Membership Breakfast

Sponsor:

Kansas State Fair

To notify the membership of location and/or name changes, contact Tom Dooley at 662-3391 or tomd@hutchchamber.com to make changes to your account.

Lowe's has a new Store Manager, Roger Holter

Team Employment, LLC has named Sharon Proffit the new Branch Manager

Budget Car and Truck Rental of Hutchinson named Chuck Feik the new manager.

Rainbow International is now located at 1129 W. 4th Street.

Kern Contracting, Inc. is now located at 619 E. 95th Ave.

Membership Services:

Absolutely Flowers Receives Small Business Spotlight Award

Nickels Receives Ambassador of the Quarter Honors

Nominate a Chamber Member for the Small Business Spotlight Award

Community Betterment:
Leadership Reno County Accepting Nominations and Applications

Economic Development:
Chamber and The Hutchinson News Launch Hutchareajobs.com

KansasWORKS Offers Seminar on "Hiring the Right Employee"

Chamber Business Briefs Featured New Owner of Yoder Meats and Kansas Station

Left Bar:

• New Chamber Members
• Chamber Member Updates
• Visitor Watch
• Chamber Recognizes Operation Thank You Volunteers
• Chamber Report for Jan. - June of 2008

Chamber and The Hutchinson News Launched Hutchareajobs.com

The Hutchinson/Reno County Chamber of Commerce (HRCCC) and The Hutchinson News are proud to be co-sponsors of Hutchareajobs.com.

The main concept behind this site is to provide a comprehensive listing of jobs available in Reno County on one, easily accessible site. Hutchareajobs.com will be featured on the hutchnews.com site as well as on the new Chamber web site, launching later this summer. The Chamber will also use this site to assist with economic development opportunities which rely on attracting quality workforce.

In addition, Hutchareajobs.com was launched to provide immediate access to local jobs and to connect employers with employees. The goal is to widen the net for Reno County employers to find potential employees, both locally and nation-wide. Hutchareajobs.com is part of a network of over 600 newspapers across the country.

“We want to increase the opportunities for Reno County employers to find potential employees,” said Dana Regehr, the Chamber’s Economic Development Director. “Our goal is to provide a service to local employers and continue to assist with their efforts to attract workers to our community.”

Hutchareajobs.com will provide an employer the opportunity to list job openings and receive job matches based on the job description in their ad. “The job matching process is streamlined,” said Leslie Shea, Advertising Director, The Hutchinson News. “As an employer posts a position, keywords from that advertisement are matched to key words in resumes that are posted on the site. The employer will then receive an email informing them of the potential candidate that matched the job description in their ad.”

In addition to the benefits offered on hutchareajobs.com, there are special perks for Chamber members. “As a service for Chamber members, we are offering a special advertising rate,” said Holly Schmidt, the Chamber’s Director of Communications/Special Events. If you are interested in learning more about the advertising rates, please contact Laura McMannis at 694-5700 ext. 230 or lmcmannis@hutchnews.com.

Absolutely Flowers Receives Chamber Small Business Spotlight Award

Congratulations to Absolutely Flowers for being the July 2008 Small Business Spotlight Award Recipient.

Absolutely Flowers began in November 2004, as a new and exciting floral boutique in Hutchinson. Owners Mitzi Alexander AIFD and Karen Maness had the experience and vision to create a unique floral boutique unlike Hutchinson had seen. “We wanted to create something completely different,” said Karen Maness, owner. “We wanted our store to be a little more fun and modern.”

Having worked in the industry for nearly 20 yrs, Alexander and Maness were acquaintances. “We have a lot in common,” said Maness. “We both grew up in south-central Kansas, have the same work ethic, values and passion. With our combined experience and drive, we were able to create a boutique that we both had only dreamt of.”

Absolutely Flowers, located at 1328 N. Main, is really a family business, according to Maness. “When we first saw this building we knew it was the perfect location and the ideal size, however, needed extensive remodeling. Luckily our husbands offer tremendous support and helped us create the boutique you see today,” said Maness.

Absolutely Flowers offers a wide variety of services; fresh and permanent floral arrangements, weddings, funerals, corporate gifts, home décor and home-made fudge. “We are committed to offering the freshest and most creative floral arrangements,” said Mitzi Alexander, owner. “We have an amazing variety of wonderful candles, delicious homemade fudge, and an incredible selection of permanent florals.”

The homemade fudge has proven to be a popular item at Absolutely Flowers, by selling approximately 72 pounds of fudge per week, according to Maness. “The homemade fudge has been a fun part of our business. We make the fudge here in our kitchen. It’s a pleasure to offer our traditional flavors as well as our seasonal flavors,” said Maness. Absolutely Flowers has 13-15 regular flavors and 3-5 seasonal flavors, some of the popular flavors this summer, include; strawberry, lemonade, root-beer float, sherbet and cheesecake fudge.

When asked about their success, Maness attributed it to many things, “We pride ourselves in customer service and providing the best quality products. We also have an awesome staff that is dedicated to offering impeccable customer service and share our commitment to quality.”

