Melissa Harmer shares updates on some of Raymore's infrastructure projects and Raymore's Economic Development Director Jordan Lea talks about celebrating local businesses with Small Business Week and the Workforce YOU initiative – all part of the ongoing efforts to make Raymore a great place to live, work and visit.
• More than $8.8 million is being invested in large infrastructure projects throughout Raymore this year
• Sunset Lane Extension Project creating a new north-south connection through town
• Annual curb replacement program replacing almost 23,000 feet of curb and ADA ramps
• More than $2 million budgeted for the annual street preservation program
• Raymore celebrates Small Business Week and encourages residents to try a new Raymore business this week
• The Barn, an expansion of The Quilted Cow, having ribbon cutting on May 9 at 11am
• Workforce YOU initiative addressing barriers to employment in Cass County
• Economic Development Director Jordan Lea available at jlea@raymore.com
Check out the interactive map of local businesses at raymore.com/smallbizweek to discover restaurants, shops and services in our community.
Learn more about the City of Raymore's Communications Department at www.raymore.com/communications
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Threads @CityofRaymoreMO
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Melissa Harmer (00:10):
Welcome to Say More in Raymore, the City of
Raymore's official podcast.
I'm your host, Melissa Harmer,the Communications Director at
the City of Raymore.
In this series, we're givingyou an insider's look at the
things happening in your citygovernment, whether it's new
developments shaping thecommunity, upcoming events or
the latest news that impactseveryday life in Raymore.
We'll also introduce you to thepeople who work behind the
scenes, our dedicated city staffwho make it all happen.
(00:32):
So stay tuned, because we'rehere to help you get to know the
people, the projects and theprograms that make Raymore a
great place to live, work andvisit.
One episode at a time.
Hello, it is May 2025.
And this first full week of May, may 4th through 10th, is
National Small Business Week.
We're also, of course,celebrating small businesses in
(00:53):
Raymore, and we're going to talkabout that with today's guest,
Raymore Economic DevelopmentDirector, Jordan Lea, in just a
little bit.
But I also wanted to mentionthat this first week of May is
Public Service Recognition Weekas well.
And think about the people inpublic service, from local
government, like right here atthe City of Raymore, all the way
up to federal agencies.
(01:13):
They are the frontline workers,the police dispatchers who work
in 911 call centers,firefighters, paramedics,
librarians, teachers and otherswho work in public education and
public health.
They're the people who fill thepotholes, people who make sure
your water is safe to drink, theones who work at the wastewater
treatment plants.
They're the ones who take careof our local and national parks
(01:37):
and other public spaces.
There are so many differentcareer areas in public service,
but the goal is always the sameto provide programs and services
that represent the bestinterests of the public.
And, speaking of services,maintaining infrastructure is
one of those major services thatis vital to our residents'
(01:57):
safety and quality of life herein Raymore.
I do have some updates onongoing projects in Raymore.
Right now we have more than$8.8 million going into large
infrastructure projects thisyear.
We call those capital projects,so I'll start with right now
the Sunset Lane ExtensionProject.
This is extending Sunset Lanenorth to East 163rd Street from
(02:21):
where it currently ends, whichis just north of 58 highway,
between Price Chopper and theCompass Health building.
So this will add a new northsouth connection through town,
which is nice, and you'll alsobe able to see a new entrance
and parking lot on hawkridgepark's east side there, so
you'll be able to enter HawkRidge park from Sunset Lane.
(02:42):
I know they've done the asphaltoverlay and I believe currently
they're working on somesidewalk work, so that project
is progressing nicely and thatwill be done at some point this
summer.
The largest investment area ofthese large capital projects
this year is transportation.
(03:02):
We have the annual curbreplacement program which is
replacing almost 23,000 feet ofcurb and a few ADA ramp
replacements throughout the city.
This year that project includes10 different streets and then
additional areas will be addedas the budget allows.
We also have our annual streetpreservation program.
