STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK
Check out the new digs for Ketchum Innovation Center, meet KIC’s new director and celebrate KIC’s new partnership with Cox Business on Thursday, July 12.
KIC’s interim Executive Director Christy Anna Gerber will preside over an open house and ribbon cutting from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday in KIC’s new location at 180 W. 6th St. in Ketchum. Refreshments will be served.
Cox Business and KIC announced this week that they have formed a strategic partnership to power the new KIC building with state-of-the-art technology involving Cox-powered Wi-Fi and Cloud-based hosted phone system delivering business-grade voice service over a private network and the internet.
The fiber-based solution allows users to stay connected to the office from anywhere.
The partnership fits the mutual goal of both organizations to invest in entrepreneurial communities and bring people together to enrich the Wood River Valley economy, said Cox Business Market Vice President Guy Cherp.
“We know connections change everything and Cox Business is excited to partner with KIC to empower local businesses and entrepreneurs with high-speed connectivity to conduct business,” he added.
Gerber, an entrepreneur and a KIC Advisory board member who revamped KIC’s Mentor program, is filling as interim director and Emmi Buck as communications director. They are taking over from Kathryn Kemp Guylay and Leigh Barer, who stepped down from those roles on June 30.
The two women dramatically increased KIC’s entrepreneurial programming after assuming leadership roles in the fall of 2017, said KIC Board Chair Rick LeFaivre. “And they transitioned us to a wonderful new facility.”
Guylay and Barer said they are moving on to focus on their own businesses. Guylay is a management consultant; Barer, a public relations and corporate communications consultant.
“I’m very happy about the work we did to further the program and look forward to what lies ahead for the KIC and the community KIC serves,” said Barer.
KIC saw 2,279 attendees for various programs during the six months that Guylay and Barer were at the helm. It conducted 50 education, community and networking events and 70 mentorship meetings during that time.
KIC will continue to offer free community business education programming and networking events, the KIC women’s Entrepreneur Group, KIC Young Innovators Group, Pitch Nights and meeting space for local economic growth groups, said LeFaivre. And, he added, the KIC board is eyeing some new programs.
Gerber earned a MBA with concentrations in Enterprise Risk Management and Marketing and Advertising from the University of Saint Mary. She earned a BS in Health and Human Development from Montana State University at Bozeman.
Buck , who earned a BA in Communications and Business from the University of Washington, has more than a decade of corporate and startup public relations, marketing and non-profit experience, as well as work in research and analytics.
This is the third incarnation of KIC, which started in a an elegant stone home on Lindsay Circle in Ketchum before moving into the old Ketchum Post office on Sun Valley Road.
It was founded in 2014 to provide connection and support for existing and emerging businesses in the area. For information, visit www.ketchuminnovationcenter.org.