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On The Bricks

October 16, 2017

The article “Teaching Generosity” that ran in the October 2017 Living Lutheran magazine was worth repeating parts.

Scott Seeke wrote, “My grandmother taught me the ’80 – 10 – 10’ method: live off 80 percent of your earnings, save 10 percent and give 10 percent to God. By following this method, I, too, have come to love being generous and giving to God. Teach your children about giving early and they’ll received the gift of giving, which will give them joy for their entire lives.

“The first step in teaching generosity to children is to give them their own money to manage – an allowance. For each paycheck I receive, each of my children gets a dollar for every birthday they’ve had. This may not work if you get paid weekly, but it works well if you get paid semimonthly or monthly. The amounts are small enough that they can’t make a big mistake, but big enough that they have decisions to make.

“Next, help your child make three piggy banks: a ‘spend bank,’ and ‘save bank,’ and a ‘God bank.’ For ours, we used glass jars wrapped in paper that my children had decorated. Then it’s time to explain to your child that every time they get an allowance, they are to put 10 percent in their God bank, 10 percent in their savings bank, and 80 percent in their spend bank.

“They can use their spend bank to buy whatever they like. Have them set a goal for a large item they want to buy with their save bank. They can take their God bank to worship whenever they like and put its contents in the offering plate.

“Through these practices my children have learned to love giving, and that’s one of the best gifts I’ve ever given them.”

Seems all good to me. What do you think?

I think there are a bunch of fun things coming up around here.

Breakfast and Business is on Wednesday morning at the Bank of the Panhandle board room from 8 to 9 in the morning.

OPSU Football game at home on Saturday, starting at 2 pm. And did you hear that OPSU is ranked #20! That is great news.

There is also a dance at the No Man’s Land Sr. Center on Saturday evening the 21st from 7 to 10.

And for those who are required to have a HIPAA training, Main Street is offering one on Oct. 24. Just call 338-6246 to get your seat reserved for the 9 am – noon class.

That evening on the 24th is the Chamber of Commerce banquet, with a 70s theme this year. That starts at 7 pm and you probably ought to buy a ticket.

It’s a great month and I hope to see you on the bricks!

Categories
On The Bricks

October 11, 2017

Jennie TeBeest said, “Just do the right thing.” We were young girls sitting in a Bible study and the question came up on how you make good choices. Jennie was in her 70s and we all knew she had lived through some tough times. That was her advice. I’ve always thought it was probably the smartest advice I ever heard. Good chance I’ve been given lots of good advice, but I wasn’t always listening.

Last weekend Main Street partnered with OPSU Baseball players and Coach Keith and with Monica Ronne and the Oklahoma Family Network to put on the Special Game Day. Sponsors blessed us, volunteers helped us, families played with us, and spectators cheered us. It was truly a special day for a lot of special people. I was humbled. It was the right thing to do.
There were so many heroes on the field that day. Caregivers were heroes. Players were heroes. To be among that many caring and giving people brings all sorts of emotions to the front. Love is the main emotion.

And pride. I am so proud to be part of the group of people that was there that day.

Lately there have been so many things of which to be proud. Ami Torres Acuna, an OPSU student from Guymon, won the National Hispanic College Quiz. I got to go to the Premiere Party and watch her on television. I watched her just stomp on the other contestants. It was amazing and it was wonderful. What was almost as good was the fabulous party that her employers put on for her. And it was Ami’s party. Brown and Associates did a great job. And Ami is a champion. Wow.

The school bond issue passed. Some people stepped up and gave the issue some priority in town. They stepped out and they stepped up and people listened because they’re people we trust. Sally Hawkins and Mike Ray said we needed to invest in our youth and 71% of the voters heard them.

This makes me recall something someone in our Sept. 2017 Living Lutheran magazine said, “I try to change lives through education. Education is key to improving life, fostering understanding, and creating problem – solvers.” We need to all remember how important education is.

There are also heroes on some of our Main Street banners now. Mayor Jim Norris and the American Legion Post 31 members have the Guymon Military Banner Program where for $150 you can purchase a banner to honor a friend or family member from Texas County who served our country in the military. You can go to www.TroopBanners.com/Guymon to see what they look like.
One more hero that needs to be mentioned. Addison Helton is the cover of the Bountiful Blessings 2017 calendar put out by the Down Syndrome Association of Central Oklahoma. A cover girl hero right here in Guymon, Oklahoma. Another proud moment for this community.

