Morton County Business Spotlight

08/10/2021

Congratulations!!! 👏 BIG C's is our business Spotlight for August!! Owned and operated by April Kerbo!! This country style cafe is Open 6 days a week with a wide variety of entrées!! April and her amazing team are a huge asset to our community!!!

07/03/2021

July Business Spotlight
Beginning in 1980, crop insurance changed from being strictly a government program to partnering with private insurance companies. Pate Agency was launched in July of 1980, by Ben Pate, and was called Ben Pate Agency LLC. Ben was a farmer/rancher, he was married to Barbara, and they had three kids Jeff, Pam, and Steve. Ben started his business going door to door, visiting with local farmers and offering them a reliable agent and quality insurance. He worked long hours to develop relationships and build up his business. That dependable trust resulted in a growing number of insureds and helped grow the business into what it is today.
In the early 90’s, Congress began making and changing rules for farmers, requiring them to carry insurance in certain situations. Crop Insurance was a service in high demand at that time, and Ben Pate Agency began to expand. By 1993, Pam and Jeff had joined Ben in the Elkhart office as agents. Beginning in 1995, other agents in other locations were contracted to work as agents as well. The agency expanded out of the Kansas area and began selling insurance in Oklahoma, Colorado, and Texas. Pate Agency was able to give their insureds the best service possible, with the addition of these experienced agents and other location options.
In the 2000s, Pam and Jeff became owners of this family business, and despite the passing of Ben, continued to work hard and provide quality service for their insureds. The agency bought an old implement dealership on Main Street renovated it for new office space, and hired new employees for this location. The new office name was Pate Agency LP.
Pate Agency LP now has office locations in Elkhart, Johnson, Sublette, Lakin, Hugoton, and Cherokee, OK, and has 11 licensed agents available. This amazing, and well-rounded team, is not only able to provide farmers valuable experience, service, and prices for insurance, but they also strive to make a positive impact in their communities as well. You will see them contributing their time and resources to community events, school activities, clubs, and organizations. Whether in or out of the office, they value the relationships with their insureds, and the service they provide the communities. This encompasses the family type business the Pate Agency team is, and how those traits have been carried on since the beginning.
CONGRATULATIONS PATE AGENCY YOU ARE MORTON COUNTY CHAMBER BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT FOR JULY!

06/05/2021

Congratulations to The Rolla Corner Stop! You are our Business of the Month for June!
The Rolla Corner Stop was built in 1985 by owners Dallas and Kent Bressler as an expansion of Bressler Oil Co. They determined a need for Fuel Station/Convenience Store in Rolla and felt it would be the perfect location for the business. Then owners Ron and Pat DeGarmo purchased the Rolla Corner Stop in October 2006. Now under new ownership Jessica Hanson continues to provide quality service to Rolla, the surrounding communities, not to mention all the people traveling through on HWY 56. Jessica and her staff offer a full menu of food items for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. They also offer a daily lunch special that may include spaghetti and meatballs, enchilada casserole, chicken fried steak or fish tacos depending upon the day. Open Monday thru Saturday 5 am-9 pm, Sunday 6am-9pm for all your convenience store needs, stop by the Rolla Corner Stop.

05/01/2021

"Boaldin Electric and Refrigeration was established in the late 1980's and has had the privilege of serving Elkhart community and the surrounding area for almost 35 years. We provide a variety of services including your electrical, refrigeration, and HVAC needs. Owners, Kent and Diana Boaldin along with valued employee Justin Sparkman thank everyone for your business and continued support! We encourage everyone to support every aspect of our wonderful community. Elkhart and the surrounding area is a great place to call home and we are proud to be a part of it!! " 👏👏👏👏Thank you Kent for those wonderful words and CONGRATULATIONS ON BEING OUR CHAMBER BUSINESS OF THE MONTH FOR MAY!!

