And good morning, kad morning, good morning, Welcome, welcome, welcome.
It is time now for our community connection right here on Kay one,
the one you trust and is being brought to you by Tall Grass Motors and
our good friends at Arnold Moore and Knee Camp Funeral Home. And good morning
to you, Miss Sherry Wilt from the Greater Bartleshood Chamber of Conference. How
are you today? I'm great? How are you well? You're always great?
You you know, the president of Chamber of Commerce, one of the
greatest cities in this state. I know, Okay, asked for a better
job. Good Hey, you've had a lot. You had a busy month
last month. We did. We had a we're in very busy August had
the Attorney General in, had Senator Langford, Senator Mullen, and seemed like
all the of course they're all on the are not thet Torney General, but
they're on recess. So yeah, we had we had had him here,
but and then some other things. But it's very, very busy. In
September is no difference, no different at all. In fact, September we're
coming out kicking. What do we got going on? Well, they're starting
off September seventh with our business hours, but this is going to be an
expanded business after hours. I'm real excited Hilton Gardening is hosting it. And
so we finally had a location that was big enough to be able to and
was agreeable to do an in conjunction with also a business expos So we have
about forty I think it's forty one or forty two, forty two businesses and
that's all we could take or sold out, we'd have. We've got a
big waiting list, but the tables, that's all we had anyhow. And
it's different businesses set up business to business, some for business to consumer,
but an opportunities to go around the room meet different businesses, make contacts and
find out what some of our businesses in town are probably a lot of them
there you may not know about and just meet them, talk to them,
see what they have. And all of them are doing door prizes, so
they'll be lots of door prizes at evening and people always like that. And
then like I said, well after hours it is hosted at and buy the
Hiltons so to highlight what you know the Hilton Gardening can offer and what they
do great at hosting events. And that kind of thing. So they drew
a lot of it. They do. Our gal is out is there every
year. We love working with them. They're a great team to work with.
They take great care of us. So are you gotta doing walk across
the street? You're there? I know, we love it. It's so
convenient and they're just they're so easy to work with. So we really do
enjoy work in our partnership with them. So that is September the seventh,
So it's the first Thursday of every month, and so it's and this will
be from four to six and obviously it's a come and go it's only you
have to be there for two hours. You're not late, you're not early
whatever. So if you can stop by, we encourage you to do that
and it'll be be a fun evening, very good looking forward to that.
Do you have to have tickets? No, you do not. You can
just you can just just come so sure up, just show up, leave
leave leave office a little early and come by or come by right after work
whatever. But I know that's how we changed your after hours hours. What
year or two ago. A lot of people have so much to do,
especially this time of year, right after work with, especially if you have
kids. But I was gonna say or stop buy after work at five,
but whatever works in your schedule, so come and go. And it's a
free event, so no, you know, there's no figure or anything to
enter, so nothing to lose and a lot to gain. Exactly. Might
might want to do a prize and it's a business that you could really Exactly,
that's the main point. We want people to to go to shop local
when they can, use local businesses when they can. So you know,
something that's really been working for the last several years, and the Chamber has
got a lot to do with it, but so does everybody in town is
the fact that more and more people are finding these neat little secrets right here
in Bartleshowe. They're finding out that everything they need it's pretty much right here,
pretty much, and they're staying home and consuming locally, and that is
a very good thing. Other side, don't get me going, because I'll
take the whole show on that, But it is shop yeah, supporting local.
It's the local people that own these these shops or they manage. Maybe
it's not even a local, maybe it's a chain. But you know,
sometimes we were like, oh, it's a chain, they're fine, but
it's still being managed by a local per their employees are local. Those people
go out shop in our community. Those businesses chickily. The locally owned ones
are the ones who support so many things in our community. You know,
all the school carnivals, all the organ you know, nonprofit organizations, fundraisers.
They're the ones that always donate and you know they give and give,
but they can't give and give unless we support them. So I mean it
is important. And just to use local services where I think retail when we
talk shop local, but just services too, you know, grumbing, electrical,
which I know it's so hard to get them, but you know,
I mean there there are a lot to offer. You know, there's a
lot here and you know they're they're busy. They're busy. That is.
