Jasper County to try new calendar platform for website

Jasper County is making improvements to its online calendar by partnering alongside a company called With for one year. In that time, county officials hope this new platform will offer more options for individuals and entities wanting to add community events or attend one near them.

Jenn Cross, social media and communications specialist for Jasper County, said with the traction the county’s calendar has been getting — almost every city reaches out to post community events — it made sense to look for an upgrade. The new calendar platform was introduced to her by supervisor Brandon Talsma.

“Whether it’s Sully’s car show or Old Settlers or the fair, people are giving information to us and we’re able to put that out there,” Cross said. “Just so you know, in 2023 there were 91-ish unique events that we put on our calendar. This year we have over 230 unique events. It’s just growing.”

According to county documents, the total cost to upgrade and integrate the new calendar platform is $10,800 for one year. Cross said all of the communities and townships would be able to work with her to get events on the calendar and send out notifications to would-be attendees.

With is a cloud-based software solution that streamlines the management and operation of community events and activities, the service agreement states. The platform is to help empower city/county departments and authorized stakeholders to foster collaboration among residents, businesses and communities.

Information from the company’s website says its events model provides effortless event creation and customization, secure payment processing/discounts/QR codes and email and text communication for confirmations and updates. The company’s website can be found at www.bewith.io.

Supervisors voted 2-0 to approve the agreement.