Spotlight - Hays Area Chamber of Commerce

Spotlight
December 2014
Connecting Business. Creating Commerce. Offering Opportunities.
Featured Business
Mission
Statement
Whiskey Creek Wood Fire Grill
The Hays Area Chamber of Commerce and
Western Beverage would like to congratulate
November’s Featured Business, Whiskey Creek
Wood Fire Grill, 3203 Vine.
Whiskey Creek has been serving the
Hays community for eight years and employs
48 people. It has received awards in various
categories for The Hays Daily News Reader’s
Choice Awards since opening.
As a proud community supporter, Whiskey Creek has partnered with Fort Hays State
University, Hays Medical Center, Hays USD
489, Hays Catholic Schools, Wild West Festival, Ellis County Fair, Hays Area Chamber of
Commerce, Special Olympics, Hays High Plains
Barbershop Chapter, Phillipsburg Rodeo and
Plainville Rodeo.
See Whiskey Creek, page 2
Discover Yourself
As you will read more about in the “Tammy Talk” column,
we at the Chamber are this area’s biggest cheerleaders for
the business community. The Chamber promotes member
successes, supports business operations and encourages
patrons to shop local.
Answering questions, referring business and providing
community tours are
just some of the benefits
offered through the
Chamber.
Whether it is through
an orientation program
at a member business
or a tour of the town for
potential employees and
their families, we are
here to help you. Let us
be your guide. Engage in
your Chamber.
Depicted here is the
newest Community
Guide available to you
— use these professional
magazines to recruit new
employees or to inform guests into your business.
For information about orientations, tours and Community
Guides, call (785) 628-8201 or email hayscc@discoverhays.
com.
National Chamber of the Year Finalist
Mission: The Hays Area Chamber of Commerce works for the business
prosperity of Hays and its neighbors.
2700 Vine | Hays, KS 67601 | 785.628.8201 | www.discoverhays.com
-
Tammy Talk
U
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
CHAIR:
CHAIR-ELECT:
PAST CHAIR:
TREASURER:
Lance Bickle
Sicoir Computer Technologies
Brian Weimer
IPI Financial Services
Travis Kohlrus
Eagle Communications
Tom Meis
Midwest Energy Inc.
Treva Benoit
CedarView Assisted Living
Connie Bollig
Emprise Bank
Deanna Doerfler
Doerflers’ Harley-Davidson
Brad Haynes
FHSU Athletic Assoc.
Tammy McClellan
Heartland Community Foundation
Eric Norris
Hays Public Library
Todd Powell
FHSU Office of the President
Mark St. Peter
Nex-Tech
Shae Veach
Hays Medical Center
STAFF
EXECUTIVE
DIRECTOR: Tammy Wellbrock
MEMBERSHIP
COORDINATOR: Celeste Sander
ADMINISTRATIVE
ASSISTANT: Kathy Heinrich
COMMUNICATIONS
COORDINATOR: Jessica Krogstad
Whiskey Creek,
continued
The products and services offered at
Whiskey Creek include a full-service
restaurant serving lunch and dinner,
with a full menu and daily specials,
full-service bar, banquet and meeting
facilities, and off-site catering.
For more information, call (785) 6288646.
Whiskey Creek, “Where the Fire’s
Always Burning.”
2
sing a cheerleading theme
during the October Membership Lunch, we at the Hays Area
Chamber of Commerce shared our
reasons as to how we aid our local
community. Just like the cheerleaders rooting the home team on
the sidelines, we are often behind
the scenes supporting various
community ventures, encouraging
businesses and celebrating area
successes.
As “community cheerleaders,”
we are in the business of building
enthusiasm, creating energy and
sharing community spirit.
Our community has much to
cheer about. The momentum of
being named finalist for National
Chamber of the Year helped kick
off our year, and we have been
jumping ever since.
Our mission is to work for the
business prosperity of Hays and
its neighbors. We do this in three
primary manners: by connecting
business, creating commerce and
offering opportunities.
We continue to strengthen the
“town and gown” ties with Fort
Hays State University by partnering with TailGreat and serving on
the Selection Committee, as well as
the Inauguration Planning Committee for President Mirta Martin.
