The Chickasha Community lost a Community Giant last week. Since his passing, there has been so many social media posts from all over Oklahoma sharing their condolences to his family. Steve LaForge did so much for so many, but it wasn’t just limited to our town. His presence was felt everywhere. God knew what he was doing when he made Steve. Steve stood out from the crowd with those Hawaiian shirts and always said to “dress where you want to be,” but he was so much more than just those colorful shirts. Steve was the Spirit of Chickasha! He supported so many causes to help local youth, I don’t know that I could come close to name them all. Stocking catfish in the pond at Shannon Springs Park always stood out to me, but his generosity showed up all over our Community. He was a very accomplished businessman, but he was devoted to make all of Chickasha successful! He is the reason we have much of the retail in the 4 th and Grand area when he was developing it. He served many years on the Chickasha Economic Development Council and the Chickasha Industrial Authority. He sponsored numerous events and was a proud and outspoken member of the Chamber of Commerce. Some of my favorite memories of Steve were over the last year as he would provide the weekly deep thoughts at Rotary. These were typically jokes about “little johnny” that maybe not everyone was able to hear, but caused everyone to laugh. Steve always insisted that Rotary speakers use the microphone, but often forgot to use it himself. There is no way I can do justice in this article to what Steve meant to Chickasha. There’s just too much. Steve commanded respect because of not just who he was, but what he did for others. He was comfortable speaking his mind and his vast experience in business provided him significant insight that when he spoke, people listened. He inspired others to not settle, but to push to make big things happen. Chickasha is going to miss Steve LaForge because the way he lived his life to help others was the definition of #TheGoodStuff!

In today’s world, online reviews are one of the most powerful tools in your marketing toolbox. People trust reviews from other customers almost as much as a personal recommendation. Whether it’s on Google, Yelp, or Facebook, positive reviews can have a major impact on your business—boosting your reputation, increasing visibility, and even growing your sales. In fact, studies show that 80% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal referrals, and positive reviews can increase conversions by a whopping 270%. But it's not just about getting reviews—it’s about how you use them to your advantage. As part of our Local Love Campaign, we’re encouraging our community to review and support local businesses. Here’s how your business can get more reviews and turn them into something that truly works for you. Why Reviews Matter for Your Business Let’s start with the basics: why do reviews ever matter ? First off, visibility. Google, Yelp, and Facebook use reviews to rank businesses in local search results. The more positive reviews you have, the higher your chances of being discovered by new customers. Reviews aren’t just about making your business look good—they’re also a direct way to get noticed online. Then there’s trust. Reviews help build credibility. People are more likely to choose a business that has glowing reviews over one that doesn’t have any (or worse, a bunch of negative ones). Positive reviews act as a form of social proof, showing that your business delivers the quality and experience customers are looking for. And don’t forget the feedback. Reviews are an incredible resource for improving your business. They offer valuable insights into what your customers love (and maybe what needs a little work). This direct feedback can help you level up your products, services, and customer experience. How to Encourage More Reviews Now that we’ve established why reviews are so important, how can you actually get more of them? It’s easier than you might think! Start by asking for reviews. Don’t be afraid to ask your happy customers directly. After a great experience, ask them to leave a review on Google, Yelp, or Facebook. You can do this in person, in an email, or even with a little note on your receipt. The key is making it simple and straightforward. Make sure the process is easy. Include links to your review pages on your website, in your email signature, and across your social media. The fewer steps your customers have to take, the more likely they are to leave a review. One way to motivate customers is by offering a little something extra as a thank you for their reviews. While you can’t directly offer rewards for reviews, you can show your appreciation by thanking them in person, sharing their review on social media, or even holding a monthly drawing for a small prize. And don’t forget to respond to reviews—both positive and negative. Responding to reviews shows that you care about customer feedback. A simple “thank you” goes a long way. If you do get a negative review, use it as an opportunity to make things right and show that you’re dedicated to improving. Leverage the Local Love Campaign As part of our Local Love Campaign during February we’re pushing for everyone in the community to leave reviews and support local businesses. Here’s how you can get involved: Start by reviewing other local businesses. If you’re a business owner, make it a point to leave reviews for the other local businesses you love. It’s a simple way to show your support for the community, and it may just encourage others to do the same for you. Encourage your customers to share their reviews on social media and tag your business. This not only shows them you appreciate their feedback, but it also spreads the love and gives you more visibility. And don’t be shy about showcasing your reviews. Share the positive feedback you get on your website, in your emails, or on your social media pages. When customers see that others are praising your business, it makes them more likely to check you out (and leave their own review!). Read more about our Love Local Shop Chickasha Campaign on our website here. Turning Reviews into Actionable Insights It’s not just about getting reviews—it’s about using them to grow. Here’s how you can make the most of the feedback you receive: Use positive reviews as testimonials in your marketing materials. Share them on your website or in an email campaign to build trust with potential customers. People are more likely to do business with you when they see real feedback from others. And don’t forget to take action on any negative reviews you receive. No one likes getting bad feedback, but it’s actually an opportunity to show your commitment to improvement. Respond professionally, apologize if needed, and let customers know what steps you’re taking to resolve the issue. This transparency can often turn a negative review into a positive experience. Lastly, pay attention to recurring themes in your reviews. Do customers consistently mention how friendly your staff is, or how much they love your product? These are things you can highlight in your marketing to attract more customers. Similarly, if you spot a common issue in reviews, use it as a learning opportunity to make necessary improvements. Get Involved in the Community As we continue to push the Local Love Campaign, remember that supporting local goes both ways. Take time to leave a review for another local business, attend community events, and engage with your fellow business owners. The more we support one another, the stronger our community becomes—and the more successful we all can be. Sources: marquiz.io | 69 Online Review Statistics To Know: The Complete List (2024) capitaloneshopping.com | Online Reviews Statistics

