hays chamber of commerce
hays chamber of commerce
Thursday Mar 09, 2023
Preparations underway for Hays Chamber’s annual Golf Tournament
Thursday Mar 09, 2023
Thursday Mar 09, 2023
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Chamber President and CEO Sarah Wasinger and Nex-Tech Wireless Brand Manager Tasha Eichman discuss the Chamber's upcoming Golf Tournament fundraiser.
Monday Feb 27, 2023
Monday Feb 27, 2023
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Chamber president and CEO Sarah Wasinger shares updates from the Ellis County child care taskforce.
Monday Feb 20, 2023
Hays Chamber’s Stepping Out day set for March 9
Monday Feb 20, 2023
Monday Feb 20, 2023
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Chamber vice president of membership Rhonda Meyerhoff and Homestead of Hays director Kathy Deines share information about the 2023 Chamber's Stepping Out event.
Tuesday Feb 14, 2023
Hays Chamber shares information about recent community projects
Tuesday Feb 14, 2023
Tuesday Feb 14, 2023
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Chamber president and CEO Sarah Wasinger along with vice president of membership Rhonda Meyerhoff share information about recent community activities and projects.
Thursday Feb 09, 2023
Hays Chamber celebrates annual banquet award winners
Thursday Feb 09, 2023
Thursday Feb 09, 2023
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Chamber president and CEO Sarah Wasinger and vice president of membership Rhonda Meyerhoff share information about the 2023 awards banquet.
Monday Jan 30, 2023
Hays Chamber’s Legislative Coffee series returns for 2023
Monday Jan 30, 2023
Monday Jan 30, 2023
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Chamber president and CEO Sarah Wasinger shares details from the upcoming Legislative Coffee series.
Monday Jan 16, 2023
Hays Young Professionals work to strengthen area business community
Monday Jan 16, 2023
Monday Jan 16, 2023
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Chamber vice president of Marketing and Communications, Mariah Legleiter discusses the Hays Young Professionals organization.
Friday Jan 13, 2023
Hays Chamber annual awards banquet set for Jan.31
Friday Jan 13, 2023
Friday Jan 13, 2023
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Chamber president and CEO Sarah Wasinger and vice president of membership Rhonda Meyerhoff share details from the upcoming Chamber Awards banquet.
Sunday Dec 25, 2022
Ellis Co. leadership program returns with new direction, name
Sunday Dec 25, 2022
Sunday Dec 25, 2022
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Chamber president and CEO Sarah Wasinger and Laurie Kennedy stop by to discuss rebranded Ellis Co. leadership program.
Tuesday Dec 13, 2022
Tuesday Dec 13, 2022
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Chamber president and CEO Sarah Wasinger and vice president of membership Rhonda Meyerhoff share the importance of shopping local during the holiday season.
Monday Nov 28, 2022
Help available for those dealing with the ’Holiday Blues’
Monday Nov 28, 2022
Monday Nov 28, 2022
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Chamber president and CEO Sarah Wasinger, and Kaley Conner, Manager, Outreach, Education and Marketing at High Plains Mental Health Center discuss mental health during the holiday season.
Wednesday Nov 23, 2022
Christmas season kicks off in Hays with tree lightings and more
Wednesday Nov 23, 2022
Wednesday Nov 23, 2022
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Chamber president and CEO Sarah Wasinger and Tree Top Security owner, Dallas Haselhorst share information about the upcoming Downtown Hays Tree Lighting and Hometown Holiday event.
Saturday Nov 12, 2022
Hays community guide production underway
Saturday Nov 12, 2022
Saturday Nov 12, 2022
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Chamber president and CEO Sarah Wasinger along with vice president of Marketing and Communications Mariah Legleighter share information about the Chamber's Community Guides.
Monday Nov 07, 2022
Hays Young Professionals to share holiday cheer with card decorating even
Monday Nov 07, 2022
Monday Nov 07, 2022
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Chamber president and CEO Sarah Wasinger shares information about the upcoming Holiday Cher Community Card Decorating Event.
Tuesday Oct 18, 2022
Preparations underway for Hays Chamber Ag Appreciation dinner
Tuesday Oct 18, 2022
Tuesday Oct 18, 2022
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Chamber president and CEO Sarah Wasinger and administrative assistant Crystal Young share information about the Ag Appreciation Dinner.
Tuesday Oct 04, 2022
Hays Chamber restarts referral program
Tuesday Oct 04, 2022
Tuesday Oct 04, 2022
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Chamber vice president of membership Rhonda Meyerhoff and vice president of marketing and communication Mariah Legleiter stop by to share information about the relaunched Chamber referral program.
Transcript:
EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
James Bell
The Hays chamber has relaunched their referral program Vice President of Marketing and Communications Mariah Legleiter along with Vice President of membership, Rhonda Meyerhoff stopped by to share the details on this episode of the Post Podcast.
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
Some might have heard, we just finished up the coupon book in print.
Mariah Legleiter
Yeah, hopefully in the next few hours. Actually.
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
Yeah, out in October, later this month. This is October, isn't it?
James Bell
Yeah. We're just getting into it. It's the fourth. I had to look, I had to look, I don't know,
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
I missed the changing the month.
James Bell
How involved you guys were the calendar change? You didn't even know it. Sarah, you're working them too hard. Oh, my goodness. That's gonna be so exciting. Because there's, I don't, you know, as somebody that works in publishing, and now it's digital publishing, so it's a little different. But there's nothing I don't think more exciting than when you hand off something like that to the printer. And you're waiting for it to come back. Because you know, there's gonna be a mistake. There's always a mistake. Yeah. And you're gonna see it. As soon as you pick it up. You're like, dang it. There's my mistake. But then you're also going to be like, Look at what I did. Yeah. Look how cool this is.
