Ep. 2 - Papillion City Lifestyle Magazine Origins & Development

Publisher of the Papillion City Lifestyle magazine Kyler Hendrickson joins us to discuss the origins of the publication, the essential role of local business partnerships, and the heart behind storytelling in our community. We dive into the realities of launching a family-owned business, the importance of honoring local Veterans, and why preserving Papillion's unique culture and small-town feel is vital for its future. 

Full podcast episodes can be found on YouTube, Facebook, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music and other major streaming platforms. 

To learn more about Papillion City Lifestyle, visit: https://citylifestyle.com/papillion

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:08

You're listening to the Papillion Podcast. Thanks for joining us and enjoy the show.

SPEAKER_00 0:13

Thank you for joining us on this episode of the Papillion Podcast. I'm Michelle Andahl, Community Development Director for the City of Papillion.

SPEAKER_02 0:21

And I'm Trent Alvers, Communications Director for the City of Papillion, and we're your host for this podcast.

SPEAKER_00 0:26

Today we are joined by our special guest, Kyler Hendrickson, owner and publisher for the Papillion City Lifestyle Magazine. Thanks for joining us today.

SPEAKER_01 0:34

Oh, thanks for having me, Michelle and Trent.

SPEAKER_00 0:37

We uh, you know, with you being the publisher of one of the favorite magazines of our community, just kind of wanted to ask you what inspired you to bring that to our community and what has your experience been like with that?

SPEAKER_01 0:50

Well, uh, that's a great question. Um, and if I'm being honest, I would say it kind of found me. But uh, but no, when I I so what was it three, three and a half years back, um, I started looking actively at um a business venture and wasn't real sure exactly what I wanted to do. Um, but uh as I was looking, um, so City Lifestyle is a franchise based out of Kansas City, and uh uh they were looking to expand up into the Omaha metro area and they had Papillion targeted. And when I read about it, I was intrigued and I walked away thinking that'd be really cool for Papillion. Not even really thinking I was gonna do it. Uh, but then as time went, couldn't get it out of my head, and it just kept coming back. And and I started having conversations in the community about like, hey, would this be something that people would really like to have here? Um, would businesses feel like this could be beneficial for them to help get their name out? And uh long story short, what it came down to finally was driving down 84th Street and being like, people don't know about that business, people don't know about that business, and I think I have something that can help. And uh and from then it was really just a two feet jump, and and here we are, and we've it's like to answer your question, it's been an an an unbelievable ride. Um, just the amount of conversations, businesses we've gotten to know, um, people in the community that we've gotten to know, stories we've gotten to tell that otherwise wouldn't have been able to be told, um, has just been a really neat experience. And it's really fun, especially when we hear we hear a lot, um, especially from long-term papillion residents, um, that just say thank you for doing what we're doing. And that's that's really meaningful.

SPEAKER_02 2:38

I remember some of those initial conversations, uh, and I was really excited when you when you brought the magazine to the to the community. Uh talk about how much there is going on in Papillion, because I think that's when when people think of Papillion has a magazine, you know, uh that there's enough content to fill a magazine each month, enough things happening. What are what are some of the things that have stood out to you?

SPEAKER_01 3:04

Yeah, I mean, I mean, there's so much going on here. The uh, and it's and it's so much of it is very community-based, um, and so many potential stories of just people serving others um as well. Um, I think that's one thing that I have found. Like, I've been in Papillion now for over 10 years. Um, my wife grew up here, but uh, but just really getting ingrained in just the daily conversation of residents, of business owners, and just how how people treat each other here. Um, and there is a higher expectation of how you do that, and I think that holds everybody up, but uh, but it's really unique to our community in a sense of you don't necessarily find that everywhere, that um from what I've been able to gather.

SPEAKER_02 4:02

What are some of the favorite, some of your favorite stories that you've featured in the magazine?

SPEAKER_01 4:07

It's a hard question because they're all fun, they're all good in their own way. Um I would say if I was to say my favorite one that we've done, it would be on the Vietnam uh Veterans Memorial. Um, and I say that because of just how much thought we put into it. Um, it was kind of one of those where uh I have I have an uncle that was very that was in the Vietnam War, and and uh it's it's touched our family in a way from what he experienced there, even though it wasn't my parents directly. And um, and just hearing like just how meaningful it is to them. Um, I had the pastor at our at our church tell me after that story ran that he had he sat down with a vet who said that reading that article made him feel heard for the first time um coming back from the Vietnam War that happened how many years ago? Like that's powerful.

