What s Inside: Monthly Update

Transcription

1 Monthly Update Here s what is in store for our special evening of entertainment and networking. Registration begins at 6:00 p.m. and Social Hour Networking begins promptly at 6:30 p.m. Enjoy the wine fountain, chocolate fountain and great networking with your fellow members. Check out and bid on the fantastic Silent Auction items which were donated by the membership! Enjoy a buffet dinner provided by Grandma s Catering. January 2012 January 21, 2012 Chamber Annual Dinner Plans Underway Mark your calendar for Saturday, January 21, 2012 for the Annual Membership Dinner of the De Soto Chamber of Commerce! Entertainer Mike Bliss, who has been headlining his own show in Branson, Missouri for over 18 years. Mike has traveled across the country to perform and was voted Branson s Specialty Act of the Year. You might have seen him perform on Fox s 30 Seconds to FAME! or as a finalist on America s Got Talent. Reservations and prepayment are required no later than Friday, January 13th. Cost is $35 per person or a discounted rate $315 for a Reserved Table of 10. Recognition of the Chamber Members of the Year, Ambassador of the Year, Extra Mile Recipient and our very first Lifetime Achievement Award recipient.award-winning It s not too late to help underwrite this event. Contact the Chamber Office at to reserve your exclusive benefits that are provided for underwriters. Chamber Members of the Year Announced The Board of Directors for the De Soto Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce that Lesa Duryea, Hillside Village of De Soto has been selected as the 2011 Chamber Member of the Year. Lesa has been the Administrator for Hillside Village of De Soto since September, She immediately participated in the Chamber and has served as a Chamber Ambassador since that time, serving many hours at Chamber events and lending assistance wherever needed. A former law enforcement officer with a bachelor s degree in criminal justice, Lesa spent two decades in her last position as a nursing home administrator before coming to Hillside Village. Passionate about getting Hillside Village residents out and having fun, Lesa orchestrated a group of residents who have attended the past two Night on the Kaw concerts at Riverfest Park. Committed to her job, Lesa commutes daily from her home on the Kansas/Nebraska border. She serves as a Girl Scout leader and is a member of the Long-Term Care Advisory Board and the Domestic Violence Advisory Board, and organizes community events in her hometown. Lisa and her husband, Greg, have three children, Courtney, Tyler, Cameron and a granddaughter, Morgan. Please join us on January 21, 2012 as we thank Lesa Duryea for her commitment and service to the De Soto Chamber of Commerce and to the community! J A very special Thank You to Premier Underwriters Great American Bank and Shawnee Mission Medical Center, and to all of our underwriters! See you on January 21, 2012! J What s Inside: President s Update... 2 From the Director s Corner... 2 EDC Update... 4 USD Members in the News... 6

2 President s Update by Mike Rogers, Chamber President Dear Fellow Chamber Members: Happy New Year! This is the time of year for reflection, New Year resolutions, planning, and goal setting for the coming year. I am excited to be starting the New Year with such a great organization. The Chamber s past and future success is a direct result of its members and leadership, and I am grateful that the tradition and foundation for success has been put in place. A big thank you is owed to Travis Hicks, our 2011 Chamber President, Julie Coover as Secretary, Jennifer Chick as Treasurer and Kris Johnson as outgoing President. Of course none of our events would have been possible without the support of our fantastic Ambassador Group, so thank you to all that helped make our events possible! The 2012 Chamber Board of Directors will soon conduct a Strategic Planning Session to outline our scope of work for the year. As networking is very important for the growth of any business, we are committed to provide our members with ways to further reach your potential by connecting with prospective clients. We will be working hard to introduce events that will demonstrate that we value your chamber membership and can provide you opportunities to enhance your networking skills and make key contacts to promote your business. The Chamber Board is also committed to increase our membership so that your business will be able to connect with an even larger base. These are just a few exciting programs that will ensure a successful 2012 year for you, our valued members. Let us know if there are any programs that you d like to see established that would help increase value in a Chamber membership. Thank you for the opportunity to serve as your President in 2012, and I look forward to the successes that we will share as we gear up for another exciting year at the De Soto Chamber of Commerce. Have a wonderful January! J This could be YOUR Spot to Advertise for only $30 per month! From the Directors Corner by Sara Ritter, Executive Director As we celebrate a new year, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our wonderful members for their support in 2011 and welcome them back to the Chamber in From marketing advantages, networking opportunities and showcasing all that your company has to offer, the Chamber is a vital tool to enhance your company s success. Please be sure to contact us if you have any thoughts, ideas or comments that you d like to share to help us grow our services and to maximize your membership. We re here to help you! The Chamber Board of Directors will begin planning our scope of work for the 2012 year. It is interesting to note that roughly 75% of our operating budget comes from fundraising and marketing activities. While these events are fun for all, they also contribute to our overall success of the organization which in turn provides services to our members. These fundraisers allow us to grow our organization while keeping dues and other fees to a minimum. The events also promote De Soto as a great place to live, work and play. The festival events will be held at De Soto Riverfest Park, which will drive more visitors off K-10 Highway and through De Soto to frequent our businesses. It is our hope that the Chamber s fundraising activities also help promote and provide you with an opportunity to get the word out about your company. The new Chamber Board of Directors, consisting of Chamber President Mike Rogers, Mike s Liquor, Vice President Curtis Arnold, Curtis M. Arnold & Associates; Secretary Lesa Duryea, Hillside Village of De Soto, Treasurer Julie Coover, American Family Insurance; and Past President Travis Hicks, Great American Bank have momentum and great plans in store for the organization and you, our valued member. Please plan on attending as many chamber functions as you can to build relationships and get the most out of your Chamber membership. Very soon, if not already, you will be receiving a phone call from your Chamber Challenge Team Captain, which is either a Board Member or one of our hard-working Chamber Ambassadors. Take a moment to share with them any suggestions or ideas you have for this year. Your Captain will be one of the most important contacts you can make this year! As always, feel free to contact the Chamber Office if we can assist you in any way. We re off to a great start in 2012, and I look forward to enjoying our accomplishments with you at our Annual Dinner on January 21st! 2

