President of Current wows at first BLS
The first Olathe Chamber of Commerce Business Lunch Series event of the year was a huge success. Attendees heard from Allison Howard, President of the Kansas City Current last week at the Ball Conference Center.
The luncheon featured a conversation with the woman behind Kansas City’s professional women’s soccer team. Howard spoke about Kansas City’s commitment to build the first soccer specific stadium in the NWSL and working to create the best environment for players and fans. She also discussed the organization’s vision and continued momentum we’ll see in the coming months, elevating the sport and the entire Kansas City area.
Check out some photos form the event here.
Olathe Chamber Annual Meeting three weeks away
The Olathe Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting is less than three weeks away. Our annual luncheon is set for 11:15 a.m. on Friday, March 3 at the Embassy Suites Hotel and Conference Center.
This is a great chance to network with friends and peers; learn more about some of the individuals and companies that have helped make Olathe what it is today; and help us recognize individuals and businesses for the achievements over the past year. It’s time to celebrate everything that happened in 2022 and look ahead to what will be another great year in Olathe.
This year’s theme is Built for the Future. We’ve been building something pretty special in Olathe for quite a while – 100 years to be exact – and now we’re built for whatever the future holds. Join us to help us kick off our 100th anniversary in style.
The 2023 Annual Meeting title sponsor is Olathe Health. Register today or call 913-764-1050 for more information.
Grab a booth at the Garmin Olathe Marathon expo
The Garmin Olathe Marathon is coming up on April 22. As the big day quickly approaches, the annual Holmes Murphy Garmin Olathe Marathon Packet Pick-up and Expo on April 20-21 is a perfect opportunity to promote your business.
For more information or to inquire about expo sponsorship opportunities, please contact Susie Carson.
This year’s Garmin Olathe Marathon, organized by the Olathe Convention & Visitors Bureau, will start and finish at Garmin International at 151st and Ridgeview.
The April 22 event will feature the largest full-marathon and half-marathon in the state of Kansas, a 10K, the Munchkin Marathon, and the CenterWell Senior Walk. Register here and join in on the fun.
Advertising opportunities available in visitors guides
Advertising sales for the Olathe Convention & Visitors Bureau visitors guide have begun.
More than 10,000 guides are printed and given to sports teams, corporate travelers, conference attendees and leisure travelers. There’s also a digital version of the guide that we share across the area and region.
Our partner, MetroMedia Publishers, will be reaching out to members to offer advertising opportunities in the guide. This is an excellent chance to promote your business and be visible with an engaged audience. For more information on advertising, contact Kathy Moore at MetroMedia Publishers.
There are also opportunities for companies to purchase listings in the 2024 Kansas Tourism Visitors Guide.
Kansas Tourism is the state tourism agency who produced the official state travel guide. Travel Guide listings are available for as low as $80 when reserved before the early bird deadline of February 28. If you have any questions, please contact Allison Calvin with the Olathe Convention & Visitors Bureau. Check out this year’s guide here.
Johnson County small biz grant applications still open
Great news for Johnson County small businesses that took a hit over the past couple of years. The Enterprise Center in Johnson County (ECJC) announced that Johnson County small businesses – including childcare facilities – are able to apply for a Johnson County Small Business Recovery grant here.
The program offers qualified recipients a one-time $20,000 grant to offset revenue losses of 25 percent or more that were incurred from 2019 through 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Read more about this great grant opportunity here.
New Member Orientation
set for next month
Be sure to join us at 11:30 a.m. on Friday, March 10, for our New Member Orientation Luncheon. Whether you’re a new member, a member who has never attended, or have new employees, you and your employees are welcome to attend.
The event begins at 11:30 a.m. and will take place at Olathe Medical Center, Doctor’s Building 2, 20333 W. 151st St., room 315. Please join us to learn how to make the most of your Chamber membership. Register here.
The luncheon is presented by Olathe Health. Please remember that masks are required in all Olathe Health facilities.
FOUNDATION NEWS
Chamber Foundation helps sponsor Skills for Success Workshop
Nearly 100 Olathe School District students from the 21st Century Academies took part in the Skills for Your Success Workshop last week at Kansas State University – Olathe.
Students each attended three different interactive sessions on business etiquette, a 30-second elevator speech and how to succeed in an interview, led by professionals from Garmin, First National Bank and Farmers Insurance. Following those sessions, the students put all that information to use by engaging in mock interviews with representatives from the Olathe business community.
The workshop was funded by a grant from the Olathe Chamber of Commerce Foundation.
Take a look at some photos from the workshop here.
WHAT'S NEW
Explore KC with KC Kid Friendly Trip
The KC Kid Friendly Trip is a free way to explore Kansas City! Download the OtoCast app on your phone and start exploring. Get out and enjoy some stops throughout KC that are for the young (and young at heart). Be sure to stop by Calamity Line Park near K-7 and Santa Fe to check out Olathe’s kid friendly spot on the trip. Earn three badges along the way and be entered to win a $250 prize. Check out more information here.
Regional Special Olympics competition coming to Olathe
Some volunteers are needed for the upcoming Special Olympics Metro Regional Basketball and Cheerleading competition at Olathe West High School and Mission Trail Middle School on Sunday, Feb. 26.
They need plenty of volunteers and we know our awesome Olathe Chamber of Commerce members would love to help. Check here to get more information about or to volunteer for this one-day event that the Olathe Convention & Visitors Bureau helped bring to our community.
CHAMBER CONNECTION
Governor Laura Kelly announced the City of Olathe is among 12 Kansas communities to receive a combined total of $5 million in federal funds through the new Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) Grant Program to produce local transportation safety plans to identify and address transportation safety concerns.
Health Partnership Clinics are now scheduling appointments for their Monday, Feb. 20 mobile mammography event. The Diagnostic Imaging Mobile Mammography coach will be at the Olathe office, 407 S. Clairborne Road, from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Call 913-276-7098 to schedule an appointment.
In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy, the Olathe Public Library is collecting non-perishable food donations for Harvesters Community Food Network. Collection bins will be available at both Olathe library locations through Tuesday, Feb. 14. Visit OlatheLibrary.org for library hours.
Olathe Public Schools has earned national recognition for the quality of school psychological services provided to students. The district’s school psychological services program received the designation of Proficient Status from the National Association of School Psychologists’ Excellence in School Psychological Services Recognition Program.
DID YOU KNOW
Are you too busy to make it to all of our networking events? Make the most of your Olathe Chamber of Commerce membership by engaging with us online through our social media channels. See more here. It’s your membership. Own it.
A LOOK AHEAD
NOTE: You can reach the Olathe community and beyond through the Chamber’s online calendar of events. Members can complete the online form and then submit their events online for approval by staff. If you have multiple day events, a form must be submitted for each day. Listings must meet the established criteria.
Also, if the Olathe School District is closed due to inclement weather, the event will be cancelled.
Feb. 16 – Chamber Coffee at United Consumers Credit Union, 1105 W. Dennis Ave., 9 a.m.
RECENT CHAMBER MEMBERS
COUPONS AND DISCOUNTS
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©2023 Olathe Chamber of Commerce