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By TIM BADLEY
Traveler Correspondent

With about a month to go, Kim Ebert has been preparing for the KEY Farm and Art Market. The market occurs on Arkansas City's downtown sidewalks on Thursdays from the beginning of June through the middle of September. As chairperson of the event, Ebert said that it provides local farmers, artists, crafters, and bakers an opportunity to sell their works to the community.

Ebert also appreciated the positive impact on the downtown community.

"People come to the market for the fresh vegetables," she said, "but also I've seen an increase in foot traffic into our downtown stores."

Ebert said the market has a nostalgia for the turn-of-the-century farmer's markets. "It returns us back to the older days of community," she said, "a happy, Mayberry community." Agritourism events like the KEY Farm and Art Market work in partnership with the community to improve the county's economy.

Cowley First: an Economic Partnership is the new countywide effort for economic development. Its purpose is to establish "an economic generating environment" by producing one collective voice for Cowley County. This voice comes from partnerships between funding partners and other stakeholders throughout Cowley County. The funding partners include the city of Arkansas City, the city of Winfield, Cowley College and Cowley County.

According to Arkansas City Chamber of Commerce President Yazmin Wood, an economic generating environment involves maintaining or expanding current businesses, encouraging start up of new businesses from current businesses and attracting new businesses from industry and local entrepreneurs. Wood said that Cowley First forms strategic partnerships in order to create this environment.

At the education level, Cowley College will partner with the community to provide help for future entrepreneurs. "It is a tough process of getting small business started," Cowley College President Pat McAtee said, "There are people out there with good creative business ideas but may not know how to develop a small business."

According to McAtee, Cowley College will have a new program to aid future entrepreneurs to work towards success. In this program, an entrepreneur will get advice and council with decisions, paperwork and how to be successful with their idea. The entrepreneur will grow their business in an incubator which provides additional training, clerical help and low rent space. McAtee has set May 16 as the target date to announce the new Vice President of Business Industry and Entrepreneurship.

At the city level, community development works with industry recruitment. "Industrial development brings dollars and job creating value into the community," City Manager Curt Freeland said. For Arkansas City to attract industries, it must demonstrate the best things it has in its community. "Our community has good skilled workers, a modest cost of living, a short commute as compared to other metropolitans and a good quality of life," he said. Events like the KEY Farm and Art Market help Freeland demonstrate this good quality of life.

At the state level, Representative Kasha Kelley is not personally involved with Cowley First, but her business focus in the legislature assists economic development in Cowley County. Kelley says that she is a business-minded representative in one of the strongest business-minded Kansas legislatures in recent times. Kelley supports insurance and tax reform for small businesses. "I would love to see all employers along our main street able to provide insurance to their employees," Kelley said. "I also want the business climate to improve for our current business owners."

Kelley also focuses to make Kansas a business friendly state and utilizes her networking skills to attract businesses to Cowley. "Whenever I am meeting with people," Kelley said, "I am listening and looking for business opportunities to bring them back to Strother (Field)." Kelley also said that with the right relationships and partnerships, Cowley's overall business climate will improve.

Ebert agrees about the importance of relationships, and therefore she anticipates the market. "It is opportunity for neighbors to bake and grow food that other neighbors can buy," Ebert said and added, "This is the heartland at its best."