Time to stop bragging on ourselves and our neighbors and talk about what’s happening in town.

  • Harvest Fest is Sat., Oct. 14, from 4 – 10 pm and happens downtown. This is an event put on by the Guymon Cultural Downtown District Committee.
  • Breakfast and Business: Managing to Retire is a class on Wed., Oct. 18, and will be taught by Kyle Hawkins. The class series is sponsored by Main Street, Chamber, and PREDCI and hosted by Bank of the Panhandle.
  • The HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) class is Tues., Oct. 24, at the Guymon Fire Department classroom with the first class from 9 – 10 and the second class from 10:15 – 11:15. It is free to Main Street Guymon members and cost $5 for non – members. There is a limit of 25 per class, so call in your reservation to 338-6246.
  • Nov. 1 is the grand opening of Inspirations at 1102 N. Main. Fran Berry and Kay Herald are bringing this place to shop, to create, and to meet. You can shop for home décor, seasonal decorations, antiques, gift items, and they offer consignments. Hours are 9:00 to 6:00. Love when new shops open.
  • Just south of Inspirations and across the street is the great new shop, Whispering Bliss, which has clothing and gift items. It is at 1009 N. Main.
  • And just one house over from Whispering Bliss is By His Hands, a health food store where Todd Johnson’s chiropractic office used to be at 1001 N. Main. That block looks like a place to explore on November 1.

It’s a great time to be from Guymon and a great place to live.

See you on the bricks!

Categories
On The Bricks

October 11, 2017 TV

Breakfast and Business, Part Six

PTCI Channel 2 video

October 11, 2017

Hiring and Retaining Employees with Liz McCulloch

Categories
On The Bricks

October 4, 2017 TV

Breakfast and Business, Part Five

PTCI Channel 2 video

October 4, 2017

Shopping Local Conversation with Local Business Owners

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On The Bricks

September 27, 2017

Breakfast and Business, Part Four

PTCI Channel 2 video

September 27, 2017

Make Banking Work for You with Paul Montgomery

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On The Bricks

September 20, 2017

Read this article in the September 2017 Toastmaster magazine and thought it to be pretty funny. If you like words, and I figure someone reading a newspaper might well be someone who enjoys words, then you’ll find it humorous, too.

The article Malapropisms was written by John Cadley and under the headline it says, “These examples come free with your conscription to this magazine.” And it just gets better.

“I used to live across the street from a woman named Helen, who had a wonderful way with words. Noticing the ground cover surrounding my home she complimented me on my beautiful patch of ‘pachydandruff.’ Another time she asked if I had any ‘duck tape’ she could borrow. I briefly thought to correct here – the image of a duck wrapped in tape being slightly disconcerting – but I didn’t because I realized that here before me stood a source of entertainment far more creative than anything on television. And free!

“Mistaking pachydandruff for pachysandra and duck for duct are linguistic mash – ups known as malapropisms. Grammarians call it the ‘use of an incorrect word in place of a word with a similar sound.’ I call it fall – down – funny and I can’t get enough. I wish I had collected all of Helen’s malaprops, but there is no shortage to draw from. Look no further than the world champion of twisted syntax, Yogi Bera, to hear that, when it comes to American presidential elections, ‘the state of Texas has a lot of electrical votes.’ Or the former prime minister of Australia, Tony Abbott, who expressed, with all the gravitas of a respected head of state, that ‘no one, however smart, however well educated, however experienced, is the suppository of all wisdom.’ Suppositories have their use, of course – and a valuable one it is – but they are a far cry from the intended ‘repository,’ which holds things rather than loosens them.

“… The comic gold inherent in malaprops is not lost on the professionals. Stan Laurel of the famous American comedy team Laurel and Hardy worried that his partner was having a ‘nervous shakedown’ because he kept referring to the Exalted Leader of a group they belong to as their ‘exhausted’ leader (which may have been true; just not what was intended).

