Chamber Chimes

            Last week I had the pleasure of attending the Texas 4000 dinner held at Watonga Christian Church. We had a chance to visit with these inspiring riders and talk about their reasons for being involved with this cancer research fundraiser and what they have experienced so far.  What they are doing is remarkable to all those who take the time to talk to them.  They, however, though it was amazing that so many in Watonga came out to support them.  They told us that they had been told by last year’s team how wonderful the hospitality is here and they were quite pleased.  Watonga Christian Church and Watonga Motel made them feel very well taken care of with food, showers, laundry and by hosting the community dinner.  Many of them seemed interested in Roman Nose State Park and the Watonga Cheese Festival, so hopefully they will come back to visit some time.

            This Saturday, the 26^th will be a big show at the Liberty Theatre.  Our own MagicJon will perform from 7:00 – 8:30pm and has added many new illusions to his lineup.  I can’t imagine how it wouldn’t be a great show with how excited Jon is about it.  I know he has big plans for that night, so I hope a lot of you come out to see it.   Jon says it will, “leave you with a memory never to be forgotten”.  You wouldn’t want to miss that, would you?  Once again, this is a fund raiser to help cover the cost of Cheese Festival entertainment, so entry will be by donation.  Popcorn, snacks and drinks will be available for purchase in the lobby, also.

            What do you think of when you hear the word Entrepreneur?  Do you think of someone like Bill Gates, the highly successful co-founder of Microsoft?  Or perhaps you think it is the business equivalent of an X-game athlete - someone who takes on huge risk for their dream or a “crazy idea”.  According to Wikipedia, “an entrepreneur is a person who has possession of a new enterprise, venture or idea and assumes significant accountability for the inherent risks and the outcome.”  That sounds just a little scary, but what does it mean?  Is every business owner, small or large, an entrepreneur?  Some would answer yes and some no, but Craig Schroeder of the Center for Rural Entrepreneurship defines it rather simply.  He says that a business owner works in their business, while an entrepreneur works at their business.  So where do you fall?  If you do currently, have in the past or would consider owning a business, would you work in your business (clock in, spend the time, work hard and go home) or at your business (find solutions, change what isn’t working, realize your failures and adjust)?  Are you an entrepreneur?  Do you know someone who has that potential?  Just a little food for thought…

Memorial Day weekend followed by Town-Wide Garage Sale… what a busy time it has been!  Pioneer Day was fun, as usual, with lots of enjoyable entertainment but I have to say that one of the most impressive things I personally experienced that weekend was the number of people that showed up at the cemetery to put flags on the graves of Veterans.  Our local American Legion has consistently done a wonderful job of making sure that the true meaning of Memorial Day is remembered and this year they had an impressive number of helpers on Saturday to place the flags.  Nice to see so many people take time from their holiday weekend to honor the true spirit of the day.

            Memorial Day weekend followed by Town-Wide Garage Sale… what a busy time it has been!  Pioneer Day was fun, as usual, with lots of enjoyable entertainment but I have to say that one of the most impressive things I personally experienced that weekend was the number of people that showed up at the cemetery to put flags on the graves of Veterans.  Our local American Legion has consistently done a wonderful job of making sure that the true meaning of Memorial Day is remembered and this year they had an impressive number of helpers on Saturday to place the flags.  Nice to see so many people take time from their holiday weekend to honor the true spirit of the day.

            This last Saturday was Town-Wide garage sale and we listed 32 sales on the Chamber list.  We seemed to have a lot of people in town from out of the area, including some that I talked to from Kingfisher, Altus, Geary and other places.  Even with the heat, I think we had a lot of action in town.

            In the seemingly endless list of things to do in Watonga is the Texas 4000 for Cancer dinner coming up this Sunday, June 13^th.  These riders, mostly college students, ride from Austin TX to Anchorage AK over 3 months during the summer.  Their purpose is to “fight cancer by sharing Hope, Knowledge and Charity across North America.”  They will be stopping in Watonga on an overnight and would like you to join them for a hamburger dinner and to hear the inspirational story of why they ride.  Dinner will be by donation with 100% of the donation going to cancer research and outreach.   Please plan to join them at Watonga Christian Church’s fellowship hall at 6:00pm this Sunday.

            When was the last time you spoke to one of your government representatives?  Luckily, it may not have been very long ago as we are fortunate to have a very involved and accessible representation.  You have an opportunity to attend a “meet and greet” which includes Lt. Gov. Jari Askins, Senators Ron Justice and Bryce Marlatt, Representatives Harold Wright and Mike Sanders and County Commissioners Melba Nance, Jonathon Cross and Farrol Boyd.  You can stop by and chat with them in this informal, non-campaigning get together on Tuesday, June 22^nd, from 10:00 – 11:30am at the home of Fred and Joyce Lucas.  Drop in to show them that you are involved and appreciate their involvement, and to encourage them to remain committed to rural north western Oklahoma through legislation and budgets.

            Here is an interesting site to visit: http://bit.ly/bKtzmK.  It is an interactive link to the new $100 bill that will be put into circulation on February 10, 2011.  While keeping Benjamin Franklin in his usual prominent spot, the rest of the bill has received a massive makeover, including textured print, 3-D effects and color changing ink.

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