ABILENE TOURISM ADVOCATE
June 4, 2020
Visit Abilene, Kansas
Abilene Receives Grant Funds to Help Small Businesses
Thanks to the quick response from Abilene City staff and commissioners, Governor Laura Kelly and the Kansas Department of Commerce announced Abilene as the recipient of $132,000 in Community Development Block Grant Coronavirus Response Supplement (CDBG-CV) funds to assist small businesses.

“The goal of our grant is to assist small and owner operated businesses with preference to those who cannot or have not accessed other sources of assistance, “said Jane Foltz, Abilene City Manager. “While some businesses are fortunate to benefit from other loan programs, many small and owner-operated businesses – particularly in our historic downtown district – have not.”

Abilene is one of only 66 communities to receive the award of nearly $9 million in funding. City staff will now work with state staff to determine reporting criteria and create the application and review process. Businesses will then have the opportunity to apply for grants.

“The Kansas Department of Commerce acted very quickly to get these funds to communities in need, our job is also to move quickly by developing an application and process to assist Abilene’s small businesses,” said Julie Roller Weeks, Abilene Convention and Visitors Bureau director. “We are really excited to have this opportunity!”

To date, the Department of Commerce has received 106 award applications totaling more than $32 million. Applications were processed on a first-come, first-served basis. Click here to view the full list of recipients.
D-Day Commemoration Discussions
Mark your calendars for two upcoming virtual programs regarding Operation OVERLORD and the D-Day invasion.
 
Thursday, June 4 at 2 p.m. (central)
D-Day: What If?
Historians Edward Lengel, National World War II Museum, and John McManus, Missouri University of Science and Technology, will discuss General Dwight Eisenhower's unused "In Case of Failure Note," and what it tells us about the invasion of Normandy on D-Day and Eisenhower's character. Tim Rives of the Eisenhower Presidential Library will join the conversation to talk about how the library acquired the historic document and the steps taken to preserve and protect it.
 
Thursday, June 11 at 2 p.m. (central)
D-Day+: How?
With troops successfully landed in Normandy, how do the Allies maintain the offensive with the enormous materiel needs of the troops? Historians Craig Symonds, U.S. Naval War College, and Rob Citino, National World War II Museum, discuss this very question. One part of the equation was constructing an artificial harbor. Eisenhower Presidential Library Curator William Snyder will moderate the discussion and share the backstory of the Mulberry Harbor model featured in the newly renovated exhibits.
Abilene Welcomes NGA Spring Meet
Abilene Named Best Historic Small Town Finalist
For the second year in a row, Abilene is named as a finalist for USA Today’s 2020 Readers’ Choice Best Historic Small Town contest.

“We are excited to be named as a finalist in USA Today’s Best Historic Small Town contest,” said Julie Roller Weeks, director, Abilene Convention and Visitors Bureau Director. “Receiving this recognition two years in a row is extra special and celebrates our efforts to market Abilene as a destination.”
For the second year in a row, Abilene is named as a finalist for USA Today’s 2020 Readers’ Choice Best Historic Small Town contest.

“We are excited to be named as a finalist in USA Today’s Best Historic Small Town contest,” said Julie Roller Weeks, director, Abilene Convention and Visitors Bureau Director. “Receiving this recognition two years in a row is extra special and celebrates our efforts to market Abilene as a destination.”
Abilene Convention & Visitors Bureau