Blog

Government advocacy can be a game-changer for business, but it's often reserved for larger companies with significant assets. Gabe Schlickau and James Krstolich share with Don and Ebony how the Wichita Regional Chamber of Commerce provides these valuable resources for smaller businesses in our region.

Has a love story ever led to launching a successful business? Hear the unusual connection Jacob Wayman and his wife made at Orangetheory fitness. He shares his unique journey to entrepreneurship with Don and Ebony.

Chair's Lunch focused on “Faithful Investments” and featured a panel of Wichitans who are living out a calling to faithfully invest in the community moderated by 2023 Chamber Board Chair Joy Eakins, president of Cornerstone Data.

It took some time, but Bonita Gooch’s father eventually convinced her she needed to buy The Community Voice and bring African American perspective to the news in our community. She shares with Don and Ebony the key mentors who helped her grow this valuable business and
resource.

The Wichita Regional Chamber of Commerce's Campus Wichita program can help you and your business connect with students who are seeking summer internships. This is a great way to help attract and retain talent in the Wichita region, while developing your future workforce.

When Brandon Converse left a career in engineering to join his brother at The Converse Team, he wanted to help others secure their financial future. He tells Don and Ebony how The Converse Team helps make that possible for companies and individuals.

Mark and Summer Guerrero are all about supporting and empowering others with Affinity Automotive Services. They share with Don and Ebony how this empowerment first started with each other in an after hours garage in their home.

When Jenny Helms-Calvin arrived in Wichita, she already had a two-year plan to get out. But as she shares with Don and Ebony, she recognized her misconceptions and saw an opportunity to launch and grow SOMA Therapy to help improve mental health in our community.

The Wichita Regional Chamber of Commerce 2023 Chair, Joy Eakins, is challenging the business community to make faithful investments in people. She shares her vision for this year with Don and Ebony.

The holidays are a great time to take stock of our mental health! While our hosts take a break, please enjoy this episode with Stacey Winter, epac CEO, as she shares ways we can see that our friends and colleagues need support and help. Winter shares with Don and Ebony how her EAP brings that help directly to businesses, where we and our employees spend the majority of our time.

Justin Eklund's primary goal with Grove9 is helping businesses and organizations focus on their mission and the good they provide the community. He shares with Don and Ebony his journey through ministry and how it eventually led him to take a new approach in a profit driven world.

Molly Edwards, senior manager for global community relations and corporate giving for Spirit AeroSystems, spoke about the best way to build lasting partnerships between nonprofits and businesses at The Wichita Regional Chamber of Commerce's December Sunrise Scrambler. 

Tevin Manual has had a clear vision of his future for a long time, and he’s chasing it with Tandem Cyber Operations. He explores his past with Don and Ebony and how it led him to provide services to schools and universities to fulfill an unmet need.

Arthur C. Brooks, a social scientist, economist, and author, was the speaker at the 2022 Wichita Regional Chamber of Commerce’s annual meeting. “We act like we hate each other in America,” Brooks said. “Really, we have bad communication habits." 

For this special occasion, we are putting our producer behind the microphone. How do you accidentally become an entrepreneur? Bryan Steele will tell you it happens one day at a time. He talks with Don and Ebony how the creation of Forge Podcast Co. was a long journey that he never saw coming.

When Bill Maness left his sales job over disagreements about what it meant to support clients, he never imagined Syndeo, his own business, one day celebrating its 20th anniversary. He shares with Don and Ebony his thoughts on service, outsourcing and the value the Chamber provides to local businesses.

For this episode of the podcast, Don and Ebony were live from the 2022 Wichita Chamber Business Expo at Century II on September 29 meeting with business owners, organizations and attendees.

The financial services industry finds itself with an aging workforce, but Margaret Dechant and 6 Meridian are focused on bringing a youth movement to their business. Join her as she shares her story with Don and Ebony.

The Wichita Regional Chamber of Commerce is seeking nominations for the prestigious Keeper of the Plains award that is presented annually in honor of an outstanding architectural achievement.

Maddie Butler thought she would be on tour with her background in theater productions. But she has found herself running a wide variety of events with Kent Audio Visual. She shares with Don and Ebony how her career led her here and how Wichita has been the perfect place to grow.

The Wichita Regional Chamber of Commerce and the South Central Kansas Transportation Coalition are among a number of partners working with the Kansas Department of Transportation, the City of Wichita and the Federal Highway Administration to improve the K-96 corridor in east Wichita.

Andrea Hattan had a vision for women to have their own place to collaborate and encourage one another on their entrepreneurial journeys. She talks with Don and Ebony how The Hive has created that space for the Wichita community.

Best-selling author and The Atlantic columnist Arthur C. Brooks will headline the Chamber’s December 1 Annual Meeting. Brooks will provide remarks based on his 2019 book, “Love Your Enemies: How Decent People Can Save America from the Culture of Contempt.” 

Sedgwick County Sheriff Jeff Easter told employers they should be concerned about fentanyl in the Wichita region during a webinar. Fentanyl began to infiltrate the Wichita region in 2018 and has now replaced methamphetamine as the most popular illegal drug in the community. Easter shared several things businesses can do to help law enforcement combat the fentanyl crisis.

When an opportunity to buy the bakery they had been working at for years presented itself, Kalee Rose and Marisa McCall told themselves they were the only ones who could take over. They share about their jump into entrepreneurship with Don and Ebony.

With nearly 30 years in non-profit, Mary Shannon, CEO and President of Kansas Big Brothers Big Sisters, says you're never too old to learn something new. She shared her Journey Unseen with the Chamber community at the Hyatt Regency on October 20, the second event in a two-part series sponsored by the Wichita Regional Chamber of Commerce.

After just four weeks, Ed O’Malley is well into his new role at the Kansas Health Foundation. He shares with Don and Ebony the impact our physical health can have on the local economy, and how Wichita can’t be left behind.

The Wichita Regional Chamber of Commerce, along with business and community leaders from an array of organizations and industries, are in Minneapolis, Minnesota for this year's City to City visit. Each day, we will highlight programs and people we met and how we can implement what we learned into measurable success in Wichita.    

For years, Jose Gutierrez trained and developed Farmer’s Insurance agents. Then he realized it was time to open his own agency. He shares his journey with Don and Ebony.

Claudia Amaro’s journey to successful journalist, business owner and leadership coach had many twists and turns. She shared her Journey Unseen with the Wichita community at the Hyatt Regency Wichita on October 4, the first event in a two-part series sponsored by the Wichita Regional Chamber of Commerce.