The Chamber and CVB Launch New Websites

Hutchinson, Kansas – The Hutchinson/Reno County Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Hutchinson Convention/Visitors Bureau announce the launch of their redesigned websites, www.hutchchamber.com and www.visithutch.com.

The new Chamber website features an updated look and expanded information about living, working and doing business in Reno County. The new CVB website is user-friendly and provides additional access for convention groups and meeting planners. “The planning for this website began in November of 2007, when the Chamber Board saw the need for the sites to be upgraded,” said Dave Kerr, President of the Hutchinson/Reno County Chamber of Commerce. “The Chamber and the CVB recognized the importance of being competitive in a technologically advanced society. Our goal was to create a user-friendly, attractive and informative ‘front door’ to our community. I believe that these sites accomplish that goal.”

The new Chamber website brings the previous economic development site hutchecodevo.com, under the umbrella of hutchchamber.com, by creating a special section titled, “Do Business”. This section provides comprehensive information for existing businesses and site selectors considering the community. It also includes a searchable commercial real estate section. “The majority of site selection work is done on the web and it is important for Hutchinson/Reno County to be fully represented on-line,” said Dana Regehr, Economic Development Director of the Chamber.

In addition to “Do Business,” the Chamber site features a “Get Connected” section which is dedicated to Chamber members and community businesses, and a “Live and Work” section. “Live and Work” provides information for individuals and families who already live in our community and for those looking to relocate to Hutchinson and Reno County. “As we see an increased need of workers in our community, the Chamber realizes that many job seekers are looking to the internet to find information about prospective jobs and communities that interest them,” said Holly Schmidt, Director of Communications/Special Events for the Chamber. “The new website provides them a complete tour of what our community has to offer.”

"The Greater Hutchinson CVB website has an updated look and includes a more user-friendly format that will better serve and assist visitors as they research their travel destination and convention sites," said LeAnn Cox, Director of the CVB. The upgraded CVB site includes many new features, as well as enhanced features carried over from the previous site. The popular Calendar of Events is now featured in a scrolling list on the homepage. Another new feature is the “Latest News” section, which will enable the CVB to make pertinent announcements about happenings important to visitors. The virtual visitor’s guide, which was created last year for the CVB, is continued on the new site.

Another goal of the Chamber, and the CVB, was to create websites that the existing staff members could administer. “This new site can be regularly updated, which has come to be expected in the internet world” stated LeAnn Cox. “We’ll be able to update stories and incorporate new photographs as needed without having to wait for an outside agency."

In early 2009, the Chamber and the CVB plan to roll-out interactive features, such as a blog and a Member’s Only section. The CVB will also introduce a new feature that will provide suggested itineraries for visitors and how they could spend a day in Hutchinson and Reno County. "We're looking forward to launching these features in 2009. The blog will provide community members the opportunity to share their ideas and comments with the Chamber," said Holly Schmidt.

The Chamber and the Greater Hutchinson CVB worked with Logicmaze Web Design a local web development firm. "We felt it was important to keep our site redesign with a local company," said Dave Kerr. "We are very pleased with our new sites and appreciate all of the time and effort Logicmaze dedicated to this project."