Category: On The Bricks

I have been slammed at work recently. Either I have become less efficient, more important, or I’ve recently traveled from my happy little fantasy land to reality. My bet is on the last option.

There are some excellent projects we’ve been working on here at the Main Street Guymon office. Fund raising efforts are at an all – time high.

Mark June 30 for the Main Street Taco Dinner and Bingo Evening at the No Man’s Land Center at 5:30 pm. The tacos are served at 5:30 and Bingo begins at 6:30. The cost for a taco plate (that includes homemade salsa) is $7 and the cost for a bingo card is $1 per game. The prizes for the bingo winners is half of the pot collected. Sometimes that is paid in cash and sometimes it is paid in Main Bucks, which can be spent at 30 different Main Street Guymon member businesses.

We’re asking for hamburger, homemade salsa, and dessert donations. Feeling helpful?

On July 21 is Main Streets first Wit and Wisdom Talk Series, another fund raiser for our Main Street programs. John Board is going to give the talk and the dinner is catered by Virgil Gibson. It is $20 a person and it all happens at Pioneer Hall (next to St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church) at 1803 N Lelia. This begins at 5:30 pm.

Working on these makes me recall, “The light at the end of the tunnel has been turned off due to budget cuts.” How sad. Support our Main Street fund raisers so our light isn’t turned off!

In OKC next week there are a couple of us attending a meeting about the Museum on Main project that we applied and were chosen for. This is a project headed up by the Guymon Public Library and is going to be a blast. I’m hoping these meetings don’t follow the saying, “A meeting is an event at which the minutes are kept and the hours are lost.”

If you work with youth in any way, you might consider attending the free Magical Mentoring Luncheon on June 12^th in Guymon. Once again it is being held at Pioneer Hall, 1803 N Lelia, from 10:30 am to 2:30 pm. There are some great mentors coming in to mentor us mentors. To register, give a call to Melyn Johnson at 338-6246. It’s a start for some of us … those of us that come to mind when you read “She should go far. The sooner she starts, the better.”

Take a gander to the YMCA at 1602 N Oklahoma on June 26^th from 5:00 – 6:00 pm and register for a chance to win $100 in Main Bucks. That’s $100 you can spend at any of 30 different Main Street Guymon member businesses. You might find yourself taking home some other goodies that encourage you to have a healthier lifestyle. I think I would be healthier with $100 in Main Bucks!

At a recent drawing by the OPSU Business Club, Mary Blagg won a basket of Main Street member items (gift cards, items, etc.) and $440 in Main Bucks. And Mary hadn’t even bought a ticket! I’ll tell you the secret. Sometimes if you really want to feel good, buy tickets for some drawing and write down names of people who help you out, who are there when you need a helping hand, a smile, or an encouraging word. I’m here to tell you, it feels great and you’re the only who knows you did it so it doesn’t even inflate your ego any, which goes to making you insufferable. THEN if one of them wins, it is like a warm and fuzzy all over. But sometimes you have to explain because the winner doesn’t see how they can win a drawing they didn’t buy a ticket for. And sometimes you tell about it in the newspaper and that inflates your ego. Am I insufferable yet? If not, I’ll just work on it a little more and we’ll be there.

We need to value other people’s efforts more.

We want to be valued and that doesn’t start until we do the same for others.

Send a card to someone that is deserving. Take some flowers by someone that makes you grin. Share your appreciation of something someone has done. Make the world a happier place.

Speaking of a happier place, I recently read some comments that would be great to use when you’re being asked to give a reference for someone you aren’t particularly impressed with. Try some of these on for size:

“She works well when under constant supervision and corned like a rat in a trap.”

“She slipped into the gene pool when the lifeguard wasn’t looking.”

“He hit rock bottom and started to dig.”

Ouch.

Go forth and be someone who gets a good reference.

See you on the bricks!

A little rain. It settles the dust. Reminds us that we need get a new windshield wiper. Cleans everything. Smells so good. And it will bring our spring wild flowers to bloom. What a wonderful gift for this Holy Week.