The trades are a huge there's a huge need for trades. If you have
a you have a child that's not really interested in college, that's okay,
good, Yeah, they they can write their own ticket if if they're interested
in working in the trades. How would you like to make is as much
as as a doctor does without having to pay what a doctor has to pay
in tuition and yeah that when they come out, you know what, fifteen
years later, however long it takes them to get through you know, med
school, comber and everybody's going to need one some day. Yep. They
are same thing with heat and air especially, Yeah, and a lot of
other businesses. So anyhow, so that's what that's all about, and we're
excited about that. Just cannot encourage people enough to think local when you need
a service or shopping. So it makes a difference, it does, It
does, And of course the Chamber is there to help out to your membership.
In the Chamber of Commerce, you get a lot of introductions to a
lot of different things and a lot of resources. You guys are really good
at just you know, kind of connecting in getting people where they need to
go. That. I mean, it's one of our ring goals is to
connect businesses to people, connect businesses to each other, give them avenues to
for more exposure, that kind of thing. Yeah, speaking of exposure,
one thing we do have coming up a deadline for our community guide. This
is one hundred and sixty I think it's a hundred and sixty eight pages.
Whatever. It's a it's full color, it's a gorgeous book. It's all
about our community and it's it goes to all our chamber members. But it
also is a relocation piece. So when people are, you know, wanting
information about our community, this is what we give them or send out.
Recruiters with different companies use it. It's just it's you know, we give
it to realtors to to give to people when they move here. Just a
lot of different avenues that we get it out to to new folks in town
as well as use it with you know, our our own membership. And
in the back is and it's old fashioned, but I love it. I'm
hard, you know, I'm old school. But in the back is a
listing kind of like the old fashioned Yellow Pages if anybody remembers Yellow Pages,
but by business category we list our our businesses. So here's accountants and here's
you know, chamber members of our accountants. And it gives the the contact
and the information and you contact them for services. So the back part is
very valuable to our members. It's also online. People may not realize that
you can find it and well, I like, look an old school but
you know that's me. But you can go to bottle dot com and in
the very top corner it says member directory and you can click on that and
find you know, service that you're looking for. Remember that you're looking for.
So, but that deadline is coming up if you would like to do
advertising. The reason we can produce such a gorgeous book, because I mean
they are expency per piece to produce, is because of our advertisers in it.
If we don't have advertisers, you know, we can't can't do the
book. And so we really are grateful for the advertisers, but we want
it to be beneficial to them as well. And so that deadline is coming
up September the fifteenth, So all right to put that on your calendar.
Make sure that that happens. You know, it's really a cool piece.
We're gonna take a quick break and we're gonna be right back after these words
from Arnold Moore, Knee Camp Funeral Home and tall Grass Motors. How does
timhowl at Arnold Moore and Knee Camp Funeral Home. No, he's done a
good job. After a funeral, I'll come in I say, guys,
great job. We really hit that out of the today. The family was
well pleased. And that's the phrase right there when a family member tells me,
you made this experience so much easier than I thought it was going to
be. Thank you. That is the high five moment right there. And
then six months later you run into them in a store or a restaurant and
they come up to you and shake your hand, put their arm round and
home and say, this is our funeral director. He helped us so much
when dad died. He is a nice guy. His staff is so compassionate
and so caring. They did a great job. That is the ultimate experience.
They've had time to grieve a little bit and reflect on what you've done,
and they come in and they're still on cloud nine because you help them
pay tribute to someone they really cared about. It'll be all right. We'll
walk through this together. Arnold Moore and the Camp Funeral Home seven ten Dewey,
Bartlesville, We'll walk through this together. Is it time to start thinking
about a new car? But the thought of dealing with the large dealerships is
just too intimidating, too confusing. There is an easier way, hey,
tall Grass Motors. Tall Grass Motors doesn't play all the confusing games a large
dealerships play. Tall Grass Motors has continually been voted Bartlesville's best used car deal
year after year. Go by Tall Grass Motors today and enjoyed looking at over
sixty used cars, trucks and SUVs, all prized to save you money.
Tall Grass Motors, Highway seventy five North in Bartlesville. Alrighty, we're back.
