Good morning, good morning, good morning, and welcome, welcome, welcome.
It's time now for our community connection right here on K one, the
one you trust today AM fourteen hundred FM ninety three point three, ninety five
point one and yes live on kwetv dot com and on your Facebook page.
I think I got covered. How are we doing, ladies, great?
We are talking. We are talking today with Susie Rodgers and also Mary Abert,
and we're talking about the Jane Phillips Society. May read I thought I
knew everything about Bartlesville, and I'm not surprised that we have a Jane Phillips
Society, but I really wasn't aware of it. Tell us a little bit
about what's got going on here? Okay, we would love to Well,
let's go back in time. Nice, let's do seven. Okay. Okay.
America is just coming out of a really bad depression. So there's an
attitude of change and positivity. And here in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, a group
of women from Phillips Petroleum Company decided they wanted to make some changes. Now,
remember at that time, Phillips was a small oil company in a small
town. They were about twenty years old at that time. Well, just
one block east of Phillips was a competitor, another old company, City Service,
which was a rival in business, social and civic status. Well,
that company had already organized a women's club. It was called the Doherty Girls
Club. So Phillips Petroleum Company women decided we need a women's club. So
they set out and the company was very supportive. And at that time this
community was like a family, and everybody referred to Frank Phillips as Uncle Frank,
and Jane Phillips was Aunt Jane. They got behind starting this new sorority
and so paperwork was fast tracked. An executive committee was formed and in honor
of Jane Phillips was called Jane Phillips Sorority. Sorority. Yes, so the
club group. Then the idea was, okay, we want to start a
Jane Phillips Sorority Credit Union, which was established in nineteen thirty nine. Money
was made the membership group, so we started opening up membership to other employees,
not just the women. And the two bits would get you an account,
Two bits get open that account. Ended up it was to help us
to get loans at a better rate than banks. So it grew it grew
and JPS funds grew as well, So the credit union opened to other employees
in nineteen forty and it was called the sixty six Credit Union. So it
grew and grew and grew, And of course Jane Phillips was a wonderful woman,
very supportive, and so the jpsers wanted to honor her on her seventy
fifth birthday and make a memorial in her honor to give to nonprofits. Well,
her health was not good, so they set up We're going to plan
a seventy fifth birthday party and started gathering the funds while she passed away just
a little bit before her seventy first birthday. So and she died of a
heart attack in nineteen forty eight. So the very first memorial that was presented
by JPS was after her passing, and it was two hundred and fifty nine
dollars some odd sense given to the Jane G. Phillips Episcopal Hospital in Bartlesville.
So that set into motion a giving every year, which we continue to
do now. In twenty thirteen, the credit Union became Truity Credit Union.
God So as time progressed and more people came into the picture, JPS handed
over the board to the new people. Still making money, still making money,
still doing very well on investments. We are a service club. We
have projects that we do and we really enjoy giving back to the community.
Last year we gave over eighty five dollars to about forty something forty something organizations.
We are very blessed again is because of good investments, and so we're
we're very excited and we do a lot of projects and we want to talk
to you today about one of our projects we have in the community. And
Susie Rogers is here, she's the fund raising director, and we've got projects,
and we've got a fundraiser. We've got everything all kind of rolled up
in something pretty nice, don't we We do tell us a little bit about
it. Our latest, our latest and greatest fundraiser we're in right now,
is called a shoe drive. Hey, I'll bet you everybody out there has
got something in their closet that they aren't wearing anymore, new or gently used
shoes, something that could be worn by someone else, and we are going
to collect them and we're going to have a drive by drop off Saturday this
Saturday, April. What is this March thirtieth, and we're going to hold
it at the Lions Club parking lot. We'll have boxes and we'll have greeters
to help you unload your car if you've got that much. The biggest question
I get asked is where are these shoes going to go? There is an
organization out of Florida that we're working with called Funds to Orcs. They help
other organizations do fundraisers and they will pay us for the weight of these used
and gently used shoes that we get, and they send them normally to developing
countries where people can run micro businesses to make money for their own families.
One thing that does a great thing. All the news today is about all
the small chemicals that are getting in our water. Well, this is going
to keep the shoes and all of their chemicals out of the landfills. If
they're usable and can be sold. A lot of them go to countries where
walking is the primary of transportation. They need shoes, Oh they do,
they do. So we will take any shoes except can't use roller blades and
can't use ski boots, darn it. But anything else is fair game.
Summer kids close, any kids, any size, you know your kids outgrow
their shoes before they wear them out. This is where this is going to
come in handy, especially for families, and this is really going to work
well for this fund raise. Will This is a good time of year to
clean those closets. We know you're going to have summer clothes coming in and
the winter clothes need to go out. But not today, So Saturday,
and I'm going to say from eight to three we will be there. If
they bring me ten pairs, I'll give them a free donut. All right,
Now, where's the drop off? Look as you're going to be again
at the Lions Club on Tuxedo Avenue. All right, just the everybody knows
where that is. Is where they get the persons. Three. Yes,
they'll pull through the parking lot, can make a circle and drop them off.
Well, there you go. That's pretty dark and easy's got this all
strategicized. Yes, this is wonderful. A great history lesson we got today.
And also we find out something that we can do today that's going to
probably leave its imprint on for a good long time. Since we get things
started with this shoe drive. This is really going to be nice. And
of course this is a fundraiser. Also, yes, it is for the
society. This will help our general fund, which helps us continue to give
back to the community. As Mary said, we gave over eighty five thousand
last year. We donate to other nonprofits. We donate to every volunteer fire
department in the area, and they apply to us. Different organizations apply to
us for specific purposes. Yes, Wow, we it's wonderful and as I
mentioned before, we have grown, so we went from a sorority to a
society. And if you would like more information, I'm becoming a member of
JPS. Please reach out to us. It's a wonderful organization and this shoe
drive is one of the many projects that help us and turn help the community.
And if they wonder what other projects we help with Kitty Park, SunFest,
the Fantasy Land of Lights, We volunteer at will Rock events, at
the Frank Phillips Home for ice cream Socials. We just stay busy. We
will keep people as busy as they want to be. Wow sounds great,
sounds like a wonderful organization to be a part of. It is and we
still refer to her as Aunt Jean Wow as we should. Yes, well,
thank you very much. For being here today, thanks for telling us
about the society and how we can help the society is it helps others.
And once again, folks, this effort's got a lot of soul. So
bring out those gently worn or you shoe and let's make this happen at the
Lions Club next this come of the Saturday here Saturday from about eight to three,
as you said, eighty three eight to three. Alrighty, Thank you
very much. Folks. You have been watching and listening to our community connection
right here on K one.