Holy Week. You know, some of our churches make up for not meeting on Wednesday all during the year with Lent and Holy Week. We tend to have something every day. But it is like the rain and reminds us of a wonderful gift that clean and settles. Hope you all have a Happy Easter. And if you don’t believe in Easter, I hope you enjoy the egg salad sandwiches.

Here’s a thought for those Easter Egg hunts with plastic eggs. Put a nickel or a penny in those eggs. It’s cheaper than candy! And they don’t usually rot the teeth.

So Easter is the new year for the church. It can be a new start for us too. What do we need to work on? What should we do differently?

I hope you’re thinking of ways you should prefer to work on, rather than ways you think I should work on. If you are … that’s the first think you need to work on. Quit judging. Look at yourself rather than others.

And we really should start treating others the way we want to be treated. Not the way you think they deserve. Just time to be respectful. I read one time that if we would treat our spouse and children like we do company, then there would be a lot fewer problems today. Ouch. That hits home, doesn’t it?

Betty Smith who wrote “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn” said “Look at everything as though you were seeing it either for the first time or the last time. Then your time on earth will be filled with glory.”

It is a fact that not all of us can accomplish great things, but we can all accomplish small things that make a great difference. Kindness matters. Empathy matters. Patience matters. Being there matters.

Every day I have the chance to see someone who is making a great difference in some way. Last Tuesday was stellar in that department. Met with a group of ladies who are starting a mentor program for young girls. Their goal is to help these youngsters realize their self – worth. Remember, that we are all worth something. All of us. This is just beginning and it is going to be wonderful. I can’t help but know that each of these young mentors that gives two evenings a month to mentor is going to learn and be blessed even more than the girls they’re there for.

That’s how it works. When we give much, we are given much.

Then Tuesday evening I attended the meeting on the potential Community Health Center. For a fact, I know that Monica Ronne and Dianna Brown are seriously concerned about the entire community. They have those who do not have insurance at heart and want them to have a better life. Those who are on Medicare and Medicaid who have a hard time getting a primary care doctor or in to see the doctor are at their heart, too. They’re stepping out and helping others who need help. Whether you agree or disagree, they are giving of themselves and working hard for what they see as the better good.

And last Friday I had the honor of attending the Leadership Guymon Class of 2014 graduation, a program through the Guymon Chamber of Commerce. The class is made up of people who are taking their time to learn more about their community and they have a class project to do some renovating at the Oaks of Mamre. Go get ‘em, guys. I pray they take what they’ve learned and step out and make this community a better place to be.

Each of these folks has a boss, a business generally, that has ponied up and paid for them to attend and lets them take time off work to do it. I believe those businesses deserve the right to be noticed because those managers and owners are working hard and giving to the community, too. Here’s their list:

• Bank of the Panhandle;
• City of Guymon;
• First Presbyterian Church;
• High Plains BioEnergy;
• Lumber Mart;
• Oklahoma Panhandle Partners;
• Oklahoma Panhandle State University;
• PTCI;
• Seaboard Foods;
• St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church;
• Texas County YMCA; and
• Tri-County Electric.

There are certain businesses that always seem to step up. That actually read emails sent to them and respond back in a timely manner. The ones who seem to care. We have an opportunity to attend a leadership training class this week and the Chamber and Main Street Guymon members were invited to attend. Those who have employees signed up so far, are:

• Bank of the Panhandle;
• Main Street and Chamber volunteers;
• Main Street Guymon Transformers;
• PTCI; and
• Seaboard.

There certainly is a pattern, isn’t there? Now, you have to admit, if you have more than one employee it is much easier to take part in such things! So there are some simple logistics that have to be considered. But rather than looking at who isn’t there, take a look at who is there and give them a thumbs up next time you see them!