“… Back in the gold old USA, Richard J. Daley, the infamous late mayor of Chicago, was not one to mince words, except when he turned them into mincemeat. To Mayor Daley, a tandem bicycle was a ‘tantrum bicycle’ and no one could tell him otherwise. As for those with a weakness for strong drink, Alcoholics Unanimous was the mayor’s sage recommendation.

“… For instance, there’s the man who saving one wife is called monotony.’ He meant monogamy. Or did he? And the woman who remarked, ‘I have a very photogenic memory.’ Photographic is the correct word, of course, but perhaps she was looking for a modeling job.

“… My all – time winner came when I took my then six – year – old son to Starbucks for breakfast. As he drank his chocolate milk he asked me if I was drinking decapitated coffee. Beat that. I dare you.”

And here is wishing you some entertaining conversation this week!

See you on the bricks.

Categories
On The Bricks

September 20, 2017 TV

Breakfast and Business, Part Three

PTCI Channel 2 video

September 20, 2017

Am I Making Money? With Lisa Phillips

Categories
On The Bricks

September 13, 2017 TV

Breakfast and Business, Part Two

PTCI Channel 2 video

September 13, 2017

Capital and Cash Flow with Lisa Phillips and Colter Headrick

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On The Bricks

September 11, 2017

“Food is nourishment. Food creates bonds. Food offers moments to start conversations. Food is a connection to our past, present, and future. Food doesn’t define us, but invites us to cherish and share our unique identity in community.” This thought comes from Jennifer Younker in our church magazine. She is so right.

When you sit and break bread with another person, you are starting to build a relationship. Food, part of our culture, is a way to share who we are. It is not threatening to most people.

Many Guymon Hispanics are inviting everyone to the Guymon Fiesta on Sunday, Sept. 17. On Fifth and Main there is entertainment and kids games and lots and lots of food. This is the 21st year and what Fiesta has become is a delicious celebration of our Hispanic population, but it is most known for the food vendors. Many church groups come in and cook for the visitors.

Vendors are selling enchiladas and gorditos and fruit cups and oh, so much more. It’s fun and it’s tasty.

The event starts at 3 pm and goes until 8. Don’t make supper plans, just make plans to come to the Fiesta and partake in this celebration of the Taste of Sharing. And give your kids plenty of time to take part in the games and fun and enjoy being at the table with your friends and family.

This year’s Fiesta is a Main Street Guymon event and is sponsored by Bank of the Panhandle, CRI Feeders, Cargil Animal Nutrition, Charles White Insurance, City Bank and Trust, David Petty, Golden Crown, Hitch Enterprises, Guymon Tire, Guymon Convention and Tourism, MidFirst Bank, PCHC, PTCI, Phipps Dental Practice, TCEC, Trunchbull Services, and Vyve Broadband. It is important to notice who supports our community events and community activities. They deserve to be supported by us in return.

When was the last time you thanked a sponsor for something that you enjoyed? Maybe it’s your child or grandchild playing Kids Inc. basketball. Did you write a note or send a thank you gift to the business that sponsored that team? Maybe a bit of food.

You know, when we don’t know what to say, in our Midwestern culture we tend to send food. Like after a death or accident. We also send food or flowers when there is something great. Like a wedding reception, a baby shower, a retirement dinner. Sponsors deserve some of this same respect.

The Panhandle Partners fund raiser is being held early in October. They are a group that helps a lot of people who are in a personal fight against cancer. They have probably helped someone who is important to you. If they have, it would be a good thing to go and support them in return.
We know how to be good neighbors. Now let’s do it. It isn’t what we know, it is what we do. Knowledge is only as helpful as your actions with it.

This week I get the chance to spend time with some folks who are taking action. On Wednesday morning is the Breakfast and Business meeting at the Bank of the Panhandle where people who really want to learn more about making their business better come to share. The one – hour class this week is about money. That meeting starts at 8 am and it’s a great way to start the day!

Then on Friday we have our first Career Focus class, made up of 16 people who want to improve their professional skill level.

I love being around people who want to improve, who want to grow, who want to learn.

It’s a great week and on Sunday we have the Fiesta. Such a fun time.

See you on the bricks!

Categories
On The Bricks

September 11, 2017 TV

Breakfast and Business, Part One

PTCI Channel 2 video

September 11, 2017

So You Want to Own a Business with Sally Hawkins