In addition to providing quality products and service, Absolutely Flowers understands the importance of giving back to the community. “We support numerous charitable organizations, local schools and other community projects when we can,” said Maness. When asked why Absolutely Flowers joined the Hutchinson/Reno County Chamber of Commerce, Maness stated, “We joined the Chamber because we wanted to be involved in promoting Hutchinson and appreciated the networking opportunities that are available. We enjoy learning from our peers and visiting with other small businesses in our community.”

The Small Business Council selected Absolutely Flowers from nominations made by Chamber members. The award is given monthly to a Chamber business that exemplifies community spirit and superior business practices. Nominees must be a Chamber member in good standing, been in business for at least three years, and employ fewer than 25 people.

The Small Business Spotlight Award is proudly sponsored by First National Bank of Hutchinson and Hutchinson Credit Union.

Listen to the Chamber Business Briefs Here

The Chamber and KWBW began a partnership in June, with the announcement of the Chamber Business Briefs, featuring local business news on a bi-weekly radio show. The Chamber has broadcast two shows, one on Monday, June 16th and one on Monday, June 30th.

The Chamber Business Brief that aired on the 16th of June, discussed the development and activity at Fourth Street and Airport Road. If you missed the broadcast, you may listen to it here.

The Chamber Business Brief that aired on the 30th of June featured Alan Waggoner the new owner of Yoder Meats and Kansas Station. If you missed the broadcast, you may listen to it here.

The next radio show, will be July 14 at 8:10 a.m. It will feature business news including; economic development, tourism, business growth and business retention.

Let us know about topics of interest to you. E-mail questions or suggestions to Holly Schmidt.

2008 Fall Leadership Reno County Accepting Nominations and Applications

Yes, it’s that time of year again. Nominations and applications are currently being accepted for the fall 2008 Leadership Reno County class.

If you would like to recommend someone for the fall (or future classes) please send their name and contact information (email address at a minimum!) to Kris Doswell and she will forward them all of the details. If you’ve recently sent Mrs. Doswell your applicant information she has them in the database and you will be receiving an electronic application package in the next week.

Class dates are: (All classes run from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. unless otherwise marked.)

Retreat             Thursday/Friday     September 4-5

                                                       (8 a.m. Thursday to 5 p.m. Friday)

Session 2          Thursday                September 18

Session 3          Thursday                 October 2

Session 4          Thursday                 October 16

Session 5          Thursday                 October 30

Session 6          Thursday                 November 13

Session 7          Thursday                 November 20

Session 8          Thursday                 December 4

                                                          (8 a.m.- 3 p.m. & 5 p.m. - 8 p.m.)

Application Deadline – Thursday, July 31.

Tuition - $475

To Apply - http://www.hutchchamber.com/chamber/leadership_app.cfm

Questions – contact Kris 727-5410 or Lynette 669-7954.

Nickels Honored as Ambassador of the Quarter

Congratulations to Barb Nickels for having earned the designation as ‘Ambassador of the Quarter.'

Barb Nickels

Barb earned this designation for the second quarter of 2008, after receiving the honor for the first quarter of the year. This honor is not new to Barb as she has earned this award many time over several years. In addition, Barb served as the chair of the Ambassadors in 1996.

This designation is awarded the Chamber Ambassador with the best attendance at ribbon cuttings, membership functions, calls on members, and new membership sales.

Barb and her husband, Jim, have been in the real estate business for many years; they are known as the Spouses Who Sell Houses, under the realty banner of Realty Executives. Their offices are located in the Hutchinson Mall.

Currently the ambassadors committee is made up of 25 Chamber members who help the Chamber’s exposure and awareness throughout the community. Ambassadors conduct ribbon cuttings, act as greeters and master of ceremonies at Membership Breakfasts and Business after Hours events, as well as call upon Chamber members to touch base and assist the Chambers Membership Division in the development of new memberships.

If you are interested in becoming a Chamber Ambassador, contact Tom Dooley for information.

KANSASWORKS Offers Seminar on Hiring the Right Employee

How to Hire the RIGHT Employee!

Employees are a company’s most important resource, yet how do employers know which person will be the right “fit” for their business?  “Hiring the Right Employee,” a 4-hour session scheduled for September 25 in Hays, will provide information on “Behavioral Interviewing,” a way to gather information about what candidates have done in the past to show how they would handle future situations, which can help you select the best candidate for your position.

Included in this seminar will be the following topics:

• Key elements of the behavioral interview
• Identifying technical and interpersonal skill sets required of job candidates to be successful
• An understanding of how to initiate steps to build rapport with interviewees
• How to overcome barriers that may inhibit use of behavioral interviewing in the workplace

Les Lauber, University of Kansas Public Management Instructor, will be the featured speaker of the workshop.  He has made presentation across North America to various corporate audiences and national conferences.  

For more information and/or to register (cost $50/person), please contact Linda Koci, KANSASWORKS at 785-625-5654 or email lkoci@kansasworks.com.