(03:22):
This year's budget is more than$2 million.
Our contract amount came injust under $1.4 million.
So right now we have more thantwo dozen streets on this
proposed plan for mill andoverlay and/ or microsurfacing
and we will have additionalstreets added as the budget
(03:43):
allows to get as much out ofthat budget as possible this
year.
If you would like to view a mapof those proposed streets for
this year's project, you canfind one at www.
raymore.
com/ public works and we willalso have that in our upcoming
magazine called the Review thatgoes out to all Raymore
addresses.
It should be in your mailboxesin a couple weeks, otherwise you
(04:06):
can view it very shortlyraymore.
com/ communications.
Another one of our ongoingprojects that I want to talk
about briefly is our hydrantreplacement project.
I was asked a few weeks ago bya resident, as they were kind of
reflecting on the LA wildfiresand some of the challenges that
(04:29):
happened during the process offighting those fires.
They wanted to know do we checkon our fire hydrants, how do we
know that they are going towork if we need them?
And I was happy to say that wedo.
Our public works staff performroutine hydrant flushing and
maintenance and through thattesting they're able to
determine what hydrants willneed to be replaced.
(04:51):
So each year we replace anaverage of 12 aging water
hydrants throughout the city.
That project is not happeningquite yet but we will be going
into that this fall.
So that is something that we dolook at all the time.
A couple of our parks projectsunder design right now include
the Dog Park.
Finalization of that andopening will be in 2026, but the
(05:14):
work is starting now.
And then we also have our HawkRidge Park Plaza project under
design, which includes theconstruction of an event plaza
on the east side of Hawk RidgePark, kind of to go along with
that new entrance and parkingarea there.
So we anticipate the completionof that project in the summer
of 2026.
You know this was just a quicktouch on some of the things that
(05:37):
are happening right now, but Idid want to share that.
We have all of our 2025 capitalimprovement projects in our
capital improvement programbudget online at raymore.
com/ budget, if you would liketo look at that and the
associated costs and kind of adescription of of the reasoning
for why we have those projectsin there and and what the
(06:00):
project accomplishes.
So check that out at raymore.
com/ budget.
And one more important projectthat is becoming closer to being
a reality that is not a Raymoreproject but that certainly
impacts us and that we've beenwaiting for is the I-49 widening
and Route 58 interchangeproject from MoDOT.
(06:21):
So there will be a publicmeeting later this summer that
we will share with you, just asMoDOT is going to share the
information with you.
But we definitely want all ofour residents to know and that
we'll talk about.
You know, currently it's underdesign, so they'll talk about
the design.
They'll talk about maybe apotential timelines of when to
(06:45):
expect the construction to start, what will be closed, what will
be open.
So so stay tuned.
We'll share more informationabout that as soon as it's
available.
All right, and now let's talkto our economic development
director.
Welcome Jordan.
Jordan Lea (06:59):
It's great to be here.
Melissa Harmer (07:01):
We're so glad that you could be here today to
share a little bit aboutyourself and what you do for the
city, so why don't you startwith telling us a little bit
about your background and howyou came to be in Raymore?
Jordan Lea (07:12):
Absolutely.
I graduated from LindenwoodUniversity in May of 2020 with a
marketing and an advertisingdegree and from there, I worked
for the city of Belton as theeconomic development and
communication specialist and inthat role I learned a lot about
economic development and how tofind developments that will best
(07:34):
fit your community, that yourresidents want to shop at, that
will help support your community.
And from there I just continuedto learn.
And the job opened here and Iapplied and I'm really glad to
be here.
Melissa Harmer (07:46):
And here you are .
So tell me about some of thebusinesses that have come on in
the time that you've been hereover the last couple years.
Jordan Lea (07:53):
Yes, well, Nuuly in the Raymore Commerce Center was
already underway and pretty muchnear completion by the time
that I started, but I was ableto help them coordinate and
execute their ribbon cuttinglast winter, so that was really
exciting to see.
