News and Media

Advanced Physical Therapy Receives Small Business Award

Wednesday, November 16, 2022

Advanced Physical Therapy began in Hutchinson as Preferred Physical Therapy in 2007 with 3 staff. Shane Katz saw a need in the community for Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy services, he and staff began reaching out to referral sources in the area about the unique services they could provide for their patients. They have relocated twice to accommodate patient and staffing growth. In 2014, their name changed to Advanced Physical Therapy and today is located at 2803 N Lorraine and have 16 employees. What makes Advanced Physical Therapy unique is they offer OT and PT services with staff that consists o...

The Hickory Stik receives Small Business Award

Tuesday, November 01, 2022

Aaron Bruce and business partners chose to open a new barbeque restaurant in Hutchinson, as the partners were having success in McPherson with Woods BBQ. They found and renovated a building in downtown Hutchinson in 2017 and opened Hickory Stik with 9 employees. The shifts have grown in duration and has the number of employees to 15. Besides adding employees, they have added to their menu, a new smoker, and new fryers to keep up with their growth. According to Aaron, not all BBQ is the same. Hickory Stik creates their own seasonings for meats, and they believe you’re going t...

State Farm Insurance - Deana Ackerman Agency Receives Small Business Award

Tuesday, September 20, 2022

Deana Ackerman was hired by John O’Day in January of 1990, and was set up in an 800 s.f. incubator space in the Larkland Shopping Center. She participated in a very extensive agent training program provided by State Farm, in addition to having meet the monthly quotas. Deana continued to meet the monthly quotas and eventually outgrew that space and moved the office in 2000 to her current location at 2721 N Main St. Her agency originally started out providing property, casualty, life and health insurance; approximately 20 years ago they added additional life insurance options, annuities, and other product...

Technique Manufacturing Receives Small Business Award

Wednesday, August 31, 2022

Technique Manufacturing began in 1990 with 6 employees. In 1994, Ted Robinson came to Technique to take a position with the plan to become the future owner. Ted’s early responsibilities included helping bridge the gap between sales and production to help with efficiency of the business. By 1996, Ted was a 50% shareholder and in 2019 took over as 100% owner, just before the pandemic began. They specialize in building custom commercial grade cabinets. When Ted came on, their business model was 75% work for Dillons and 25% general contractors. Ted has successfully worked to switch this model to provide fo...

Revive Chiropractic & Acupuncture Receives Small Business Award

Monday, July 25, 2022

Revive Chiropractic opened in August 2015 in the Mt. Vernon Building on East 30th. This location initially offered one adjustment room and one acupuncture room. One year later Revive expanded into two additional rooms to accommodate their fast-growing patient base. After three wonderful years, they moved to a larger location closer to Main Street. Their current space has two adjustment rooms, one Therapy room, and two acupuncture rooms. Alongside cupping, acupuncture, adjustments, therapeutic ultrasound electrical stimulation, and decompression therapy – they offer love, encouragement, and friendship. It's paramount that their patients leave feeling better not only physically, but mentally an...

Gambino's Pizza Receives Small Business Award

Thursday, June 23, 2022

Gambino’s Pizza in South Hutchinson has been around since 2004 and in 2014 Hank Yoder purchased the franchise with his wife Joan. There son left his full-time job to be a manager of the restaurant. In 2018, the Yoder’s purchased the Sterling Gambino’s franchise and Jarod became a co-owner with his parents of both locations. What started as a small family business has grown to 2 locations and 49 employees. Besides having delicious pizzas, sandwiches, and salad bar for the community to enjoy, the Yoder’s believe quality and service are the main attribute of the company. They work on giving th...

The Traveling Bowl Receives Small Business Award

Thursday, June 02, 2022

Gina Emel grew up in Hutchinson, the daughter of Restaurateurs Jack and Mary Emel. Gina graduated from Trinity Catholic High School and earned her degree in Supply Chain Management from KU. She worked at American Eagle Distribution Center in the Lawrence area for 5 years. When her father, the late Jack Emel, got sick she moved back to Hutchinson. Gina never thought she would get into the restaurant business until she moved back to Hutchinson. She liked the idea of a food truck because she liked the idea of doing everything (preparing, cooking, and serving). A family friend had ...