Don’t forget the Free Dementia Education Seminar by the nationally acclaimed author of “Untangling Alzheimer’s.” It is Tues., April 29, from 9 am to 3 pm at Trinity Lutheran Church, 1212 N. Crumley in Guymon. Please call Dorothy Countryman at 580-651-4645 if you are going and tell her if you want the $10 lunch from Hunny’s. It is going to be a blessed event.

The benefit run for Lynn Schaffer is April 19. Call the Fire Department for more information. Don’t call them on the 911 number, please. Shees.

It’s a good day and there are good people all around us. Try to blend in and be good, too.

Wherever you go and whatever you do, may the luck of the Irish be there with you.

See you on the bricks!

Last weekend the family and I went to the Guymon Community Theater presentation of “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.” My mom and stepfather from Boulder, Colo., even got to go with us. They loved it as much as I did. The cast was fabulous. They made me laugh. And I respect each and every one of them for their hard work in making such a thing happen. Way to go, guys!

I did notice in the program that many of the actors were in a production for the first time. I applaud them for stepping out and trying something new. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed watching you all!

Talking about doing something new … have you ever thought about hosting a high school foreign exchange student? Give Mary Ann Shaddy a call if that is something you might consider. My family hosted 18different students and loved most of them! It is certainly a way to travel the world without having to buy a ticket. The number to call is 580-651-1957. They’ll try hard not to get you a student that when you give him a penny for his thoughts, he gives you change.

Here’s something new that I learned when the Governor was here talking: 45% of the students going into college are having to take remedial classes. That is almost half of the students. And if you figure most of the bad students aren’t even enrolled in college, this is a bit frightening. My thought is that it is time for parents to stop making excuses for your kids. They need to do their homework … themselves. They need to go to class and be on time. They need to write their own essays. Hire a tutor if your kid is having trouble because it’s cheaper than paying for a year of remedial classes in college.

If you’re not willing to do their work for them when they get a job, buy their groceries and pay their rent when they get a family, then quit letting them get by when they’re younger. It isn’t helping them. Now, I don’t remember if the Governor was talking about Oklahomans or nationwide, but I don’t think it really matters. Even if the percentage is a bit exaggerated, it is still scary.

Wow. I need to step down off my soap box before I realize that I’m standing up there … I just hate heights! And this whole topic so fits the quote, “There’s an idiot somewhere deprived of a village.”

At the recent Dementia Education Seminar that the Main Street Dementia Support Group sponsored, having author Tam Cummings in Guymon to speak, she spoke some words that have really stuck with me. Tam asked the group what Dignity of Life was. The group was quiet and then several people gave their thoughts, but it boiled down to being treated with respect. We should all treat people with dignity, with respect. And we should let them die with dignity. And we should treat those who are left living with dignity. Even children.

Tam said, “If you are old enough to love, you are old enough to grieve.” She was making a point that when someone dies, we shouldn’t sugar coat and wrap up explanations for children in confusing inane remarks. If we say “they went to heaven” the child might want to go there too. If they are “in their favorite garden” the child might wonder why they would rather be there than with them. Be honest. Be frank. And quite confusing everyone because you don’t want to say the word “die.”

I am going to remember this. Everyone deserves to know the truth. And if you handle it well, the children probably will, too.

There’s a quote that kind of fits this new rant of mine. “We have paralysis by analysis.”

Speaking of analysis, we have had such a wonderful good time with our Cash Mob that goes once a month and mob shops at a Main Street Guymon member retail store that we’re starting a Lunch Mob! The Cash Mob promises to spend a minimum of $20 at each mob, but the Lunch Mob just promises to buy lunch at the mobbed member restaurant. At this time we have three restaurants as members. They are Pub on the Bricks, Urban Bru, and Vallarta. Oh, yes, and Dizzy B’s serves a great lunch, too. We hope that it is fun for the mobsters and that it encourages new members! We love giving back to our members and this is such an enjoyable way to do it.

Mitchell Theater came in as a new member, so I think we’re going to have the two mobs mob the theater. Another fun time to be had! Call if you would like to join the Cash Mob and / or the Lunch Mob, 338-6246.