And it's really cool to seewhere they've, where they
(08:14):
started when I was at the ribboncutting and then where they are
now.
Melissa Harmer (08:18):
And Nuuly is a women's subscription clothing
rental service and they havesomething like I don't know 4.3
million pieces of clothes orsomething crazy like that, in
their warehouse down at thesouth end of town off of I-49.
So it is really exciting tohave them here.
Jordan Lea (08:35):
Absolutely yes, and it's cool because we speak to
quite a few people who do Nuulyand are subscribers of Nuuly, if
you will, in the Kansas Cityarea, and it's so cool to them
that their Nuuly comes a lotfaster now, since it's just down
the street.
But then also just to see that,wow, I see Raymore on my
shipping label, so it's reallycool, yeah, yeah, I'll just also
(08:55):
give a quick shout out toChick-fil-A, one of our newer
businesses as well.
As you can see you drive by, italways stays pretty busy and
they are not having really anyissues with staff turnover
either, so they're still have ahundred a little over a hundred
employees staffed there.
So just want to do a quickshout out to Chick-fil-a and the
great things they're doing inour community.
Melissa Harmer (09:17):
And I think that's a fun fact that they have
more than 100 employees,because I'm sure a lot of them
are part-time, but we just havea little over 100 employees at
the city, so that's kind of avery interesting comparison.
Jordan Lea (09:32):
Absolutely yes.
Melissa Harmer (09:34):
It just goes to show how how busy they're
staying too.
Jordan Lea (09:37):
Yes, very busy, okay .
And also, as you just alludedto, this week we are celebrating
small business and restaurantweek and just like every week,
we love to celebrate our smallbusiness community.
But most specifically, thisweek we are highlighting all of
those businesses that make ourcommunity a place for people to
(09:59):
come and enjoy a meal together,enjoy shopping or receive
services from some of our greatservice providers.
So if you are looking to find anew business to patronize or a
new realtor or a car wash youwant to use, you can visit
raymore.
com/ smallbizweek and that'sraymore.
(10:20):
com slash small b-i-z week, andon that web page we have a very
cool interactive map thatfilters all the businesses by
category and also by the areathat you're in on the map.
So if you only see a select few, maybe zoom out a little bit on
the map and you can see more.
But it's a great way to find anew place to eat, find a new
(10:42):
place to shop and all thingslike that.
Melissa Harmer (10:45):
That's wonderful .
And, speaking of one of oursmall businesses, there is one
that's reinvesting in the citythat has some special things
going on this week, so tell meabout The Barn.
Jordan Lea (10:55):
Absolutely so.
The Barn is an expansion of theQuilted Cow, which is located
just around the S-curve on 58.
And we are very, very excitedfor Courtney and her team at the
Quilted Cow.
She's had this vision for thebarn, which is a quilting
community gathering place, ifyou will, for the patrons at her
(11:16):
store, a retreat space for themand also a spot for them to
work on their Project Linusquilts and also a spot for them
to work on their Project Linusquilts.
And so the barn will have aribbon cutting this Friday, may
9th, at 11 am.
Melissa Harmer (11:32):
That is exciting .
And you mentioned Project Linus, which is a really cool
organization where people gettogether and make quilts and
blankets for children in need,whether they're in the hospital
or in need in another way.
But I think that's really great, and they I just looked it up
in the Kansas City area chapterI mean they've made thousands
and thousands of quilts todonate to children in need.
So that's a really awesomeprogram that they do.
Jordan Lea (11:55):
Absolutely.
And, Courtney, I'm sure wouldtell us at the barn ribbon
cutting or if you just popped in.
But I know they've madehundreds of quilts even since
the Quilted Cow opened less thantwo years ago.
Yeah, yeah.
Melissa Harmer (12:06):
Not, not too.
It hasn't been that long andthey're already expanding.
So and then, of course, this isthe second location, their
expansion from the originallocation in Branson.
