Good morning, good morning, good morning, and welcome, welcome, welcome.
Next time now for part two of our community connection right here on K
one to one drift, and we've got the ladies from the Blue Star Mothers
Bartlefield returning. How are we doing today? All very very soft spoken but
powerful bunch, I will tell you that much. We've got Christina, and
we've got Carrie, and we have a money here with us today and morning.
It looks like we're getting ready to do some boxing right. Uh yeah,
we we recently had a box packing for a hundred at the Elks Lodge
and now we're getting ready for Christmas. Well yeah, little bit. We
like to send Christmas gifts to our deployed and State side men and women,
and that's a lot of I've forgotten how many boxes we sent last year,
sixty sixty seventy Christmas. Oh yeah, well, so we start collecting now
now, Christina. These boxes are just like little kisses from home for these
soldiers, sailors, Ammonds and Coast Guard and everyone else involved, isn't it
they are? That's we love to send love from home to our deployed service
members, and so we include snacks and sometimes games, fun things to do
and just try to keep their spirits up while they're deployed. Money. What's
the most requested thing that the soldiers. What do they say that they really
liked the most? Beef jerky? What else besides beef jerky? Whitey?
Why? Yeah, Well, when you're deployed, do you never know where
you're going to be. And we had one group one time and that's all
they wanted. We sent boxes and boxes of baby wifes. Woo. Yeah,
I remember when a lot we're employed to Iraq in that area because of
the desert conditions, that sand will get anywhere and everywhere in your ears up
he knows and every place. That's really what those things we're going for.
And uh, you know, when it comes to getting this all taken care
of and getting done, it takes a great deal of teamwork. Sometimes it
takes some resources and carry it. One of those things is just getting everybody
together, isn't it. Yes, we just recently packed the hundred boxes for
National Guard. Oh good, and we had the help of the Elks lodge
let us use their huge is it the ball room? That room? Yeah,
And not not only did they let us use that, but they came
out and helped us pack all those boxes. It was It was very quick
and a couple of gentlemen from the Lions Club came to help, and some
of our family members and just several people from the community came in. We
had it done in no time. It's great to have nice neighbors, isn't
it. Oh, it's great. And Christina, the folks at the Elk
Lodge had just been invaluable, haven't tast Absolutely tell us a little bit about
that partnership. So they have given us a room in their building so that
we have climate control for all of our supplies that we send everyone, and
they give us donations. But again their volunteer work with us, like we've
partnered well together and we're getting a job done really well. Now. It
wasn't always the case, was it? As far as having a place to
set up? Oh? No, that a premium right right? Yeah.
We spent ten years in a garage basically with no heat, no air,
no bathroom, no water. But we were very blessed to have that donated
by Tall Grass Motors. Indeed, get we If we hadn't had that,
I don't know what we would have done. And they did donate it to
us and let us use it for ten years. Well that was great.
It's a great ten years well spent. And then they continue to support us
by letting us have a We have a drop off there, so anyone that
wants to make donations you can drop off at tall Grass Motors. They've been
very, very good to ask. And you know something that's great because when
we have partners in the community that help out like this, it's really a
blessing. And you know, we do have such a kind community, don't
we absolutely finding that out every day, aren't you. It's great. Yeah,
we recently had a Conico Phillips did a tailgate and donate for us,
which they we have a through Amazon and then we have a QR code that
you can donate through and so the employees went on our wish list and we
got cases and cases of different products that we're on our wish list. And
then they had an event at their center there by the oh that pretty little
center by the cafeteria and served us lunch and then they give us They gave
us um mailing, posted postage, and then loads and loads of donations.