Mariah Legleiter
Yeah, I think that was my first my first experience without the Community Guide last year was yeah, it was an amazing feeling. Yeah.
James Bell
About turning, turning an idea into a real physical object. Yeah. You just, I mean, you can do stuff online all day. And it feels good. That's great. But getting that thing in your Yes,
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
yes. Yes. i My first mistake was revealed on my first project back in 1981. And it had gone through several edit things. And like you said, opened up the box, and there was the word that was misspelled. So yeah, I just know that now. I'm not perfect. Try as hard as I made to make everything right. But I think this coupon book may be a first extent. Well, your guide was good. So yeah, I think it'll be great. So we're excited. Yeah. Yeah. And, you know, these are some of the reasons to why our members are really proud, James, to belong to the the chamber and be a member of the chamber for these different various opportunities. Because in in our book, if they were not a chamber member, then then they weren't allowed. Yeah, yeah. And, and many of them, they're, they're really so happy about their chamber membership, that they end up talking to other businesses about it, and that it's an opportunity to for them to gain much by by joining the chamber, so we decided that we wanted to revitalize the referral program. Very cool. Yeah.
James Bell
Who doesn't love a referral program? That is like the most effective marketing you can really have? I think,
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
I think so too, is word of mouth. Yeah. Yeah. We know that. That's great. So yeah, if the the business analysts say, what's a business that's not in town, let's let's go CQRS talks to U V. W. And you see, W decides to that they want to join the chamber, and we know that QRS talk to him, then, yeah, there's some referral money in there. And it used to be that that was going didn't have quite the same as a reward as what it is now that we're going to give it's $25 and chamber checks. I realized $25 isn't going to make you rich, but who doesn't like some acknowledgement for their efforts? Yeah. And just the fun of receiving something that maybe you weren't planning on meeting your budget? You know, gosh, we have we have some people that I would anticipate are probably worth quite a bit. And they get tickled pink over a $25. Yeah, chamber check. Yeah. So it's, it's a good way for us to, to acknowledge that our members are doing that, you know, we want them to know, we're paying attention and, and show our appreciation for what they're doing. That all helps the chamber to grow. And also, it's paying them I guess, for some extra work that they're doing or maybe sometimes it was an uncomfortable conversation that they had. That's right. Yeah. So yeah, we're getting bring back that referral program. And, you know, James, there's lots of reasons for people to be happy with a chamber. You know, one of so many times when people think of the chamber they think of all the events that We do. And yes, those of yours
James Bell
do a lot of
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
yes, we do. Yes, we did
James Bell
talk about some of those here in a little bit. Yeah.
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
And so that then other businesses will say that they can't go to all those events. So there's no reason for him to belong to the chamber, which is nothing really farther from reality. When you stop and look it, let's just take childcare task force of Ellis County, for example. You know, even though I may not have children that need daycare, if I'm running a business, and I find out that there's going to be more people working through a childcare effort promoted by the chamber, that means more expendable income. And they just might spend money at my store my business. And so it, it's kind of a revolving circle with that. So that advocacy that we're out there, we're doing, we'll go on to Ellis County Commissioner meetings, the city of Hays meetings, school board, the single board meetings, helping Ellis now what we did here in Hays to help advocate for a school bond chatting with Victoria on different things that we might be able to help them with as well. There's a lot of advocating going on. And that's the number one reason why chambers were actually formed was for them to get together as a pool and to advocate for causes that were going to help their businesses. So that's huge. Yeah, that that visibility, then that you get with those free benefits, inviting people to chamber chats, or to the ribbon cuttings, or the groundbreakings or the catching ups, I most always tell our businesses that are going to schedule one of those, please invite the individuals that you want to make sure that are here, you might have some customers that are not directly related to the chamber, that if those are people that you would like to have, send them an invitation column, let them know that you'd love to have them there. Because that celebration, although it's a chamber celebration, it's also the business member celebration. And so it's fun for them to have the people in their lives that were important in making their business what, what it is? Sure. So lots of reasons. Gosh, what's another one where I look here? We
Mariah Legleiter
have a lot of development opportunities, too. So there's there's tons of learning opportunities where you can get a competitive edge over non members with exclusive training opportunities on all kinds of hot topics. I mean, we have one coming up, but Mike Hankey seminar that we have that we've kind of partnered with the I'm going to get that wrong western Kansas Human Resource Management Association, I think. Right. Yeah, it's something that we we kind of approached them about and
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
it was actually Heartland credit. Oh, okay. Yeah, we found out about Mike Hankey through that. Okay, yes. And they said, This is somebody that you need to bring to town. And he's going to talk about setting yourself apart in the job market as an employer that's trying to hire people. So
James Bell
talking about an important skill right now. Yeah. Oh, my God. Absolutely.
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
So at the Chamber, we're not just sitting around talking about it. We're actually trying to do things to help our businesses with those different aspects, you know, so he'll do a seminar on Thursday, the 27th. And we'll talk about that probably more with another segment. And then on the 28th, he's going to, he's going to talk to our members at the luncheon about, you got to know how are you going to keep them? You know, that that whole piece, and they're both very, very important pieces, you know, I'm of the firm belief. I'm 63. James, and I'm so proud to say that, that in my career, there's a lot of things I've learned that I think I can always learn more, or sometimes you'd go to those events, and it gives you more energy, again, to go back and, and do or you forgot about something you were doing it worked really well. So maybe this can help you to remember what those things were. And so I think everyone can benefit from from this education experience. And yeah, we have other places where MDC through Fort Hays, there's a special discount on training, if you're a chamber member for any of their training. And so yeah, different opportunities like that.
James Bell
Even here on the morning show yesterday, we were speaking with a couple of the leadership Hayes class guys, they're doing the Green Ribbon haze, which I thought was such a cool program and they mentioned this is a chamber this come out of the chamber. Yes.