So it's just really excitinghow fast they've grown and how
much the community has welcomedthem in just a short amount of
time.
Jordan Lea (12:23):
Absolutely, and the second half of Small Business
and Restaurant Week is ourrestaurants, and no matter what
you're looking for, what you'recraving, we probably have it
here.
So check out again that map atraymore.
com/ smallbizweek, and on thereyou'll see the restaurants we
have, as well as any quick serve, and I just want to note that
(12:45):
we also have like Big Daddy'sDonuts and those type of
establishments as well, listedunder quick serve.
Melissa Harmer (12:51):
So one of the other initiatives you've been
involved with for a little overa year now is called Workforce
YOU.
Do you want to tell us aboutthat?
Jordan Lea (12:59):
Yes, I would love to .
Workforce YOU is acollaborative effort between
local government agencies,service providers, educational
institutions and communitystakeholders, and Workforce YOU
is really working to break downthe barriers to employment by
looking at four key areas childcare, housing, transportation
(13:21):
and education.
And Workforce YOU has reallygrown due to the involvement of
key partners in each area.
So with child care, we aretrying to make sure we have as
many providers as possible.
DESE is very involved with usnow With the transportation
group.
We are heavily involved withKCATA and they're helping us
(13:43):
with some planning.
So it's really just importantfor us to make connections, to
be able to make small changes tocreate a big impact.
Melissa Harmer (13:52):
And tell me where we can find more
information about Workforce YOU.
Jordan Lea (13:56):
Absolutely yes.
Workforceu has a prettyup-to-date LinkedIn page and on
there you can also find ourwebsite that is linked.
All of our events that we postare on our LinkedIn page, Any
updates we have or anyopportunities to become a
partner, and if you ever justwant to reach out via linkedin
as well, that'd be great
Melissa Harmer (14:15):
Wonderful.
So, and this is Cass Countybased.
Yes, it is throughout the wholecounty.
Jordan Lea (14:20):
Yes, it is a Cass County organization and we do
often joke sometimes that thereare really no borders for people
.
I mean, if you are in JacksonCounty you're not, we're not
going to turn you away becauseyou're from Jackson County and
we also have great partners thatare from other counties.
But our main goal is to serveCass County citizens and to help
break down those barrierswithin our Cass County borders.
Melissa Harmer (14:40):
All right, very cool.
So check out Workforce YOU onLinkedIn to get more information
about that.
In closing, I know that we havesome new businesses coming to
the city and some of one of themI know of, Some of them I don't
know about, but you have allthe juicy information and can
you share a little bit about whyyou don't come running to me to
(15:02):
share everything immediately,even though we really want to
know?
Jordan Lea (15:05):
Absolutely yes, and we are always very, very excited
to welcome new businesses toour community, and we never want
to jump the gun and announcethem before they're ready for
that, and so a lot of times wewait and hold off on announcing
to the public who's coming orwhere they're going, because
they're still in the decisionmaking phase.
(15:26):
They might be still working outtheir lease, figuring out
funding for a building that theyplan to build, making sure that
they have the skilled workforcethat they need in our area, and
many other factors go into playto make sure that Raymore is
the perfect place for them, andso we like to keep that
information close so that wedon't spook them or share
something with the public thatisn't 100% approved, so that
(15:50):
they're not looking forward tosomething that may not happen.
Melissa Harmer (15:53):
So you just have to make sure all your ducks are
in a row.
Jordan Lea (15:55):
A very straight row.
Melissa Harmer (15:56):
All righty, all righty.
Well, is there anything elseyou want to tell us in closing?
Or actually, how can people getin touch with you if they want
to talk to you about maybebringing their business to
Raymore or if they just havegeneral questions about economic
development in Raymore?
Jordan Lea (16:11):
Absolutely, the best way to reach me would be via
email and my email is jlea atraymore.
c raymoorcom Even just to have aquick introduction and then we
can schedule a call from thereif that works for you.
