvement outside their four walls and into the community. I know we love seeing them all regularly at our various Coffees and Ribbon Cuttings.
BMO’s mission is to “boldly grow the good in business and life.” One of the ways they do that at a corporate level is by allowing their branches to participate in a program called Zero Barriers to Business, which gives added support to minority-owned businesses (or prospective businesses) in our community. This opportunity is possible to take advantage of through the presence of BMO here in town and can make a direct impact on better accessing capital for those applicants. Talking with Jen, they have been able to use that program here in our community several times, which is a testament to the effect it can have in Ottawa. Another neat resource that BMO offers our local branch is the reserving of the BMO Mobile ATM. A military combatesque vehicle that works as a mobile branch (and so much more). Its first appearance in Ottawa is already on the calendar in August during OU’s Fusion event on the 27th (it’s not too late to join BMO and host a booth at that event too). I’ve been so pleased to see the good that has come from this new management and transition to BMO Bank. I’m excited to see where Jennifer and her team will take this branch in the years to come. I know they are also open to visitors during business hours; swing by their location to say hi and meet their friendly team!
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If you don’t have Saturday morning plans, it’s not too late to join the Franklin County Historical Society for the Morning at the Mission, a program and tour at the Historic Ottawa Indian Mission & Burying Ground (more info here). FCHS will be joined by Kalisha Dixon Pheasant, the Chief of the Ottawa Tribe of Oklahoma. I’ve been looking forward to this since it was announced. I hope to see you there! Otherwise, have a fun and safe fair weekend, and I’ll catch up with you soon.
Ryland Miller
President/CEO
Ottawa Area Chamber of Commerce
ryland@ottawakansas.org
785-242-1000