Last week I had the opportunity to tour representatives from Shawnee’s Economic Development. They wanted to visit to see what all was going on here and understand more what we are doing and why we are doing it. I always enjoy talking with people from peer cities to see how we are similar, but also how we are different. According the 2020 census, Shawnee has a population of over 31,000 people. That is almost twice our size. In terms of traffic, Shawnee has over 3 million more cars pass along I-40 per year than we have pass by on I-44. That’s a lot of traffic. Their annual sales tax is also almost twice what we collect. When I meet with other cities, my goal is to always try and learn about what they are doing better than us and if we can replicate that here in Chickasha. I will be going to Shawnee to visit them soon and I am excited to understand more about how they are recruiting more people to live there and more new businesses to open. We discussed issues that face both our Communities like Industrial development, new housing editions, recruiting new retail business, homelessness, redeveloping our Downtowns and retention of City Managers. In some areas, they were doing better and some areas we are doing better. It’s not a competition, but instead an opportunity to find proven ways to make our towns better. Having a vision for your town and building a consensus with multiple groups on how to turn that vision into a reality seems to be a major challenge everywhere. This is what stood out to my friends from Shawnee. They really liked how our Chamber and Economic Development work closely together. When you add in all our schools, City hall and the business community, then we truly become a strong Community and that is why I use the capital “C” when I refer to our Community! Our momentum is strong and it’s very noticeable, even by a town almost twice our size. Every town has its challenges and Chickasha Oklahoma is no different, but as long as we all work together and try to learn from peer cities around us, then the sky is the limit. Anything is possible! As we wind down the month of January, I am really excited about what will be happening here the rest of this calendar year. Some BIG announcements are coming that will help us grow! I can’t wait to go visit some other towns and share with them all #TheGoodStuff that is happening in our town!

#TheGoodStuff Christmas Town...Who Cares?