But also sometimes it's reallyeasy via email to kind of share
a business plan or share a lotof your thoughts or ideas or
links, and then from there wecan expand the discussion and
(16:33):
have a phone call.
Like I said earlier, we love towelcome any business,
especially small business, thathelp make our community the
place that people want to liveand be, and so we're happy to
help you try and find a spacethat works for you or help work
through any issues you may behaving.
So please email me at jlea atraymore.
com.
Melissa Harmer (16:52):
All right.
Thank you so much for beinghere today, Jordan.
I appreciate your time.
Jordan Lea (16:56):
Thank you for having me.
Welcome to Say More in Raymore, the City of
Raymore's official podcast.
I'm your host, Melissa Harmer,the Communications Director at
the City of Raymore.
In this series, we're givingyou an insider's look at the
things happening in your citygovernment, whether it's new
developments shaping thecommunity, upcoming events or
the latest news that impactseveryday life in Raymore.
We'll also introduce you to thepeople who work behind the
scenes, our dedicated city staffwho make it all happen.
(00:32):
So stay tuned, because we'rehere to help you get to know the
people, the projects and theprograms that make Raymore a
great place to live, work andvisit.
One episode at a time.
Hello, it is May 2025.
And this first full week of May, may 4th through 10th, is
National Small Business Week.
We're also, of course,celebrating small businesses in
(00:53):
Raymore, and we're going to talkabout that with today's guest,
Raymore Economic DevelopmentDirector, Jordan Lea, in just a
little bit.
But I also wanted to mentionthat this first week of May is
Public Service Recognition Weekas well.
And think about the people inpublic service, from local
government, like right here atthe City of Raymore, all the way
up to federal agencies.
(01:13):
They are the frontline workers,the police dispatchers who work
in 911 call centers,firefighters, paramedics,
librarians, teachers and otherswho work in public education and
public health.
They're the people who fill thepotholes, people who make sure
your water is safe to drink, theones who work at the wastewater
treatment plants.
They're the ones who take careof our local and national parks
(01:37):
and other public spaces.
There are so many differentcareer areas in public service,
but the goal is always the sameto provide programs and services
that represent the bestinterests of the public.
And, speaking of services,maintaining infrastructure is
one of those major services thatis vital to our residents'
(01:57):
safety and quality of life herein Raymore.
I do have some updates onongoing projects in Raymore.
Right now we have more than$8.8 million going into large
infrastructure projects thisyear.
We call those capital projects,so I'll start with right now
the Sunset Lane ExtensionProject.
This is extending Sunset Lanenorth to East 163rd Street from
(02:21):
where it currently ends, whichis just north of 58 highway,
between Price Chopper and theCompass Health building.
So this will add a new northsouth connection through town,
which is nice, and you'll alsobe able to see a new entrance
and parking lot on hawkridgepark's east side there, so
you'll be able to enter HawkRidge park from Sunset Lane.
(02:42):
I know they've done the asphaltoverlay and I believe currently
they're working on somesidewalk work, so that project
is progressing nicely and thatwill be done at some point this
summer.
The largest investment area ofthese large capital projects
this year is transportation.
(03:02):
We have the annual curbreplacement program which is
replacing almost 23,000 feet ofcurb and a few ADA ramp
replacements throughout the city.
This year that project includes10 different streets and then
additional areas will be addedas the budget allows.
We also have our annual streetpreservation program.
(03:22):
This year's budget is more than$2 million.
Our contract amount came injust under $1.4 million.
So right now we have more thantwo dozen streets on this
proposed plan for mill andoverlay and/ or microsurfacing
and we will have additionalstreets added as the budget
(03:43):
allows to get as much out ofthat budget as possible this
year.
If you would like to view a mapof those proposed streets for
this year's project, you canfind one at www.
raymore.
com/ public works and we willalso have that in our upcoming
magazine called the Review thatgoes out to all Raymore
addresses.