Epic Saturday classes and events coming up on the 17^th are Scrapbooking at The Studio from 9 am to 5 pm (call Denise Gebara at 339-4851 for more information); Gaggle of Geeks from 1 – 3 at the Main Street Guymon office; Dementia Support Group from 4 – 5 pm at the Main Street Guymon office; and from 8 – 11 pm is a country and western dance to the band “Calhouns” at No Man’s Land Center, 15^th and East. Join any of these that interests you.

You should also mark on your calendar that the Pink Heals Tour is in Guymon on June 21 and there is a Professional Bull Riding Event and Motorcycle Run on July 26.

It’s a great day to be on the bricks.

The evening brought such pride to my heart. Main Street Guymon volunteers won their first Oklahoma Main Street Award. After 650 of us went through the banquet line, heard Governor Mary Fallin speak about how wonderful the program is for our state, we finally got to the announcing of the award winners.

Main Street Guymon was up for five awards. The Premier Partner Award was for PTCI and their wonderful work with Main Street Guymon. The disappointment in not winning was not obvious on my face, I hope.

The Community Education Award for our On the Bricks column in the Guymon Daily Herald and the On the Bricks with Melyn TV Show on PTCI’s Channel 2 came next. Beat again. Dang. I am pretty sure my face showed my thoughts that time.

The third award on screen was the Main Street Volunteer Development Program for our Transformers. Shoot. We didn’t get to bring home that one. Hoping the wrinkles between my eyebrows wasn’t pronounced.

I tried to act like I was happy for the ones who won. But at the time, I really wasn’t. In fact, I didn’t like them at all.

Several more awards were given and then it was time for the Creative New Event. Yes! We won. Beat out two Tulsa Main Street programs. And all those others that didn’t make the final three. And it was even better than just winning.

Seaboard was the presenting sponsor of the Azuma: An African Celebration event. David and Jennie Watkins with Seaboard had brought Fidel Lual, an African refugee who was so instrumental on the Azuma committee. He was overwhelmed. “From the village to this,” he said softly. “It is like a dream.”

The winning took backseat in my love of how Fidel and Seaboard were such fabulous representatives of Guymon, of Texas County, of the Oklahoma Panhandle, and of the state. And I remember reading a letter to the editor who said Seaboard just made burgers. They knew so little when that letter was penned.

So we won. The Azuma committee, sponsors (Seaboard Foods, Bank of the Panhandle, and City National Bank, and several churches and individuals), and volunteers won. Those that attended also won. Without everyone … no award.

Congratulations to you all! We WON!

At the banquet Guymon’s Main Street program had also made it to the Top 10 Communities list. Laverne won that one. This award is strictly based on points from attending trainings, meetings, Main Street Day at the Capitol, man the Oklahoma State Fair booth, and so forth. We made Top 10. That was a first for us, too. And I have to take the time to say many volunteers did those activities that brought points. Terry Brand attended the Preservation Conference in Perry for Main Street Guymon, Arlene Winfrey and Deb Drees and Terry Brand manned the Oklahoma State Fair booth, Dalia Estrada put together our booth for Main Street Day at the Capitol and she and Juan Estrada set it up and manned it that day.

We have wonderful volunteers. Thank you to you all.

And if you haven’t jumped on the Main Street Band Wagon, it’s not too late! Join the Cash Mob that meets the second Monday at 5:30 and shops a Main Street Guymon retail store. Join the new Lunch Mob that meets once a month and has lunch at a Main Street Guymon member restaurant. Work at the Outback, Fiesta, Azuma, Livin’ Green Race, Oktoberfest, Five State Motorcycle Run, or other events with Main Street volunteers. Be a Shutterbug. Attend the Dementia Support Group. Help with the Community Clean Up (which is going to be monthly this year). Join one of the committees.

Become a member. A business membership is $200 a year and an individual can join as a “Friend of Main Street” for $50 a year. We would love to have you join us. Or be a sponsor of a Main Street program like the Transformers, Cassie’s Project, Lunch and Learns, and the soon to be announced Healthy Moments. You might end up on the TV program or in the column, but you’ll get over it!