As a member of the Chickasha Festival of Light Board, I have been in several meeting throughout the year planning events for this upcoming holiday season. It’s hard to believe that our nationally recognized Christmas Light Display will be opening up next month. Wow…time is flying by this year! Last year the USA Today recognized the Festival of Light as the Number 2 Christmas Light Display in the entire country. So…what’s next? The Festival of Light Board is calling it North Pole Village. This year in the area North of the dam at Shannon Spring Park, a village will be created full of lights, food trucks, photo ready displays and of course Santa’s Hut with a brand new Santa Sleigh perfect for that family picture. There will also be two tents available for renting every night that the festival if open. Church groups, Christmas parties, and family events will now have a place to reserve and make those special memories. Also new this year, the big tree is being digitized with new lights. The FOL Board entered into an agreement with the University of Oklahoma to introduce the iconic Christmas Tree to the new age of technology. This agreement is a two year project that will start this year with all new lights, but will continue into 2025 by introducing digital programming in time for next summer’s Christmas in July and then again for the 2025 Festival Season. This is a very expensive process that is only possible thanks to the generosity of Liberty Bank. They stepped up to be the major sponsor of all this new technology to the Big Tree! The success of over 3 decades of people enjoying the Festival of Light in Chickasha is possible because of that original group of people that believed in creating something special. Then you add in literally hundreds of volunteers, tons of local sponsors and now we are adding “What’s Next.” We just continue to have new and exciting things happening in Chickasha. “If you aren’t growing, you are dying” was a quote from Senator Lankford when he visited Chickasha recently. He was referencing all the new businesses that have come to our Community recently, but the same can be said about the Festival of Light. EVERY town in Oklahoma would like to be “Christmas Town.” As long as we keep challenging ourselves and asking “What’s Next?” we will continue to see amazing things happen and we will be able to showcase all of #TheGoodStuff!

At their monthly meeting in OKC this week, ODOT Commissioners voted on a full agenda of projects across the state and one of them was approving an 80/20 matching grant to do the engineering on building a pedestrian bridge from the Fairgrounds across the railroad tracks into Downtown. The City Council had also applied for a grant to redo the pedestrian bridge at Shannon Spring Park, but that grant was not approved. Hopefully that one will get approved next year. The significance of a pedestrian bridge for Downtown may be hard for some to understand, but it represents major progress in growing not just Downtown, but also the Grady County Fairgrounds. This first phase of engineering for the bridge will have a positive impact on plans to build a Hotel at the Fairgrounds, which will only add to all the amenities there already. Our Fairgrounds is regarded as the best in Oklahoma outside of OKC and Tulsa and now the future looks even brighter. With the engineering and planning on the bridge expected to start by the end of the year, actually starting construction will require another grant in a couple of years as well as other possible federal funding. So there is still a lot to be done, but the key is that we have moved from “talking about it” to actually planning it. During walking tours last week with both Senator Lankford and Lt. Governor Pinnell, they were both complimentary of the progress we have made in Chickasha and both were encouraged as our vision for the future was shared. To turn dreams into reality takes a lot of hard work and determination as well as celebrating some success along the way. It takes everyone working together! Now for those of you that are concerned the vision for growth is only for Downtown, there is some great news coming soon that doesn’t have anything to do with that area of town. You see our entire town is experiencing progress and growth. So much more to share in the coming months. Like the mural on the fence says: Chickasha Oklahoma…Good Things Happen Here! And that’s #TheGoodStuff!

Halloween enthusiasts in Chickasha can get their spooky fix throughout October with a lineup of themed events and activities. This year, Chickasha Ave. transforms into Pumpkin Lane , a festive corridor from 6th to 1st Street featuring jack-o'-lantern heads atop the lampposts. Throughout the Halloween season, local merchants and organizations have adopted light poles to decorate for the Pumpkin Lane Decorating Contest , which will be judged closer to Halloween. The halloween festivities officially begin on October 11th with the 2nd Annual Fright Night . The evening kicks off with free pumpkin painting at 6:00 PM at Shakespeare Wine Company , followed by the costume parade at 7:00 PM , starting at 6th and Kansas and continuing down Chickasha Ave. to the Leg Lamp. The parade invites everyone in costume to join at Shakespeare Wine Company or simply watch along the avenue. For those with a competitive streak, the Great Pumpkin Decorating Contest is now open, with entries accepted from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM on October 11th at the Leg Lamp . Participants are asked to carve their pumpkins at home and drop them off at the Leg Lamp during Fright Night on October 11th . Categories for the contest include Spookiest , Cutest , Funniest , and Most Creative , with winners in each category receiving a $50 prize . Those interested in participating need to register online at www.chickashachamber.com/decoratepumpkin But that’s not all! Save the Date for even more Halloween fun with the Neewollah Fall Festival and the 2nd Annual Chickasha Civic Club Chili Cookoff on October 26th from 4:00 -7:00 PM on the east end of Chickasha Ave . Expect a afternoon filled with delicious chili and plenty of fall festivities to celebrate the season.  Families, thrill-seekers, and Halloween lovers alike will find plenty of activities to enjoy all month long, from costume parades to pumpkin contests. Be sure to keep an eye on the full schedule of events on visitchickasha.com to make the most of the spooky season in Chickasha! For more details on how to participate in any of these events, visit www.chickashachamber.com/spookychickasha or contact the Chickasha Chamber of Commerce at (405) 224-0787.

