Chamber Chimes
December 30, 2009
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I hope you all had a great
Christmas with your families and
friends.
It really is a wonderful
time of year, but it can also be
exhausting so I hope you are
well on the road to
“recuperating”.
Thank you to everyone who
supported the Watonga Gift
Certificate program by using
them for your holiday gift
giving.
I am happy with the
response that we had and hope
everyone is enjoying planning
how to use them.
The list of participating
merchants will continue to be
available at
http://www.watongachamber.com/ParticipatingMerchantsor
by calling the Chamber office.
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I was
introduced to a new (to me
anyway) Christmas ritual this
year.
It is called “Christmas
Jars” and is the practice of
collecting change throughout the
year and giving it anonymously
to a friend, neighbor or
community member in need.
It is one of the many
opportunities to “pay it
forward” that you hear about at
this time of year and is geared
towards Christmas, but I don’t
see why it couldn’t be done at
any time of year.
We had a family meeting
about it and have all agreed to
start saving our change in a jar
to pass on next year.
You can learn more about
it at
www.christmasjars.com.
It is amazing how
generous average people can be
and the impact it can have on
others’ lives.
Planning
has already begun for the
Chamber Banquet so be sure to
mark your calendars for what
should prove to be an enjoyable
evening.
The Banquet will be held
on Monday, February 8th
and the speaker will be Oklahoma
City Mayor Mick Cornett.
I’m sure he will be quite
interesting to listen to.
And while you have the
calendar out, go ahead and
pencil in the Watonga Trout
Derby on March 5th –
7th.
Plans are underway for
that event also and I am already
looking forward to it.
I hope to see you at
both.
Have a fun
and safe New Year!
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December 16, 2009
With Jack Frost
nipping at our nose and Father Time
nipping at our heals, we are all too
aware that Christmas is only a bit more
than one week away!
If, like myself, you have not
quite wrapped up your holiday gift
shopping yet, please consider giving a
Watonga Gift Certificate.
You could quite easily, while
doing your other banking business at
Cornerstone or First State, pick up gift
certificates for friends and family and
not even need to make another stop.
Of course it is easy for you and
it will be easy for the recipient
because so many places in town accept
them, but equally important is the
benefit it has to our community.
It helps keep money in our city.
This supports our local
businesses and their employees and
brings in tax revenue that helps sustain
Watonga.
Whenever possible, shopping local
is always our community’s best option.
I had the good
fortune of getting to attend the 6th
grade band concerts at both banks last
week.
The band did a great job playing
traditional holiday music and
entertaining many onlookers in the fun,
festive setting that the banks had set
up.
There were prize opportunities
for band students as well as members of
the audience, along with lots of holiday
snacks.
It was a very nice time and my
hat is off to all involved.
Tonight is another
chance for more holiday cheer, this time
at the Liberty Theatre.
The 6th grade band
will again perform, starting at 6:00 and
followed by “It’s the Most Wonderful
Time of the Year,” the combined effort
of area church choirs.
In years past this has always
proved to be a fun filled and inspiring
evening, and I am sure it will not
disappoint tonight.
Stick around afterwards for the
Main Street Association’s drawing to see
which lucky ticket purchaser won the 50”
TV.
Is this cold
weather making you miss being outside
and enjoying nature?
Well you can still enjoy it from
the comfort of your heated vehicle.
We are fortunate to be at the
jumping off spot for one of the Oklahoma
Scenic Drives, the South Canadian Loop.
On it you can see many types of
wildlife, especially birds.
I have a new brochure in the
office that includes a map and
information about all 13 of the Great
Plains Trail scenic drives in
Western Oklahoma.
Stop by and pick one up to guide
you as you explore the beauty of our
part of the state.
Wishing you all a
joyous and meaningful Christmas in the
presence of friends and family – Mary.
December 2, 2009
With Christmas just around the
corner (whether you are ready to
face it or not), this weekend we
have a great chance to get in
the spirit as well as do some
shopping.
Santa’s
Village and Holiday Bazaar
will be Saturday from 9-4:30 at
the Blaine County Fairgrounds.
It will feature an
amazing holiday display, photo
opportunities with Santa,
concession, caroling, and 50
booths of great holiday finds.
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I
hope that you all had a
wonderful Thanksgiving filled
with family, friends and lots of
great food!
I also hope that you took
that opportunity to reflect a
bit and think about what you are
really thankful for.
In this time and in this
country, even with all its
problems, we have so much to be
thankful for and most of us are
truly blessed.
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Be it
gifts, décor items or little
indulgence for yourself, you
will have plenty to choose from.
Be sure to bring the kids
because there are craft tables,
balloons and goodies especially
for them.
You will even be able to
pick up fresh baked goodies and
save yourself the time of doing
it yourself.
On your way
to or from the Holiday Bazaar
this Saturday, make sure you
stop in at the T.B. Ferguson
Home.
From 10am to noon, Mary
Deane will host the Oklahoma
Historical Society’s Vintage
Historical Santas.
This is a unique
opportunity to see this
traveling troupe showcasing
Santa from bygone days.
Following their visit,
hang around the museum for
musical sounds of the season by
Ray & Eleanore Wallender.
A couple of
quick reminders about this
season of giving.
Sunday wraps up Alco’s
Canned Food Drive which has been
going since November 23rd.
All food collected will
go to an area food bank and
Alco’s corporate headquarters
will be matching the donations,
up to a chain-wide total of 50
tons of food.
The collection barrel is
located just inside the store
and they would love to see it
filled.
Also, remember the
Watonga Gift Certificates for
your gift giving needs.
The list of participating
Watonga merchant locations
continues to grow, giving your
gift recipients a multitude of
choices.
This may be your chance
to give the most useful gift of
the year!
And finally, check out
www.watonga.com/christmas to
see some of the amazing shopping
options right here in town.
You might be surprised at
all we have available to us.
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