LARNED — Members and friends of the Larned Area Chamber of Commerce gathered at the Larned Knights of Columbus hall Tuesday night for an annual meeting and awards banquet.  Chamber Director Alex Filbert welcomed attendees, and gave an overview of accomplishments the group since the last annual meeting in June, 2017.  First and foremost, the membership has increased by 18 to a total of 141 members.  One particular success has been the creation of the Pawnee County Young Professionals group, dedicated to promoting the  development, recruitment and retention of young professionals in Pawnee County. The group, consisting mostly of members in their 20s and 30s, seeks to build and strengthen the bond between the business community and young professionals, and help make Pawnee County a great place live, work and play, Filbert said.   

“If you fall in that 40-ish group, we will welcome you if you are excited to get involved and network and help out,” she added.  The group meets for networking opportunities and family friendly events fairly regularly, and recently held its first family-friendly fall festival, with just under 80 people in attendance, Filbert reported. Efforts to promote foot traffic into area businesses have also been tried with some success this year, including an Easter egg hunt, a grill give-away, and coming up, a holiday punch card promotion and a “12 turkeys and hams of Christmas” promotion.   

Chamber committees have also focused on strengthening the bond between the business community a the  city and county governments to find ways to better and promote all the area has to offer, including one major employer, the Larned State Hospital. A social media campaign that has been in the works will be rolled out soon, and Filbert alluded to a sneak-peek event earlier in the month where samples of videos commissioned by the partnership were shown.  

Pawnee County is one of 60 communities across Kansas taking part in the e-community program sponsored by Network Kansas.  E-communities have the power to issue small-business loans locally to entrepreneurs for start-up and expansion of businesses. The Larned e-community awarded its first loan this year, Filbert said.  Educational opportunities have been offered to high school students and to those with dreams of starting up their own businesses in the county, and more are planned for 2019, she said, including the Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge. In January, Larned will partner with Stafford County to present an eight-week program called Start-Up Central Kansas, fashioned after the popular Icehouse program for buiding an entrepreneurial mind-set.  

Other educational offerings coming up in the next few weeks include website marketing and development class at the end of November, and in the works of bringing in a Quickbooks class, a social media marketing class, and others for those who aren’t as tech savvy as they would like.  

“We’ve been a little busy,” Filbert said. “2018 has been a very successful year.” 

After a brief business meeting led by chamber member Brian Carlton, Filbert announced nominees for awards in six categories.  

Businesses with more than 20 employees were included in the Large Business of the Year Award category.  Nominees were Eakin Enterprises, Dillons, Ft. Larned USD 495, and University of Kansas Health Systems Pawnee Valley Campus, with Eakin Enterprises announced the winner.  

For companies with fewer than 20 employees, there is the Small Business of the Year Award.  Nominees included Chromotize, Country Seasons Flower Shop, Dress it Up and My Favorite Furnishings. Chromotize was announced the winner, but owners Zack Hampton and Marty Mead were not on hand to accept the award because, according to Lessard, they were at a trade show to help better their business.  

The Larned Chamber Ambassadors group won the Non-Profit or Civic Group of the Year Award.  Nominees were First Southern Baptist Church, Larned Chamber Ambassadors, Larned Civic Pride, and Pawnee Valley Community Hospital Foundation and United Methodist Women. 

Ted Van Horn was awarded the Volunteer of the Year Award.  Other nominees were Bill Fairchild, Chaz Beckwith and Janet Fleske, all members who have gone above and beyond to assist with events, committees and programs, Lessard said.  

The final two awards recognized leadership.  There was the Emerging Leader of the Year award, given to a “passionate individual who leads a movement or union of people and can include lifestyle, business environment, a steering committee or just a group of individuals, Lessard said.  The nominees, all members age 39 or younger, were Brian Carlton, Bethany Steinlogge, Chris Froechner, and Zack Hampton. Brian Carlton was named the 2018 Emerging Leader of the Year. 

“Thank you, I can’t do this alone, this is a ship and I’m just the captain,” he said. “Thank you for all you do.”

The Empowering Leader of the Year embodies all the same qualities, Filbert said, but is 40 years old or older.  Nominees were Bob Rein, Jim White, Dr. Mike Burdett, Ryan Webster. The winner, Webster, was visibly surprised. 

“I love Larned,” he said. “We’ve been here over 15 years, and this is our home.  Thank you for this honor.”