This is part of a series featuring young people who found a need and are seeking to fill it with a business venture.
To nominate local young entrepreneurs, send name, phone number/email and the name of who is nominating and why, to [email protected].
Dawson Minor, 20, of Fulton is the owner of 4 Clover Mowing business.
The business began as a dream when he was a small boy.
“From the time I was very small, I have had a fondness for any kind of self-propelled equipment, no matter the size,” Minor said.
“Even before I had the concept of mowing grass, lawn mowers were the first machines that I could actually drive,” he said.
In second grade, when he could barely reach the pedals, he began mowing the family yard and farm lot.
” I loved mowing,” Minor said. “I often dreamed of mowing for other people and having my own business.”
In early March 2013, after “a lot of thinking and discussing with my parents” Minor decided to start a small mowing business since he enjoyed mowing lawns and being outdoors.
“I started with a John Deere LA120 riding lawn tractor,” he said.
“My first year in the mowing business turned out to be a great learning experience, ” Minor said. “It helped me to understand that having the ability and chance to do something that I truly enjoy is not only measured by money.”
“Within the second year in business, I soon realized that my role of being the kid who mows the yard was rapidly changing to the responsibility of a young businessman,” he said.
“My number one responsibility in grounds-keeping has always been customer service,” Minor said. ” I never intend to give up quality for quantity in order to increase profits.”
” I have been blessed with the growth of my business and great customers.”
“I currently employ two very hard working and dependable individuals, Drew Wright and Garrett Thompson, which I value and trust impeccably,” he said.
His service area includes Bourbon, Linn, and Vernon counties.
“I have learned customer satisfaction is not only the success of a business, but it is also truly the reward of a business,” Minor said.
Uniontown Ruritan sponsored a ribbon cutting for Union Station Convenience Store on May 11. From left: Ruritan member Joe George, Ruriteen member Luke George, Ruritan members Lawrence and Raymond George, owners Ronni and Dane Clayton, Ruritan members Henry Homan and Mark Warren and community member Linda Wilson.
Uniontown Ruritan sponsored a ribbon cutting to welcome the new convenience store owners, Ronni and Dane Clayton.
The Clayton’s took over ownership of Union Station Convenience Store from Ron and Susan Eldridge in April 2019.
The store sells gasoline, food, and beer and is located on Hwy. 3, one mile south of the Hwy. 54 junction.
The store is a gathering place for locals in the morning, unofficially called “The Liars Club.”
Hours are 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday and 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday.
Kids Eat Free Lunch At The Keyhole, noon to 1pm, Mon.-Fri., now through July 26th!! 10th & Main St., across from the Fort Scott High School
Sack lunches will be provided to those under 18. Children check in, no need to give names, and then pick up a lunch of shelf-stable meals. Open to all kids, regardless of income; no need to reside in Fort Scott
Care to Share (“The Sharing Bucket”) will be hosting the 5th Annual “TaTa” Ride on June 15th, 2019 and an “AR-15 Gun Raffle”. Raffle tickets are $5 each and on sale now! ATF Regulations apply. Contact Stacey Wright for tickets or more info. (See flyer below)
Hedgehog.INK now has gardening books on the sale rack in the front of the store – These books are FREE, for a donation to Fort Scott High School Thespians. Funds raised will help send students to the international competition in late June
Benefit Bass Fishing Tournaments & Raffles for Class of ’91 Grad Chad Elmer – Entry fees will go toward’s Chad’s upcoming expenses and prize money. Raffles include fishing and outdoor gear, ammo, an AR15 gun, and more! (See flyer below for complete details)
7-8
Weekly Livestock Sale at Fort Scott Livestock Market. Starting at 10am on both Fridays & Saturdays
Fridays: Cows, Pairs, Big Bulls
Saturdays: Stocker & Feeder Cattle, followed by any cows & bulls that come in late Friday & Saturday. Cafe open both sale days. You don’t have to be a buyer, just to come watch the sale and visit the cafe!
