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Category Archives: Business
Marketing, Apparel and Printing Services Move Downtown
Rachel French is the president of My One Stop, which has had a office in Fort Scott’s Industrial Park since 2005.
The business offers marketing print and digital services, signage, labels, apparel and embroidery printing services and more.
“We are moving downtown to because we wanted to be a part of the revitalization of downtown,” French said. “We wanted to be more accessible to businesses in Fort Scott…We can help them in gaining business and traffic.”
“We were looking for the right space and found this place was available and were excited to make the move,” she said.
The storefront at 7 S. National, just north of E3 Ranch store, is currently being renovated to meet the needs of the business, she said.
In the meantime, French and her team of employees have moved into 5 S. National, sharing space with the Lillian Rose Foundation, until the renovation is completed.
Jennifer LaRoche, who owns the building and is doing the reno, told French the reno will most likely be completed in June.
“I wanted to be close to the construction,” French said.
Her My One Stop team is comprised of Ann Marie Buster-web and graphic designer, Rosemma Perry-sales representative, Tina Wilson-sales representative and Casie Yount-graphic design lead.
“We have hit the ground running,” French said. “Since we came, we saw the traffic downtown, and we are using our knowledge to help the downtown revitalization.”
The business just recently created a downtown loyalty program, to encourage businesses in that area.
“We want to bring pride into our downtown again,” she said. “And people to be excited and have a business here.”
Included in the loyalty program is a Downtown Fort Scott Loyalty Card.
Eleven businesses have come on board and the card will provide the purchasers $55 worth of discounts for just $10.
The cards can be purchased at the Fort Scott Chamber of Commerce, 231 E. Wall; or the My One Stop office currently at 5 S. National.
Ten percent of the sale of each card will be donated to the Fort Scott Downtown Chamber Committee to be used for future projects to benefit the downtown area.
That committee is in charge of the Downtown Clean-up Day April 22. “We are donating all the t-shirts for the clean-up,” she said.
French is a member of that committee and also she partners with Fort Scott High School and Pittsburg State University in a paid internship program. She also does the mentor program at FSHS with the Chamber.
“We think it’s important for youth to see what businesses do on a daily basis and see what Fort Scott has available,” she said.
French is looking forward to the move into 7 S. National, she said.
“Then you’ll be able to have a custom-designed t-shirt before you leave,” she said. “We would love to do more t-shirts for organizations. and businesses.”
FSCC Women’s Luncheon April 27
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Chamber Announces Find the Golden Egg Shopping Event
The Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce announces a Golden Egg shopping event which will take place on Saturday, April 16th. Most stores in the Downtown Historic District and several additional locations will be participating in the hunt!
Customers are invited to shop local retailers to search for the hidden gold eggs. The golden eggs will contain coupons, promotions, Chamber Bucks, and more! Participating retailers include Angie Dawn’s Boutique, Bids & Dibs, Hedgehog. Ink! Bookstore, Iron Star, Laree + Co., Main Street Gallery and Gifts, Mayco Ace, Museum of Creativity, Sunshine Boutique, Treasure Hunt Flea Market, Varia Quality Resale Clothing, Sekan’s Occasion Shop, and Shirt Shack!
The Chamber encourages the community to join the hunt on Saturday, April 16th. Get ‘egg-cited’ to shop local!
Contact the Chamber for more information at 620-223-3566.
New ‘Dig Heroes’ Encourage Kansans to Dig Safely
Kansas Gas Service April awareness campaign aims to increase calls to 811
April is National Safe Digging Month and Kansas
Gas Service is celebrating by introducing its team of “Dig Heroes.” The Dig Heroes’ purpose is
to help promote safe digging among Kansans – regardless of the type or size of digging project
they’re planning.
Kansans can become Dig Heroes by taking the Safe Digging Pledge at BeADigHeroKansas.com,
where they can share their commitment to always calling 811 before they dig and be entered to
win a $100 gift card.
Who Are the Dig Heroes?
The Dig Heroes are a group of superheroes who have taken the pledge to practice safe digging
no matter how big or small their digging project might be.
“The Dig Heroes are a fun new addition to our annual public awareness campaign, as they
encourage participation from all types of customers – from developers to homeowners and
gardeners, and of course, dog lovers,” said Dawn Tripp, manager of Public Relations for Kansas
Gas Service.