We are excited to build upon this
relationship by working towards
ways to strengthen student mentor
and internship programs.
Our Advocacy efforts remain
strong as we balance representing members’ voices with educa-
tional efforts,
through
forums and
Eggs & Issues. We
strongly
believe in
the power of
information, empowering those
who cannot attend events with our
various communication tools.
This year, we offered two new
events with our Healthcare Reception, showing appreciation to
those working within the medical
industry, as well as our Hays Area
Konza Club, to continue serving
our Leadership Hays alumni.
One of our most winning benefits continues to be our professional development along with
business exposure, many times going hand-in-hand. Our Leadership
Hays program, and the Konza Club
for alumni, as well as our team
of Ambassadors and Hays Area
Young Professionals allow opportunity for many professionals to
get involved, network with peers
and gain stronger knowledge all
while promoting their own place
of employment.
On behalf of the Chamber staff
and board of directors, please
know that your Chamber is committing much time and energy
to help you prosper. We have our
members’ best interest in mind
with every decision we make and
what impact that decision can
have on the businesses to help the
community thrive and grow.
BREAKING NEWS
The 2015 Chamber Annual Awards Banquet has
been moved to Thursday, Feb. 19. The social will
begin at 5:30 p.m., while the program and dinner will
start at 7 p.m. The date was moved to not conflict with
the biggest basketball rivalry of the year, FHSU vs.
University of Nebraska-Kearney.
With Appreciation to Our Members
On behalf of the Chamber and
its Board of Directors, we wish to
express our sincere thanks for your
membership, participation and
support this past year. It has been a
year full of change with the introduction of new employees, pro-
grams and events. Your willingness
to volunteer your time and expertise has made us more successful.
Thank you again for your service
towards advancing this organization. Happy holidays, and cheers to
2015!
Chamber News
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Ambassador & HAYP Holiday Social
5-7 p.m. Dec. 11,
Welcome Center
Christmas Eve (Dec. 24)
Hays Welcome Center closed
Chamber Cheque Sponsors
A total of $147,508 in Chamber Cheques were sold last year. It’s exciting to
be able to provide a service that directly affects our local community. Each
cheque spent helps keep our community economically sound. It truly is the
gift that keeps giving.
We would like to thank the following businesses for sponsoring the program: Ashley Furniture Homestore, Carpet One/Vitztum Decorating Center
Inc., Cerv’s, Freddy’s, The Furniture Look, Gella’s Lb., Gone Logo The Boutique, Gutierrez Restaurant, Impressions Everlasting, JD’s Country Style
Kitchen, Nex-Tech Inc., Nex-Tech Wireless, Papa Murphy’s, Pizza Hut, Rose
Garden Steak House & Catering and Whiskey Creek.
New Members
The businesses listed below recently made an important investment by
joining the Chamber. Consider them
for your needs, and let them know
you learned about their business
through the Chamber. Greetings to:
INSPIRE Body Mind Spirit
5790 230th Ave., Hays
(785) 650-7505
inspirebodymindspirit.com
Nelson Creative Media LLC
(785) 639-3613
Find them on Facebook
The Willow House
2900 Willow, Hays
(785) 259-2685
Business After Hours
The Chamber is excited to announce
the hosting of
two Business
After Hours
this month.
The first will
be Doerflers’
Harley-Davidson Holiday Open House at 5:30 to 7:30
p.m. Dec. 4 at 1100 E. 43rd.
The second Business After
Hours will
take place at Equity Bank, 2428 Vine,
from 5 to 7 p.m. Dec. 17. RSVP’s are
requested but not required.
Christmas Day (Dec. 25)
Hays Welcome Center closed
New Year’s Eve (Dec. 31)
Chamber Closes at noon
New Year’s Day (Jan. 1)
Hays Welcome Center closed
Member Referral
Kara Moore with Golden Belt Bank
received a $25 Chamber Cheque for
referring new member INSPIRE Body
Mind Spirit. You too can be placed into
a drawing to win a Chamber Cheque
with each new business you recruit.
