Positively impact the economic vitality of the Abilene area
Quick Links
Abilene Area Chamber of Commerce
Abilene Reflector Chronicle
Eagle Communications
Calendar of Events
ABILENE'S NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER LUNCHEON
Thu, May 5th @ 11:45 am
Speaker: Gracia Burnham
Sterl Hall, Dickinson County Fairgrounds
Tickets, $8.00 in advance, $9.00 at the door
Tickets available at the Chamber Office, local banks, and Peterson Monuments
ABILENE AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 
MEMBERSHIP
MEETING
Thu, May 5th @ 6:00 pm
Nichols Education Center
Learn & Grow Depot
1103 N. Brady Street
Call the Chamber Office at (785) 263-1770 for information
PURPLE RAIN - PRINCE PARTY
Fri, May 6th @ 8:00 pm
Abilene Elks Lodge, BPOE #1675
417 NW. 4th Street
For more information contact the Elks at (785) 263-1675
Open to the Public
PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES
Sat, May 7th @ 7:00 am - 10:30 pm
Airport Fly-In - 7:00 am - 1:00 pm
Steam Engine at Abilene Smoky Valley Railroad
Classic Car and Motorcycle Show in Old Abilene Town - 10:00 am
Country Music Singer - Brian Nelson - 8:00 pm in Old Abilene Town.
For more information contact the CVB at (785) 263-2231
STEPHENS CHIROPRACTIC
- Chamber After Hours
Thu, May 12th @ 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm
311 N. Cedar Street
Call the Chamber Office at (785) 263-1770 for information.
Positions Available
HOLM AUTOMOTIVE
Automotive Sales Associates
Holm
Automotive Center, Dealer of the Year for 2016, fourth year in a row, continues to grow, we are seeking car enthusiasts interested in a career in the automotive industry.
We offer a refreshing change to the way typical dealers conduct business as we welcome and train Automotive Sales Associates, as well as professional applicants from other industries.
Our workplace culture rewards hard working and dedicated individuals, showcasing positive attitudes and commitment to high level customer satisfaction, with a competitive performance based commission.
If you are an energetic individual, driven to succeed on a personal and professional level, this is the right place for you!
Applicants are encouraged to apply.  Please send your resume to: 
BROWN MEMORIAL FOUNDATION
Cooks

Cooks to share weekend duties. Approximately seven hours per day. Call (785) 263-2351.

Chamber Board of Directors
Kyle Becker, Vice Chairman

Marc Beswick, Past Chairman
 
Todd Moore, Vice Chairman
 
Raelyn Swisher, Secretary
 
Diane Miller, Treasurer
 
Matt Engle
 
Denise Guy
 
Jeff Hoover
 
Joleen Rankin
 
Becky Schwab
 
Jennifer Waite
 
David Walters


Travis Sawyer
     
Michael Player
 
 
May 2, 2016
Rawhide Portable Corral Founder Speaks at Young Professionals' "Lunch and Learn" Session
This past week, Mary McDonald, of Rawhide Portable Corral, provided a "lunch and learn" session hosted by the Young Professionals of Abilene. Mary discussed the challenges her and husband John McDonald had to overcome to start and grow their business. When the company started they manufactured rodeo equipment and decided to name the company "Rawhide" as it was a name fitting of Abilene history and the 1960's television show. The company has grown from less than 10 employees to nearly in the past 10 years.  
 
They attend numerous farm shows and listen to their customers to garner design ideas. Early on John came up with the idea to make a hydraulic portable corral that could be pulled behind a truck at road speed. The design of the corrals has changed several times over the years to enhance the product and stay ahead of the competition. They tried to get patents on the early designs, but due to the difficulty and expense of acquiring a patent, they were unable to secure one. There are competitors who have copied their designs. Rawhide Portable Corral does not have a distributor network. However, they are thriving and have customers in 43 states and interest from other countries.  Many of their customers are repeat clients who want the newest design.
 
The YPA and Abilene Area Chamber of Commerce greatly appreciate Mary's presentation and will be announcing future "lunch and learn" opportunities in the near future.
 
Staff of Rawhide Portable Corral of Abilene Kansas as of 2016
Rawhide Portable Corral Staff

                  

AROUND TOWN

This past Tuesday, The HOPE Center of Abilene hosted a Chamber business after hours in celebration of HOPE Week. Door prizes were won by Barb Klotzbach, Ranae Veal (Farm Bureau Financial), Don Anderson (Storm Rooms of Kansas), and Greg Shepherd. The 50-50 drawing was won by Terresa Weishaar and it was promptly donated to The HOPE House. The cumulative drawing was pulled for Robson Oil, however, a representative of Robson Oil was not present so the drawing amount of $238.00 will be carried over to the next after hours.