When someone digs in Kansas, whether planting a tree or digging the foundation of a skyscraper,
there is a high probability of an underground facility within the site. When customers make the
free call to 811 or visit Kansas811.com before digging, professional locators will mark
the underground facilities within the designated project area with flags and/or paint at no cost to
the home or business owner.
“Many people don’t remember to call 811 before planting a garden, removing trees, installing
sprinklers and other outdoor projects, but a quick call to 811 can prevent significant outages and
inconveniences to neighborhoods,” said Trey Pool, Manager of Public Awareness and Damage
Prevention for ONE Gas, parent company of Kansas Gas Service. “We hope to help change that
by raising awareness to call 811 before starting any projects that involve digging into the
ground.”
When to Call 811
Individuals should call 811 at least two full working days before starting their digging projects –
no matter how small – to make sure that all lines are protected and the chances of hitting a line
decrease.
3 Tips to Remember Before Digging
1. Even if you’re digging shallow, you need to call to have your lines marked.
2. If you hire a contractor, make sure they call 811 prior to digging.
3. Respect the Tolerance Zone, which is the area 24 inches from the outside edge of the pipe
in all horizontal directions. Within this zone, you should use reasonable care, such as
hand digging, vacuum excavation or similar safe excavation methods to avoid any
contact or damage to the line.
Learn more about the Dig Heroes, safe digging, and take the pledge at BeADigHeroKansas.com
for your chance to win a $100 gift card.
About Kansas Gas Service
Kansas Gas Service provides a reliable and affordable energy choice to more than 645,000 customers in Kansas and
is the largest natural gas distributor in the state, in terms of customers.
Headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas Gas Service is a division of ONE Gas, Inc. (NYSE: OGS), a 100–percent
regulated natural gas utility that trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “OGS.” ONE Gas is
included in the S&P MidCap 400 Index and is one of the largest natural gas utilities in the United States.
For more information and the latest news about Kansas Gas Service, visit kansasgasservice.com and follow its social
channels: @KansasGas, Facebook, Nextdoor, LinkedIn a
Poetry Contest and More Offered at HedgehogINK!
HedgehogINK, a used bookstore at 16 S. Main, is sponsoring a poetry contest for all ages in April.Poetry Contest 2022
There is a two poem limit for entry with the theme of “What Inspires YOU?”, which must be submitted by April 30.
The application and guidelines are below.
Name:
Check age group: _____Under 12 _____13-20 _____ Adult 21-55 _____ Seniors 55+
Address:
Phone: Email:
Title of each Poem: (Remember, each poem needs to be on a separate page. Limit 2 poems per entry. – list titles here)
Entry: $5 entry fee. An entry may include up to 2 poems. One entry per person. Entry forms are available at the store or email Jan at [email protected] for an entry form.
Deadline: All entries must be delivered, emailed to [email protected] or mailed to Hedgehog.INK! 16 S. Main, Fort Scott, KS 66701 by 5:00 p.m. on April 30, 2022.
Theme: The theme for this year’s contest is, “What inspires you?”
Guidelines:
- Entries need to be typewritten if at all possible. (Neat hand-written manuscripts will be accepted.)
- Each poem should include a title and be submitted on a separate page. No other information should be included. A number will be assigned to each participant at the time of submission.
- Remember, do not include your name on your submitted poem.
Two winners in each age group will be posted during the first week of May. A celebration of poetry will be held at a later date.
Contact info:
620-670-2752, 16 S. Main Fort Scott, KS 66701 [email protected]
A Community of Books for the Community
What’s Happening in Fort Scott Newsletter April 1
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…
Free Seminar Targets Women Starting/Growing Their Business
Healthy Bourbon County Action Team staff have organized a fourth seminar targeting women who are seeking information on starting/growing a business.
The event is Wednesday, April 6 from 5 to 9 p.m. at the HBCAT office, 104 N. National Avenue.
“This will help local women entrepreneurs know their resources and learn from local women leaders on how to create a sustainable business,” said Rachel Carpenter, program director. “This is an opportunity for women to network and create relationships to help their businesses take the next professional step.”
For this Dare to Dream seminar, the time has been scheduled for table-talk discussion with past keynote speakers and panelists.
“This is the fourth part of the Dare to Dream series,” Carpenter said. “We will have some of the past keynote speakers and panelists available for table discussion. This will be a time for any questions to be answered from the audience.”