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
Isn't that a great program that they're done? Anyone, man? Is it? Is it going to end up being a podcast or anything?
James Bell
If it is? Yeah, you'll see it on post here. Probably next couple days.
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
Oh, that's great. I would really encourage your listeners to go and see what they're trying to do. And I think it can help make a difference for things. So to schools. Yeah. And so it is great. And that, yes, like you said, that came out of the chamber. And then we go ahead. Oh,
Mariah Legleiter
I was, you know, something fun that I didn't realize until, you know, working at the Chamber is that we found a statistic from American business magazine that says 63% of consumers are more likely to buy products and services from companies that are members of a local chamber, I think is a super strong and important number. I mean, that just shows you know, the the trust and the the relationship that you can build with the consumers, just by being a member of the chamber by being a member of the chamber.
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
Yes, absolutely. So yeah. And then you did you talked about that credit, credibility, yeah, members, perks and those learning opportunities, you know, and those connections, we do have opportunities for you to build really strong connections, absolutely. Through those events, that's one of the main things that those events can help you to is for you to build connections, you may have the opportunity to talk with someone that you couldn't get in front of otherwise. And so now, it's just really, really strong.
James Bell
Yeah, you know, I remember from my time in the business world, one of the things that was a huge lesson for me, was learning how many people didn't know what was going on in our businesses, like if we were we'd have a special and we would think that we were saturating, we'd be sending out coupons and doing door knockers, and we thought everybody would know, and then come to find out later, we do surveys, and it'd be like 10% a percent, you can always get that word out there. And again, that word of mouth is so valuable to spread whatever message it is whether you know, it's new specials, or new products, or sales, new opening, whatever it is,
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
on the mouth, and even our newsletters. Members are welcome to put inserts in our newsletters, business connection section is for businesses that have something special going on and anniversary or, you know, some news that they would put in and so, yeah, lots and lots of opportunities to get your name out. Oh my gosh, our team members, actually once a quarter can email all the other chamber members just gets their name out in front of them. And, you know, over 400
James Bell
of them, right, a high, close to 500. justifies
Mariah Legleiter
the 500 real valuable.
James Bell
Oh, my hands on that list. What are we gonna do? We're gonna sign up, right? Well, yeah, contact
Rhonda.
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
Yes, absolutely. So, um, I was gonna go somewhere, and it's gone. I guess. That's part of being sick. I know what it was. When I graduated in 1981. James, it took seven touches. So a mailer, a radio, AD, a T TV, whatever, it took seven touches for an individual to even consider doing business with your company. That's for them just to consider. That's not saying they will. That's for them to consider. And that number is now 12. Whoa, yeah,
James Bell
I thought I'd go down.
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
Look at look at all that's out there. Yeah. That's trying to get people's attention. Suppose
James Bell
that's true. Yeah. We've always got some chirping or beeping at us emails pop in and all kinds of crazy.
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
Absolutely. And it's good to have a spread of all those mediums. So yeah, we're just one other opportunity for your business to get their name out there.
James Bell
Love it. Well, guys, before we run out of time, we better talk about the weekly events because I'm sure you guys have some going on. There's always some going on down chamber.
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
Absolutely, absolutely. This is you know, low week
Mariah Legleiter
we were used to,
James Bell
it'll be like, Oh, I can see there's like a 404 thing. Yeah,
Mariah Legleiter
it is kind of you know, we were joking earlier about being so busy. We are so busy today that we actually have something going on right now. So we have a catching up event with the USD 489 Foundation for Educational Excellence is going on right now at the Rockwell Administration Center. And then on the fifth, just tomorrow, we have the Hayes young professionals is having a lunch with leaders at noon at Paisley, pear wine bar bistro and market. On the sixth. We are having Earth H yp is having their network and Engagement Committee meeting at 1205 at the Welcome Center. And then on Friday, we'll wrap things up with our chamber chat with options downtown at Union Pacific Park. And now it'll be at 9am on Friday.
Tuesday Sep 27, 2022
KS-111th District election debate set for Oct.12
Tuesday Sep 27, 2022
Tuesday Sep 27, 2022
On this episode of the Post Podcast Hays Chamber president and CEO Sarah Wasinger and Fort Hays State University Tiger Media Network director Nick Schwein discuss the upcoming KS-111th District election debate between Republican incumbent Barbara Wasinger and Democrat challenger Ed Hammond.
Wednesday Sep 21, 2022
Planning underway for annual Chamber award banquet
Wednesday Sep 21, 2022
Wednesday Sep 21, 2022
Planning is underway for the Hays Chamber's next awards banquet vice president of membership. Rhonda Meyerhoff and Vice President of Marketing and Communications Mariah Legleiter stop by to share all the details on this episode of the Post Podcast.
Transcript:
EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
James Bell
Planning is underway for the Hays Chamber's next awards banquet vice president of membership. Rhonda Meyerhoff and Vice President of Marketing and Communications, Mariah Legleiter stopp by to share all the details on this episode of the Post Podcast.
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
we decided we would really give one to give more time to our our businesses that do the engraving on the award. So they didn't have last minute, we wanted to be able to give enough time to the committee that that picks from all the nominations to place them. And so we decided it was just be better to, to put that out in October instead of November. So it Yeah, yeah. It'll be in the in the October newsletter, if somebody wants that sooner. Absolutely.
James Bell
Okay. Well, let's talk some details like any Well, first off, I know we've gone to all the awards that we've done, and you've got this really cool list, right handed it to me as we got started, I don't know who I'm showing this to I'm showing it to the world out the window, I guess. But it's all the previous award winners, going back to the original award winners that looks like on some of these way back into the 80s, which is so cool. But anything new or different in that regard. Coming up on this one?
