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Good News Starts Here.
A few good words from the Shawnee Chamber of Commerce
April 2010
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GT 2009. golf tee

Arrange a team of four golfers today to enjoy a fun- filled day of golfing, good food, exciting contests and good company! The Shawnee Chamber of Commerce's 31st Annual Golf Tournament is Monday, May 17, 2010, at the beautiful Lake Quivira Country Club.

Meet and greet with the golfers by becoming a hole sponsor, creating brand awareness for your business. Dress up your hole sponsorship with fun games and memorable marketing!

Mark your calendar to be sure you do not miss an opportunity to build your business network while enjoying the great game of golf! The deadline for registration is Monday, May 3, 2010. Click the golf-tee image to learn of more marketing opportunities and to download a registration form.

Thank you to the presenting sponsor, Deffenbaugh Industries; beverage-cart sponsors, Hy-Vee and Crawford Sales; golf-ball sponsor, Bayer HealthCare LLC, Animal Health Division; hole-in-one sponsor, Shawnee Mission Ford; luncheon sponsor, The Mission Bank; margarita- machine sponsor, Weaver's Auto Center; and reception sponsor, Hereford House in Shawnee.

Tim Harmon, 2010 Chairman
Hope Spring's Eternal.

"Take time to smell the roses." If I have heard this once, I've heard it a thousand times from my mother. She is an optimist and has always been careful to balance work, play and volunteerism. Is it possible to slow down, enjoy nature and God's handiwork?

We are officially in "the season of living outdoors." We are arising earlier and staying up later as we shake off old-man winter and roll into spring. Years ago, we hosted a German, foreign-exchange student. She exclaimed one day, "the sunsets in Kansas are unlike any other I've ever seen!" Have you appreciated one lately?

Enjoying the great outdoors in Shawnee and throughout Johnson County is easily achieved as the weather improves. Some activities that may help us to balance our lives include the following: bike riding or walking along the stream way park trails, fishing/canoeing at Shawnee Mission Lake, spiking the ball at Shawnee Mission Beach Volleyball, participating in Old Shawnee Days Parade/Festival, a round of golf (may I suggest Lake Quivira Country Club; Painted Hills Golf Course; and Shawnee Golf and Country Club), or a pick-up game of "hoops" or kickball at one of the many fine parks managed by the Shawnee Parks and Recreation staff.

Others have found gardening, landscaping and even mowing to be forms of relaxation and exercise. Have you heard the birds chirping lately, the children playing and laughing or the dogs barking cheerfully? What about the "smells" of spring? BBQ grills, fresh-cut grass and fragrant flowers. Have you stopped to smell the roses? Another spring-time event may be to sleep with the windows open or joining your son/daughter or grandchild for a backyard campout in the family tent that was erected while you were away at work.

Would you join me this spring in slowing down long enough to visit with a neighbor, enjoy a lunchtime walk or pondering one of those beautiful, Kansas sunsets? Shawnee has so many outdoor amenities to offer. Let's "stop and smell the roses." It'll enhance the quality of your life. I guarantee it.

Good starts here in the Great Outdoors,

Tim J. Harmon, Chairman
Leeper
What could the 2010 Census mean to your business, your schools, your county, city and community?

In March, the U.S. Census Bureau mailed out 130 million census forms to be completed and mailed back by April 1. Hopefully you have already completed your form and will not need a Census Bureau representative knocking on your door in the next few months.

How are we doing thus far? Click the link below and search for maps to track the National Participation Rate (NPR). As of March 31, the NPR is 52 percent; the state of Kansas is 59 percent, Johnson County is 60 percent and Shawnee, by area, is 60 percent.

What is at stake? There are roughly $447 billion in federal distributions at stake. The results of the decennial headcount will determine future budgets, legislative redistricting and key decisions on highways, schools and health facilities and much more. Actually, 15 percent of the federal budget is allocated using the census. More than 200 programs rely on census-related data to distribute funds. The large majority of programs use census data in the allocation formula. For instance, each state receives funds based on its share of total population, and, for example, the number of poverty kids for school funding. The states actually get more than 80 percent of this money and, overall, 20 percent of state budgets comes from federal grants. Medicaid funding alone accounts for 58 percent of the census-guided funding. For each extra person counted, aid increases from between a few hundred to a few thousand dollars, depending on the state.