See you on the Bricks!

Attending Rotary last week was a lesson in hilarity. Bob Burgess gave the 17^th Reading of the Ode to the Barbecue. “It’s not easy being Barbecue Bob,” he said as solemn as can be. “I’m to be commended.” That you are, Bob!

With over 1,800 people served at the annual Rotary Barbecue on the Friday of Pioneer Days (this week), generally in less than an hour and a half, it is a sight to behold. And the organizer of the shindig is Barbecue Bob. And he does it with a straight face and sarcasm that makes us all laugh.

I love being a Guymon Rotarian.

I love Pioneer Days.

There are so many things happening this week … take a look for Thursday:

• Chicken and Noodle Supper at the Pentecostal Church, 1009 N Ellison; and
• Meet the Rodeo Queens lunch at Epic Touch, Northridge Shopping Center.

On Friday:

• Miss Guymon Pioneer Days Rodeo Pageant Breakfast at Ambassador;
• Kid’s Clown Contest at Big R Standard Supply at 10:30;
• Spikes and Spurs Golf Tournament at 11:00;
• Rotary BBQ at 11:30 at Texas County Activity Center;
• Mutton Bustin’ at 6:45 at the Arena; and
• Rodeo at 7:30 and it’s Tough Enough to Wear Pink night.

On Saturday:

• Old Timer’s Breakfast by Seaboard at Fairgrounds, 5:30;
• 5K Run / Walk behind Activity Center, 7:00 am;
• Pancake Eating Contest and Entertainment, 7:30 at Commercial Building;
• Mercantile Arts and Crafts Show at Activity Center, 10 am to 7 pm;
• Parade at 10:30 am;
• Lunch for Seniors, Potluck at No Man’s Land Center 15^th and East St.;
• Lunch for Veterans at the American Legion;
• Mutton Bustin’ at 1:15 at arena;
• Rodeo at 2 pm;
• Tractor Pull on south side of fairgrounds, 2:30 – 5 pm;
• Mutton Bustin’ at 6:45 pm;
• Pioneer Day Dance at Senior Citizens at 7 pm; and
• Rodeo at 7:30 pm.

On Sunday:

• Cowboy Church at the arena, 10 am;
• Mercantile Arts and Crafts at Activity Center, 11 am – 5 pm;
• Mutton Bustin’ at 1:15 at rodeo arena;
• Rodeo at 2 pm; and
• Boats and Trains at Sunset Lake from 2 pm til dark.

Have a great time celebrating our Pioneer Heritage this week! And when you see one of the hundreds of Pioneer Day and Chamber volunteers that make this happen, you give them a pat on the back. They deserve it. Few communities have such a wonderful celebration as this and those volunteers deserve our thanks.

See you on the bricks!

Recently on a website entitled “I Own Downtown” was an article that I found enlightening at times and entertaining at other times. “This is Why Merchants are So Angry, Grumpy, and Irritable” was the title of the article posted by Ben Muldrow.

It was posted in 2013 and I don’t know where the author was from, so his cost quotes might be different here, but the whole concept is really good, I thought.

“The average downtown retail space in America is about 2,000 square feet. The average downtown rent in America is about $16.40 per square feet. That means that the normal downtown retailer is paying about $32,800 a year in rent.

“So, without standard market up of 50%, the retailer needs to sell $65,600 worth of product just to break even. For rent. Alone.

“Okay, a little more math. Let’s get slightly more complicated now. Did I mention my mom taught math in high school?

“Ok, back to class.

“You need lights and heat. Average monthly bill of $674.09 x 12 = $8,089.08. Need to sell another $16,178.16.

“Insurance is $1,458.00.

“Phone, fax, internet is $218 x 12 = $2616.

“Security is $54.18 x 12 = a$650.16.

“Window Washer is $12 x 24 = $288.

“Cash register tape, shopping bags, toilet paper, etc. is $28.68 x 12 = $344.16.

