Downtown Wichita has enjoyed the bright smile and positive energy of Maggie Gilmore for more than 10 years.
Our members are the newest beneficiary of her winning combination of excellent customer service, genuine kindness and impressive creativity. Maggie recently joined Groover Labs as a community associate. She’s stationed at our front desk to not only meet but anticipate members’ needs. Her strong background in customer-facing jobs make her what we think is a perfect fit for our coworking and makerspace technology hub.
Maggie began working in downtown Wichita — at the reference desk at the old library — at age 16. After five years, she decided not to pursue a library science career at that point, which was at the height of the economic crash.
“I saw lot of people with master’s degrees applying for entry-level jobs,” she said.
She took a serving job at the Hyatt Regency Wichita and also provided room service.
“I was introduced to the world of restaurants, food service and hospitality,” Maggie said. “I stayed there for about four years.”
She then added to her downtown repertoire at Espresso to Go Go, where she created the idea for and managed deliveries and where she also manages social media.
“I fell in love with working at a coffee shop,” she said. “The owners there are just fantastic and super supportive. They give great feedback, and they help you grow as a person. They accept you as you are but push you to be a better person.”
ETGG was her first second job. She’s juggled even more — at Whole Foods, Firefly Farm and Lucinda’s.
That’s because Maggie is a go-getter.
“I always have lots of side hustles and activities that I’m doing,” she said.
That includes her own small business, Maggie’s Graphics. She provides graphic design, commissioned art, caricatures and other services.
Maggie also was the mind behind ICT Dice, which helps people decide the pesky “I don’t know; where do you want to go?” question about where to eat at locally-owned establishments in Wichita.
In her spare time — she somehow manages to carve out a bit of time for herself — she enjoys movies, podcasts (often about film), video games and knitting. She also volunteers.
Maggie was drawn to Groover Labs as soon as she heard about our space and mission.
“It’s something I’d thought about for a very long time,” she said of makerspaces. “I don’t have room for tools or a garage, and I like to make things. And then makerspaces started happening. I love the concept of a makerspace. And then as someone who does freelance work, having the coworking space is really great.”
Come meet Maggie soon.
She'll not only make you a cup of coffee; she'll make you feel welcome.