www.MagnoliaDepot.com

Need to know about Magnolia?

Kellee Karber has created a Web site for the area

Necessity was the driving force behind the creation of an Internet site devoted to Magnolia and Tomball.

Kellee Karber, a 13-year resident, said she came up with the idea for www.MagnoliaDepot.com when she was having difficulty finding information about the area.

"I was doing research trying to find a listing of businesses in Magnolia and I thought it would be neat if there was a Web site that had a listing of businesses and was also a resource for what is going on in the Magnolia/Tomball community," Karber said. "I have always felt that Magnolia has been a little neglected since it is in the shadow of Tomball. You always see things that cover both cities identified as Tomball/Magnolia, while this Web site is Magnolia/Tomball."

Karber said other similar sites have been launched in the past, but none have had as much community information and allowed residents to submit their personal or organization's announcements.

"There is no other Web site that provides as much local information as MagnoliaDepot.com," she said. The Web site, which was launched last month, has job listings, free classified ads, community announcements, real estate listings, a directory of local government officials, a comprehensive business directory, local sports, as well as newspaper articles related to local events.

"I want this to be a community site," Karber said. "A place where people can come and share information.

"That is why I am asking residents and business people for input about anything that they want to share with their neighbors, whether it be community events, news about an organization, charity events, new births or weddings or anything else of interest."

That exchange of community news and ideas provided Karber with the name of the site.

"I have a lot of respect for the history of Magnolia," she said. "The original 1902 Magnolia depot was where the people of the area came to share information with each other. It was a place for people to come together."

Karber, who operates LoneStarSales.com and has been a Web site designer for the past five years, said she has plans to add new features to the site, and wants residents to add their ideas to the mix.

"Down the road I am thinking about adding message boards and possibly an opinion page," she said. "That way people could communicate back and forth about any big issue that may be going on. "If someone has an idea for the Web site they can send it to me. I am always looking for more ideas. This is a Web site that is dependent on input, and if it is a good idea I will add it."

Karber said she is in the process of deveolping an "experts" page, which would allow the public a chance to ask questions of experts in a variety of fields.

"We are looking for experts so people can email their questions and get answers in many different categories," she said. "Not only could they answer questions, but they could also write articles and we would provide a link to that expert's Web site.

"This way, we can provide people with free advice from an authoritative source and it gives the expert an excellent advertising forum. We are also looking for Realtors to be on the Showcase of Homes page, a spot where they can feature up to 10 homes per month."

Although MagnoliaDepot.com was launched just three weeks ago, Karber already has had more than 1,200 visitors to the site.

"The feedback so far has been extremely positive," she said. "People have emailed me to thank me for doing this for the community. And that is very rewarding for me."

Karber also said a significant number of her site visitors are likely from outside Magnolia.

"I have found a lot of people from out of the area come to the site," she said. "Particularly the relocation page, where they can find the real estate listings.

"I am excited about the fact that it attracts people from other places."

Karber said she wants to keep refining the site to make it a viable tool for everyone in the community. But to achieve that goal, she believes, the community has to be involved.

"This is a place where people can come and get information," she said. "I want it to be a real community source that can be used just like the yellow pages or local newspapers.

"That's why we want input from the community. Anything that they feel is of interest, we can put on the site. That's what I love about this. It provides for the informational needs of the community."