“Total is $5,356.32.

“Need to sell another $10,712.64.

“Grand total of $92,490.80 simply to exist.

“WAIT!!! So, if you process credit cards, it will cost you an additional $2,034.79 to process all those payments.

“96,560.40.

“But people should make money, even a little money, right? So let’s add in the average starting salary for a teacher in the lowest paying state in the union, Montana.

“$26,734.

“That brings it to $150,028.40.

“At this rate a downtown business needs to sell $577.03 every single day that it is open. Every single day, simply to be compensated the same as America’s lowest paid teachers. And this is all in a perfect vacuum. This assumes that every product you buy, you sell. There are no sales. Nothing is shoplifted. Nothing is scratched, dented, rotten, or ruined. Yet, we wonder why those merchants are so grumpy. We wonder why when we walk in their store, they always seem to expect us to do something for them. We have to make a change. The time is now for the rebirth of the Merchant Class. We need to elevate the role of local business owners. Elevate the independent thinkers, and the creative risk takers. Empower the future to own downtown, and make a good living doing it.”

So often we don’t consider others, we only consider the outcome we wish for ourselves.

The answer to putting on your event is not to have the businesses give you the money to do it.

The answer to going to your conference, class, contest is not for the business owners to pay for you to go.

The answer to your banquet, awards, dinner is not to have the local businesses owners donated and give so it costs you nothing.

The answer to your community event is not to get businesses to sponsor so that you have lots of money to give to someone else … if they wanted to give to cure stupidity or whatever other cause, they could give to that. Only ask for help on the help you need, not to pad your budget.

The answer to you having a fund raiser is not to compete with the very business owners that you have asked for your school events, your school trips, your school scoreboard, your school awards.

The answer to saving $5 on your concession stand cost is not to purchase 100 miles away rather than at the very businesses who have supported your endeavors.

The answer to your program is not to assume the businessman wants to pay for it so that the participants don’t have to.

The answer is what do you think the businessman needs to want to be a partner with you? How can you work it so that you’re both being helped?

We need to wake up and realize having a grocery store in town is important. Important enough to support them by purchasing from they so that they can stay in business.

We need to wake up and realize that ordering online does not bring in for the Kid’s Inc. youth program, the Chamber of Commerce, the local sales tax that pays for your running water, your roads, and keeps your toilets flushing.

Let’s appreciate what we have and utilize what we have. We don’t want to lose it.

As Kevin Ngo said, “If you don’t make the time to work on creating the life you want, you’re eventually going to be forced to spend a LOT of time dealing with a life you don’t want.”

And as we’re working to make our community stronger, remember “Be an encourager. The world has plenty of critics already,” said Dave Willis.

See you on the bricks!

I am in the midst of an Earthquake Survival Leadership Course. What is the chance that I would be sitting next to someone from San Francisco? How cool is that?

When starting I wondered if I would survive. I did survive, but I certainly as far from the best. What did we learn? Here’s a fact stated that I think matters every single day, “Panic causes people to react, not act.” And we don’t make good decisions when we are reacting. We need to work on acting and being ready for things so we don’t react. Think it through and stand your course.

In the survival training the teams all worked well together. In fact, I thought it was totally fun. We ranged in age from 54 to 16 years! Three were outstanding in their individual scores. And, funny enough, each was on a different team. The three were a 36 year old female, 21 year old female, and 22 year old male. None of them grew up here. I think that shows we need to be glad we’re getting new folks in!

The training took place on Good Friday of Holy Week.

I talked to someone the day before who is a spiritual person, yet does not profess to be a Christian. I wonder if he has his kids go to Easter egg hunts.

Is an Easter egg hunt purely social or does it have spiritual significance to most?

Easter matters to me, but I do realize that it doesn’t to everyone. Even some who would check the “Christian” box don’t really think on the Easter story when they have the family over for dinner and hunt eggs.

When you think about Easter and Holy Week what’s your first thought? I have to admit that having the family dinner is what I cherish the most. I love any reason to gather my kids and grandkids around the table.

