Our board of directors leads our organization. The board of directors works along with Emporia Main Staff to engage and grow our membership, steer our overall vision, and forge partnerships with other community organizations.
Our organizational initiatives create a strong foundation for a sustainable growth of Emporia's downtown commercial district. In addition, organizational initiatives with our city and county partners benefit the entire area.
Organizational Initiatives
Community Initiated Development
In partnership with the City of Emporia, this project is for the community to proactively identify and initiate redevelopment.
Membership
Emporia Main Street was founded to serve the business needs of our members. Our board of directors works to grow our membership by ensuring that our programs provide educational, financial, and promotional value to our members.
Vision 2030
A strategic vision for the next decade, led by input from the community and our members.
Homegrown Capital Campaign
Our capital campaign raises funds to grow local business and employment in Emporia, by fostering entrepreneurship. The campaign has funded the new Emporia Main Street facility at 727 Commercial, which includes a business incubator space.
Other Organization Projects
Want to be a part of an active organization who gets things done?
Emporia Main Street makes visible and measurable impacts to help our community prosper.
Board of directors
Jeremy Johns – President
Radius Brewing Company
Aaron Sewell – Vice President
EK Real Estate
Mark McAnarney – Treasurer
City of Emporia
Tracy Weltha – Secretary
IM Design Group
Cory Falldine
Emporia State University
Eric Porter
ESB Financial
Staci Hamman
Coffelt Sign Company
Caron Daugherty
Flint Hills Technical College
Sally Sanchez
Hispanics of Today and Tomorrow
Aaron Otto
Brown's Shoe Fit
Jim Lauer
Town Royal
Organization Articles
Public feedback on where we are, and how we can move forward.
Every six to eight weeks Emporia Main Street has released a consumer preferences survey. These surveys are an important data collection tool that allows us to communicate the wants and needs of the local consuming public to businesses. The sixth iteration of the survey is particularly insightful, because it is the first version of the…
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What Is Going On With Minimum Wage?
Legislation under consideration is generating A LOT of questions Whenever legislation that impacts businesses is considered on the federal or state level, businesses have questions. Has the legislation passed? When will it be implemented? How much will this cost me? How will this impact my customers? Minimum wage increases can impact businesses in a number…
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So, What’s the Plan? Second & Third Quarter Planning is an Uncertain Time.
The calls, emails, and social media notifications are already coming in. “What are events going to look like this year?” “When can my business open up at full capacity?” “When are customers going to ‘return to normal’?” Because our crystal ball hasn’t been working at optimum capacity for quite some time, we can only tell you…
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2021 Assistance Goals: Pushing Forward Through the Pandemic.
At the beginning of January, we published a brief look back at 2020 as a way to capture work done and close the book on a difficult year. Emporia Main Street is generally known more for looking forward than looking back, and it’s important to highlight our expectations for the year: We need to continue…
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New resources come online to support businesses repairing buildings, or evolving through the pandemic.
Emporia Main Street is always on the lookout for new funding opportunities to assist local businesses. There are three programs that we are going to highlight in this e-news.The Kansas Rural Preservation Grant- The Kansas Historical Society through the State Office of Historic Preservation (SHIPO) applied for and received funding for a Rural Preservation Grant.…
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Do You Want To Get More Involved?
Did your New Year’s resolution include getting more involved in your community? Here are some simple ways you can utilize Emporia Main Street to start volunteering: Projects-Emporia Main Street always has projects that need volunteers. In the immediate future we have Christmas lights that need removed from downtown lamp posts, and if you are good…
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