The HOPE Center


Andrew Brown
Almost Home Realty would like to welcome Andrew Brown to the team. Andrew was born and raised just north of Abilene. He attended the Chapman Schools and graduated from Chapman High in 2004. Andrew the went on to K-State and KU to pursue a degree in pharmacy. He is currently employed with Patterson Healthcare here in Abilene. Andrew will continue to serve the community as a pharmacist as well as sell real estate. Andrew is familiar with the surrounding area and would love to help you with your next real estate need. Give Andrew a call at 785-280-0465 or email him at
andrew@almosthomerealtyks.com .
 
The City of Abilene's Convention and Visitor's Bureau has recommended that the transient guest tax be raised by 1.5%, from 6.5% to 8% to enhance resources for tourism marketing. The transient guest tax was increased to 6.5% in July of 2012. Neighboring cities have transient guest tax rates as follows: Junction City - 6.0%, Manhattan - 6.0%, and Salina - 6.7%. Cities with a transient guest tax of 8% or above include: Atchison, Derby, Dodge City, Gardner, Kansas City, Leawood, Lenexa, Newton, and Pratt. The City Commission will discuss this proposal at their study session on May 3rd @ 7pm in City Hall. Formal action on the proposal is scheduled for Monday, May 9th @ 4pm in the Public Library.

Kansas Best Real Estate has expanded their office to include the former law office south of their office at 327 N. Broadway Street.

Edward Jones advisor Bryce Koehn has moved to their new location at 518 N. Buckeye Avenue, Suite B.

The next Chamber business after hours will be hosted by Stephens Chiropractic on Thursday, May 12th @ 5:00 pm. Attending business after hours are a great way to discover and visit with the host business and other Chamber members. Business after hours do not have an admission fee and non-Chamber members are welcome to attend.
 
Kyle Adams, General Manager, of CTI - John Deere was the most recent guest on the monthly television show "Abilene Means Business".  Click HERE to watch the show.
 
Kyle Adams CTI - John Deere Abilene Kansas _abilenemeansbusiness
Kyle Adams and James Holland


                        
James' Random Thoughts .........
Paying It Forward Locally
 
In the Charles Dickens classic Great Expectations, an English boy named Pip is accosted by a disheveled and desperate stranger. The stranger asks for some help in traveling and Pip out of his innocent heart with a touch of fear, helps the stranger. Many years later, Pip is given a significant amount of money from an unknown benefactor, who he believes to be a rich spinster that he has visited for many years. However, much to his surprise the benefactor turns out to be the disheveled traveler. The stranger, who was an escaped convict, migrated to the United States and become quiet wealthy through legitimate business. You never know when, where, or how a good deed will be rewarded.
 
Little and large acts of kindness, generosity, and assistance are investments in your community, your neighbor, and your own sense of well being. One of life's maxims that appears to hold true is that, "what goes around comes around". The economics nerd in me calls this the "Law or Reciprocity", however, in modern popular culture this phenomena is expressed by the phrase "Pay it Forward". "Pay it Forward" is a wonderful statement because it is proactive - it instructs you to do something. "Paying if forward" has been depicted in movies, commercial and other media with the intent of motivating people to positive action. Have you paid it forward lately? Have you seen ripple effects of a good deed come back to you?      
 
Donors to The HOPE Center have been paying it forward for 25 years by providing a hand up to our neighbors in crisis. The HOPE Center's mission is "to serve as a clearing house to meet the physical, emotional, financial, and spiritual needs of the people of Dickinson County". For the recipients there are limitations and strings attached. Many recipients are required to learn basic household and money management skills. The HOPE Center is one of several organizations in Dickinson County that do good works. The United Way of Dickinson County recently met with a dozen service organizations and are preparing to allocate financial resources to positive actions. For many of us, it is too time consuming to learn about all of the good works that are out there, so the United Way serves as a vetting board to make sure local contributions are helping local people get a hand up. This is a way to collectively pay it forward.
Regardless of how you pay it forward, just like Pip, your life will be enhanced. You may or may not recognize when it happens.   


 
Abilene Area Chamber of Commerce
201 NW. 2nd Street
Abilene, Kansas  67410
(785) 263-1770