7
YPL First Friday Luncheon (Young Professional’s League of Bourbon County) – Papa Don’s,
10 N. Main St., 12-1pm
Open to YPL members or anyone interested in the organization
7
Friday Night Concert in the Park – Heritage Park Pavillion, 1st & Main St., 7-8pm
This Friday’s show will feature the local favorite band “The Eastsiders”. The band does Christian, gospel and classic rock. Many of the songs are originals written by lead singer Danny Brown. The crowd loves this band!
The concerts are organized by Ralph Carlson. If you or someone you know is interested in performing, contact Ralph at [email protected]
Bring your lawn chair as seating is limited. In the event of rain, we will move to Common Ground Coffee Co., at
116 S. Main St.
8
Farmer’s Market – Skubitz Plaza (in front of the historic fort)
Saturday Mornings, 8:00am – 12:00pm
Fort Scott Farmers’ Market is a farmer driven and run market. The farmers work hard to produce the very finest produce available. We also provide a great venue for community organizations to promote their mission and raise funds
We are focused on fresh locally produce farm products
5th Annual Fire Department Benefit Ride – this year’s ride will benefit local family, Jack & Stephanie Lockwood. Stephanie is battling leukemia (See flyer below)
Schedule:
12pm – register at Fire Station 1
1pm – 100 mile ride begins at Fire Station 1 (1604 S. National Ave.), ends at Holmtown Pub (206 N. National Ave.)
5pm – Live music by Royce Hyer
6pm – Live music by the Dirty Bourbon Band
There will be a gun raffle inbetween bands. Come on out and help support the Lockwood family!
Cinema Saturdays at the Gordon Parks Museum – FSCC Ellis Fine Arts Center, 2108 S. Horton, 12-2pm
The Gordon Parks Museum will show the films of Gordon Parks on Saturdays this summer starting on June 8 at 12:00 p.m. in the museum on the FSCC campus. This free event will feature Mr. Parks’ films and one of Kevin Willmott’s films
8
Barks & Brews at Boiler Room Brewhaus – 2 S. National Ave.
Join Paws and Claws as we celebrate the release of the Farm Dog Pils from The Boiler Room Brewhaus. In addition to a great, local craft beer, there will be sodas, food, and live music. A portion of proceeds from Farm Dog sales will be donated to Paws and Claws. Hot dogs and sides available for a free will donation. We will even have a few furry critters available for adoption and some great pet products to raffle off!
8
BBQ Fundraiser for Hammond Community Center Maintenance – Hammond Community Center, 2275 Soldier Rd., 5-7pm
Please help us maintain our beloved community building!
Free Will Offering * Take Out Available
Menu: Smoked Ham/Pulled Park, Baked Beans,
Coleslaw, Bread, Dessert, Tea/Water/Lemonade
9
Team Trivia at the Boiler Room Brewhaus – 10 S. National,
3-5pm
Exciting, fun and challenging team trivia. Put your team together (maximum of 8 teams, maximum of 5 members on a team)
$5 per person. Cash prizes for winning team. Pre-register at the tap room
Rosie’s Cabin and Event Center is located at 563 Maple Road, Uniontown, Kansas. Submitted photo.
Kelsey and Kaley Blythe have been busy renovating Rosie’s Cabin-Wedding and Event Center, an event venue just west of Uniontown.
Kelsey and Kaley Blythe sit on the porch of the lodge of Rosie’s Cabin Wedding and Event Center. Submitted photo.
The event center is open for business, Kelsey Blythe said.
There have been updates to the large event center and also the accompanying cabin that is available.
In the large event center, with a large front porch overlooking the pond, walls have been painted, lights hung from the rafters, drapes hung and the bathroom updated, Kelsey said.
The cabin on the property will be used for guests and has seen a more extensive remodel.
“The cabin will be posted on Airbnb and will be available for hunters during hunting season,” she said. ” When there are weddings it will be used for a dressing cabin and a honeymoon suite for the couple. Our first wedding will be at the end of July. We had the Uniontown (High School) Prom on April 13th this year.”
