“There are people still here in Wichita that don’t know we exist.”
– Doug Nunamaker of Atlas MD on recent attention the company has received for its concierge medicine on a “Here & Now” radio segment today and in a Bloomberg Businessweek article last week
“If you notice any signs — the stains, the skins, the bugs themselves — notify your supervisor!”
– Schendel Pest Services marketing director Michele Vance, quoted in a Dec. 5 New York Times article about bedbugs in libraries, on her instructions to Wichita library workers during a “bedbug boot camp”
“I want to be one of the 1 percent. But the problem with the 1 percent is there’s only 1 percent of them. If you want to build a business model that’s really far-reaching and world-changing, then it’s got to fit everybody.”
– Josh Umbehr of Atlas MD quoted in a Bloomberg Businessweek story this week on concierge medicine
WICHITA — You might call Roger Scholfield a ladies’ man, though perhaps not in the traditional sense.
His Scholfield Honda has been recognized a couple of times recently for offering great customer service to women.
On Wednesday, Forbes wrote about a survey that WomenCertified conducted last fall for Dealer Magazine, which Scholfield calls one of the two biggest industry magazines for automobile dealers. Of about 175 dealerships that responded, Scholfield Honda was one of 33 that WomenCertified chose to feature.
“When the receptionist said Forbes magazine was on the line, I thought they were calling to renew my subscription,” Scholfield says.
Instead, the magazine wanted to learn about his dealership’s way with women.
“It’s all about listening to our clients and just providing a really nice atmosphere for them,” Scholfield says. “When you meet women’s expectations, you exceed your male clients’ expectations.”
After he did the survey, Scholfield says, “Within a couple of weeks, they called us back and said, ‘Wow, your dealership had one of the largest responses of all dealerships in the country.’”
WICHITA — Wichita and the Tallgrass Film Festival are getting some great press courtesy of MovieMaker magazine.
The magazine’s latest annual ranking of best places for independent filmmakers to shoot puts Wichita at No. 10.
“It’s kind of verifying something that we already knew,” says Jessy Clonts, Tallgrass’ marketing director. “What this proves is that other people feel that way, too, and hopefully it gets the attention of people who want to make films in this area.”
MovieMaker makes its picks based on “those places that go the extra mile in welcoming lower-budget productions just as much as they do the ‘big guns.’ ”
The magazine quotes Tallgrass Film Association executive director Lela Meadow-Conner on why Wichita works.
“Shooting is easy here. There’s very little red tape, permits aren’t required for filming on public property and there are plenty of local people who are experienced in all aspects of production and readily available for shoots.”
Kansas Film Commission director Peter Jasso agreed that “Wichita is a home away from home for filmmakers looking to turn their dreams into realities.”
It’s why, the magazine says, “Slowly but surely, Wichita is becoming an indie moviemaker’s Eden.”
WICHITA — The state tourism department has a new contract for the 2013 Kansas Official Visitors Guide, but it’s not with a Kansas company.
“I’m certainly not very happy with how everything went down with the RFP,” says Jeff Peterson, president of Topeka-based Peterson Publications.
Kansas companies used to produce and sell advertising for the guides until several years ago when Iowa-based Midwest Living took it over.
For a time, Peterson Publications continued to sell the advertising, then Midwest handled it, then it went back to Peterson.
Now, the state has contracted with Arizona-based Madden Media for sales and production.
“They produce guides for several destinations around the country, have great experience in doing that (and) have the capacity to do a project of this magnitude,” says tourism director Becky Blake.
There were six companies that submitted bids, including three Kansas companies.
“It’s also fair to say that this project was not one that I think any of these companies have done on the scale that I think the Kansas Visitors Guide is,” Blake says.
The guide is returning to an annual schedule with 300,000 copies compared to a recent biannual schedule with 700,000 copies.
Blake says cost was a factor in Madden’s selection as was some of the extras the company can offer, such as in the digital realm. She says the company will assist in distribution, too, and has the contacts to get the guides in the hands of more travelers.
Local firms are always a consideration, Blake says.
“The RFP even states a local company certainly would be preferable if … everything else was equal,” she says.
“I’ll tell you, both the writer and the photographer who came to town fell in love with Wichita.”
— Farha Construction’s Ted Farha on a national story about Wichita (particularly focusing on the Finn Lofts he helped build) in the October issue of Dwell magazine
“No, I’m not an alien and I wasn’t abducted!”
— A Facebook post by Medi-Weightloss Clinics spokesman Jerome Biggars on a National Enquirer story on his and his wife’s more than 400-pound weight loss
“Wow.”
– Peter Salmeron’s reaction when he learned that his Complete Landscaping Systems made No. 1,582 on Inc. magazine’s annual list of the 5,000 fastest-growing private companies in America