SPEAKER_00 5:11

Um I have a father who served too, and when I read through that, I just thought this just gives a little bit deeper understanding, and it was just so well done.

SPEAKER_01 5:20

Yeah, and thank you for that. But like even going to the photography for it, we shot that three times and we waited all of those to for the sky to be right, and we couldn't get the sky right because we couldn't, we want there was a specific feel we were going for, and uh, and it was actually my wife who shot it, and it was coming back from picking my son up from a baseball practice where she's like, the sky is right. Um, and she went out there to get that shot, and it turned out perfectly. So if I was to say my favorite, that one stands out. But I mean, we've done a lot of fun ones. I mean, just the most recent with um Ben Bales taking over Papillion South baseball. Um, like that's gotten a lot of buzz with it being like, and the thing is, is what people might not have caught is this has happened multiple times in in Papillion, even recently, where it's a longtime coach passing it off to somebody they coached. Like, um, and that's just really cool. Um, and you don't like the the amount of people we have that grow up here and choose to stay here is just truly astounding.

SPEAKER_00 6:34

It's kind of the a testament to the fact that people do put down roots here, and there's multi-generational families that have decided to truly make this their home and and that shows and things like that, and the way that people are in the community you had shared with us that small businesses comment to you quite regularly. Um, and if you want to talk about that a little bit, about the experience when they come into our community and how they're treated when they come in and and and how the residents are with them.

SPEAKER_01 7:01

Yeah, I talked to a lot of businesses and I'm always blown away at how many mention that they love working with the papillion residents just because they get treated better. Um, and uh, and that says a lot. The uh like when you like businesses will tell me, they're like, I love working with Papillion because you come in and you give them a fair quote and they say, When can you come? And uh and they're not constantly looking over your shoulder. They trust you. Like there's a extra level of trust in this community that you don't find everywhere.

SPEAKER_02 7:34

Talk about your experience uh starting up a new business. What was that like?

SPEAKER_01 7:39

You know, it was it was fun and a lot, and to be honest, I don't remember a whole lot about like those first six months. You just kind of put your nose down and go. But uh, but one thing I would say, like, especially in this community, was was the the support, um feeling valued as a small business um was big. Like I like you mentioned our conversations early on. Like I remember when me and you sat down with Mayor Black and uh and just like how interested he was in what we were doing. And it really was a another big motivating drive for me uh to realize just how important and impactful this could be for the community to kind of push push that over the edge. And uh, but as far as like starting a business, it kind of came down to just put your nose down and go. Jump. You have a vision and it's like this this has to work. And it and really, I think back on that time, and it was that was the mindset. Um I mean, I was always that entrepreneur waiting for the right time, and then I decided to do it when we had our fourth kid and he was less than six months old.

SPEAKER_00 8:57

Like perfect time aid. Best time to start a new business.

SPEAKER_01 9:00

Definitely probably wouldn't have been what I would have considered the best time, but it just got to the point where it's like, when when's it gonna be better? You know, and working with Amy, it's a family business. What what's it like to work with your wife? Yeah, it's been actually really great. I'm a f I grew up on a farm. So being a farm kid and like seeing that family business aspect where everybody has their role. Um, I loved that um growing up. And I really one of the things that I wanted was to uh to have a family business and to be able to work in it together. And so, so that's actually been extremely rewarding. It's kind of like one of those dreams come true type of scenarios. Very cool. And uh the nice thing is, is we are very opposite of each other in our, what would you say, the way that we are in the workforce or in business. Um, and so we complement each other extremely well.

SPEAKER_00 9:56

That's fantastic. I think it shows one of the things that has come from the magazine and that you hear from people in the community. And so we're just grateful that you did take that leap, is you've kind of given people a way to be so proud of their community and see the stories that inspire people and share more about what's really going on. Because really, before the magazine, there wasn't really much out there. There was like a local newspaper that covered all counties, all the cities in the county. But I truly, right before I started working here, started reading your magazine, and I thought, what a fantastic way to just bring community pride and give everybody um a publication that they can come around and feel good about. So have you had a lot of feedback on that?