Leadership Hays
The Chamber is accepting applications for Leadership
Hays. Participants
will attend one full
day, plus five halfday sessions from
February to May. Fill
out the application
inserted into this newsletter or online at
discoverhays.com.
Medical and Dental Care
• On Site & Off Site AAA Certified Shredding
• Secure Record Storage & Management
The region’’s premiere medical home,
dedicated to providing access to
compassionate, quality care for all.
• Electronic Waste Disposal
607 East 13th St.
888-537-1222 • 785-625-2111
sales@doc-res.com • www.doc-res.com
105W.13th
785.621.4990
www.rstcareclinic.com
To submit member news or sign up for Chamber event alerts, email hayscc@discoverhays.com.
3
Member News
Hays Medical Center Dreiling/
Schmidt Cancer Institute would
like to invite anyone who has been
diagnosed with
cancer or who
has finished
treatment to
attend a meditation and relaxation group.
The group is
guided through
imagery script to promote relaxation
and calmness designed to aid in
coping with a diagnosis of cancer.
Upcoming meetings will be at the
Dreiling/Schmidt Cancer Institute
at 6 p.m. Dec. 10, Jan. 14 and Feb.
11. The meetings are free. Call (785)
623-5757.
DSNWK/Employment Connections
will be hosting an Employer Appreciation and Holiday Open House from
4 to 7 p.m. Dec. 16 at 660 Commerce
Parkway. Bring the entire family and
enjoy refreshments, games, activities
and visit with Santa.
Positive Fly Hays response by Mike
Doerfler, network technology supervisor at Nex-Tech: “I wanted to let
you know my brother, sister and I flew
out of Hays last week
on the new service,
and it was outstanding. We were very
impressed. We fly to
Ohio every year to
spend a week with
my little brother and his family, and
after last year, swore we would never
fly Hays again. Great Lakes missed
landing in Hays two days in a row, and
we ended up driving to Wichita and
flying from there and lost two days
by the time we got to Ohio. We opted
to try the new flight service, and it
was top-notch, the plane was on time,
friendly staff both in Hays and Denver.
It was a great experience. In fact, I am
going to Vegas in a couple of weeks
and will also be flying Hays. Very impressed.”
Patty Baconrind, PhD, certified general appraiser, president of Baconrind
Appraising Services, Hays, received
the Fort Hays State University Nita
Landum Award at FHSU’s homecoming. The Nita Landrum Award is in
recognition of an individual who has
provided sustained volunteer service
for the betterment of the Alumni
Association of FHSU. She was one
of seven honorees who was named at
the Alumni Awards and Recognition
Banquet.
Covenant Builders is putting on a
synchronized Christmas light show
from 6 to 9 p.m. Sunday through
Thursday and from 6 to 10 p.m.
Fridays and
Saturdays on
Dec. 1 to 27 at
their model
home, 4101
Covenant Drive.
The lights will
move in time
to Christmas
music you can listen to through your
car’s radio. Currently, the easiest way
to access Covenant Drive is using
U.S. Highway 183 bypass and the
41st Street exit. This event is free
and open to the public.
Emprise Bank is hosting the “Giving Tree” again this year. Individuals
can pick up children’s letters at the
27th and Hall location and return
wrapped gifts by Dec. 17.
Newsletter correction: Midland
Marketing was inadvertently omitted as a sponsor from the Farmer’s
Appreciation article in the November Newsletter. Thank you for your
financial contribution. Please accept
our apologies for the error.
Doerflers’ Harley-Davidson is
proud to announce Blair McPherson as the general manager for the
dealership. Blair has
been with Doerflers’
for eight years, serving
as the sales manager
for four years. He has
worked in the parts
and sales departments.
In his new position,
McPherson will be responsible for
day-to-day operations. Feel free to
stop by and introduce yourself or
contact him with any questions, concerns or well wishes at blair@doerflerharley.com or (785) 625-2022.
