Gufler Mansion was abuzz Thursday as the bed and breakfast’s owners, community members and state officials celebrated the business’s receipt of a Kansas Tourism Marketing grant.
Totaling $10,000, the grant will go towards providing tourism opportunities business owner Deborah Kohl said will hopefully draw more people to the area.
To get the grant, Kohl said she reached out to organizations across the community to write letters of support, which is where Lyon County History Center’s director, Lisa Soller, said she and her team got involved. Seeing the project get the necessary funding, Soller said, felt validating given the historical significance of the mansion.
As Kohl reflects on the last year since she and her husband Ben took ownership of the property, she said relationships like the one she built with the history center have been essential to the business’ success.
As she looks ahead to the grant funding’s rollout next year, Kohl said she’s most looking forward to showing visitors what makes Emporia so special.
For more information on the historic Gufler Mansion, visit guflermansion.com.