3 De Soto Chamber of Commerce 2012 Annual Membership Dinner The Board of Directors of the De Soto Chamber of Commerce cordially invites you and your guests to the annual De Soto Chamber of Commerce Membership Dinner as we reflect on the 2011 year and honor our member companies with a cocktail reception, chocolate fountain and dinner. Saturday, January 21, :00-10:00 pm Doors Open at 6:00 pm for Registration Social Hour begins at 6:30 pm De Soto VFW Post # W. 84 th Street. De Soto, Kansas Silent Auction Bidding will end by 8:00 pm Keynote Speaker Mike Bliss Master of Variety Finalist on America s Got Talent Evening Attire Business or Business Casual Thank you to our 2012 Chamber Annual Dinner Sponsors! Premier Sponsors: Event Sponsors: Engineered Air Huhtamaki Americas, Inc. Thank You Gift Underwriter: City of De Soto Dinner Underwriter: AT&T Beverage Underwriter: Larkin Group, Inc. It s not too late to underwrite the event or to attend! Contact Sara Ritter at or via at sritter@desotoks.org. 3

4 Items Needed for Chamber s Silent Auction The De Soto Chamber s Silent Auction will be held at its Annual Membership Dinner on Saturday, January 21st. Members are asked to donate an item for the fundraiser. Don t have anything? Perhaps you know of someone who has connections to basketball, football or soccer tickets, sports memorabilia, a timeshare vacation program, gift certificates the sky is the limit! Please contact the Chamber Office at to indicate that you have an item or arrange for a pickup. Items are asked to be provided by January 19th in order for the auction list to be published in advance of the event. Thank you! J Click & Clip This ad space could be yours! Sign up today to become the Deal of the Month! For only $50 you can showcase your business by offering a discount, free item or service. Hurry, the first business to contact the Chamber gets to be the December Deal of the Month! EDC Update By Greg Martinette, Developers Marketing Group 2011 Ends on High Note Off to Busy Start The year ended with a flurry of economic development activity in De Soto. Three new significant prospect leads, construction begins on new EXPANDED Dollar General, Engineered Air adds new line of business increasing jobs and equipment in plant. Activity hasn t slowed as we continue to work with new prospects as the year begins. Let s hope this is a change in the economy and will continue throughout the year. As always, we appreciate information from our membership...if you know of someone that is expanding and looking for a new location please let us know and we will do everything we can to get them to De Soto. Here s to a fantastic 2012!! J Top 10 Health & Wellness Tips for 2012 By Lori Murdock, Cedar Creek Pharmacy & Wellness Center 1- Remove processed food from your diet! Yes, this means food packaged, made of sugar, in a can, in a box, etc. Eat fresh foods as much as you can. 2- Eat Fruits and Vegetables! It is real important and real healthy to eat lots of fruits and vegetables. Eat a variety of colors. Try something new. I guarantee you will like the results. 3- Remove Dairy! You can get your calcium in other foods. Really! Dairy is highly inflammatory, high in calories, high in bad fats. Remove as much as you can if not all. 4- Eat more Fish! Eating good fish will give your diet more Omega 3 s. These are anti-inflammatory in nature. Eat fish 2 to 3 times a week. Baked or grilled, not fried, would be ideal. 5- Drink LOTS of WATER! Your body needs and will use for your benefit water, not soda. Water and herbal teas are good for you. The rest, not so good. Try to remove the soda s, coffee, alcohol, sweet drinks. Your body will appreciate this greatly. 6- Fiber! Increasing the amount of good fiber in your diet will help your bowels, cholesterol and more. Try some new whole grains, vegetables and fruits. Legumes also are a great source of fiber. 7- Spice up your Food! Many spices have healthy benefits. They also will add much to the taste of your food. Try more garlic, cinnamon, cilantro, ginger, and turmeric. These are just a few of the spices that have health benefits for you. 8- Try new Oils! Extra Virgin Olive oil, Coconut oil, grapeseed oil, flaxseed oil, sunflower oil, butter, canola oil: all of these have a role in your diet and cooking. Avoid vegetable oil and margarine. Learn more about your oils. 9- REMOVE ALL SUGARS! Yes, this means anything with that white stuff in it. No cakes, donuts, soda, cookies, candies, sweet tea, and on, and on, and on. Replace with stevia if you need a sweetner. Baked goods, candy and the such do not need to be in the diet at all. 10- Remove Sugar Substitutes! Splenda, Sweet N Low, Equal, NutraSweet need to go. These are not good for your body. Use stevia or a product with stevia instead for sweetner. J Cedar Creek Pharmacy Wellness Center 4

