Greetings from Historic Red Cloud: Great Stories Grow Here!
Set amid brick-lined streets, charming homes, historic buildings, and the immense beauty of the prairie, Red Cloud offers a glimpse into a storied American past while maintaining a progressive vision for the future. Great stories start in Red Cloud--add your own chapter today!
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Red Cloud Animal Health Named Business of the Year, Kyle Klein named Outstanding Volunteer of the Year during 71st Farmers & Merchants Banquet
The Red Cloud Area Chamber of Commerce hosted its annual Farmers & Merchants Banquet on Sept. 11th, 2021. Since the event fell on the 20th anniversary of the tragic events that occurred during 9/11, the Chamber honored first responders and military members during the first half of the evening which featured speeches from Brad Frey about the meaning of service, Red Cloud Volunteer Fire Department Chief Wes Olson, and EMT Mike Delka. Teresa Young, Director of the Webster County Historical Museum, also spoke about the various exhibits honoring the County's service members and first responders at the Museum.
One of the highlights of the event every year is the selection of Business of the Year. This year's recipient was Red Cloud Animal Health for providing more than decade worth of critical service to the community and due to their continued support of a wide variety of Red Cloud organizations. Congratulations to Dr. Keri Fangmeyer and her husband/co-owner Casey Fangmeyer (pictured above, each to the left of Chamber President Justin Armstrong).
First dollar of business award recipients were: Juan's Bar & Grill, Repeat Street Thrift Store, The Corner Nook, and Montgomery Realty & Auction. Utility rebate awards were also given out to The Corner Nook and The M Guest House. The Chamber matches the City's utility rebate program for businesses in their first year of operation up to $600. When paired with the City's up to $1200 rebate, businesses can get up to $1800 in rebates.
Kyle Klein, maintenance director at the Webster County Community Hospital, was the inaugural recipient of the Outstanding Volunteer of the Year award. This award is given to someone with unwavering passion and commitment to making the good life even better in southern Webster County. Klein has worked diligently to secure support and funding for a potential new hospital in addition to being involved with the Chamber of Commerce, Webster County Senior Services, the Lions Club, the Red Cloud Community Fund, and the Repeat Street Thrift Store, is an EMT, and is a vocal and consistent supporter of community development projects.
The 2021 banquet was also the last featuring Justin Armstrong as President of the Chamber. Justin, wife Ana, and their family have been instrumental in keeping most of the events organized by the Chamber of Commerce alive. The Armstrongs plan to stay involved with the Chamber of Commerce which is a blessing as their leadership and commitment to making Red Cloud a better place would be sorely missed.
This year's event was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It will be a quick turnaround next year. as the 72nd Farmers & Merchants Banquet is presently envisioned to occur during its regularly scheduled time in late January or early February of 2022. The event is a major fundraiser for the Chamber of Commerce as tickets, drink sales, sponsorships, and raffle/auction items help the Chamber pay for the various events it conducts during the year, including Street Car Days. Community and business support is necessary for the events to continue and is sincerely appreciated.
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Red Cloud Community Fund's September Month of Giving Meets $20K goal, still raising money for the community
As September slips away, please remember to make a donation to the Red Cloud Community Fund's September Month of Giving Campaign and help make Red Cloud the best small town in America by helping support community projects. See the leaderboard in the image above for standings as of Sept. 29th. RCCF has met its match goal of $20K total but would love to raise even more for the good of the community and will accept donations for the causes listed above through Oct.8th.
RCCF wishes to thank Schriner Farms, Gottsch Cattle Company, Kenny's Hardware & Home Center, The M Guest House, Red Cloud Animal Health, GTA Insurance Group, C&D Service Center, Red Cloud Tourism & Commerce, the Willa Cather Foundation, South Central State Bank, Garwood & McCracken Attorneys, The Corner Nook, On the Brix and Heritage Bank for their support and are also deeply appreciative of the individual donations they have received.
Fill out this form to learn more and pick which cause you want to support! You can also just donate to the general account if you would prefer. If you'd prefer to donate online, please click the button below. You can donate to Heritage Tourism and TVCDC using the online portal.