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
Well, the awards are the same as they were last year that we did start a couple of new awards last year. And that would have been the Grow Hayes proper e Schmidt Entrepreneur of the Year award. So Doug Williams at grow Hayes and Gary Sherman, with the Robert E. And Pat Schmidt Foundation, decided to come up with this one. So, you know, we've got a lot of really amazing entrepreneurs in our community, truly, you know, and in sometimes seminars, I suppose I did was start a new business will have a digital, is that a franchise? Did you form it after somebody else know that what that's an entrepreneur, and we have a lot of those in town just really good. And so they decided that they wanted to recognize someone who was an entrepreneur. And so yeah, somebody who's demonstrated, you know, that ability to create and, and grow their business over the last year. And, you know, and then there's always efforts that go in to make it a better value for our community. And we have some amazing things that happen in our community. And it's so fun to be able to recognize those. And then Mariah, we added another one typically,
Mariah Legleiter
we added the worst Wealth Management member investor of the Year award. We really wanted to well worth wells wanted to partner with us and come up with an award that really showcased one of our member investors that that adds a lot to the community. And that gives back to our chamber. I think I think it was a great idea. It went over really, really well. We were happy to have Hays med win that last year. I'm looking forward to the nominees for this year.
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
Absolutely. Absolutely. You know, and it's not all about financial giving. James, you know, we have a board of directors that's volunteer ambassadors are volunteers, and they're pulled out of their workplace all throughout the day. I mean, we try not to have more than three events that they're pulled out.
James Bell
Just imagine they're trying to work and your call would like no time to go. See him so much out in the community. Yeah, great. Yeah. And yeah, and it does, it takes more than just their effort, it's their employers to that allows them to do that.
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
Well, and their co workers sure picking up the slack while they're gone. You know, and we try to be really respectful of that. But you know, without those volunteers, and our H yp is a great group. They have some things during the day, usually at noon, or after hours. But you know, all of those things are really helping the chamber in immense ways. And then obviously financial, we appreciate that as well. But there's a lot that goes into that member of the Year award.
James Bell
Yeah, like that. Let's start getting some more of these. Are you a winner? No, maybe we will just go through it before we talk about the submission process and how that all
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
works. Oh, okay. Yeah,
Mariah Legleiter
so we have the city of Hays Small Business Achievement Award. The I smile Vision Plus dental Helping Hands award, the golden belt bank Hall of Fame Award. The grow Hayes, Robert E. Schmidt, Entrepreneur of the Year Award, the next Tech Citizen of the Year Award, the next Tech wireless Business Woman of the Year Award, five broadband Rising Star Award and of course, the worst well worth Wealth Management member investor of the Year award.
James Bell
So really kind of covers the gamut Yes. To me, yes. In the business world. Yeah.
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
Yeah, those new rising individuals that are showing a lot of promise for the future of our community. You know, gosh, those small businesses,
Mariah Legleiter
the seasoned people that have been giving to the community for years, we have the Hall of Fame Award like, yeah, there's a little bit for everybody. I mean, anybody that that gives back, I mean, there's a way to give back to them.
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
And I'll tell you, the really fun part is now being on this side when you know, yes, who's the winner? And
Mariah Legleiter
conspiring to get them there?
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
Yeah, because we don't want them to know. Sure. Oh, yeah. There's some fibs that are told in order to get somebody there. We just think it's all one off, off, okay. Because it's, it's for the award winner to get them there. But, and then we had their family hide in a room in the back. So they don't see their family there. Because that would give something away.
Mariah Legleiter
It's a it's an elaborate setup.
James Bell
The real reason why you had to push it back, you guys didn't do more time to get get
Mariah Legleiter
that actually, yeah, that actually was a discussion we had was to figure out how to get them there. We need just a little bit more time to figure that out. So
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
although we know the more people that know what's going on, then, you know, yeah, the cat can be led out of the bag. Our families are always so excited to I, I remember last year GT Park, her husband was back in the waiting room and, and waiting for it to be her turn. And she was so amazed when she went up to win her award. She just couldn't believe first of all, that she was worthy of winning the award, which is so humbling to me. And then she sees she goes, Oh my gosh, and my husband's here, too. It's just it's so off the cuff. It's so fun. And it's Yeah. And the people are so honored by it. So yeah. Love it.
James Bell
Well, let's talk about how to get to get these people honored. How do you get as people signed up? Or do you sign up yourself? Well, you could because I could make I could sign myself up right now. put my name down here.
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
You can you could James
James Bell
actually wrote my name down like, like,
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
yeah, there's more than just writing the name on a piece of paper. Sorry, you're gonna have to get another one. Okay. Yeah, we actually have the forms that Mariah has created for us. Live, as I mentioned earlier, there'll be in the October newsletter.
James Bell
So old school, handwritten form?
Mariah Legleiter
Yes. Okay. It'll be on our website starting October 1. And it will also like she said, it'll be in our October newsletter, which is also available on our website. And which is Hayes chamber.com. For those that don't know. And it has just a short description of each award. And then at the bottom, you fill out name, address, like contact information for the person you're nominating what award you're nominating them for. And then you just write a short paragraph on why you think they deserved the award. And then that all goes to our nomination committee, and then they take it from there.
James Bell
Very cool. Easy peasy. Yeah,
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
you don't change that might be part of what you've never won, because it's a short paragraph. And people would write pages about you.
James Bell
I'm sure they would. And this guy got let me tell you about this guy. All day long.
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
So if individuals can't find it, for some reason, please call our chamber 705 or 78562. Ad 201. I almost gave her my personal number. Anyway, or you could call me there too. And I would still get the for sure. You betcha. So um, yeah, they can call us and we'll give them the the form that way as well.