5 Unified School District 232 By Alvie L. Cater, II Director of Community Relations It is official Mize Elementary wins $50,000 national grant (SHAWNEE, KS) Pepsi made the announcement on Monday, December 19, that Mize Elementary had been approved as a national $50,000 Pepsi Refresh Project Grant Recipient. That official announcement means Mize Elementary can move forward with its plan to purchase interactive whiteboards for 23 classrooms, computer laptops, and interactive classroom response systems. We want to thank our community and the entire school district for getting behind our grant initiative, said Lori Bradley, principal of Mize Elementary. It is refreshing to see a community come together to help us purchase technology tools to enhance the learning of our students. When Pepsi announced it was giving away $50,000 through its Refresh Project Grant Initiative, the teachers at Mize Elementary jumped into action. They developed a plan to purchase technology tools to allow students and staff to learn and connect to the world in new ways. They wanted to inspire learning through interactive technology to provide real-world experiences. They named their project imize and even created a video to help promote the idea. Once Pepsi accepted the Mize Elementary grant proposal, it came down to votes - the grant idea with the most votes would win. The competition included schools from across the country with each school promoting its project to secure online votes. Mize Elementary reached out to the school district community and urged everyone to vote for Mize. Parents, grandparents, relatives, students, teachers and friends began voting November 1 and when the voting stopped thirty days later, Mize had emerged as a top vote-getter. The teachers at Mize Elementary are now working with Pepsi and the school district to begin making the necessary technology purchases to impact student learning as quickly as possible. Thank you to the school district community for helping Mize win the $50,000 national grant. J J CHAMBER AMBASSADORS!! Making Quality Care Convenient It s never a convenient time to be sick, but the DrToday hotline at and walk-in clinics make it easier to get the care you need. Must be willing to: Have Fun!! Think Outside the Box Attend Meetings Participate at Events Contact Sheriff Mike Rogers at or Deputy Sheriff Curtis Arnold at Visit olathehealth.org for more information. Promoting a great group and the satisfaction of a job well done! ~PRICELESS~ 5

6 Chamber Members in the News Chamber Members in the News Chamber Members in the News Wanda s Roadside Café To Open in Downtown De Soto Welcome De Soto s newest business and restaurant, Wanda s Roadside Café! Get ready to enjoy home-cooked food as Wanda s will be open within the next few days. Yummy! Got an Old Computer? Recycle your unused technology with us! Thank You Kaw Prairie Community Church held its annual Nativity Program over the holidays and raised $5,000 for The Barn and Kill Creek Farm. THANK YOU to Kaw Prairie Community Church and everyone that attended! Chamber to Conduct Membership Survey The De Soto Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors is hard at work! Plans are currently underway to gain information from the Chamber membership on how to promote member benefits, gauge involvement and how we can better serve our members. Your input is critical and valued look for the survey soon! Join J-TEK as they come together to help KidsTLC by collecting unused technology to be recycled. All proceeds from the event will benefit KidsTLC. Bring your unused technology to J- TEK at: 8700 Monrovia Street - Lenexa, Kansas (located inside the Commerce Bank Building) Saturday, January 7th, :00am - 12:00pm Visit for more information Library Hours Effective January 1st, the Johnson County Library De Soto Branch will close at 5 p.m. on Wednesday and open at 1 p.m. Thursday. Elegant Treasures & Event Planning Now Open in De Soto Rhonda Kelly has opened her new consignment, arts/ crafts, collectibles and antiques store in De Soto. Elegant Treasures is located next to American Family Insurance on Lexington Avenue. Working on a limited schedule initially, once the consignments are available the store will be open 10 a.m. 6:00 p.m. Tuesday Friday and 10:00 a.m. 4:00 p.m. on Saturday. In addition to antiques and collectibles, Rhonda also provides event planning services for holidays, weddings, birthday and special events. Stop by and welcome Elegant Treasures to De Soto! Sponsored By: today s technology... simplified Recycling Fees & Items Accepted: Desktops & Laptops: $10.00/each Monitors: $15.00/each Inkjet Printer: $8.00/each Laser Printer: $12.00/each Cell Phones/PDAs: $5.00/each ipod/mp3 Players: $5.00/each Additional items will be accepted, please visit the website above for more information 6

