December
17, 2007
ABCDE
– Better Together
Greetings!
This
is the ninety fifth edition of the Monday Messenger. Its
purpose is to bring you current information about the ABCDE
project and area. ABCDE consists of local residents from
Atlanta
, Burden,
Cambridge
, Dexter and
Eastern
Cowley
County
working together for community development. If you have
anything to submit for the newsletter, please send it to shannonthom@hotmail.com.
AGRITOURISM:
Your Next Cash Crop?
Call
it what you want – agritourism, ecotourism, or nature-based
tourism. Travelers
from all over the
United States
and the world are coming to the Flint Hills of
Kansas
. And, they are
willing to pay handsomely for authentic rural experiences and the
related dining, lodging, shopping and entertainment.
Flint
Hills visitors are looking for such things as farm and ranch
vacations, riding a combine cutting wheat, or sitting atop a horse
while a rancher moves cattle.
They are looking for vineyards and wineries, farm fresh
eggs for breakfast, bird watching at a Country Inn, hiking, biking
and riding trails. They
are looking for opportunities to hunt, fish, camp or just sit
around a campfire and stargaze while someone tells stories of the
history, culture and traditions of the area.
Our tourists are seeking high quality art, music, foods,
clothing and other products representative of the Flint Hills.
To
learn more about Agritourism and how it might work for you, there
will be two informational meetings in our area.
The first will be in
Emporia
on January 9, 2008 at the American Legion, 2921 W. 12th,
from 6:15 pm until 8:30 pm and the second will be in Council Grove
on January 10, 2008 at the United Methodist Church Fellowship
Hall,
21 N. Mission Street
, from 1:15 pm until 3:30 p.m.
Who
should attend these meetings?
Farmers, Ranchers and anyone interested in starting or
expanding a business in which rural tourism would be an important
source of income. Each
meeting has three parts. First,
Abby Cash, Director of Oklahoma Agritourism, will give an
excellent illustrated presentation about the characteristics of
the clientele, the kinds of experiences and products they want,
and how to get started in your business.
Second, a panel of Kansas Agritourism providers will
describe their businesses and answer questions from the audience.
Finally, an upcoming business development class will be
explained. The class
will consist of five consecutive Wednesday class sessions that
will begin in late January and end in February.
These classes will be offered at
Flint
Hills
Technical
College
and will be co-sponsored by the Flints Hills Resource Conservation
and Development Council and the
Kansas
Small
Business
Development
Center
at
Emporia
State
University
. The weekly sessions
will feature an easy-to-use workbook in which participants can
take their business ideas “From Dreams to Reality.”
For
more information on the meetings in
Emporia
and Council Grove call Jan Jantzen or Bruce Wells at The Flint
Hills Resource Conservation and Development Council, 620-340-0113,
ext. 9 or The Kansas Small Business Development Center at
Emporia
State
University
at 620-341-5308.
Greetings
from
Kansas Main Street
!!
We
have an exciting opportunity coming January 30th
, 2008 –
Kansas
Main Street is hosting Jon
Schallert presenting the
Kansas
Destination Creation Workshop. Brochures
with registration information will be mailed in December 2007.
Please note – there is no fee for those attending from a
designated
Kansas Main Street
community! Kansas Downtown Development Association partner
communities may send up to four people at no cost as a benefit of
their KDDA membership. All others will be charged
$75.00/person.
QUAD
Update
The
QUAD Annual Meeting will be held March 1st in
Atlanta
.
Cowley
County
is responsible for coordinating the meeting. “Do you know
Jack?” QUAD T-shirts are available for the cost of $15.00.
Please contact Donna Martin to obtain a shirt. The
next meeting will be in January 10th at 5:00 pm at the
Yates
Center
fire department.
ABCDE
Elections
The
annual business meeting of the ABCDE organization will be held on
January 7th in
Cambridge
. The nominating committee will present a slate of board
members for the organization to consider. A board meeting
will be held following the business meeting in order to elect new
officers for the year.
Do
you have an idea for a business?
Jack
has assisted many businesses in
Eastern
Cowley
County
since ABCDE joined QUAD.
Business
owners and those with business ideas in
Eastern
Cowley
County
have access to a Professional Business Coach. His name is
Jack Newcomb and he is available for free, confidential advice and
he will even come to you. Through the ABCDE program, we have
joined the QUAD EF project and have access to their business
coach. Many local banks, businesses and Cowley First
assisted to pay the QUAD membership fee through December of 2008.
For more information contact Jack at (620) 249-2108.
ABCDE
Website
Don’t
forget to visit www.cowleynet.com
for information about the ABCDE project.
Upcoming
Activities/Events
January
7 ABCDE Meeting,
Cambridge
January
10
QUAD Meeting,
Yates
Center
To
submit information for the newsletter, send an e-mail to Shannon
Thom Martin at shannonthom@hotmail.com.