James Bell
Very cool. And what's the deadline? Again, if they want to get him signed up? November 30.
Mariah Legleiter
October,
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
October 30. Yeah. October 31. November 30. was last year. Yep.
Mariah Legleiter
So October 31. is the deadline for nominations.
James Bell
Okay, so get about six weeks. Yep. Don't wait, but get it in. Yep. Put together a little time
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
habit. But for now, you can be thinking of those Absolutely. Like, yeah, our past award winners on the website, right. Yeah,
Mariah Legleiter
no, but I think we discussed that at one point. So that might be something we can talk about.
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
Yeah. We're in the middle of trying to do some different updates to the website. So very cool. In between events and Facebook Lives. Benson. Yeah.
James Bell
I understand. It's hard to get to those projects. You want to do it. It's always like, Oh, I'll do it tomorrow. I'll do it tomorrow. And then it just never gets.
Mariah Legleiter
tomorrow never comes. Yeah, exactly. Exactly.
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
I don't think there's anything more fun than to have a member come into the office, or the opportunity for us to go out and celebrate and showcase a member. Yeah, that's that's the The ultimate joy that we have.
James Bell
Absolutely. And I imagine like yeah, if you have to choose between going to the celebration or setting and working on a website, I know what I would pick website all day long. No.
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
They don't want me on the website.
James Bell
Strictly Mariah.
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
Yeah, yeah, that's good. Very cool.
James Bell
Well, before we run out of time, guys, we better talk about I know you've got some weekly events coming. Yeah,
Mariah Legleiter
we do as always, super busy week ahead of us. Today at noon at the venue at thirsties brew pub and grill at 2704 Vine Street we have the H yp connection lunch. Also today at 330 at the Welcome Center, we will have our monthly chamber board meeting. Um, let's see we also have a groundbreaking at the Ark Park for the leadership Hays class of 2020. One's storytime project that they're working on. And that's at 11am at the Ark Park. And then on the 22nd we have a ribbon cutting for the western Kansas Therapy Associates. They are wanting to they have updated their business name and want to celebrate that so that'll be at 11am 208 East Eighth Street Suite D in the James building. September 22. There's also an H yp lunch with leaders with Lavon geese of DSN Wk M that will be at noon at Paisley pear at 1100 Main Street and then we will wrap up our week with our chamber chat. Oh, we don't have a chamber chat. Do we
James Bell
know no chamber channels faded.
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
Yes. That just happened. Yes.
James Bell
News. No chamber chat this week. It has been or stay smooth. Stay tuned.
Mariah Legleiter
For more information.
Rhonda Meyerhoff, vice president of membership
Yeah, because I think we were trying to build that with one we are in so watch your email from it.
Mariah Legleiter
Yep. And social media will hop it out there.
Thursday Sep 15, 2022
Hays Chamber continues work to serve area businesses
Thursday Sep 15, 2022
Thursday Sep 15, 2022
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Chamber president and CEO Sarah Wasinger discusses how the Chamber works to serve area businesses.
Transcript:
EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
James Bell
The Hays Chamber continues to be a champion for area businesses, President and CEO Sarah Wasinger stops by to share some of the details of benefits of membership on this episode of the Post Podcast.
Sarah Wasinger
Very often we talk about the different activities or events that we have going on. There's always a ton of those, there's always a ton of those Exactly. But kind of getting back to the meat and potatoes of what we as a chamber do to support our businesses and nonprofit organizations. Because I know we talk a lot about, it's not just businesses that can benefit but our nonprofits to have a lot to gain from being a vested member in our chamber. So one of the big things, obviously, that we've been talking about this last year has been the chamber blue of Kansas Association health plan. And so our Chamber members that are at the connector level or higher, actually have the ability to access that plan. A little bit later, we'll talk about one of our newer chamber member levels for childcare providers, they actually can access that plan too. So that's kind of kind of be a new benefit that we're going to be able to give to our childcare providers that might be listening. Oh, very cool. Yes. One of the other things that we talked about so much her businesses is workforce, and that job attraction is just really challenging and competitive right now. And so a back end, the end of June this year, we actually added the ability for businesses that are Chamber members to post their weekend job positions on our chambers website. So they can actually log into their account, copy and paste, whatever job posting, they already have available. It's not really recreating the wheel, if they're advertising that job in other places, why not do it on the Chamber's website, too. And we know that there's a lot of folks when they're considering moving to Hayes and Ellis County, that their first stop is actually our chamber website. And so if we had those jobs available on the website, that might be a good place for people to have additional visibility.
James Bell
Yeah, and I would think anybody right now looking for help, probably any little bit of assistance they can get is much appreciated.
Sarah Wasinger
Absolutely. And you can be as thorough with those job postings as you want to be or as minimal. You know, if you want to get your benefits package and things of that nature in there, you can also select a date range for when you want that job to be open. And then if for any reason, you get very lucky and you find that perfect person sooner than later, we can manually take down the job listing. So it's not being advertised past. It's needed a timeline. Very cool, very cool. One of the things that we also talk about on a regular basis is our hot deals. And so this is something the end of the year that we're always reminding our members, you know, make sure you use up those benefits that are a part of your membership package before you lose them by the end of the year. And so hot deals are a way for businesses to upload different savings or maybe tickets for an event that they're trying to sell. Or maybe just a new product or service that they're trying to get off the ground and running, all those different types of things. Maybe you're a nonprofit, and you're just looking to have board members, and you want that extra place to advertise that you're seeking board members, it doesn't necessarily have to be something that you're selling, it could just be another advertising tool, essentially, that you're already paying for within your membership. And if you look at his chamber.com, and then you look at the top right hand side of the page, there's going to be a hot deals logo. And so you literally just click on that, and you'll be able to access all of the hot deals that we currently have for our members.
