Hays Chamber continues work to serve area businesses

On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Chamber president and CEO Sarah Wasinger discusses how the Chamber works to serve area businesses.

Transcript:

EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.

 

James Bell 

The Hays Chamber continues to be a champion for area businesses, President and CEO Sarah Wasinger stops by to share some of the details of benefits of membership on this episode of the Post Podcast.

 

Sarah Wasinger 

Very often we talk about the different activities or events that we have going on. There's always a ton of those, there's always a ton of those Exactly. But kind of getting back to the meat and potatoes of what we as a chamber do to support our businesses and nonprofit organizations. Because I know we talk a lot about, it's not just businesses that can benefit but our nonprofits to have a lot to gain from being a vested member in our chamber. So one of the big things, obviously, that we've been talking about this last year has been the chamber blue of Kansas Association health plan. And so our Chamber members that are at the connector level or higher, actually have the ability to access that plan. A little bit later, we'll talk about one of our newer chamber member levels for childcare providers, they actually can access that plan too. So that's kind of kind of be a new benefit that we're going to be able to give to our childcare providers that might be listening. Oh, very cool. Yes. One of the other things that we talked about so much her businesses is workforce, and that job attraction is just really challenging and competitive right now. And so a back end, the end of June this year, we actually added the ability for businesses that are Chamber members to post their weekend job positions on our chambers website. So they can actually log into their account, copy and paste, whatever job posting, they already have available. It's not really recreating the wheel, if they're advertising that job in other places, why not do it on the Chamber's website, too. And we know that there's a lot of folks when they're considering moving to Hayes and Ellis County, that their first stop is actually our chamber website. And so if we had those jobs available on the website, that might be a good place for people to have additional visibility.

 

James Bell 

Yeah, and I would think anybody right now looking for help, probably any little bit of assistance they can get is much appreciated.

 

Sarah Wasinger 

Absolutely. And you can be as thorough with those job postings as you want to be or as minimal. You know, if you want to get your benefits package and things of that nature in there, you can also select a date range for when you want that job to be open. And then if for any reason, you get very lucky and you find that perfect person sooner than later, we can manually take down the job listing. So it's not being advertised past. It's needed a timeline. Very cool, very cool. One of the things that we also talk about on a regular basis is our hot deals. And so this is something the end of the year that we're always reminding our members, you know, make sure you use up those benefits that are a part of your membership package before you lose them by the end of the year. And so hot deals are a way for businesses to upload different savings or maybe tickets for an event that they're trying to sell. Or maybe just a new product or service that they're trying to get off the ground and running, all those different types of things. Maybe you're a nonprofit, and you're just looking to have board members, and you want that extra place to advertise that you're seeking board members, it doesn't necessarily have to be something that you're selling, it could just be another advertising tool, essentially, that you're already paying for within your membership. And if you look at his chamber.com, and then you look at the top right hand side of the page, there's going to be a hot deals logo. And so you literally just click on that, and you'll be able to access all of the hot deals that we currently have for our members.

 

James Bell 

Very cool. I like going in there and I was clicking while you were talking. I didn't get there fast enough to see what you have out there. Because I always like to go and see because there's always some really cool stuff going on there. And oh, yeah, I don't want to I don't want to spoil it. But I wish it's mentioned this the like, pays Public Library wine and cheese fundraiser. We were just talking about this a little bit earlier. Yes, that's on there.

 

Sarah Wasinger 

Absolutely. So it's like I said, it's a great way to just kind of talk about events, sell tickets, and things of that nature. Another thing that we'd love to do, and we talked a little bit about this a few weeks ago was our Community Guide. And so that is a piece that we utilize as a Chamber of Commerce to really market Hayes. We worked very closely with our Hayes Convention and Visitor's Bureau to put that piece together every year, we only feature Chamber members. That's a very big important thing for folks to remember. Because we'll actually have some people call and say, Hey, we want to be in the Cirrus Community Guide. Well, let's talk membership. First, we want to feature as many businesses as possible. But really at the end of the day, we are funded by our membership dues and non dues revenue. So that is why we solely focus on, you know, connecting our Chamber members to our community.

 

James Bell 

Yeah, absolutely. I'm sure you would do it for free, if you could, but that's just not realistic.

 

Sarah Wasinger 

It's not realistic. That's right. So we we in general love and want to support the entire business community. But at the end of the day, you have to take care of the hand that feeds you. And so that's kind of how we reserve that right for that.

 

James Bell 

Absolutely. And, you know, speaking of that, yeah, I think a lot of times those Chamber members, they can kind of help each other out but just because of the commute already kind of sense of it all.

 

Sarah Wasinger 

Yes, that's one thing that we actually talked about at the office that we've really been seeing a lot of lately, James is, you know, when we have members that are hosting a chamber chat or ribbon cutting, we are finding out that they're utilizing other Chamber members, when they're, you know, scheduling people to help, you know, have their food and beverages ready for their events and things like that. And we love that. It's really just a cross support of those who are, you know, there to invest their time with one another. So, speaking of events, that's obviously another huge benefit for our members, is our chamber will come in into whether it'd be a chamber chat, or ribbon cutting a groundbreaking for a new project, perhaps you are just needing to, you know, talk about an anniversary that you're celebrating and things of that nature, we want to come in and celebrate those big, special events with you as a chamber. Obviously, our group of ambassadors is a group of 50 men and women who it's their job to come to those events, and to learn about the products and services, or just in general more about what that business has to offer our community. And then they become the word of mouth advertising arm as well as our staff. And because they've gone to that event, they've learned about what your business can do. And they'll start being that referral system for you in the community. And there's nothing more powerful than that. And really, at the end of the day, some of our events and just getting more intimate with our members, by understanding everything that they have to offer, that's one of the largest benefits of membership is because we've now connected you to the rest of the business community that kind of is buying into and believing in the fact that we are stronger when we work together.

