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Case Study
Since the inception of her consulting company in February 2023, Heidi Kerr-Schlaefer has been preaching Love Where You Live in conference rooms and stages around Colorado and beyond.
In April 2024, Kerr-Schlaefer called Deb Egenberger, Executive Director of the Gothenburg, Nebraska, Chamber of Commerce, about the possibility of doing a HeidiTown Consulting presentation in Gothenburg. It turned out that it was good timing.
Having recently completed a Strategic Plan, the Gothenburg Chamber knew there was an information gap happening in their community because they’d conducted a survey as part of that plan.
“What we discovered is that many people truly do not understand what is available in Gothenburg,” says Egenberger.
For instance, some survey respondents wanted a local solution to the lack of a dry cleaner in town. What the average citizen didn’t know is that they can take dry cleaning to the Gothenburg newspaper building in downtown for delivery 36 miles west to North Platte. The dry-cleaned clothing is then returned to the same building for them to pick up at the end of the same week.
Another example is the new Ace Hardware in town; people had been to it but didn’t know exactly everything it offered, and were going outside of the community for items that actually existed in that Ace Hardware.
“We landed on what our action should be and that’s education, trying to change the mindsets of locals,” says Egenberger. “That’s how we got from a shop local survey to a Love Where You Live campaign.”
In February 2025, Heidi Kerr-Schlaefer traveled to Gothenburg, Nebraska. She was there to kick off their new Love Where You Live Campaign with her Love Where You Live presentation at the Gothenburg Chamber of Commerce & Gothenburg Improvement Company Awards Gala.
For the Love Where You Live Campaign, the Gothenburg Chamber purchased items such as stickers, pens, postcards, coasters, koozies, bottle openers, and gave them to the event attendees. The Chamber also sought sponsorships for the campaign and made specific items for the businesses, like piggy banks for the banks and stress balls shaped like water droplets for the irrigation and well service. The business name and Love Where You Live logo are emblazoned on each item.
“This is about thinking locally, and not just shopping locally,” explains Egenberger. “It’s about supporting local organizations. And what we’re doing is spreading the love by giving them reminders.”
Gothenburg, Nebraska: Love Where You Live
A new town campaign is always a risk, but the response to Love Where You Live has been great, according to Engenberger. They’ve even had engagement from chamber members who seldom, if ever, join in the conversation. It’s a message that seems to have connected with their membership.
“When we started, our strategic plan objective was to increase the sales tax here in Gothenburg by encouraging folks to shop local, but as we’ve gone through this, we’ve realized that while that’s a great and dandy goal, it’s more about influencing a mindset and making people feel good about where they are,” says Egenberger.
Ultimately, that’s what Love Where You Live is all about. It’s about shifting minds so that citizens truly like their community and will therefore begin to change their activities. For example, shopping locally, but also knowing their community well, including their town’s many assets.
So far, the campaign is going well. Most businesses proudly displayed the Love Where You Live sticker in their window or next to their cash register.
Time will tell how the Love Where You Live campaign goes, but a message about love will surely have a good ending.
Gothenburg, Nebraska, is located along Interstate 80, 35 miles east of North Platte and 245 miles west of Omaha.
HeidiTown Consulting, LLC, all rights reserved, April 2025