James Bell
Very cool. I like going in there and I was clicking while you were talking. I didn't get there fast enough to see what you have out there. Because I always like to go and see because there's always some really cool stuff going on there. And oh, yeah, I don't want to I don't want to spoil it. But I wish it's mentioned this the like, pays Public Library wine and cheese fundraiser. We were just talking about this a little bit earlier. Yes, that's on there.
Sarah Wasinger
Absolutely. So it's like I said, it's a great way to just kind of talk about events, sell tickets, and things of that nature. Another thing that we'd love to do, and we talked a little bit about this a few weeks ago was our Community Guide. And so that is a piece that we utilize as a Chamber of Commerce to really market Hayes. We worked very closely with our Hayes Convention and Visitor's Bureau to put that piece together every year, we only feature Chamber members. That's a very big important thing for folks to remember. Because we'll actually have some people call and say, Hey, we want to be in the Cirrus Community Guide. Well, let's talk membership. First, we want to feature as many businesses as possible. But really at the end of the day, we are funded by our membership dues and non dues revenue. So that is why we solely focus on, you know, connecting our Chamber members to our community.
James Bell
Yeah, absolutely. I'm sure you would do it for free, if you could, but that's just not realistic.
Sarah Wasinger
It's not realistic. That's right. So we we in general love and want to support the entire business community. But at the end of the day, you have to take care of the hand that feeds you. And so that's kind of how we reserve that right for that.
James Bell
Absolutely. And, you know, speaking of that, yeah, I think a lot of times those Chamber members, they can kind of help each other out but just because of the commute already kind of sense of it all.
Sarah Wasinger
Yes, that's one thing that we actually talked about at the office that we've really been seeing a lot of lately, James is, you know, when we have members that are hosting a chamber chat or ribbon cutting, we are finding out that they're utilizing other Chamber members, when they're, you know, scheduling people to help, you know, have their food and beverages ready for their events and things like that. And we love that. It's really just a cross support of those who are, you know, there to invest their time with one another. So, speaking of events, that's obviously another huge benefit for our members, is our chamber will come in into whether it'd be a chamber chat, or ribbon cutting a groundbreaking for a new project, perhaps you are just needing to, you know, talk about an anniversary that you're celebrating and things of that nature, we want to come in and celebrate those big, special events with you as a chamber. Obviously, our group of ambassadors is a group of 50 men and women who it's their job to come to those events, and to learn about the products and services, or just in general more about what that business has to offer our community. And then they become the word of mouth advertising arm as well as our staff. And because they've gone to that event, they've learned about what your business can do. And they'll start being that referral system for you in the community. And there's nothing more powerful than that. And really, at the end of the day, some of our events and just getting more intimate with our members, by understanding everything that they have to offer, that's one of the largest benefits of membership is because we've now connected you to the rest of the business community that kind of is buying into and believing in the fact that we are stronger when we work together.
James Bell
Absolutely. You know, we talk about all day tech, get social media and all that kind of stuff interjecting into our lives. But a lot of times that old school, just kind of classic networking, that the big shaken palms, and having the face to face time really is what matters to
Sarah Wasinger
folks, really, it is so important. And, you know, I still think that we value the old way of doing things here in Ellis County. And like you said, just breaking bread with people, you know, spending intentional time with folks. There's nothing better than that. And quite frankly, it's probably the most rewarding part of our jobs is because we get to then celebrate the successes of our members and what's going on in our community.
James Bell
Very cool. To me, like going on in the community, you guys are always I see out and about, or almost every meeting, there's somebody there, it's usually you. But yeah, like sitting meetings, county meetings, you guys are also dialed in to all of those kinds of happenings as well.
Sarah Wasinger
Absolutely. So from an advocacy standpoint, you know, we talked about the things that happen in the background that maybe aren't quite as visible. And so us attending those meetings just really makes sure that we as an organization are plugged into the different projects and things going on. And so you know, for our members that do construction or things like that, you know, that gives us the option to say, Hey, have you seen the project that's going on here? Do you know that there's a bid going on over on this side of things. So again, just making sure that our government entities, they do a really good job, I believe, for the most part in choosing local contractors and things like that, to so long as they're available to do the work. I know that they were very cognizant about keeping our money local. So we very much appreciate and value that as well.
James Bell
Very cool. You know, there are some, also some tangible, I think financial benefits to being a chamber member, especially when you talk about some of the events that you guys do down there.
Sarah Wasinger
Yes, so we do offer discounts to several of our members for some of our kind of professional development programming. Um, so obviously, we partner very well with our Fort Hays State University Management Development Center. And so you can get a 15% discount by doing the programs through them. And there are a few throughout the year that that does not apply to you. But in general, you can get a discount, or bulk mail stamp for people who still want to do a traditional mail service for advertising or marketing. And sometimes that can be enough to pay for the membership itself. And if you're just even doing one mailing
James Bell
mailing gets ridiculously expensive, if you're a business owner out there, and you've never had to bike mail, things like the bill just it just you just watch it rack up, it's ding ding, ding, ding, ding. Oh, my goodness, one, how much am I spending on shipping out things?
Sarah Wasinger
Come see us. Dale Carnegie's another one of those great, you know, partnerships that we have our members receive a 15% discount for that. And then even Eagle meds flight service for if you need to be airlifted. You know, if the end for seeable should happen. You know, that's a good discount that you can access to so just a lot of different things that you can take advantage of. And we have discounts on the Community Guide, you know, that we were talking about, depending on the different level of membership that you have to
James Bell
Yeah, very cool. Very cool. Well, we got just a few minutes left and I want to hear more about this thing we talked about we stopped if I can get it out. The thing we started this segment with Yes. I want to hear more. You wanna hear more? I want to hear more about the gosh, now I've drawn a blank on the name of it is hoping you'd have it The membership packet. Yes, yes, the membership.
