Dear Chamber Supporters,

The Chiefs are back at it again with a thrilling ending to the new season's first game! If Isiah Likely for the Baltimore Ravens had worn a shoe size smaller, who knows how the game would've ended (picture here). As it stands, KC is 1-0 for the start of the season.

A Braves Journey

I had the unique pleasure of participating in an annual tradition I once attended as a student at Ottawa University, now sitting on the other side of the podium: fall convocation. This student body gathering recognizes those who have achieved academic success over the past two semesters. I was honored to be invited to take part as the keynote speaker. I shared some encouragement and a bit of my story as a recent alum. My message revolved around community and how it can play a role in their life now and in the future. I've been blessed with many excellent OU and Ottawa community members who have played a significant role in my life; I often feel like I've been an Ottawa resident my whole life. I'm thankful for the many opportunities to still be involved in campus life, whether speaking to a class, holding events on campus facilities, or stopping by to chat with old friends. Go Braves!

Countdown to 2026

Wednesday afternoon, I headed to Kansas City to participate in a community roundtable discussion around the World Cup, which is coming to North America in 2026 (picture here). Kansas City will be affected in a big way as it is one of the select cities chosen for this global event, offering visitors a taste of our Midwest hospitality. Arrowhead Stadium will host six matches through June and July, including a quarterfinal game. Along with these matches, three international teams will set up basecamp in and around the metro, including Kansas City proper, Overland Park, and Lawrence. Though we won't know which countries will be hosted here until the end of 2025, there is still an immense amount of excitement brewing. Avid sports fans in our region will participate in festivities during this period. Along with local supporters, many international visitors will also travel to Kansas and Missouri. It is expected that 1.5-2 million visitors will stay within a two-hour radius of Kansas City over this month or two. That means Ottawa will undoubtedly be affected by this competition! This includes hotel stays, restaurants, shopping, and everything else tourism-related will be affected.

This meeting discussed the resources that local organizations can benefit from with local, state, and federal partners. Though the summer of 2026 seems far away, planning for this worldwide event has to begin now, or even a year ago preferably. It will be tricky to navigate through many unknowns, but what is known is that we have the opportunity to take advantage of this influx of population. It will also allow us the chance to be good hosts and create a positive experience for those away from home. It will take everyone in Ottawa and Franklin County working together to make the most of this opportunity, but I look forward to seeing our community step up and thrive during the summer of 2026.

Retention Matters: Strategies for Building a Loyal and Motivated Workforce

Last night, the Small Business Development Center and your Chamber paired up for our third Small Business Seminar of the year. This quarter's topic was "Retention Matters: Strategies for Building a Loyal and Motivated Workforce and Other Benefit Strategies" (picture here). Carrie Poe with the SBDC was in Ottawa to share her knowledge and research with those in attendance. This hour-long session had so many great nuggets of information, so if you're interested in watching this, we recorded this presentation and will be posting it to our website here in the near future for you to follow along. If you're interested in our last two seminars, you can view those online now (click here to see those past seminars). With the employment landscape constantly shifting, understanding how to keep your team motivated and engaged is crucial. This can be even more challenging with a new generation of workers moving into our businesses and industry after the mass exodus of Baby Boomers during and following the pandemic. Carrie shared several trends on how institutions will need to adapt to this incoming pool of candidates who don't look exactly like previous generations of workers.

The session highlighted innovative strategies for creating a positive work environment that attracts and retains top talent. Key takeaways included:

The importance of regular feedback.
Fostering a supportive company culture.
Offering growth opportunities.
Being intentional about flexibility.
Life-work balance.
Setting expectations early.

These are all strategies for an effective employee base. Carrie also touched on exit interviews and how they give great insight into the health of your organization (some key points about exit interviews). On the other end, when hiring an employee, ensuring your brand and culture come through in a job posting will allow the right candidates to resonate with the position before applying. When looking for the right place to post a job, a couple of ways that could be utilized outside the normal Indeed or LinkedIn is to engage with social media followers who follow and interact with your posts. Another is niche job boards. This is dependent on the position, but finding a job board showcasing tech could benefit a cybersecurity role or post to a creative job board for a marketing director. Another topic that stood out to me was employee recognition, which, when utilized in different strategies to reward employees (not always monetary), can play a big role in employee satisfaction. If you are experiencing retention issues or running into any business challenges, our local SBDC is always a free and confidential resource for you and your business (check out their contact info here).

34 Years of Hope

This morning, Chamber members gathered at Hope House's new(ish) location on 17th Street (pictures here). Hope House started through a local ministerial group in 1990, 34 years ago. Michelle Graff shared that Hope House is where anyone can come to and receive help, regardless of income or history. What began in a little church off Walnut Street has grown exponentially over the years, especially since the move to this new space back in 2022. This growth is more than just square footage; the services that Hope House provides to our community have expanded as well. The needs they meet include food, clothing, utility assistance, fuel vouchers, emergency aid, a resource hub, and so much more.

Hope House meets our community's needs through our community's generosity. They are not federally funded; they don't receive big checks from the government for the work that they do. Their operation is made possible through the personal and corporate gifts of those who live and work in our area. Because of this, they have to stretch their donations as far as possible to ensure they're sustainable. This looks like two part-time paid employees (doing more volunteering than paid work), featuring Michelle Graf and Tiffany Wyatt. With the help of their board, they organize sixty-six volunteers to run this operation. The volunteers support this organization relentlessly because they see the impact firsthand. Their motivation towards helping others comes from a calling to serve Christ and see a change in people's lives.

This morning held two purposes: one was to celebrate Hope House's 34th anniversary; the other was to celebrate their organization satisfying the note for their building. Michelle shared that this is only possible through the work of so many generous individuals, including their lender Kansas State Bank, and through the provision from God. She also shared some stats that Hope House accomplished over the last year. A few that stand out are the amount of money that Hope House provided through resources last year, totaling $86,000 (this does not include food expenditures). Over 200 families have taken part in their food pantry. Additionally, there have been 225 showers taken in their newly constructed public showers. Michelle mentioned that these showers are often accompanied by a much-needed trip to their clothing bank. She also shared that fifty individuals currently use Hope House as their primary address for mail because they would not have a location to claim it otherwise. Here is a sheet with more details on the impact being made through Hope House (view that here).

We were also able to hear from their very close partners, the Ottawa Police Department. Joshua Swab shared that his division, COPS (Community Outreach Program and Services), works with Hope House often, and they wouldn't be as successful without their support. A recent incident took place in our community that highlights this partnership. This entails two different situations over the past two weeks involving seven individuals who were being trafficked/smuggled and somehow found themselves in Ottawa. Officer Swab moved these individuals to safety but did not have the resources to provide for their physical needs in those moments. That's where Hope House comes in and bridges this gap. This is just one recent story; the list could go on. Officer Swab made a comment that splendidly summarized Hope House. He shared that this organization and this building allow individuals throughout our community to utilize their spiritual gifts to support others. It is safe to say our community is more loving, caring, and giving because of Hope House. The Chamber is grateful for their gracious, selfless effort that is put forth to make Ottawa and Franklin County better.

I am headed over to Legacy Square this evening as we celebrate the five-year anniversary of its completion. We will be serving food and drinks and would love for you to be there as we lift each other and our accomplishments over the last five years. We couldn't have asked for a better day to gather outside! Hope to see you soon,

Ryland Miller

President/CEO

Ottawa Area Chamber of Commerce

ryland@ottawakansas.org

785-242-1000