Today we’d like to introduce you to Emily Blanks.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Community has always been a passion and a priority of mine. Whether it’s your group of friends, the people at the same concert as you, or the place where you live. It is important to have a solid base in your life and in what you love. Without it, how can you continue to navigate daily life? The world has massively glaring problems and divisiveness. It can be quite overwhelming at times, or what feels like, all the time. That endless sensation has been present for me since the 2020 Covid era. It left me with a constant desire to create change and bring a positive impact to life. How does one do that exactly? Sometimes I think we tend to get lost in a world of mindless social media and zero follow-through beyond posting. Bringing a visible, positive impact to the world feels challenging, but it’s possible if you start with what’s in front of you: your own community. You can’t possibly fix the world’s problems, but you can try to help locally.
In October 2022, after six years, I quit a position at a company that changed my life and career trajectory. I loved my job, and to this day, it’s one of the hardest decisions I’ve had to make. It was a feeling of, “What you have is great, but this isn’t for you anymore. There’s something more for you if you want it.”. Without having another position lined up or knowing what that “something more” was, I was privileged enough to make the difficult decision to quit. There wasn’t a clue as to what would be next. At that time, I was the newest addition to the Board of Directors for the Bonner Springs-Edwardsville Area Chamber of Commerce. My feet were barely beginning to get wet when the Executive Director exited her role for a great opportunity, making the position available a month later. Without knowing much about the role or the Chamber, I signed a three-month contract as the new Executive Director. I was excited and up for the endless opportunities of exciting new beginnings!
It’s a part-time position, and most Chambers have a full staff. It was important to consolidate the role to focus on our members’ updated needs. After meeting with several of them, it was clear that the Chamber needed to focus on growing its membership base and offering more social events. The goal was more business-to-business engagement. Remember, this was the fall of 2022, and public gatherings were finally beginning to feel normal. I wanted to take full advantage of the timing and immediately started ramping up social networking-based events! Morning Mingles, Happy Hours, Ribbon Cuttings, luncheons, school district partnerships, non-profit engagements, and holiday shopping events with our local merchants. It was noticeably apparent that members missed being in their community, catching up with old friends, and meeting new ones. Event attendance and engagement skyrocketed! In January of 2023, I signed a one-year contract, then did so again in 2024 and 2025. The most important lesson in taking a different approach is that if you know what needs to be done to succeed, don’t ask anyone for permission. Do it and do it really well. Don’t be afraid to take risks and let people doubt you.
Since then, I’ve hosted over 125+ events, added 75+ new businesses to our membership base, and am currently successfully collaborating with the Kansas City Kansas Chamber of Commerce and the Shawnee Chamber of Commerce. Additionally, an upcoming World Cup collaboration with the Leavenworth-Lansing Chamber of Commerce. Togetherness is a message to be expressed and acted upon, and often! Invisible boundaries be damned. There is strength in numbers, especially positive ones. You, your business, your organization, and your community can only benefit from outreach and building something outside of yourself.
Gratitude is owed to Bonner Springs and the Bonner Springs-Edwardsville Area Chamber of Commerce. This community, the Chamber, and the incredible people in it have changed my life. It’s brought amazing opportunities like being on the Board of Directors for Vaughn-Trent Community Services and the Board of Directors for Bonner Springs Tourism, serving as the Director of the Tiblow Days festival, being a proud member of our Rotarian Club, being a part of USD 204 District Site Council, and, as of January 24′ being sworn in as a Councilwoman for the City of Bonner Springs.
Running for City Council was a decision influenced by the need to create a positive impact in my own community. Every news article seemed to be about how terrible it is everywhere in America. We know that’s not the whole truth, but we can recognize the negativity and difficulty of our current reality. It’s overwhelming to wonder how to do anything about it. If I wanted to begin making a difference, it needed to be within my own reach. From volunteering to hosting street festivals, enjoying city departments’ shadowing, and advocating for small businesses, it’s proven that a change of your “lenses” can change your reality. I encourage everyone to volunteer in their community at least once a month. There’s something for every passion and concern, and trust that they desperately need your time. You have the power to be the direct change in the struggles we often see.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Doubt is the biggest discouragement there is. Doubt from others and doubt from yourself can be suffocating. It lurches in the background, waiting for an opportune time to seep in. The secret is telling it to shut the hell up. If you strongly believe in a goal or idea, pursue it anyway. No one is going to advocate for or believe in you more than you will. I’ve learned that if you’re scared to do something new or chase a dream, it’s because you’re onto something. Challenges make you grow in ways you didn’t know you needed! One of the best compliments I’ve received is from peers, superiors or onlookers who admit they didn’t think “my way of doing things” would be successful or that they simply doubted my efforts or me. It could be taken as a back-handed compliment to many, but not to me. It solidifies that you have to be brave to create change and get shit done. If you believe in something, do it.