Sarah Wasinger
So the membership packet can currently be found on the Hayes chamber website. And you'll see it broken down into two different ways. We have a packet that describes and outlines our current levels for 2022. And then we also have a packet for 2023. So if you're maybe planning on membership for next year, but don't really know where to start, I would just encourage folks to go look at that membership packet there, the childcare level of membership is what you will see that's new. And then we have that community level that are new. And we really wanted to do a benefit that was good for our providers. And so we want to elevate how they're seen across the community, and really bring them into the business community as well. So that's kind of why our board has approved a special level for them. And that gives them unique benefits. And then our community level, should you not be a business per se, but you're just out there and you want to support what the chamber has going on. There's a level there for you too. And that gets you communication from the form of our weekly news blasts, as well as hard newsletter, and just in general, any text notifications or things that go out for events and stuff like that. So it's a great way to stay involved and still support the things we have going on.
James Bell
Very cool. Very cool. And you mentioned the events, we got to talk about this. You've got a good number of them going on again this week, right? We do
Sarah Wasinger
so our hy IPS will have an opportunity to learn about how to do grocery planning, reducing waste and saving money at their x y p event today. And that'll be at 4:30pm at the Hayes Public Library. And Natalie Clemmer on one of our committee chairs is going to be hosting that. And then we also have today, or excuse me Thursday, I think I had a typo there. We're going to be celebrating a another groundbreaking at the Ark Park with the Wonder Woman link. They have a new security project that they're going to be unveiling that day. So very excited. Please come out for that. It's a wonderful park. And this project is going to make sure that it's accessible for folks for years to come. Love that.
James Bell
Yeah, well, if you haven't, if you just haven't been down there yet, go by and check it out. Even if you don't, you know, get out and get into the splashpad. It's really cool just to see the work they did down there.
Sarah Wasinger
It's an amazing opportunity to enjoy our community that much more, that's for sure. And then Thursday as well. We have our H yp Third Thursday social that will be held at the Paisley pear, wine bar bistro and market that starts at 515. And then we finished the week off Friday with our chamber chat with DSN Wk is custom creations. And then at noon, we'll have our ambassador lunch at the Rose Garden banquet home catering on Friday. Very cool,
James Bell
very cool. I love the DSW case custom creations. I've been in there a few times. And I'm always so excited to see the products but then I want to spend more money than I actually should. Well, I
Sarah Wasinger
think the thing that's unique about them is every piece is original, it celebrates a good cause and it gives a different population the chance to hone in on some of their skills that they've got tapped away. So what's better? It's just lets us see something different every time
Thursday Aug 25, 2022
Senior group living influences area economy
Thursday Aug 25, 2022
Thursday Aug 25, 2022
On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Chamber president and CEO Sarah Wasinger along with Brookdale Senior Living Sales Manager Brandon Taylor discuss the impact and availability of retirement communities.
Transcript:
EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.
James Bell
Senior Living Centers can play an important part in the area economy. From the Hays Chamber president and CEO Sarah Wasinger along with Brandon Taylor from Brookdale Senior Living stopped by to talk to us about that on this episode of the Post Podcast.
Brandon Taylor
The common misconception I hear around town is that all this livings in Hays are full, which is not the case at Brookdale Hayes. We do have openings for apartments for seniors here in Hays and I wanted to come on the air today, and especially highlight that.
Sarah Wasinger
So talk a little bit maybe about the types of people that you serve. And maybe some of the services that are offered that maybe are kind of special for Brookdale.
Brandon Taylor
Absolutely. So we we care for a wide variety of residents at Brookdale either some that we provide very little cares for all the way up to some that that we provide a lot of cares for as well. And so whether that be maybe helping with bathing, dressing, and helping the restroom, and we also do housekeeping and laundry, as well, and also med management form, too.
Sarah Wasinger
So you guys have some, and I always get the terminology. Incorrect. So what medical staff do you have on hand to help your residents?
Brandon Taylor
Absolutely. So we have two full time nurses that are always on call at our community, as well as our certified nursing assistants and our certified med aides as well that are always on each shift.
James Bell
Very good, you know, what I like about places like this, it's the escalating, you know, services that are available, but also the camaraderie, you know, you go into a facility like this one. And then people, you know, they're separated from their families to some degree, but they kind of build their own family. And they, you know, they get to know each other. And it's such a kind of neat experience to see that interaction, I think,
Brandon Taylor
yeah, absolutely. I'd say we all are a family, I'd say we're small enough to we only have about 33 rooms in our community. So we all get to know the residents very well. And just again, like you said, that camaraderie that you know, what's going on in their life, and they know what's going on in my life, as well as other staff members lives. Like for instance, I just got married. So they all were really excited to see my ring when I came back after the honeymoon. So things like that, make it really make it special.
Sarah Wasinger
So speaking of honeymoons and weddings, you guys actually have a couple of married residents there. Is that right?
Brandon Taylor
Absolutely. We do have we're going to are we actually have a couple moving in this Friday, actually. So we'll have five couples living with us at our community.
James Bell
Wow, that's amazing. I imagine that's a probably a much preferred living situation for those seniors than having to do this one thing.
Brandon Taylor
Yeah, absolutely. And, you know, especially now we can help them cook, we can help them do those things, they can still maintain their level of independence. And you know, we are in assisted living and we know not as skilled nursing facilities. So many get us confused with that, or nursing home. But what's nice at Brookdale is that they can age in place there as well. And so they can have physical therapy come in hospice commands, you know, depending on that level of care that they need. Very cool.
Sarah Wasinger
So you guys have a so beautiful kitchen area. And in a nice dining room. You have a very wonderful chef on hand today. You want to talk a little bit maybe about the meals and the food services that you guys have her residence.