It should be in your mailboxesin a couple weeks, otherwise you
(04:06):
can view it very shortlyraymore.
com/ communications.
Another one of our ongoingprojects that I want to talk
about briefly is our hydrantreplacement project.
I was asked a few weeks ago bya resident, as they were kind of
reflecting on the LA wildfiresand some of the challenges that
(04:29):
happened during the process offighting those fires.
They wanted to know do we checkon our fire hydrants, how do we
know that they are going towork if we need them?
And I was happy to say that wedo.
Our public works staff performroutine hydrant flushing and
maintenance and through thattesting they're able to
determine what hydrants willneed to be replaced.
(04:51):
So each year we replace anaverage of 12 aging water
hydrants throughout the city.
That project is not happeningquite yet but we will be going
into that this fall.
So that is something that we dolook at all the time.
A couple of our parks projectsunder design right now include
the Dog Park.
Finalization of that andopening will be in 2026, but the
(05:14):
work is starting now.
And then we also have our HawkRidge Park Plaza project under
design, which includes theconstruction of an event plaza
on the east side of Hawk RidgePark, kind of to go along with
that new entrance and parkingarea there.
So we anticipate the completionof that project in the summer
of 2026.
You know this was just a quicktouch on some of the things that
(05:37):
are happening right now, but Idid want to share that.
We have all of our 2025 capitalimprovement projects in our
capital improvement programbudget online at raymore.
com/ budget, if you would liketo look at that and the
associated costs and kind of adescription of of the reasoning
for why we have those projectsin there and and what the
(06:00):
project accomplishes.
So check that out at raymore.
com/ budget.
And one more important projectthat is becoming closer to being
a reality that is not a Raymoreproject but that certainly
impacts us and that we've beenwaiting for is the I-49 widening
and Route 58 interchangeproject from MoDOT.
(06:21):
So there will be a publicmeeting later this summer that
we will share with you, just asMoDOT is going to share the
information with you.
But we definitely want all ofour residents to know and that
we'll talk about.
You know, currently it's underdesign, so they'll talk about
the design.
They'll talk about maybe apotential timelines of when to
(06:45):
expect the construction to start, what will be closed, what will
be open.
So so stay tuned.
We'll share more informationabout that as soon as it's
available.
All right, and now let's talkto our economic development
director.
Welcome Jordan.
Jordan Lea (06:59):
It's great to be here.
Melissa Harmer (07:01):
We're so glad that you could be here today to
share a little bit aboutyourself and what you do for the
city, so why don't you startwith telling us a little bit
about your background and howyou came to be in Raymore?
Jordan Lea (07:12):
Absolutely.
I graduated from LindenwoodUniversity in May of 2020 with a
marketing and an advertisingdegree and from there, I worked
for the city of Belton as theeconomic development and
communication specialist and inthat role I learned a lot about
economic development and how tofind developments that will best
(07:34):
fit your community, that yourresidents want to shop at, that
will help support your community.
And from there I just continuedto learn.
And the job opened here and Iapplied and I'm really glad to
be here.
Melissa Harmer (07:46):
And here you are .
So tell me about some of thebusinesses that have come on in
the time that you've been hereover the last couple years.
Jordan Lea (07:53):
Yes, well, Nuuly in the Raymore Commerce Center was
already underway and pretty muchnear completion by the time
that I started, but I was ableto help them coordinate and
execute their ribbon cuttinglast winter, so that was really
exciting to see.
And it's really cool to seewhere they've, where they
(08:14):
started when I was at the ribboncutting and then where they are
now.
Melissa Harmer (08:18):
And Nuuly is a women's subscription clothing
rental service and they havesomething like I don't know 4.3
million pieces of clothes orsomething crazy like that, in
their warehouse down at thesouth end of town off of I-49.
So it is really exciting tohave them here.
Jordan Lea (08:35):
Absolutely yes, and it's cool because we speak to
quite a few people who do Nuulyand are subscribers of Nuuly, if
you will, in the Kansas Cityarea, and it's so cool to them
that their Nuuly comes a lotfaster now, since it's just down
the street.