There were several people who questioned my run or experience for City Council and several who didn’t believe in my vision to rework the Chamber. It would have been a regret to listen to those loud voices; it’s your responsibility to muffle them. It’s important to be who you want to be, not who others mistake you to be. Of course, I have my down days; we all do. What matters is pulling yourself through them and realizing there’s always the other side awaiting you.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
If you haven’t figured it out by now, I love creating spaces to bring people together! It’s been a pleasure growing the Chamber’s total number of events and increasing attendance, executing successful street festivals alongside my peer Megan Gilliland, and partnering with my fellow Council members to foster a strong community presence. Creating spaces for everyone to enjoy is important and should be done often in many areas of life, not just in a professional sense. Over the last year, specifically, the success of several events I help curate has grown! It’s a blessing to have a great team of individuals to help keep smashing these goals together. The Chamber’s Annual Banquet sold out at 250+ guests, the Mayor’s Tree Lighting and Downtown Christmas Parade had its highest turnout, the Penguin Plunge for Happy Hearts Working raised over $20,000, and Tiblow Days reached its biggest points of the festival’s 40+ years of history, such as over 150 vendors, 400+ Tiblow Trot runners, and overall festival attendees of 18,000+. Our volunteers and I invite you and yours to our many community events throughout the year! The Chamber, the City, the Library, the school district, and local organizations work extremely hard all year to bring free, family, fun.
Besides the night of being sworn in as a City Councilwoman with my family standing next to me, the moment I’m most proud of thus far, aka my biggest brag, is when Congresswoman Sharice Davids personally requested a meeting with me. She heard about my role as Executive Director and City Councilwoman and wanted to learn more about what I’ve accomplished and what I’m currently working on. That recognition was incredible and reinforcing of what I’m doing and want to continue doing in this life. Rep. Davids wanted to hear my ideas and concerns for my community. Being an advocate for Bonner Springs is incredibly important in both of my roles, and I was able to do just that on a larger stage that benefits the community.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
Making your own luck is crucial! Be actionable upon your manifestations. Force yourself into rooms with the right people, pull up a chair, and take up space. If that route isn’t successful, find your own table and invite others who align with those goals to join! You are truly responsible for being your biggest advocate and fan. I do give credit where it’s due for being lucky to grow up with a loving family, supportive friends, access to higher education (with student loans), and a safety net from family, if needed. With that said, I’ve worked incredibly hard to reach my career aspirations and financial needs thus far. There was always a consistency and drive to have not just a job, but one that’s enjoyable since my first one at 14 years old. It has always been important to be financially independent and provide myself with what I seek. I remember working at an ice cream shop owned by a terribly rude woman. I quit within a few weeks, promising not to work anywhere or for anyone who made me miserable. Standing up for yourself brings its own luck regarding who has access to you.
Listen to your intuition, stand up for what you want, stick up for yourself, and loudly don’t take no for an answer. It can be cliché advice, but only you have the power to make it happen. Of course, there needs to be a blend of humility and respect when it comes to forging your paths. Listen to people who know more than you, ask questions, a lot of them, and don’t be afraid to learn from your own shortcomings. Broadening your views is beneficial, too. It’s okay to work well with others, even if you disagree with them on personal or political views. You don’t have to be best friends with everyone to find the good in others and help bring that to light in a space where everyone wins together.
In other words, if you aren’t feeling the luck, create the luck yourself. Don’t let fearful doubt, workable obstacles, or others stand in the way of the progress of your dreams. Yes, progress, as the work never seems to be really done, in being the absolute best in who you are and what you do.
Contact Info:
- Website: [email protected]