 

James Bell 

Absolutely. You know, we talk about all day tech, get social media and all that kind of stuff interjecting into our lives. But a lot of times that old school, just kind of classic networking, that the big shaken palms, and having the face to face time really is what matters to

 

Sarah Wasinger 

folks, really, it is so important. And, you know, I still think that we value the old way of doing things here in Ellis County. And like you said, just breaking bread with people, you know, spending intentional time with folks. There's nothing better than that. And quite frankly, it's probably the most rewarding part of our jobs is because we get to then celebrate the successes of our members and what's going on in our community.

 

James Bell 

Very cool. To me, like going on in the community, you guys are always I see out and about, or almost every meeting, there's somebody there, it's usually you. But yeah, like sitting meetings, county meetings, you guys are also dialed in to all of those kinds of happenings as well.

 

Sarah Wasinger 

Absolutely. So from an advocacy standpoint, you know, we talked about the things that happen in the background that maybe aren't quite as visible. And so us attending those meetings just really makes sure that we as an organization are plugged into the different projects and things going on. And so you know, for our members that do construction or things like that, you know, that gives us the option to say, Hey, have you seen the project that's going on here? Do you know that there's a bid going on over on this side of things. So again, just making sure that our government entities, they do a really good job, I believe, for the most part in choosing local contractors and things like that, to so long as they're available to do the work. I know that they were very cognizant about keeping our money local. So we very much appreciate and value that as well.

 

James Bell 

Very cool. You know, there are some, also some tangible, I think financial benefits to being a chamber member, especially when you talk about some of the events that you guys do down there.

 

Sarah Wasinger 

Yes, so we do offer discounts to several of our members for some of our kind of professional development programming. Um, so obviously, we partner very well with our Fort Hays State University Management Development Center. And so you can get a 15% discount by doing the programs through them. And there are a few throughout the year that that does not apply to you. But in general, you can get a discount, or bulk mail stamp for people who still want to do a traditional mail service for advertising or marketing. And sometimes that can be enough to pay for the membership itself. And if you're just even doing one mailing

 

James Bell 

mailing gets ridiculously expensive, if you're a business owner out there, and you've never had to bike mail, things like the bill just it just you just watch it rack up, it's ding ding, ding, ding, ding. Oh, my goodness, one, how much am I spending on shipping out things?

 

Sarah Wasinger 

Come see us. Dale Carnegie's another one of those great, you know, partnerships that we have our members receive a 15% discount for that. And then even Eagle meds flight service for if you need to be airlifted. You know, if the end for seeable should happen. You know, that's a good discount that you can access to so just a lot of different things that you can take advantage of. And we have discounts on the Community Guide, you know, that we were talking about, depending on the different level of membership that you have to

 

James Bell 

Yeah, very cool. Very cool. Well, we got just a few minutes left and I want to hear more about this thing we talked about we stopped if I can get it out. The thing we started this segment with Yes. I want to hear more. You wanna hear more? I want to hear more about the gosh, now I've drawn a blank on the name of it is hoping you'd have it The membership packet. Yes, yes, the membership.

 

Sarah Wasinger 

So the membership packet can currently be found on the Hayes chamber website. And you'll see it broken down into two different ways. We have a packet that describes and outlines our current levels for 2022. And then we also have a packet for 2023. So if you're maybe planning on membership for next year, but don't really know where to start, I would just encourage folks to go look at that membership packet there, the childcare level of membership is what you will see that's new. And then we have that community level that are new. And we really wanted to do a benefit that was good for our providers. And so we want to elevate how they're seen across the community, and really bring them into the business community as well. So that's kind of why our board has approved a special level for them. And that gives them unique benefits. And then our community level, should you not be a business per se, but you're just out there and you want to support what the chamber has going on. There's a level there for you too. And that gets you communication from the form of our weekly news blasts, as well as hard newsletter, and just in general, any text notifications or things that go out for events and stuff like that. So it's a great way to stay involved and still support the things we have going on.

 

James Bell 

Very cool. Very cool. And you mentioned the events, we got to talk about this. You've got a good number of them going on again this week, right? We do

 

Sarah Wasinger  

so our hy IPS will have an opportunity to learn about how to do grocery planning, reducing waste and saving money at their x y p event today. And that'll be at 4:30pm at the Hayes Public Library. And Natalie Clemmer on one of our committee chairs is going to be hosting that. And then we also have today, or excuse me Thursday, I think I had a typo there. We're going to be celebrating a another groundbreaking at the Ark Park with the Wonder Woman link. They have a new security project that they're going to be unveiling that day. So very excited. Please come out for that. It's a wonderful park. And this project is going to make sure that it's accessible for folks for years to come. Love that.

 

James Bell 

Yeah, well, if you haven't, if you just haven't been down there yet, go by and check it out. Even if you don't, you know, get out and get into the splashpad. It's really cool just to see the work they did down there.

 

Sarah Wasinger 

It's an amazing opportunity to enjoy our community that much more, that's for sure. And then Thursday as well. We have our H yp Third Thursday social that will be held at the Paisley pear, wine bar bistro and market that starts at 515. And then we finished the week off Friday with our chamber chat with DSN Wk is custom creations. And then at noon, we'll have our ambassador lunch at the Rose Garden banquet home catering on Friday. Very cool,

 

James Bell 

very cool. I love the DSW case custom creations. I've been in there a few times. And I'm always so excited to see the products but then I want to spend more money than I actually should. Well, I

 

Sarah Wasinger 

think the thing that's unique about them is every piece is original, it celebrates a good cause and it gives a different population the chance to hone in on some of their skills that they've got tapped away. So what's better? It's just lets us see something different every time