But then also just to see that,wow, I see Raymore on my
shipping label, so it's reallycool, yeah, yeah, I'll just also
(08:55):
give a quick shout out toChick-fil-A, one of our newer
businesses as well.
As you can see you drive by, italways stays pretty busy and
they are not having really anyissues with staff turnover
either, so they're still have ahundred a little over a hundred
employees staffed there.
So just want to do a quickshout out to Chick-fil-a and the
great things they're doing inour community.
Melissa Harmer (09:17):
And I think that's a fun fact that they have
more than 100 employees,because I'm sure a lot of them
are part-time, but we just havea little over 100 employees at
the city, so that's kind of avery interesting comparison.
Jordan Lea (09:32):
Absolutely yes.
Melissa Harmer (09:34):
It just goes to show how how busy they're
staying too.
Jordan Lea (09:37):
Yes, very busy, okay .
And also, as you just alludedto, this week we are celebrating
small business and restaurantweek and just like every week,
we love to celebrate our smallbusiness community.
But most specifically, thisweek we are highlighting all of
those businesses that make ourcommunity a place for people to
(09:59):
come and enjoy a meal together,enjoy shopping or receive
services from some of our greatservice providers.
So if you are looking to find anew business to patronize or a
new realtor or a car wash youwant to use, you can visit
raymore.
com/ smallbizweek and that'sraymore.
(10:20):
com slash small b-i-z week, andon that web page we have a very
cool interactive map thatfilters all the businesses by
category and also by the areathat you're in on the map.
So if you only see a select few, maybe zoom out a little bit on
the map and you can see more.
But it's a great way to find anew place to eat, find a new
(10:42):
place to shop and all thingslike that.
Melissa Harmer (10:45):
That's wonderful .
And, speaking of one of oursmall businesses, there is one
that's reinvesting in the citythat has some special things
going on this week, so tell meabout The Barn.
Jordan Lea (10:55):
Absolutely so.
The Barn is an expansion of theQuilted Cow, which is located
just around the S-curve on 58.
And we are very, very excitedfor Courtney and her team at the
Quilted Cow.
She's had this vision for thebarn, which is a quilting
community gathering place, ifyou will, for the patrons at her
(11:16):
store, a retreat space for themand also a spot for them to
work on their Project Linusquilts and also a spot for them
to work on their Project Linusquilts.
And so the barn will have aribbon cutting this Friday, may
9th, at 11 am.
Melissa Harmer (11:32):
That is exciting .
And you mentioned Project Linus, which is a really cool
organization where people gettogether and make quilts and
blankets for children in need,whether they're in the hospital
or in need in another way.
But I think that's really great, and they I just looked it up
in the Kansas City area chapterI mean they've made thousands
and thousands of quilts todonate to children in need.
So that's a really awesomeprogram that they do.
Jordan Lea (11:55):
Absolutely.
And, Courtney, I'm sure wouldtell us at the barn ribbon
cutting or if you just popped in.
But I know they've madehundreds of quilts even since
the Quilted Cow opened less thantwo years ago.
Yeah, yeah.
Melissa Harmer (12:06):
Not, not too.
It hasn't been that long andthey're already expanding.
So and then, of course, this isthe second location, their
expansion from the originallocation in Branson.
So it's just really excitinghow fast they've grown and how
much the community has welcomedthem in just a short amount of
time.
Jordan Lea (12:23):
Absolutely, and the second half of Small Business
and Restaurant Week is ourrestaurants, and no matter what
you're looking for, what you'recraving, we probably have it
here.
So check out again that map atraymore.
com/ smallbizweek, and on thereyou'll see the restaurants we
have, as well as any quick serve, and I just want to note that
(12:45):
we also have like Big Daddy'sDonuts and those type of
establishments as well, listedunder quick serve.