Supporting the recreation trail will help ensure Phase I of the project, which would connect the elementary school to TVCDC (and make for a safer walk for children going between the two facilities), gets completed. Supporting the Ballfields Project will help the Red Cloud Athletic Association improve the crow's nest, create a new concession stand and bathrooms, and improve the existing concession stand building for storage and an umpire's room. Support of the Hotel Garber/SCSB Challenge will help the Red Cloud Hotel, LLC meet it's goal of raising $25,000 to receiving matching funds from South Central State Bank. Support of the other projects means that those projects can do more for the community. Undesignated funds will be granted by RCCF to one of the causes listed above before the end of the year.
Contact RCCF Chair Jarrod McCartney or any committee member (Danny Benge, Dennis Hansen, Stacie Heldt, Ashley Armstrong, Ashley Olson, Kim Ely, Kory McCracken, Adam Vetter, Kyle Klein, or Jay Yost) to learn more or make a donation.
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Red Cloud Community Schools and Business Community Celebrate Homecoming Week
Local businesses celebrated Homecoming week at Red Cloud Community Schools by decorating their exteriors, either by themselves or with the assistance of the Red Cloud cheerleaders. Businesses that decorate by themselves are eligible for the Best Business prize. On the Brix (pictured above) won this year's prize with its Angry Birds inspired theme, but competition was stiff especially from Hometown Market.
Homecoming week itself featured lots of great sports, good times, and several fun dress-up days at the school. This year's Homecoming King and Queen are Kolton Kucera and Celia McDole. Pictured below L to R is the Homecoming royal court: Beau Lewis, Landon Mahon, McDole, Kucera, Kayce Clark, and Carson McCleary. Red Cloud won the Friday football game, walloping Harvard 74-31.
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After a 74-31 thrashing of Harvard in which the Warriors put up 54 points by halftime to celebrate Homecoming Week, Red Cloud improved to 4-0 and is currently ranked #4 in 6 Man Football by the Omaha World-Herald. Red Cloud will travel to play at Wilcox-Hildreth on Oct. 1st. A battle with #5 Franklin looms on Oct. 8th.
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YWCA School of Dance Opens in the National Willa Cather Center; Twisted Petal Set to Open in Former Riverwood Bakery/Lizzy's Location
Parents of young dancers from the Catherland region were able to breath a huge sigh of relief this September as the doors opened for the first time in the YWCA School of Dance's Red Cloud studio. No longer do parents have to drive all the way to Hastings 1 or more times on school nights each week from September to May. Beyond the YWCA recognizing the market available in the community, the studio is made possible in large part due to the efforts of Val Benge who is doing all of the instruction at the Red Cloud location.
Dance practices will culminate with recitals for the various age groups at the Hastings High School Auditorium in late May. We're hoping the girls can make it to the RC Opera House stage as well if circumstances permit. Contact Val Benge or Director Cindy Cummins at 402-303-1300 if you want to learn more about the YWCA School of Dance.
There's also exciting news down the street as The Twisted Petal will soon open a storefront at 309 N. Webster St. Debby Janzen is the owner and the store will be a flower shop, boutique, and sell some food, drinks and baked goods. Janzen's original location is still in operation in nearby Smith Center.
We're also excited to announce that Silver Spur Boutique, which we featured last month in this video, officially opened for business Labor Day Weekend. Silver Spur is located within the former retail space of Stockaid Liquor.
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Plan your weekend escape to Red Cloud!
Heritage Tourism intern Cheyenne Knehans designed the ad below over the summer. The ad will be featured in the 2022 Nebraska Travel Guide. Click on it and you'll find several ideas about things to do and see in and around Red Cloud. Includes several sample itineraries!
Advertising for the Nebraska Travel Guide was made possible by a grant Heritage Tourism wrote for the Red Cloud Area Chamber of Commerce. This same grant resulted in two social media blitzes that ran on the Visit Nebraska Facebook page in mid-July and earlier this month. Both blitzes were successful and among the most popular ads ran by the state of Nebraska in 2021! Users who clicked on the ads were taken to the following webpages about Red Cloud: "10 Great Ways to Experience Red Cloud" and "Plan Your Weekend Escape to Red Cloud."
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Career Opportunity for Visitors Services Coordinator at the National Willa Cather Center
The Visitor Services Coordinator, a newly-created full-time exempt position, will report to the Education Coordinator and will support the Willa Cather Foundation’s mission through education and customer service. The Coordinator will play a meaningful role in shaping an outstanding visitor experience for supporters and guests who visit the National Willa Cather Center. Click here on the photo above for more information and to learn how to apply!
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