I also like the Friday Fish Fry at the Catholic Church. This is on a social level for me, but it’s great fun.

I love the happy Easter story. Being told someone died for you. You … that’s wow. Hearing someone raised from the dead. That’s also wow. And if you don’t believe those things, the Easter dinner is wow if you go to someone’s house who is a good cook … or they’re good company.

Hope your Easter weekend was wonderful, whether you enjoyed the dinner, the coloring of eggs, the story, or the egg salad sandwiches.

See you on the bricks!

An exceptional employee is not always an exceptional business manager or owner. A study from The Hay Group lists traits that separate business leaders from others:

• Confidence. Exceptional business leaders reject failure as an option. Best of all, their “do or die” attitudes prove contagious and boost organizational performance.
• Integrity. Most exceptional business leaders are unwilling to set aside their principles for financial gain. They also work to foster a business environment where people are not castigated for occasional mistakes or for criticizing the status quo. These leaders stress the importance of rewarding employees whose work and ideas produce bottom line improvements.
• Initiative. Exceptional leaders understand the need to monitor the marketplace in a search for opportunities to expand their businesses. They note that change and growth are keys to success, and focus their attention on innovation that will matter over the long term instead of fly – by – night novelties. According to the report, “Successful entrepreneurs can spot the hot issue and always see a new idea through to fruition. Their ability to turn what are often simple ideas into profits is usually based on their own personal or business experiences.”
• Selling. Successful business leaders operate with a passion and can convey their unbridled enthusiasm to potential clients. Their ability to communicate ideas with drive and commitment represents an essential part of their sales arsenal.
• Commitment and capacity for hard work. True business leaders understand success requires commitment. As a result, they pour their energy into every endeavor – often to the detriment of their personal lives.
• Drive and determination. Excellent leaders are willing to sacrifice all (sadly this includes friends and family) to achieve success in business. They are also more willing to take risks and facilitate decision making or defuse organizational politics.
• Decisiveness. Business leaders constantly evaluate their organization’s performance and take steps to correct personnel issues, address inefficiencies, and correct shortcomings. The goal is to eliminate complacency and create a challenging work environment.
• Influence: Great business leaders can inspire people to follow their lead and take initiative in the workplace. Moreover, those who perform well, help improve the bottom line, and show loyalty and support are always rewarded.

I believe what I found interesting is that in no place did this study reveal that a great business leader does not have a huge ego, a higher IQ, nor drive a fancier car. Nor do they dictate to their employees, always making sure they understand who is the boss and who will never be the boss.

I’ve had several bosses that were exceptional. They found out what I did well and found ways for those things to be worked into the daily grind more. They learned what I didn’t do well and helped me get better at them. They met me with a smile in the mornings and I always felt like I mattered to them as a person.

Don’t know about you, but I found several things on this list that I find myself needing to work on. You know, too, it isn’t just about being a boss in a business … it’s also ways to be as a parent and as a friend.

We can always do better.

See you on the bricks!

There is this liquid soap that I have at my bathroom sink. In the mornings I wash my hands and that soap smells soooooo good. It just starts my day off with a grin. It’s a real tropical flowery smell. My dad is visiting. I wonder if he likes the smell as well as I do. He really isn’t very flowery.

Talking about smelling … whew. I have overwatered a plant of mine here in the office and today I noticed. So I poured out the standing water. Poor plant was flooded. Oh my gosh, it was that sour, nasty smell that you can’t get out of your nostrils. When I finally quit smelling it, my hand went in front of my nose and phew. All over again. Need my smelly soap here!

And with thoughts on smelly. Have you ever thought about how smelly people must have been when Guymon first was settled? Not only do we have really hot summers, but they had way too many clothes, and not near enough water or easy water, anyway. It must have been rank. But maybe if everyone was it wasn’t so obvious?

Those western movies never quite give you the truth on that count, does it?

What is your favorite western movie?