Developmental Services of Northwest Kansas was recently notified it
received a three-year accreditation
from CARF for its programs that
provide services to individuals with
developmental disabilities. This accreditation outcome represents the
highest level of accreditation that
• Convenient e-Billing and
bank payment options
• Affordable Leased Security Lighting
1-800-222-3121
www.mwenergy.com
To submit member news or sign up for Chamber event alerts, email hayscc@discoverhays.com.
4
Submit news about your
business or organization to
jessica@discoverhays.com.
allowing the opportunity to consult
others. She looks forward to meeting and helping area patrons. For
information, call (785) 844-9531 or
visit mycleverbiz.com/declutterbug.
Midwest Energy’s senior journeyman linesman’s team of Mike
Stremel, operations training manager
at Hays; John Horesky, line foreman
at Russell; and Bill Nowlin, line foreman at WaKeeney, took first place
at the 2014 International Lineman’s
Rodeo in Bonner Springs in the
Journeyman Senior’s Division. They
had the only perfect score among
24 teams of the most experienced
linemen from the country’s largest
utilities. The group was judged on
safety, technical proficiency and
speed while completing four linemen
tasks: line-sleeve repairs, conductor
stringing, pole climbing and a hurtman rescue event. The event is the
largest in the nation, drawing 203
teams from 40 states, as well as international teams from Canada, the
U.K., Jamaica and Brazil.
Clever Container complements
owner Barbara Winderlin’s career
as a professional organizer while
INSPIRE Body Mind Spirit
recently celebrated its three-year
anniversary. Amber Cunningham, owner of INSPIRE, created it with a vision to motivate,
educate and inspire people to
greatness through exercising the
body, mind and spirit. The staff
is truly passionate about helping
people reach their goals and live
a healthier, more-balanced life.
Inspire offers personal training,
small-group training, group fitness, youth programs, corporate fit
challenges and on-going support
through motivation and accountability. INSPIRE is located in the
gym of Celebration Community
Church and is open to everyone in
the community. For more information, call (785) 650-7505 or visit
www.inspirebodymindspirit.com.
Covenant Builders Inc. is working with the FHSU Athletic
Department and Eagle Radio
to present the Hometown Hero
award, which honors excellence in
the community. Anyone who has
made a significant effect in our
community from Ellis County and
the surrounding area is eligible.
Winners will be honored at FHSU
home basketball games during the
2014-15 season. Nomination forms
are available at the FHSU Athletic Department, Covenant Builders’
model home, 4101 Covenant Drive,
or online at covenantbuilders.
net and fhsuathletics.com in the
FanZone.
Phyllis LaShell celebrated 27 years with
the state of Kansas on
Nov. 14. A reception
was given in her honor
for her contributions
and years of service.
r
Chamqbuee
Che
Chamber
ChambeChr eque
Cheque
Share your news!
$5, $10 and $25
Chamber
Cheques
are the perfect holiday gift!
Pick up yours today at the
Hays Area
Chamber of
Commerce
2700•Vine
St. Hays • 785-628-8201
2700 Vine St. Hays
785-628-8201
www.discoverhays.com
www.discoverhays.com
BUSY BLACK FRIDAY
$5
$10
Dash Through Your List
Right Here in Town!
Chamber Cheques
Chamber
Cheque
Chamb
er
Cheque
Cha
mbe
Che r
que
can be awarded to an organization.
The Accreditation demonstrates
DSNWK’s programs and services are
of the highest quality, measurable
and accountable.
$15
Hundreds of Shopping
Choices Available
Perfect For Gift Giving
2700 Vine • Hays • 785-628-8201
www.discoverhays.com
Switch now with the
phone and tablet
BuyBack Program!
Nex-Tech Wireless
4310 N Vine, Hays
785-621-3670
Nex-Tech Wireless • The Mall
2918 Vine St, Hays
785-639-1461
To submit member news or sign up for Chamber event alerts, email hayscc@discoverhays.com.
5
Chamber Programs
Ambassadors
Ambassador Attendance Award
Congratulations to October’s winning team: Shelby Doty, Lisa Unrein, Phyllis LaShell, Marie Froelich, Renee Moritz, Linda Donlay, Eric Schibi and T.R.
May. Your commitment to Hays area businesses is greatly appreciated.
