Organization

Bringing people together to work toward the same goals

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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

Strategy
Operations
Fundraising
Partnership building

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

Adjusting Headings

By Casey Woods | April 18, 2019

In the Main Street world, there is a concept called “entrepreneurial friction” (some refer to it as entrepreneurial density).  Essentially, when entrepreneurs are in close proximity and can communicate with common purpose, good things can happen.  Cross promotions occur, new products are born, and some proto-entrepreneurs have some “mojo” rub off on them, inspiring the…

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Volunteerism

By Casey Woods | June 28, 2018

Volunteering simply requires ideas, passion, and a belief in something larger than yourself. Emporia Main Street, like many organizations, is highly dependent on volunteers to achieve success. We have an endless list of projects and a small staff, so volunteers are a must. Volunteering has many benefits for the people giving their time or talent.…

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Year in Review 2017

By Casey Woods | December 26, 2017

Each year we take one e-news and dedicate it towards looking back over the previous year. We don’t want to linger in the past, but we do want to recognize what occurred as we continue to push forward. A lot was accomplished in 2017, and we anticipate a lot of excitement for new initiatives next…

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A New “First”

By Casey Woods | December 5, 2017

The Emporia Main Street staff, and select volunteers, travel to the National Main Street conference every year. The conference covers trends and techniques that are critical for achieving community and business success. On March 26th through March 28th of this year, the National Main Street Conference will be held in Kansas City, MO. The close…

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The Homegrown Initiative

By Casey Woods | November 17, 2017

Emporia Main Street (EMS) is an economic and community development philosophy that operates within the City of Emporia and Lyon County. Using an effective four point approach, adopted from the National Main Street Center, Emporia Main Street works to create a dense and sustainable community where business, properties, developments and people can thrive. After 26…

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Thank you to our Members and Volunteers

By Casey Woods | October 5, 2017

Emporia Main Street celebrates the passing of each membership year with our Annual Meeting. The meeting highlights the accomplishments of the past year, sets goals for the following year and recognize the volunteers and businesses that stood out. We sincerely appreciate the contributions of our members and volunteers as we continue to build a more…

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