True Grit is a good one, no doubt. Did you know that it takes place in Oklahoma? There are some really fantastic books written by Oklahoma authors and / or that take place in Oklahoma.

I recently read, “True Grit is an ideal Oklahoma read. Much of the action takes place in Indian Territory, specifically the Choctaw Nation. The quest for justice, the adventure in a lawless frontier, and the unique and compelling characters come together to make this novel a classic of American Literature.” It is a book for all ages.

Take a moment and read a little more about Oklahoma. Go check out True Grit from the library, order it for your Kindle, or do whatever it is you do for a book. We should learn more about our fascinating state! Or if you’re from Texas, you should learn more about your fascinating neighbor!

And reading a western is a good idea to get ready for the upcoming OPSU Rodeo! Yes, that happens this month, April 25 and 26. There is an OPSU Rodeo Round – Up (Reunion) for past rodeo team members and supporters that you need to be sure to attend. That is on the 26^th at noon in Bob’s Cowboy Bar. For $10 you’ll get lunch and some of the best company you ever heard! Come and join everyone.

For those who are always wanting to learn more about taking photos and the stuff that goes along with it, there is an Intro to Adobe Lightroom class on April 14 from 7 to 9 pm in the Guymon Public Library. This class is being presented by the Main Street Shutterbugs and instructor is Shutterbug Stanley Harper. The class covers the capabilities of Lightroom and how to implement it into your photography workflow.

There is to be several practical exercises for attendees. You’re encouraged to bring a laptop and Adobe Lightroom program with three RAW format images to take part in the practicum.

The Bugs stress that anyone is welcome to attend and if you’re planning to come, be a little early because the library closes at 7 pm and you’ll want to come in before the doors are locked. This is a free class.

Hope your world is smelling fine.

See you on the bricks!

Lots of people are worried about the bees. I know that local honey is really popular because I’ve seen when Dean McFadden shows up at the Farmers Market. His supply of local honey is gone in a heartbeat.

Well, it seems that bees are having a little trouble.

The life of a bee is fairly simple. A honeybee looks down, banks hard in flight, and lands in a colorful weave of zinnias, salvia, and cosmos in a sidewalk planter. She enters the flower blossom for a sip of nectar and exits dusted like a sugar donut. She’ll leave a smidge of pollen in each flower she meets; then she’ll go.

This pollination is vital to our plants.

Yet bees face many threats such as parasites, pesticides and sickness. Other threats include concrete cities, manicured lawns, and acres of one – crop fields that leave little food for the pollinators.

There is a simple solution … plant flowers.

Bees appear in spring, when temperatures remain above 50 degrees, and a small garden can fortify a colony. Even a single potted pansy serves up a buzz of energy. What we need are hundreds of backyard gardens and flower pots strung across the nation like a chain of food courts, feeding every pollinator for miles around.

Check out Helm’s Nursery for the most beautiful pots and flowers around. Let’s feed a bee. Take our pollination seriously. Make a difference. Who ever thought you could feed a colony all by yourself? Go forth and fortify.

We have new bricks laid in the plaza in front of the Main Street Guymon office. The new ones are:

Jimmie Draper
“Paps”
We love you
12/25/2013

Jody Ran a Good Race.
Joann Adams
11/14/2013

Precious Angel
Hallie McIntyre
B. 11/24/99
D. 3/16/00

Geo. WJ Shearer
Born June 1954
1102 N Main St.
In Guymon, Okla

Mike and Lori Shannon
Feb. 23, 2001

White Family
Charles, Ethan,
Courtney, Emily

In Honor
Glade & Phyllis
Johnson
M. 10/29/1949

Come by and see the new memorial bricks. It makes for some pretty good reading! And if you have a person or a date or a place that you would like to have remembered, come by and visit about having a brick done. The cost is $100 per brick. It’s a cool gift.

It’s going to be a great week on the bricks!

Wishing you always … Walls for the wind, a roof for the rain, and tea beside the fire. Laughter to cheer you, those you love near you, and all that your heart may desire.