Yeah, absolutely. So we do provide three meals a day with snacks in between as well. And we have an awesome Cook, Pam Burghardt, who used to own the rose garden here in Hays, so she really spoils up with us with her good food. I know I had some of her cake yesterday, actually, that was really, really good. And, and if there's something that a resident doesn't like that's on the menu, we can be have a standard side menu as well that we can make them you know, for lunch or dinner. So whatever they want to eat. So
James Bell
very cool. You know, Brandon, I'm curious if someone out there is listening, and maybe they're on the, they've been kind of thinking about doing a facility like yours, what do they need to know to take that first step to kind of explore that option.
So I would say come for a tour like so they can come see our place, I can show them the different rooms, they can meet the staff at our community and see if it's a good fit for them. Except the best way to get a hold of us is either calling your main number at 785-628-1111 and asking for myself, Brandon, and I love to talk with them more about their situation, um, just kind of depends on their, their, their financial situation as well. We are capped on how many Medicaid beds we have as well. So I have to take that into consideration. But for the most part, we're all private pay, there are other benefits so they can tap into such as if they're a veteran, they have benefits they can use for that or if they have a long term care policy as well, they can definitely start looking into that as well. And that's what I love to do is help these families through that process, um, to get them to become residents at our community.
Sarah Wasinger
Now you have an activity person. Do you want to talk a bit on the activities that you offer? There?
Yeah. Absolutely. So Lisa Olson is our activities director and she does an amazing job with our residents. They do a wide variety of activities, such as bingo crafts, they have an exercise class. And they do it for an outings as well. So they go out and do coffee, they go out to eat. I know this month, they're going to Dairy Queen. So I might tag along with them on that as well. They go to different stores, they go to Hobby Lobby, in different area attractions as well. I know they went to Wilson Lake, they go to all the Go overdrive by all the historic Catholic churches here in Ellis County, too. So just a lot of fun activities. But if there's something that they enjoy doing or enjoy doing, they should always incorporate that into what they do as well. They're
James Bell
very cool. Yeah, no, and not to put it in kind of a bad way. But I would think that the size you guys be in a smaller finding kind of facility helps facilitate some of that personalized, you know, meal service and activities where if you were in a much larger facility, it kind of just be go with the flow and do it do what's going on?
Yeah, absolutely. There are lots larger book deals across the country, you know, some that have hundreds and hundreds of rooms. And that's what I think is the most unique about us here in Hayes's week. So we're small enough that we get to know everyone, and that's what I feel like, it's so special about it.
Sarah Wasinger
And the nice thing is, too, is you know, if you have a family that wants to take the resident out for an event, or just supper or something like that nature to they've got flexibility to do that. So there's still a nice balance of having care at the assisted living facility, but also still having that quality of life with your family, too.
Yeah, absolutely. We do have a son that comes in and eats with his mom every day, so And even after hours, too, we have Hill members come in. And we also have residents that still drive to like said you can park your car, you know, at our community as well. So we do have several residents that take advantage of that.
James Bell
I love that. And you know, I hear this quite a bit and especially with senior women, that, you know, they're in that family home, they're in that home, that's, you know, five bedroom, six bedroom, and you know, it's not the right size for that stage of life. And I love that places like this kind of provide an option where they can, they can remain independent, but I have the services thereof when they need it. But also help them right size that home, which is great, as Sarah is we know, great for Ellis County to help get some families into those homes that they are looking for, you know, that maybe are on the market otherwise,
Sarah Wasinger
absolutely. Sometimes it's just too much of a burden to take care of a house that big, especially if you're by yourself. So this is a wonderful option. And I can attest to the fact that every single person had a big smile on their face when we were there at our chamber chat. And so the environment is definitely family friendly. It's warming it. It feels I'm very inviting. And I think any family would be pleased to kind of learn about the experience that they could have there. But definitely reach out to Brandon and give them a shout and see if that could be a good fit for your family if you're looking for that care.
James Bell
Yeah, very good. We got to talk about the weekly events but Brandon, do you want to share the contact information one more time somebody's listening and wants to wants to give you a shout. Yeah, absolutely.
So they can get the community to direct call. The number is 785-628-1111 or they can call my business cell directly at 785-554-2849. Very cool.
James Bell
All right, Sarah, what do we got going on down the chamber? I know you got a lot going on. I don't have the list this week. But I'm sure there's a lot of stuff there always is.
Sarah Wasinger
Well, I didn't want to run out of ink. So ribbon cutting today at clink scales elder law practice pa they are celebrating their new location. So come join us at 1407 Main Street at 3pm are hazy and professionals will have their MDC meeting on August 24 at 4:30pm at defiance Brewing Company's downtown location. Our chamber chat this week will be at Hayes Public Library at 9am at 12 five main street, and we are excited to wrap up the week with our membership lunch. It will be sponsored by you guys actually Eagle radio. And the topic is going to be the United Way of Ellis County kickoff. We love that partnership and know how much that means to you guys. So Erica Burgess, the executive director will be talking about how folks can get involved in supporting that campaign for this year. And I know that we have weekly events usually but because we don't meet with you until next week, Tuesday, a couple of events early on next week that we want folks to have on their radars. Our child care taskforce of Ellis County will meet next week, Monday evening at 5:30pm at the Welcome Center. If folks have not been a part of that group, and they want to be a part of that group. We are an open door we want people to get involved in that project. So please feel free to call me at the Chamber office at 785-628-8201 If you want to get added to that contact list and be invited to attend meetings. And outside of that our 34th annual education appreciation is next week Tuesday. So we are turning in RSVPs today, if for any reason educators out there in Ellis County did not give their RSVP to their administrator for their school. Please reach out to us we can make sure we have enough one they're fulfilled to serve everything and that'll be at Roseburg catering