The census will have a huge, legislative impact; the results of the 2010 Census will determine how many seats in the House of Representatives each state gets for the 2012 - 2020 elections.

For your business, not only does the census' results help allocate funds, the results also give companies an idea of how consumers have changed in the past decade and helps them forecast some of the ways their audiences will change in the years to come. This will determine your approach to advertising and marketing. It will highlight the shift from an easily defined society to one that is multicultural and even more complex. Understanding the changing demographics should be of great importance to your business. Even though the Census Bureau doesn't disclose the results of the 2010 Census until spring 2011, it is important to prepare for these results with your business plan. Questions you may want to keep in mind would be what is the impact on communication strategies, how to reach new audiences, focusing on the right type of consumers for your product, will social media be a good way to reach new consumers and how to prepare to be proactive about the results.

And, finally, for the City of Shawnee, by having an accurate count, it would enhance the ability to obtain federal funding for ongoing programs -- especially Community Development Block Grants, which fund improvement projects in low-income areas of Shawnee -- assist in making the case for various state and federal grant programs for trails and parks; and ensure Shawnee has the appropriate number of representatives at the state and federal level.
Event Calendar screenshot
If you have enjoyed the convenience of online shopping, then you will appreciate the ability to register and pay for your next, Chamber, Membership Luncheon and other events online. It is easy! You simply need to login so you can register and receive member pricing. Even non-Chamber members can take advantage of online registration and payment - they just need to create an account on the Website. The entire process is simple and secure, and it features several benefits, including the following:

  • Save time. Sign up online when and where it is most convenient for you, in just minutes. You can even have one person at your organization register multiple staff by simply selecting all the appropriate names. If they are in the member database, their name will appear, and you can add names not already displayed.
  • Get reminders. Sign up to receive email alerts of events and download events to your Outlook Calendar.
  • Securely and conveniently pay online. Instead of writing a check or counting cash, you can simply enter your credit-card information online to securely complete your payment transaction in seconds. You can even click a box to save your credit-card information for future transactions. Your credit-card information is securely stored and shows the last four digits of your credit-card number as a payment option.
  • Receive automated confirmation receipt. Once the payment is processed, you will receive a receipt confirming you are signed up for your desired event(s) and your payment has been securely processed and accepted.

So, next time you are checking out the events calendar to see who is speaking at the upcoming luncheon, just go ahead and register. No waiting for the office to be open to call in your RSVP; no need to craft an email to RSVP. Just a few clicks and you are registered. You will know which events accept online registration by the little shopping cart icon next to the event date and description. And, you can still choose to be invoiced at a later date.

What are you waiting for? Register online for the April Membership Luncheon today!
Amos Family Funeral Home
The Chamber is pleased to have Johnson County Manager Hannes Zacharias as the guest speaker at the April Membership Luncheon. The luncheon is Wednesday, April 14, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Shawnee Town Hall, 11600 Johnson Drive. Please RSVP online, to the Chamber office, 913.631.6545, or by email, rsvp@shawneekschamber.com, by Monday, April 12. Thank you!

Thank you to the April Membership Luncheon sponsor, Amos Family Funeral Home!
Brotherhood B&T
Brotherhood Bank and Trust is a rare breed in today's banking world. It offers all the personal and business services of consolidated, nationwide financial institutions, but with a big difference - the personal touch of a locally-owned, neighborhood bank. Its mission is to provide financial solutions and memorable, service experiences, which produce fully banked, lifetime customers.

Thank you for your Platinum Level Investors Guild support and dedication!
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In good business,
Shawnee Chamber of Commerce

phone: 913 | 631 | 6545

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Shawnee Chamber of Commerce | 15100 W. 67th St., Suite 202 | Shawnee | KS | 66217-9344