“Any questions you may have you will be able to ask some of the women leaders of Bourbon County. We want you to be SUCCESSFUL! There will be more time for social networking and building relationships,” according to its Facebook page.
Past speakers who will be available for a round table open discussion are Erin Vann, Hwy. 3; Dacia Clark, PSU Small Business Development Center; Katie Casper, Union State Bank; Angela Simon, Bids and Dibs; Rebecca Williams, The Butcher Block; Kelly Perry, Perry’s Pork Rinds; Lindsay Madison, The Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce and Rachel Carpenter and Jody Hoener of the HBCAT.
Please note there is one registration per person to help us with registration.
Melissa Wise, the keynote speaker, is the owner of Wise Tax and Accounting and has over 20 years of experience with accounting, payroll, and taxes.
Registration is required for childcare.
There will be a taco bar catered by La Hacienda, and Margaritas available for purchase.
Dinner and networking from 5-5:30 p.m. with the program starting at 5:30 p.m.
Funding for this event is being provided by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas as part of Bourbon County Pathways to a Healthy Kansas grant and the USDA Rural Business Development Grant, according to its Facebook page.
“Through this grant, we are partnered with Pittsburg State University Small Business Development Center to organize this event,” she said.
“We will be giving away a PSU gift basket and a tablet as door prizes,” Carpenter said.
Chamber Coffee at Iron Star March 31
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Moe’s Is Moving: Will Reopen April 4
Moe and David McCurry are the owners of Moe’s Bread, 20 W. Wall and have been selling many kinds of breakfast, lunch, and snacks at this site for three years.
But on April 4 they are opening their business in a new location on National Avenue to be able to offer more.
“Moe’s Bread will be closed March 31st to April 3rd to move to 2 South National,” Moe said on the business Facebook page. “We hope to see you on Monday, April 4th.”
Today, Wednesday, March 30 from 10 a.m. until they run out of food, everything in the current storefront will be sold for half off the original price.
2 S. National Avenue is at the corner of Wall and National Avenue, the former Downtowner Hotel, and most recently the Boiler Room Brew Haus.
“The reason we’re moving is … to add a soup and salad bar and we needed more room in the kitchen,” she said in an interview.
“We have hot breakfasts in the morning, including biscuits and gravy sausage rolls, breakfast burritos, breakfast sandwiches, croissants, cinnamon rolls, muffins of all flavors and we have muffin top donuts,” Moe said.
For lunch they offer deli sandwiches “and you can call in and have those delivered or you can pick them up any time of the day that we’re open,” she said.
They also offer all kinds of bread: wheat bread, white bread, French bread, Italian bread, sourdough, and fruit bread: pumpkin, banana, apple, cinnamon, chocolate chip, and muffins: blueberry and raspberry.
“We make pies, we make any kind of dessert you’d like,” she said. “Unfortunately, we do not decorate cakes at this moment but we look forward to doing that in the future at our new address.”
Contact info for the store number is 620-768-8009.
“They’re welcome to leave a message,” she said. “We do check our phone every morning.”
Hours of operation currently are 4:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and Saturday 7:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
“When we move on April 4th we will be open 4:30 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. Monday through Friday 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, those are subject to change,” she said.
Pre-owned Appliances New Venture for Bronson Business
THRAMS Antiques has ventured into providing pre-owned appliances from a source in the Kansas City area.
While owner, Amber Ericson, was in K.C. purchasing antiques and unique furniture, she ran into an appliance repairman at the marketplace, she said.
“He buys from apartment complexes when they redo the apartments,” she said. “That’s what we are buying.”
“He refurbishes them and sells them,” Ericson said. “I go up to K.C. once a month and get more. I’ve already sold 40. If they don’t work you can bring them back.”
Clothes washers including top, front, stackable units, gas stoves and dryers, refrigerators, air conditioners, and deep freezers are sole at the store.
“We thought we would try it,” Ericson said. She started the venture in August 2021.
Ericson opened THRAMS next door to her parent’s business Bronson Locker, a butcher store, at 504 Clay Street in the small town 20 miles west of Fort Scott just off Highway 54.
The storefront next to Bronson Locker was unused space, and owned by the Bollings, Amber’s parents.
“It was a pile-up room,” Helen Bolling, Ericson’s mom and part-owner of the store said. “Amber started picking up a few things and it grew.”
The space is now packed with unique furniture and antiques.
“Antique hall trees and wardrobes are our best sellers,” Bolling said.