Well, this is this is really outstanding. And when we talk about our
donations and wish lists. So we ask everybody to kind of help out if
they can, and carrying it pretty easy to do, isn't it. Yes,
it is. We were just discussing. I don't do not believe that
our QR codes are up on Facebook. Not quite yet, but we will
have that done. We have a QR code for a link to our Amazon
wish list, oh good, and also a Walmart wish list. And you
just follow the QR code. It's like a like a bridal registrate and find
something you'd like to donate and it'll either come to my house or our po
box and we can put that in our shot. Well and you made that
easy? Yes? Wow. Carries in charge of the shop. Uh,
and she does such an outstanding job of shopping and inventuring and organizing and um
because it it's a lot of a lot of work. That's the biggest job
of of our organization is the shop and need at little quiet, calm as
a cucumber. And I'm sitting there thinking, boy, if I had that
kind of logistics to worry about, I'd been losing my mind. Well,
she's a teacher, so you have been battled tested, is what we're saying,
and now Christina again getting people activated and really kind of gear it up
for an event like this. Is it is something that that the that you've
been doing off and on here for the last wild guess last a couple of
years, since you guys been coming in your riting regular It's getting to be
an easier ask, isn't it. It is like we we when we get
the community in and somebody that comes in new and just the excitement of being
involved in something like this, it's really nice. So, now, if
there's someone who's listening to our program today and they haven't heard us before talking
about the Blue Star Mother's a Bartlesville, how can they find out more and
how can they be a part of your ranks. So we are on Facebook
Bluestar Mothers of Bartlesville, and we do have a phone number. Oh yes
it is nine one eight three three seven two two one three, And yeah,
we have our meetings the first Thursday of every month at the Elks Lodge
in the dining room at six thirty. So you're welcome to come and join
us there as well. Nowmonie, what's the requirement to be a Blue Star
Mom? Well, to be a Blue Star mother, you need a child
or the step parent of a child that is in the military, or and
if you have UM or a veteran or a veteran and uh, but you
can also be an associate. If you do not have that, you can
be an associate member. Okay, and so anybody can anybody can join okaineation
there, that's that's great. Now we help out veterans too, correct with
our shop. We have a Veterans outreach program and sure the Majors is over
that, yes, okay, and so in our asking for Christmas we do
and we take care of all the veterans in the local nursing homes. Every
month we take a treat to them and then at Christmas time we're very good
to them and we have and Elks Lodge helps us with that at Christmas to
fill our bags. But yes, every month, um, some a representative
will be in a nursing home for taking something to the veterans and little snack
or something well deftly cool. You know. I was going to add,
speaking of the community, these one hundred that are deployed with the National Guard,
there's actually over a thousand statewide. And if anybody in the community community
has a family member that's part of that group or knows of someone, they
need to let us know because if we know a specific service member that's there,
then we can request that person to send stuff too. We have one
already of that one hundred one is a young man that we that we know
the mother personally. So if you have a child that is deployed or a
family member that is deployed with the over a thousand National guardmen guardsmen, let
us know by us on Facebook. These are the ones that were to play
down to the border by Governor Stant. They're mostly in Africa. In Africa.
I did not realize we were sitting our National Guard folks to Africa and
see I get I'm getting an education around yeah in that area. The more
you know, see, you get an education when you listen to this,
and also when you listen to the Blue Star Moms, because they know what's
cooking around here. That's for sure. Well, you know, it's great
that you're doing these things for our deployed and also for our veterans. And
also it's also nice to know that you're rolling out the red carpet for everyone
to come in and help. I think some folks would would say that,
you know, I'd like to do something good for our community or good for
somebody else, and they're not necessarily sure where or how, but you've opened
up the doors and that's really nice. And also, if we can back
up a little bit, the last time we were a couple of times super
here, we were promoting our membership drives and the Painted Horse donated a delicious
meal for us, and then the Elk Lodge donated their banquet room and it
was just wonderful and we got several new members from that. Yeah, but
we want anybody that has anyone in the military, just please contact us.
We just talked, just talked to Mitch out there while Ago and his son
had been in and I guess gotten out recently. We didn't know that and
he apparently he didn't know about us. So just