SPEAKER_01 10:39

Yeah, a lot. Like the probably the biggest thing I get is people saying, like, I feel more connected to the community. Um but like people are hungry for stories. And we've gotten so far removed from the local story that like if you go on, if we're on our phones all the time, right? Like, and if you go on your phone and you're scrolling Facebook or Instagram, you're not you're not connecting with local stories. A lot of times these stories are from all over the country, all over the world. Um, so how do we how do we still tell the local story? And what we found is people still absolutely want to hear that. Um, and to the point where a lot of our stories are about businesses in in the community, um, or that serve the community in a in a unique way. And people still say they read it cover to cover, right? Um because it's local, it's it it's meaningful. Um and and I think that's that's a big thing in what you talk about, like with the magazine. Like I have had some people be like, I don't feel like Papillion's good enough for this high of a quality magazine. It's like, well, no, we absolutely are, but uh also there's there's an artistic piece to it too that draws people in.

SPEAKER_00 12:00

It's very high it has a very high quality finish and presentation and and the way you've done it is just uh it's a whole nother level.

SPEAKER_01 12:09

It and it's uh the the uh the goal is to engage the senses of your touching, you're feeling, you're seeing. Um it's creating that um like you said, the pride for the community, like we're uh we want to show this community as it is, which is a beautiful community of individuals and I mean even what the city's done from an arts standpoint and in upkeeping downtown areas and city parks, like there's so much of that that goes into the pride of a community. Like when you have things that are well kept and beautiful already, like people are going to naturally desire to keep them that way.

SPEAKER_02 12:49

What I enjoy about the magazine is I feel like it's like you walk into uh a restaurant or a certain business, and you feel like from the story that you guys have written, uh that you know that person, you know, whether it's at the ribbon cutting or or or one of the downtown businesses, it's really neat to hear their story beyond, you know, just the the daily interaction and get to know them. So I really appreciate that.

SPEAKER_01 13:14

Well, and it's connection, right? Like the like if you really get down, like we as individuals want to connect with others, and it's becoming harder and harder to do that. And how we find like finding ways to do that is like the reception to it has been awesome.

SPEAKER_00 13:35

Well, part of the way that you and Amy have actually done that is you are great supporters of the arts in our community, and we know that the Papelion Arts Foundation has selected you and Amy to be the honorary co-chairs for their showcase event coming up on April 25th, just in a couple of weeks. Do you want to tell us a little bit about that and how you became engaged and just kind of the way that you support the arts throughout the community? We're working on getting a creative district, and you've been really great about being on the committee for that and then just bringing new ideas.

SPEAKER_01 14:07

Yeah. Um like from a, first of all, we were very, very honored and humbled to be asked um to host that event. Um, but art, the arts are very important. Like, we're very big proponents of the arts. Um I I fully believe the arts like raise up or unite communities. Um and like even going way back to medieval times, like how much art mattered in their culture. And I don't I wouldn't say that that's entirely different today. Like it might look different. The styles of art, the types of art, uh, music is sure a whole lot different than it used to be, right? But but overall, it it in again goes back to that engaging the senses to create connection. Um, and and so we're a big proponent. Like our daughter goes to art class with actually um Luba Carlson right downtown here. And uh like we love that. All of our kids are doing piano or will do piano, and hopefully that engages them into desiring to do other instruments. And in poetry, like our kids are we very much are very we very much support and push them to like express themselves through poetry or writing. And I think that those are different ways that people can connect with one another. And so we've done a few stories on different some of the different art um organizations in Papillion. I think a lot of people don't realize just how great our opportunities to participate in the arts are here between um whether it's band or choir or um just art in general um or theater arts, we have opportunities to do that in a lot of different ways beyond the high school level. And uh, and that's really unique.

SPEAKER_00 16:12

That was part of the fun, you know. You've been part of the committee to work on getting the creative district designation and been to some of our meetings. And I think for everybody involved, everybody who came together knew that we have a great art community and there's opportunities and things going on. But when we got everybody in the room to talk about it, like, oh, there were so many more things. Um, so that's just been really exciting. We appreciate that you've been part of that.