“Divans, appliances, wardrobes, hall trees we sell as quickly as we can get them,” Ericson said.
The store is open Mondays from
8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Tuesday-8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Wednesday-8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Thursday-8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Friday 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday call or text for an appointment at 620-363-1159.
New Concept to Provide Staff for Local Businesses: MyShift
Cole Bowman, 37, Fort Scott, and Scott Morris, 47, Parsons, have launched a new computer application called MyShift in the Apple Appstore.
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 Pandemic, businesses have been struggling to fill staff vacancies and operate at their full capacity because of illness, quarantine and other measures taken during the pandemic.
Nine months ago, Bowman began to think of a way to help this situation.
“I came up with the idea on May 24, 2021 while waiting for one of my sales reps at a hotel in Tulsa to go have dinner,” Bowman said. “He was late, so I was looking through the food delivery apps and overheard a hotel worker talking to a customer about how none of the employees they had before the shutdown would come back to work, or had found other jobs, and she must have been the first person on their list that was willing to come back to work for the pay they were offering.”
Bowman said he thought to himself that surely there is an app for that.
“A situation where businesses could look through available workers that they could bring them in to cover a shift, but there wasn’t,” he said.
Bowman enlisted help from Scott Morris.
“I talked to Scott about the idea for the app and he liked it,” he said. “We searched and searched for something that worked like our app and never found anything, so we began our path of figuring out how to build an app in late June. Finally, our app is complete and went live in the Google PlayStore and iOS Appstore this last week,” Bowman said.
New Ways To Work
“Businesses were unable to operate at full capacity after reopening from the pandemic, and people have evolved to find new ways to work without the traditional employment requiring them to commit to a schedule,” Bowman said.
MyShift is starting in Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas, then within the next few weeks expanding to four more states.
Their plan then is to release nationwide by October 1, 2022, Bowman said.
“This is a web/ mobile app-based platform for businesses to connect with workers to fill shifts on-demand with the transaction being as simple as using a ride-share app,” Bowman said.
How It Works
MyShift allows businesses and workers to connect anywhere, anytime, to fill shifts and have the entire payment transaction handled through the app, according to a press release.
Businesses can list open shifts including details about when, where, description of work, and the amount they will pay for the shift.
“Shifters” will then be able to see the open shifts in their area and can select which one they would like to work.
After a Shifter has requested the posted shift, the business is able to review the applied Shifter’s ratings in their profiles and click on the one they would like to work their shift. Then the Shifter shows up to the business at the agreed-upon time and works the shift; upon completion of the shift, the business will then rate the Shifter between 1-5 stars and confirm the payment triggering Myshift to deposit the payment in the Shifter’s account.
Myshift is free for everyone to download, and the business will only pay a fee once they agree to accept the Shifter to work a shift they have posted.
There are no fees to the Shifters, and there are no commitments beyond the shifts they choose to work.
For the business, it allows them to find help on-demand to fill shifts hassle-free.
Business owners will now have a pool of vetted professionals ready to fill their shifts, all without the hassle of recruiting and onboarding, according to the press release.
Shifters have the freedom to work as often as they’d like and get paid each time they complete a shift, allowing the flexibility to earn money without the commitment of traditional employment.
The first target markets for MyShift will be Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma & Texas for the initial startup.
About the Creators
Bowman is a 2003 Fort Scott High School Graduate and 2007, Pittsburg State University Graduate with a Bachelor in Plastics Engineering.
He has 15 years of professional experience in plastics engineering and is currently the regional sales manager for Sepro Group, a robotics and automation manufacturer based in France.
He and his wife, Wendy Bowman, have four kids Luke, Lily, Nora, and Gage. His parents are John and Cindy Bowman, who own the NuGrille Restaurant.
His contact info: Phone 620-215-5250, Email [email protected]
Scott Morris is a 1993 Labette County High School graduate and earned a BBA in accounting for Pittsburg State University in 2002 and an MBA in 2009 from Friends University.
He has 20 years of experience in plastics manufacturing as vice president and chief financial officer of Charloma, Inc.
His wife, Jeanna Morris, and he have four children: Grant, Hallie, Mason, and Brady.
In his community Morris coaches multiple youth sports, he said.
For more info:
Google Play-https://play.google.com/store/apps/details…
iOS-https://apps.apple.com/app/id1602791238
Web- https://web.myshiftapp.com/