Melissa Harmer (12:51):
So one of the other initiatives you've been
involved with for a little overa year now is called Workforce
YOU.
Do you want to tell us aboutthat?
Jordan Lea (12:59):
Yes, I would love to .
Workforce YOU is acollaborative effort between
local government agencies,service providers, educational
institutions and communitystakeholders, and Workforce YOU
is really working to break downthe barriers to employment by
looking at four key areas childcare, housing, transportation
(13:21):
and education.
And Workforce YOU has reallygrown due to the involvement of
key partners in each area.
So with child care, we aretrying to make sure we have as
many providers as possible.
DESE is very involved with usnow With the transportation
group.
We are heavily involved withKCATA and they're helping us
(13:43):
with some planning.
So it's really just importantfor us to make connections, to
be able to make small changes tocreate a big impact.
Melissa Harmer (13:52):
And tell me where we can find more
information about Workforce YOU.
Jordan Lea (13:56):
Absolutely yes.
Workforceu has a prettyup-to-date LinkedIn page and on
there you can also find ourwebsite that is linked.
All of our events that we postare on our LinkedIn page, Any
updates we have or anyopportunities to become a
partner, and if you ever justwant to reach out via linkedin
as well, that'd be great
Melissa Harmer (14:15):
Wonderful.
So, and this is Cass Countybased.
Yes, it is throughout the wholecounty.
Jordan Lea (14:20):
Yes, it is a Cass County organization and we do
often joke sometimes that thereare really no borders for people
.
I mean, if you are in JacksonCounty you're not, we're not
going to turn you away becauseyou're from Jackson County and
we also have great partners thatare from other counties.
But our main goal is to serveCass County citizens and to help
break down those barrierswithin our Cass County borders.
Melissa Harmer (14:40):
All right, very cool.
So check out Workforce YOU onLinkedIn to get more information
about that.
In closing, I know that we havesome new businesses coming to
the city and some of one of themI know of, Some of them I don't
know about, but you have allthe juicy information and can
you share a little bit about whyyou don't come running to me to
(15:02):
share everything immediately,even though we really want to
know?
Jordan Lea (15:05):
Absolutely yes, and we are always very, very excited
to welcome new businesses toour community, and we never want
to jump the gun and announcethem before they're ready for
that, and so a lot of times wewait and hold off on announcing
to the public who's coming orwhere they're going, because
they're still in the decisionmaking phase.
(15:26):
They might be still working outtheir lease, figuring out
funding for a building that theyplan to build, making sure that
they have the skilled workforcethat they need in our area, and
many other factors go into playto make sure that Raymore is
the perfect place for them, andso we like to keep that
information close so that wedon't spook them or share
something with the public thatisn't 100% approved, so that
(15:50):
they're not looking forward tosomething that may not happen.
Melissa Harmer (15:53):
So you just have to make sure all your ducks are
in a row.
Jordan Lea (15:55):
A very straight row.
Melissa Harmer (15:56):
All righty, all righty.
Well, is there anything elseyou want to tell us in closing?
Or actually, how can people getin touch with you if they want
to talk to you about maybebringing their business to
Raymore or if they just havegeneral questions about economic
development in Raymore?
Jordan Lea (16:11):
Absolutely, the best way to reach me would be via
email and my email is jlea atraymore.
c raymoorcom Even just to have aquick introduction and then we
can schedule a call from thereif that works for you.
But also sometimes it's reallyeasy via email to kind of share
a business plan or share a lotof your thoughts or ideas or
links, and then from there wecan expand the discussion and
(16:33):
have a phone call.
Like I said earlier, we love towelcome any business,
especially small business, thathelp make our community the
place that people want to liveand be, and so we're happy to
help you try and find a spacethat works for you or help work
through any issues you may behaving.
So please email me at jlea atraymore.
com.
Melissa Harmer (16:52):
All right.
Thank you so much for beinghere today, Jordan.
I appreciate your time.
Jordan Lea (16:56):
Thank you for having me.
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