Hays Area Young Professionals
New Members
We would like to welcome Charles
Gallien, Midwest Energy, to the Hays
Area Young Professionals
Annual Banquet
Award Nominations
Upcoming Events
There will be a HAYP and Ambassador Holiday Social from 5 to 7 p.m.
Dec. 11 at the Hays Welcome Center,
2700 Vine. Drinks and hors d’oeuvres
will be served.
HAYP members Mark St. Peter
and Kris Fair at the Masquerade
Bash.
Sincere Thanks
Dear members,
Thank you for being a part of Hays Area Young Professionals. At the beginning of the year, we set a goal to create quality programs and events that
would enrich the lives of our members both personally and professionally.
There were networking opportunities, guest speakers and special events
every month. We hope to continue to add more experiences for professional
growth in 2015. Please continue to share your ideas for events, speakers, etc.,
with the Chamber. We look forward to cultivating partnerships and friendships in the new year.
Sincerely,
The HAYP Advisory Council and committee chairs
6
Awards season is approaching, and the
Chamber is seeking
nominations for its Annual Banquet on Feb.
19, 2015. Nominate a
business or individual
for professionalism and
leadership qualities.
Five different categories are offered. Find an
application inserted in
this newsletter. Event
tickets will go on sale
Dec. 1.
To submit member news or sign up for Chamber event alerts, email hayscc@discoverhays.com.
Chamber Chats
Body + Soul, 107 West 15th
(785) 639-1873 bodyandsoulhays.com
Ribbon Cuttings
Diamond R Jewelry, 807 Main
(785) 621-4656 diamondkansas.com
Doonan Peterbilt of Hays, 1980 W. 55th
(785) 621-4045 doonantruck.com
Diamond R Jewelry, 807 Main
(785) 621-4656 diamondkansas.com
Hays Kirby & Supplies, 115 E. Eighth
(785) 621-4992
Heartland Community Foundation, 2700 Vine
(785) 621-4090 heartlandcommunityfoundation.org
Oct. Membership Lunch
The Willow House, 2900 Willow
(785) 259-2685
Business After Hours
Smoky Hill Country Club
Program: State of the Chamber Sponsor: Nex-Tech
Rose Garden Steak Haus & Catering, 230 E. Eighth
(785) 625-9508 rosegardensteakhaus.com
Monthly Calendar Of Events
Monday
Tuesday
1
Hays Area Konza
Club-Leadership Lab
6:30 p.m.
Wednesday
9
8
3
2
Executive Board
Meeting,
4 p.m. @ WC
10
Thursday
BAH, Holiday Open
House, 5:30 to 7:30
p.m. @ Doerflers’
Harley-Davidson
(1100 E. 43rd St.)
Ambassador &
HAYP Holiday
Social,
5 to 7 p.m. @ WC
Friday
Sat/Sun
4
CC, Holiday Open
5
House, 9 a.m. @
Elements of Massage
(1308 Main St.)
Ambassador Team
Captain Meeting, noon,
Jalisco’s
6/7
11
CC, 9 a.m
12
@ Hays Medical Center
(2220 Canterbury)
13/14
18
CC, 9 a.m. @
Courthouse/Law
Enforcement Center
(3000 New Way)
19
20/21
27/28
16
BAH,
5 to 7 p.m.
@ Equity Bank
(2428 Vine)
22
23
Christmas Eve,
Hays Welcome Center
closed
24
Christmas Day,
25
Hays Welcome Center
closed
No Chamber Chat
26
29
30
New Year’s Eve,
Chamber open
until noon
31
New Year’s Day,
Hays Welcome Center
closed
1
No Chamber Chat
2
15
Chamber Board of
Directors Meeting,
4 p.m. @ WC
Abbreviation Legend:
AMB = Ambassador
LH = Leadership Hays
17
BAH = Business After Hours
RC = Ribbon Cutting
CC = Chamber Chat
ML = Membership Lunch
HAYP = Hays Area Young Professional
WC = Welcome Center
For details, see your weekly emails.
Executive Circle Chamber Members
“Thanks to these businesses for making the ultimate investment!”