SPEAKER_01 16:36

Yeah, well, and it's fun for me. Like any, like anything we can do to continue to make our play our spaces beautiful, and I think art plays so much into that. Um, I'll be a proponent of. So I love the murals on the wall, uh, the uh the butterfly mural project, like how cool is that? And I think a lot of people don't really fully understand exactly what that was and continues to be, and where to find them in the benches, yeah. Like just just those little like imagine a picture of yeah, like the duck pond without those benches and then put it back, put them back in there. It changes the it changes the entire experience.

SPEAKER_00 17:26

So one of the things that I wanted to ask you about is, you know, there's so much conversation out there right now throughout the state about how do we retain talent and how do we keep people who maybe come here from out of state to go to school and stay here and keep the talent they've gained through their education. And you have a really neat story on how you ended up here and just it'd be neat for you to share that with everybody. And then I want to know what made you stay.

SPEAKER_01 17:50

Yeah, well, I mean, for me, like I'm so I I grew up in North Dakota and came down to college at University of Nebraska. And if I'm being honest, I kind of fell in love with Nebraska right away. Uh I tell people it's the same people, it's just warmer down here. Um, but uh, but really what I I did move away for a couple years after college and then reconnected with my now wife. And my wife is a third generation papillion. So it it helps when you have an attractive girl that gets you back to her hometown. But uh, but really like what when we were looking for when we were looking for a house of to raise our family, for her it was it has to be papilon. And I was not necessarily that way initially. Um, but then as we started to look in other areas of the metro, I've said I'm farm boy, remember. I settled on, yeah, it has to be pavilion. Um, and then moving here and being here even for a couple years and starting to realize, especially some of those community, like I fell in love with Winter Wonderland right away. Still my favorite thing ever. Um, hopefully everybody's heard of that and has been there because it is amazing. It is our hallmark moment. Uh, and uh there's nothing better. And so, like, those kinds of things really just drew me in to be like, I don't want to be anywhere else. And and as far as like touching on like getting getting people to stay here and young adults to want to move back here, like really I think Papillion kind of has done a really good job of that. And I think we'll continue to if our if we can continue to have the school system that we have, if we can continue to have the care of our community that we have, um, and give people that pride in the place that they grow up. And like to the tune of we've gone places with friends of ours and stuff, and it's say in Lincoln, and there's other people from the Omaha Metro there, and they ask you to introduce where you're from, and we always will say papilion. But most people in the metro would just say Omaha. And I had a friend point that out. He's like, Everybody from Papillion always says they're from Papillion.

SPEAKER_00 20:10

Community pride.

SPEAKER_01 20:11

Like, it's that pride, and that is infectious, and it gets people to desire to stay. And I tell people there's really only three people I run into, and I talk to a lot of people in this community, and it's those that have been here for generations, those who married somebody who's been here for generations, and military that came oftentimes reluctantly and never leave. Or even more so, sometimes they come, have to leave, but decide to come back to retire. Like you tell me about an infectious community, like that sums it up right there.

SPEAKER_02 20:42

That leads really good into our final question. And this is something that we want to ask all our guests uh over the course of this podcast. But what is your favorite thing about Papillion?

SPEAKER_01 20:53

I think the fact that like a lot of a lot of communities like to say they still have the small town feel, but Papillion really truly does still have the small town feel. And we are not a small town anymore. And I think like the way that we have been able to Papillion has been able to balance that big growth with the small town um feel has just been so cool. Um to the tune where like, even though you have the school rivalry, there's still so much pride. Like, if the monarchs aren't playing, you're cheering for the Titans, and vice versa. Like, where do you get that? Like, that's true. I mean, that's really, really cool.

SPEAKER_00 21:35

It really is. Well, we really appreciate that you took the time today to come on to the episode and kind of share with us a little about yourself, the magazine, and things that you are um hearing about and doing in the community. So thank you so much for doing that.

SPEAKER_02 21:49

Well, thanks a lot for having me. This was a lot of fun.

SPEAKER_00 21:52

I appreciate you.

SPEAKER_02 21:52

Yeah. And thank you all for joining us for the Pavilion Podcast.

SPEAKER_00 21:56

We are grateful that we were able to spend some time today with Kyler. talking about his time in Papillion as a resident and a business owner with Papillion City Lifestyle Magazine. And we look forward to having you for our next show. Thank you so much for tuning in.