May 8, 2020
Chamber Launches Small Business Awards Video Series
May has traditionally been designated as Small Business Month and it's also the time of year we typically announce and celebrate our annual Small Business Award winners. Due to the impact of COVID-19, some of the national Small Business Month and Small Business Week activities held by the U.S. Small Business Administration and other entities have been postponed.

The Chamber has made the difficult to decision to cancel our annual Small Business Awards luncheon due to gathering restrictions. But our sponsors and planning committee wanted to find a way to highlight the compelling success stories of our very deserving nine 2020 finalists.

This week we've launched a three-part series where they will share some of their successes and discuss how their teams have reacted to the changes they've experienced as a result of COVID-19. We've selected one finalist from each Tier for each of the three discussions with a moderator from the team of The Wichita Eagle.

Visit our blog for the link to watch the first video in the series.

We appreciate the continued support of our co-presenting sponsors -  Affinity Automotive Services  and  McCurdy Auction, LLC , gold sponsors -  Cox Business ,  Meritrust Credit Union ,  Occidental Management, Inc  and team at The Wichita Eagle Business Today . We also want to thank our print sponsor,  The Print Source, Inc.  and our motion graphics sponsor,  Malibu Creative .
Manufacturing Industry Call Highlights Innovation Among Crisis
Last week the Chamber hosted an Industry Call with area leaders representing the manufacturing industry on how they're adapting their businesses in response to the economic impact of COVID-19 and what they're experiencing. The session was moderated by Jason Cox of Cox Machine and panelists included Ron Garcia of BG Products and Kathy Jewett of XLT Ovens. The call drew over 40 Chamber and Wichita Manufacturing Association (WMA) member attendees. Read some of the takeaways that Kyle Blasdel of Conco Construction and current president of WMA had from the call in our latest blog.

Good Deeds in Hard Times
Pinole Blue changed their business model to provide family meals during the pandemic. At the end of April, they teamed up with Telehue Food , Undisputed Nutrition and Equity Bank to give away 100 meals to displaced workers. Each meal featured 10 Pinole Blue roast tacos, 3 spring rolls from Rice & Roll donated by Telehue and an Undisputed Nutrition tea. For this to be possible, they received donations from their customers and Equity Bank.
 
Do you know other Chamber members doing good deeds?   Email us   for the opportunity to highlight them here.
Look for these UPDATES to the Wichita Resource Center


May 8 | Article: Iconic IT: Email Best Practices for Businesses: COVID-19 and Beyond |  Read

May 6 | Webinar: Wichita Chamber & City Wide Maintenance: Reopen and Stay Open with the Right Cleaning and Disinfecting Procedures |  View Recording  |  View Presentation Slides

May 6 | Webinar: Kansas Small Business Development Center: EIDL & PPP Updates: Checking Status/Approval/After You Get the Money |  View Recording

May 4 at 12 p.m. CST | Webinar: Adams, Brown, Beran & Ball & KIOGA: Drilling Down on What PPP Means for the Oil and Gas Industry |  View Recording
Upcoming Webinars

May 12 at 3 p.m. CST | Webinar: Kansas Small Business Development Center: Stop the Marketing Shout |  Register

May 13 at 3 p.m. CST | Webinar: Kansas Small Business Development Center: Cyber Security for the Healthcare Industry |  Register

May 14 at 3 p.m. CST | Webinar: Kansas Small Business Development Center: Adjusting Your Supply Chain |  Register

May 14 at 8 a.m. CST | Webinar: McCownGordon Construction: Your Future Workplace: Safety and Wellness in our Post-Pandemic World |  Register

Visit the Wichita Resource Center for more resources in a wide-range of topics.
The Chamber will be reposting resources and offers through our social media channels from experts and reputable sources.