Saline County has seen a trend of consistently making headlines, and for good reason. The residents of Saline County are hardworking and dedicated to making their community the best it possibly can be, and as a result of everyone’s effort, Saline County and Salina has made headlines yet again.

Every year, the Salina Area Chamber of Commerce comes together with our community partners that include local government bodies, economic development organizations, educational institutions, and community health stakeholders to develop a regional legislative agenda to present to both federal and state elected officials.  For many years now, this process—and the document produced—have been very beneficial. But questions have been raised recently about if it continues to be effective.

​Multimedia production can be difficult for any business, small or large, and unless they have the capital to invest in a studio of their own, it can often be difficult to find the time to professionally produce the projects that would help market and brand your business or organization. Besides the struggle of finding the time, talent, and capital, creativity is often difficult to incorporate in your strategy; so, when you aren't feeling creative, Fili Creative!

​There is a housing shortage that so many people today in America are feeling the heat of. It seems that no matter where you move, you can never find a place to call home because they are in such high demand. Well, our friends over at the Presbyterian Manor paired with the Salina Area Chamber of Commerce hosted a groundbreaking ceremony on November 1st, 2022, to announce The Villas, a not-for-profit housing project created and located by Presbyterian Manor. The Villas offers a great housing option for the prominent elderly population group within Salina and surrounding areas.

​Culture is an important part of a young person’s development and identity, and the Salina middle schools are dedicated to incorporating unique methods to instilling the culture of our community into the developmental minds of our children. The most recent effort from the schools involved sending around 500 7th grade students to participate in the Downtown Salina “Cultural Crawl” last week on October 19th, 2022, and October 21st, 2022.
The Cultural Crawl incorporates a unique take on curriculum-based activities and offers a hands-on experience throughout the downtown area. The goal of the efforts being made is to inform and encourage the young students to utilize the cultural resources around Salina and to learn their curriculum in a unique manner through around a dozen different learning engagements. The learning opportunities included curriculum covering history, art, science, math, social studies, and more.

Mental health is becoming increasingly important within today’s societal culture, and as the stress levels of our minds and our bodies inflate, it is important to do what we can to let ourselves deflate. Well, on September 26th, 2022, the Salina Area Chamber of Commerce welcomed new member Myne Body & Soul to the community with a successful inaugural ribbon cutting ceremony! Branded as a “mental health gym”, Myne Body & Soul is doing exactly that and doing what they can to help the community heal by mind, body, and soul. Owner Ben Lee, and operator Erin Kerby whole-heartedly believe in their ability to help renew the body and mind, and after trying it myself, I can say that it is definitely something you need to experience to truly understand. Ben’s vision partnered with both Erin and Ben’s shared love for helping people and watching them leave happier makes for an extremely motivated and passionate team.

Think of your local community as a single, large living organism, a body. Each business in this community plays a vital role in tune with every other organization to keep the body alive and well. Although healthy competition is no stranger to the environment as they compete for resources, they are all still a part of the make-up of the community. In order to thrive, the community needs the circulation of economy, and it is the citizens that make up the lifeblood that is so important to keep within the body. When we fall and scrape our arm or our leg, we don’t let the blood flow freely out of our bodies, we try to stop the flow and we do whatever we can to lose the least amount of blood possible. Likewise, in a community such as our own, we work together to keep people, money, and business in the community, because if we bleed out too much then our body starts to fail, and we do what we can to attract new people, businesses, and opportunities so that we can flourish. In the same analogy, the Chamber of Commerce is the beating heart of any community. It is the job of the Chamber to pump the lifeblood throughout the community and give life to each of its members keeping the community and small business alive; this is done in a variety of ways.

The life of an entrepreneur is a series of constant rejection, red tape, high barriers to entry, and lack of support. However, the life of an entrepreneur can also be exhilarating, engaging, community-supported, and establish you as a strong member of the community. No one says that being an entrepreneur is easy, the resources available to entrepreneurs in Kansas, and especially in the Salina area, are meant to assist entrepreneurs and support them all the way up until the grand opening and beyond. On Thursday, September 15th, the Salina Area Chamber of Commerce hosted a Lender’s Luncheon for the lending members of the Chamber of Commerce. Listed below are few of the resources that were presented that are available to entrepreneurs in Kanas and the Salina area. 

1. Kansas Small Business Development Center
2. NetWork Kansas
3. Project Open