7 December Seminars at the Kansas Small Business Development Center Johnson County Community College College Blvd. Overland Park, KS For additional information call the JCCC KSBDC at Kansas Sales and Use Tax Information for Construction Contractors January 10, :00 am 11:30 am CRN Fee: $15 - To Kansas Retail Sales and Compensating Use Tax January 10, :00 pm 5:00 pm CRN Fee: $20 To register call or go to and select Small QuickBooks Pro/Premier Introduction January class is at full capacity. QuickBooks Introduction is offer monthly. The next available class is February 7 & 9, :30 pm 4:30 pm CRN Fee: $189 To register call or go to and select Small Starting a Business: Success Right from the Start January 11, :00 pm 9:30 pm CRN Fee: $30 - To Strategic Business Planning January 12, :00 am 4:00 pm CRN Fee: $155 - To The Road to Success Creating a Marketing Plan January 19, :30 pm 5:30 pm CRN Fee: $25 - To QuickBooks: Intermediate January 24, :00 am 12:00 pm CRN Fee: $79 - To QuickBooks: How to Track Jobs, Time and Mileage January 24, :00 pm 3:00 pm CRN Fee: $59 - To Understanding Your Credit Report January 25, :00 pm 8:00 pm CRN Fee: $10 - To IRS Small Business Tax Workshop January 26, :00 pm 5:00 pm CRN Fee: $35 - To QuickBooks Online January 18 through March 9, 2012 Fee: $139 The JCCC KSBDC partners with Ed2Go to offer the following interactive internet courses: QuickBooks 2009 Introductory Course QuickBooks 2010 Introductory Course QuickBooks 2011 Introductory Course Reforming Payroll in QuickBooks 2009 Reforming Payroll in QuickBooks 2010 Reforming Payroll in QuickBooks 2011 Peachtree Accounting CEO Roundtable- Work on Your Business Not in Your Business January 19 through June 21, sessions meets on the third Thursday of the month - 8:00 am 10:00 am Fee: $300 Call the KSBDC for additional information and an application To learn more about these classes, please go to The JCCC KSBDC is funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration and the Kansas Department of Commerce. Reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities will be made if requested at least two weeks in advance by calling SBA s and KDOC s funding is not an endorsement of any products, opinions, or services. All SBA funded programs are extended to the public on a nondiscriminatory basis..johnson County Community College does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, color, national origin, disability, age, religion, marital status, veteran s status, sexual orientation, or other factors that cannot be lawfully considered in its programs and activities as required by all applicable laws and regulations. Inquiries concerning the college s compliance with its non-discrimination policies may be referred to the Dean of Student Services or Director of Human Resources, Johnson County Community College12345 College Blvd, Overland Park, KS 66210, ; or to Office for Civil Rights, 8930 Ward Parkway, Suite 2037, Kansas City, MO 64114,

8 There will not be a luncheon in January due to the Annual Dinner. De Soto Chamber of Commerce Annual Membership Dinner Saturday, January 21, 2012 Registration 6 p.m. Social Hour 6:30 p.m. Location: De Soto V.F.W W. 83rd St. De Soto, KS Reservations and Prepayment are required. Cost is $35/pp or $315 for a Reserved Table of 10 RSVP to Maureen at or via mbefort@desotoks.org by 1/13/ Chamber January 2012 Calendar Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday De Soto City Council Meeting New Year s Day 7:00 p.m. De Soto City Hall 8 9 USD 232 Board Meeting :00 p.m W. 91st Street Martin Luther King Day De Soto City Council Meeting 7:00 p.m. De Soto City Hall EDC Board of Directors Annual Chamber Dinner De Soto VFW Registration 6 p.m. Social Hour 6:30 p.m. -Prepaid event :15 p.m. FCB Bank Deadline to remit Chamber/EDC Membership Dues Due to the Annual Dinner, there will not be a monthly chamber luncheon in January. The next luncheon will be the State of the City Address on February 9 th. Events listed in BOLD are Chamber events