This week we will welcome tourism professionals from all over the state to Chickasha as they attend Lt. Governor Matt Pinnell’s Tourism Summit. He works with the Oklahoma Travel Industry Association to put these on and only does two each year. We are honored to host one of them this year. As Lt. Governor, Pinnell has been an outspoken advocate for Tourism throughout Oklahoma and believes that it is the “front door” of Economic Development. Chickasha has long been a tourism destination during the Festival of Light, but in the last few years we have had a more strategic approach to drawing visitors to town. The Fairgrounds and The Sports Complex have also been attracting visitors from out of town, but recently we have worked to market to those groups more so that they are aware of everything we have to offer. We now have tourism brochures to hand out as our visitors arrive as well as rack cards at our state welcome centers when people make their first stop in Oklahoma. This past weekend, our Community hosted the Rock Island Weekend and welcomed visitors from all over Oklahoma as well as Texas, Kansas and Arkansas. Reagan Elkins captured an amazing picture of what Downtown looked like and it was shared all over the place. Wow did Chickasha look amazing! No wonder the Rock Island weekend partnership was recognized with an award from the Oklahoma Travel Industry Association! One of the most important visitors are the ones that grew up here, but now live somewhere else. I read multiple posts on social media from folks who hadn’t been in Chickasha in years and were amazed with what was going on. They enjoyed the event, but they loved what they saw in their hometown. Comments like: “I’m proud of my town and how far we have come in the last few years and look forward to the continued progress to make us a spot you want to visit” and “Proud of my home town and the growth of the community!!! Good things happening in Chickasha!” From the Leg Lamp to Ralphie’s House Airbnb to the Air Show and Christmas in July, we have so many answers to the “Why Chickasha” campaign that we have been promoting. To grow a City you first have to get someone to come and see what you have to offer. That is why our Lt. Governor says that Tourism is the front door to Economic Development. Welcome to Chickasha tourism officials, we are honored that you decided to Visit Chickasha and see all #TheGoodStuff we have to offer!

I think it was back in 2018 that Josh Woods and Zach Grayson decided that anything is possible in Chickasha Oklahoma. As successful entrepreneurs owning and operating Interurban restaurant, they also had a food truck that they had entered into the Texas Food Truck Championship. They thought that if a rural town in Texas could host a state championship, then they could do the same thing here in our Community. This weekend we will celebrate the 7th annual Oklahoma Food Truck Championship in Downtown Chickasha. Josh and Zach handed the event off to the Chickasha Chamber of Commerce in 2022. The past couple of years over 15,000 people from all over Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas and Arkansas have enjoyed food from over 30 Food Trucks. There is $10,000 in prize money up for grabs! There will also be live music throughout the day and Summer Breeze from Duncan will be performing classic hits starting at 7:30. But this weekend is about so much more than just food trucks. The Oklahoma Travel Industry Association recognized the Rock Island Weekend as runner up for best partnership of 2023 at the this year’s Red Bud Awards. The Rock Island Weekend includes all the events that start this Friday. The Chickasha Area Arts Council has hosted the Rock Island Arts Festival for many years. Over 100 vendors will fill Chickasha avenue both Friday and Saturday. The Rock Island Ride will again kick things off Saturday morning when an expected 300 bicycle enthusiasts ride all over the Chickasha area before the enjoy the food trucks. There will also be around 300 people participating in the “Together we heel” walk to raise awareness about domestic violence. Josh and Zach were absolutely right, anything is possible in our town when we all work together! Chickasha is hosting the Championship for the entire state of Oklahoma. What a great way to showcase our Community. The City of Chickasha is a big sponsor as well as SaltCreek Casino, but many businesses from all over Chickasha support the event. When we come together as a strong Community and believe anything is possible, incredible things happen. When we work together and support each other, then we can overcome obstacles and showcase our town. Josh and Zach believing anything is possible? I think they understood #TheGoodStuff long before I started writing about it. Let’s have an incredible weekend Chickasha!