Dear Chamber Supporters,
With Veterans Day this past Monday, the Chamber wants to express our deepest gratitude to the brave men and women who have served our country. These sacrifices have safeguarded our freedoms and shaped the values we hold dear. To all the veterans in our community: thank you for your service, your resilience, and your unwavering commitment to protecting our nation! The Franklin County Honors recognized these individuals in several ways over the weekend and this past month. If you've driven through Ottawa at any point in November, you've seen their annual banner program displayed on street poles. When this program started a few years ago, banners were seen along Main Street and headed south. Given the mass participation from veterans and their families, these can now be seen on nearly a half dozen adjacent streets throughout town. They also put on a stellar parade on Saturday morning (pictures here). They had excellent parade weather and hundreds flooded downtown Ottawa to celebrate...and get an overwhelming amount of candy. Then, to top it all off, the hundreds of American flags seen all down Main Street are always the cherry on top!
Mobilizing Community Leadership
This past week, I had the privilege of attending the Kansas Leadership Center (KLC) in Wichita with two amazing community advocates, Terry Chartier with the Ottawa Library and Leslie Bjork with the Elizabeth Layton Center (pictured here). This training is in conjunction with the sunsetting Blue Cross Blue Shield Pathways Grant, which has provided several rounds of training for dozens of individuals in Franklin County. On the first day, we three sat through the one-day When Everyone Leads (WEL) course. Like much of the KLC curriculum, this program challenges traditional notions of leadership. It emphasizes that leadership is not about authority or position but about mobilizing others to address tough challenges and create progress in one's community, organization, and place of employment. Experiencing the program firsthand on Tuesday was just the intro to our special three-day training. The following two days in Wichita involved the three of us and twenty-two others becoming certified to sit in the facilitator's chair and teach this curriculum in our own communities.
When this "train the trainer" opportunity arose, I was ecstatic to ensure facilitators got trained from our county. As we finish the final requirements virtually over the next month, we will also plan how to roll out this opportunity for community organizations to take advantage of When Everyone Leads training here in Franklin County. I view this as a way to remove barriers to entry for those interested but unable to send their staff/boards/volunteers/students two hours away for the training. Even though it is early in this process, if you are interested in learning more about KLC and professional development opportunities, let me know! Terry, Leslie, and I are excited to see what is in store when our community empowers others to lead.
Blooming Through the Years
This morning, Chamber members stepped into the holidays as we gathered at the local downtown florist, Turner Flowers and Country Store. Their business is thoroughly decorated for 'the most wonderful time of the year' and for our morning's Chamber Coffee (pictures here). Shawn, Lyle, and Kathy Turner shared that they celebrated the 18th anniversary of their store back in August. However, this family agriculture business has roots dating back to 1936 in their family greenhouse. It was 18 years ago when the Turners purchased this downtown location at 231 S Main Street, what started as a proper mom-and-pop shop. Kathy ran the books, and Lyle crafted the flowers; Shawn hopped into the mix when he was home for the weekends or breaks from college. As time went on, business grew from there. Turner Flowers now has nearly a dozen individuals on the payroll to keep up with the 300 funerals and the 50 weddings they see annually. Their line of work entails meeting people at their highest highs (weddings, prom, birthdays, anniversaries) and their lowest lows (funerals, hospitalizations). Whether comforting a client or celebrating a milestone, Turner Flower's team stands ready to serve their customers' needs.
Many first-timers mentioned they weren't aware that this flower shop does more than prepare floral designs; the front half of their store is a gift shop! You can find products from great local artisans during the holiday season and throughout the whole year. Some of the items on display include basket weaving art, leatherwork, handmade ornaments, garden decorations, and so much more. And if you're looking for an item for the one person that's too hard to shop or you don't have a creative eye, leave it up to the Turners. They can fill a stocking or piece together a gift basket; you just give them a price range. They will also help wrap some of those trickier shapes like an ornament if you need. A great suggestion Shawn shared is that a popular option for a senior parent could be purchasing one of their flower subscriptions, which get dropped off throughout the year. A gift that doesn't add to clutter but brightens up their living space. Our downtown business district wouldn't be the same without our local flower shop looking out for our community. Congrats on 18 years and many more to come!
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It's nice to be back in the office after a few days out of town. Thanks for making this such a great community to come back home to! With the end of the year in sight, there is still plenty to do before we move into 2025. I look forward to hearing about Sherri and her traveler's adventures when she is back in the office next week. I'll make sure to share some of those details with you then! Talk to you soon,
Ryland Miller
President/CEO
Ottawa Area Chamber of Commerce
ryland@ottawakansas.org
785-242-1000