The cabin has one bedroom and a finished attic with a futon, and in addition, the main floor has a reclining couch
The cabin price is still to be determined, she said.
“The only thing left in the cabin was the bathroom sink,” Kelsey said of the cabin remodel.
“Jeremy Hoover Construction is doing all the remodeling for Rosie’s and is in the final phase of putting it all together. Original hardwood floors were redone this month and the floor is now dry and beautiful. Light fixtures are hung and bathroom is complete with a tiled walk-in shower with a rain-style showerhead.”
“Everything from plumbing and electric to cabinets and walls are all new,” she said.
A back door was added to provide two exits.
“Up next is applying all of our beautiful walnut and cedar wood accents,” she said. ” We will have a bar in the cabin made of walnut, a countertop made of cedar and an awesome accent wall made of wood as well as the trim all of walnut. All of the wood used is from trees cut by my husband on this property and made into boards by the Amish.”
Then doors will be hung, cabinets installed, and new appliances added.
“It is very modern, minimalistic and functional,” Kelsey said.
“The usage of this venue is ultimately limitless. We are only limited by our creativity and how we wish to market the place. To start, we want to appeal to all the young ladies and gentlemen in this area that are planning for their big wedding day.”
The Blythe’s are marketing the venue in the Kansas City and Springfield, MO areas, as well as locally.
Rosie’s Cabin Event Center, 2019. A porch on the south overlooks a gazebo and pond. Submitted photo.
“Our weekend wedding price is $3,250 and that gives you everything Rosie’s has to offer for the entire weekend. The place is yours from Friday to Sunday at noon,” Kelsey said.
Graduation parties, family reunions, class reunions, anniversaries, bridal showers, baby showers are welcomed to Rosie’s Cabin, she said.
“At this time we are offering half-day events for 2019 at $200 and full day events at $400,” Kelsey said.
“We are gladly opening our doors to those events and believe we have priced them accordingly,” Kelsey said. “We are new to this type of business and have a learning curb ahead. So our pricing is subject to change.”
“We are going to host a big open house bash sometime late in the summer, with a date to be announced,” she said. “We joined the (Fort Scott)Chamber of Commerce so we are excited to have them out and do an official ribbon cutting at that time. Snacks and drinks will be served. Come-and-go-as-you-please type of party that may turn into an all evening affair with music and dancing!”
A view of the large facility with the coved porch that overlooks a gazebo and pond. In the background is the cabin that can be rented also. Submitted photo.
KANSASWORKS in partnership with Wichita State University will host
Listening Sessions for Employers
on Wednesday, June 12th
Learn resources, strategies, and tools that may attract more people into the labor force
Wichita State University in partnership with Southeast KANSASWORKS will host
Listening Sessions for Employers
on Wednesday, June 12th.
The sessions will be at Ellis Fine Art Center at Fort Scott Community College. Employers can choose to attend one session at the following times:
8:00 am- Breakfast
11:30 am- Lunch
4:00 pm- Refreshments
The goal of the session will be to listen to employers on trends they are seeing when hiring, learn about successes or challenges they face, and discuss resources, strategies, and tools that may attract more people into the labor force.
(first 10 same-sex 2-person teams to sign up & use code FortGames2019 get $20 off registration!!)
Smallville CrossFit is gearing up for our annual Fort Games
on June 22nd!
We are expecting over 50 competitors. We will be putting together Athlete Bags that will consist of t-shirts and other promo items from area businesses. We would love to showcase your business; if you have items you would like us to put in the Athlete Bags let us know, and we will come by and
pick them up.
If you would like to be a Gold Sponsor for the event let us know and we will get you added to the list! ALL sponsorship is important to us, and we greatly appreciate any kind you may have to offer!
This event has been a huge success for us; every year athletes and their families travel many miles to compete! Per usual, after the event we have very hungry people who want to know where to eat!!
We are working on a way to “showcase” our local restaurants, pubs, food places…
but in order to do this we need your help!
We would love to have something with a name, address, to-go menu, coupon, or something to offer to these athletes and their families to point them in your direction!