05/25/2017

Congratulations to this Months Business Spotlight ....Rolla Skating Rink

We are often asked “What’s unique about your community, what makes you stand out from the rest?” The Rolla Skating Rink is the first thing I think of when I think of Rolla’s uniqueness. There are few communities the size of Rolla that still have a skating rink. The building that houses the skating rink was once the American Legion Hall where community dinners and Big Band dances took place, the hub of activity on a Saturday night in downtown Rolla. The American Legion deeded the building to the City of Rolla in 1993 and in 1994 the Recreation Commission leased the building to operate as a skating rink. Currently it is open seasonally (October – May) due to the hot summers (no AC) and is the only roller rink from Rolla to Pratt. There are people that travel from SE Colorado schools, Liberal, Hugoton, Guymon, Ulysses, Tyrone and Turpin. They have regular skate nights from 6 p.m.-10 p.m. Thursday thru Saturday and parties upon request. It’s free to all USD 217 and staff, out of town guests are a whole dollar and concession stand is available as well. Plan your next party or family outing at the Rolla Skating Rink, it has recently undergone a beautiful façade renovation thanks to the City of Rolla, you won’t be disappointed.

03/31/2017

Join the Force! Be a Voice!!

Only "8" more members to go to reach our 200 member goal!!!! Today is the last day of the Chamber membership drive!!! Have you signed up to be a member yet? Come to the Chamber office at 459 Morton today or give us a call at 697-4600!

03/09/2017

Fink Water Well Service
Fink Water Well Service offers new water well installation, existing well repair, line trenching, windmill repair, small irrigation well repair and domestic well service. Owners Brandon and Breeann Fink purchased the business in June of 2016. Working together in daily operations, Brandon provides the labor and Bree does the accounting, truly a family owned business. These young entrepreneurs are carrying on a tradition that has a long history in our community. This particular water well service dates back to H.P. Steele, a name some of us remember. Stout Farrington purchased the business from H.P in 1975 and sold it to Chad Parker in 2008. “Water is an essential part of living and I’m committed to providing clean, safe water to our customers”, Brandon said. Is your water well down? Call Fink Water Well Service at 580-651-0238.

03/03/2017

Strategic plan for our county gets this weeks spotlight!!

Building a Strong Future 4 Morton County
An intense four days of public input, focus group meetings and planning team development has resulted in a preliminary Draft Strategic Plan for the future of Morton County. With the assistance of facilitators, James Hoelscher and Karla Organist of IDM (Institute for Decision Making), civic leaders, local officials, business owners and community members identified assets and prioritized objectives. This process recognized six areas of development with three objectives each and suggested action items for each of the objectives. The six areas include Business Retention & Expansion, Talent Development, Tourism, Marketing & Communications, Community Engagement and Business Attraction. We are in the process of assigning action teams to implement and carry out the plan. If you are interested in participating or would like more information, please contact Becki Richardson at 697-2111 or Vienna Lee at 697-2525.

03/03/2017

Building a Strong Future 4 Morton County
An intense four days of public input, focus group meetings and planning team development has resulted in a preliminary Draft Strategic Plan for the future of Morton County. With the assistance of facilitators, James Hoelscher and Karla Organist of IDM (Institute for Decision Making), civic leaders, local officials, business owners and community members identified assets and prioritized objectives. This process recognized six areas of development with three objectives each and suggested action items for each of the objectives. The six areas include Business Retention & Expansion, Talent Development, Tourism, Marketing & Communications, Community Engagement and Business Attraction. We are in the process of assigning action teams to implement and carry out the plan. If you are interested in participating or would like more information, please contact Becki Richardson at 697-2111 or Vienna Lee at 697-2525.

02/24/2017

Pate Agency LP
When the Federal Crop Insurance Act of 1980 created a public-private partnership where private insurance companies would sell and service federal crop insurance policies, Pam Pate got busy. With her first baby in a playpen, office space at State Farm, phone books and a stack of index cards, Pam worked tirelessly making phone calls trying to establish a clientele, “George Atwood was my first customer” Pam said. When Pam moved to Garden City in 1981, her dad Ben continued to grow the business while she still remained involved in the company long distance. Pam and her family returned to Elkhart in 1989, her brother Jeff joined Ben and Pam in 1991 and soon formed a corporation Pate Agency LP. Pate Agency provides crop insurance services in Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma and Texas with 10 licensed agents and office locations in Lakin, Johnson, Hugoton, Sublette, Elkhart and Cherokee, OK. What can’t be ignored are the many contributions they make to support local community events, school activities and civic clubs/organizations. Pate Agency LP is located at 644 Morton St. which is also noteworthy, a few years ago they renovated an old implement dealership and turned it into a beautiful office building, enhancing the aesthetic of our downtown.