Wray & Sons Roofing Receives Small Business Award

Wednesday, April 20, 2022

Wray & Sons was originally established by Bernard & Lorena Wray in 1939. Their sons Greg, Cliff, and Jerry took over the business in 1994, and then five years ago Jerry retired, leaving the business to Greg and Cliff. Bernard and Lorena started the business with only a panel truck and a shed on “D” Street in South Hutchinson. In the early 1970’s, they purchased the property at 229 E. 3rd Street in Hutchinson, where their warehouse and offices are still located today. At Wray & Sons Roofing they offer all types of roofing for both residential and commercial. They als...

Security 1st Title Receives Small Business Award

Wednesday, March 16, 2022

In 1989, Charles Brown and Wayne Colburn purchased Reno County Abstract & Title from the Hartke family. Charle’s son, Todd Brown, started working the business in 1990, and grew the business until 2015 when it was purchased by Security 1st Title. Today, Todd Brown and Nikki Hutton manage the local team in Reno County and have expanded the business to what it is today. Security 1st Title offers title insurance and real estate closing services for residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural transactions, as well as purchases and refinances, new construction, relocation, foreclosure, short sales, escrow contract serving, and 1031 exchanges. Wit...

Joe McGuire Agency Receives Small Business Award

Wednesday, February 16, 2022

A family-owned Hutchinson staple since the early 1900s, Joe McGuire insurance has been around for over a century. Joe McGuire Sr. merged his agency with the Bert Berry agency in 1936. The Berry agency was first started in 1911. In 1987, Joe McGuire took over the agency for his father. Dave Inskeep went to work for the agency in 1999 and eventually purchased the business in 2012. Over the years the McGuire agency has acquired several other insurance agencies to become the successful company it is today. Joe McGuire is an independent insurance agency that represents multiple insurance carriers. Having acces...

Chamber Announces 2022 New Board Members

Thursday, January 27, 2022

The Hutchinson/Reno County Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce five newly elected board members. Their three-year term on the Board of Directors began on January 1, 2022. The new board members are Coby Cost, plant manager at Tyson Foods; Sarah Fankhauser, president & CEO at Data Center, Inc.; Brett Henry, partner at Adams Brown; Michele Pitts, coordinator at Reno County Farm Bureau Association; and Kevin Rule, owner of Sleep Shoppe and Furniture Gallery and Furniture & Mattress Clearance Center. “This knowledgeable and diverse group of community leaders will provide great representation from a variety of business perspectives as they join th...

Re-Nu Receives Small Business Award

Thursday, January 27, 2022

Steve has always had a passion for refurbishing and refinishing, starting with vehicles and motorcycles when he was a teenager and progressing into restoring furniture later in life. When it came time to close their 46-year-old family business Fiffe Liquor and figure out what to do next, Steve went back to his love for refurbishing and refinishing and RE-NU came to be. He and his wife Shirley purchased the building at 7 South Main and spent an entire year refurbishing the building – including restoring the original tin ceiling, taking the walls back to the original brick, and re-vamping th...

United Way and Schmidt Foundation announce grant program for Child Care Initiatives

Wednesday, January 12, 2022

The United Way of Reno County, Hutchinson Community Foundation, Greater Hutch and the Hutchinson/Reno County Chamber of Commerce are pleased to announce a $50,000 grant from the Schmidt Foundation, for the purpose of addressing childcare system improvements across Reno County. The $50,000 gift from the Schmidt Foundation to the United Way of Reno County will be leveraged with $40,000 in additional funding from Hutchinson Community Foundation’s donor advised funds, $10,000 from the Davis Foundation, and an economic development grant from Greater Hutch and the Hutch Chamber. The purpose of the funding will be to address several key childcare priorities that hav...

Pizza Ranch Receives Small Business Award

Wednesday, December 15, 2021

Dick and Dianne Kovarna opened Pizza Ranch in March 2013. Dick grew up in northwest Iowa where the first Pizza Ranch was built and went there growing up every Sunday with his family after church. After moving to Hutchinson, Dick and Diane would drive by the old Red Lobster location that sat empty for five years where Dick would express his interest of wanting to open their own Pizza Ranch. They finally started the building process in 2012 and opened in March 2013, where they still hold the record for opening day sales for the franchise. While many will say it’...