Sponsorships can be monetary, or prizes of any size for bags, or podium prizes.
Thank you for your consideration and we hope to hear from you soon.
The speaker, Bill Drury, has received rave reviews from over 400 of the Fortune 500 companies. He has delivered over 2,000 presentations in the last 20 years.
This half-day workshop is a continuation of last year’s seminar hosted by the Chamber,
The Fun Time Show, Doniphan, MO is located at Third and Main Street this year. The ticket booth is on Third Street.
This evening begins the 39th Annual Good Ol’ Days Festival in downtown Fort Scott.
The Fort Scott Talent Show begins at 6 p.m. at Memorial Hall, Third and National Street, with admission $5, kids five and under are free.
There are 13 contestants that have entered the show, Rhonda Dunn, president of the Good Ol’ Days Committee said at today’s Fort Scott Chamber of Commerce Weekly Coffee at Skubitz Plaza.
The carnival is located at the corner of Third and Main Street and offers nine rides. The cost of an armband that covers all rides for that session is $25.
Hours for the carnival are 7 to 11 p.m., tonight, Thursday, May 30. Fridays and Saturday hours are 6 to 11 p.m.
Memorial Hall is where the talent show will be held at 6 p.m. May 30.
The Good Ol’ Days Festival is put together by a committee of volunteers: Rhonda Dunn, Melissa Wise, Kayla Hall, Ally Turvey, Shawn O’Brien, Carl Brenner, Charlotte Thompson, Leah Bowman, Tim Van Hoeke, and Janet Braun.
The committee takes a month off following the festival, then meets together to plan for the next year’s festival in the following months.
The Good Ol’ Days Committee: front from left are Kayla Hall, Melissa Wise, Charlotte Thompson, Leah Bowman; back row from left are Carl Brenner, Shawn O’Brien, Rhonda Dunn, and Ally Turvey. The committee works all year long to bring the town’s annual gathering to fruition.
Holmtown Pub has many exciting things happening in June. We will be unveiling our new menu, which will feature the favorites of old and some new healthier choices for kids and adults alike.
Holmtown Pub is located at 206 N National Ave and can be reached at 620-223-1477.
We have your traditional bar menu; burgers, steaks, salads, wraps and the best porkchop in town.
We will continue our community friendly hours of operation throughout the summer.
Our kitchen hours are Monday – Saturday, 11 am-10 pm and Sunday 4 pm-10 pm. We welcome everyone during our kitchen hours. Our bar hours extend later into the evening and could be as late as 2 am, and patrons must be over the age of 21 after 10 pm.
Exciting upcoming events:
Friday May 31st – We welcome a local favorite “Shades of Blue” from 9pm-1am, they play of mix of Blues and Classic rock favorites.
Saturday June 1st – We welcome another local favorite “The Barnstormers, featuring BJ Pruitt”, from 9pm-1am. They are a Red Dirt band with a mix of classic country and rock hits.
Saturday June 8th – We will be the final stop for our local Fort Scott Fire Department annual Ride. All riders are welcome and Registration is noon at Fire Station 1, with kickstands up at 1pm. They will go on a 100 mile ride and finish at Holmtown Pub. There will be live music at 5pm from “Royce Hyer”, with the “Dirty Bourbon Band” playing at 6pm. They are supporting a local family, Jack and Stephanie Lockwood, with Stephanie’s fight with cancer. There will be a gun raffle between bands.
Saturday June 15th – The 5th Annual TATA Ride will finish at Holmtown Pub. Registration will be at 5 Corners gas station from 9am-10:30am, with kickstands up at 11am. They will ride throughout Southeast Kansas and finish at the Pub around 5pm. There will be a large number of silent and live auction items as well as some amazing raffle items. The auctions will begin when they arrive at Holmtown Pub. They will have some live entertainment from 7pm-11pm “Pickleback” a local group from Girard, will be playing some great music. The TATA ride supports Care to Share, the Sharing Bucket, a local organization that helps all families fight cancer with a variety of services.