Was it more of our community connection With Sherry Wilt from the Greater Bartlesville
Chamber of Commerce. We've got a big form coming up. We do the
first one of our form series year. We have six major forms each year
and the goal of those is too be able to bring in bigger speakers that
pertain to our community or statewide, and so we want to give our members
direct access to them. So our first one of the year is going to
be with the CEO Chairman of the board for kind of. Phillips flies in
from Houston. He's up here for the Nineway golf tournament and he always makes
time and stop spy and does a form. But this one's a little different
because of the time frame of hitting the golf tournament. Well, it's more
of a brunch. It's from ten to eleven thirty so, and it's held
out at City Church and this it's it's just an opportunity to hear the latest
of what's what's going on with Conoco Phillips. He usually opens up for questions
and answers, so there's a Q and a time and it's just a it's
a good you know, I say, what kind of happens with the big
companies, two major companies, elephants in the ware room. You know,
it does trickle down and some people always very very curious and they want to
hear directly from the from the leadership of the two companies. And we'll have
Mark Leisure on in October. I think it's October tenth, the next month.
I got a kick out of Mark and he used to live here,
right, yeah, so he'll be here in October, so still coming and
anyhow looking forward to that. Hopefully in November. We're working with the Governor's
office. We'll have the governor here. Last year we had to lieutenant governor
and we try to alternate every other year there and we're always you know,
looking and trying to book and some some people are hard to get any advanced
notice, so particularly our federal federal leadership and things. So as as far
as we've gotten. So, but if we can get the first what I
call first semester being the former teacher, if we had our first semester book
down, then we're then we're doing good. You're doing really good. Now
when we do the one with the big oil companies here in count we're gonna
go out first City Church City Church Gates. Yeah, because they can hold
it. They can hold it, and they're a v and equipment. A
lot of times, particularly Phillips sixty six, a lot of times they've they've
had slides and it's so frustrating to not be able to see, you know,
slides where you can really see them. And so that's why I originally
started going out there, and just the sound quality and the space and things.
It's it's nice that they let us, you know, have that facility
for that event. So the good part you can definitely see the slide.
Yes, that's all. That's great. It's almost like three sixty cents around.
Yes, but no, it really gives a good time. Now,
people want to be a part of the chamber. How do we go about
becoming members? They can just call us, they can go online. Judy
Williams is our I always say rock star membership person, and she can sit
down and kind of go through things with you, answer questions, tell you,
kind of see what you're after and kind of point you in the right
direction. Or if you don't want to sit down, because then you feel
obligated, you could just go online Bartlesville dot com and kind of poke around
our website. We do have a new website encourage people to go to.
We're still trying to. There's a few kinks here and there, but I
think I think we found about we find something. Let us know. But
we've we've changed software, which all I can say is, don't ever change
softwares. But it'll be a good thing when we get at almost there.
Always you know, still working a few things out, but hey, we
along with the new software, we also have new website. But I love
we have a new It's a what do they call it's a band spinning on
a banner, but a video that rotates and it's it's a great rolling video
of our community and that pretty I trusted our graphics person did it. I
don't know he did, agree, I don't ask questions. She did,
Yeah, she did a really good time. Maybe you just you got some
one of these holly weird people after the band. Hey, yeah, it's
a great representation and a lot of people, you know, they're thinking about
a community. A lot of times they'll google Chamber of Commerce, and so
we really wanted a good overview, good feel of our community, and so
I encourage you get with nothing else seem if you're already a Chambermber, go
to our website call uschel dot com. You know, check out that that
because I love that part. I'm a sou excited when we when we when
I saw that. But then right below that is there's some icons you can
click on. You know, exposure benefits that kind of thing, and you
can actually join online if you want to do it that way. So they'll
always encourage people to come in talk to Judy and it's just nice having a
face to face. She's really really good about you know, seeing what you
What are you after? Is it exposure? Is it just you want to
you know, you feel like this is what you should do to support the
community, I mean, what are you after? And then she also kind
of educates you a little bit more about the about the chamber and our goals
on our mission, that kind of thing. So it's good love to hear
from you. Now you just got everything put away from last year. Yes,
Christmas in the Villa is just a little bit away. It is.
Yes, it is. Septembers will always start getting our game face on.
I am excited. We do have a new horse and carriage person this year,
and he just bought a brand new Surrey, went up to Tennessee and
picked it up, and so we're really excited about that. Got a new
new company and I think he's super nice guy, he and his family,
and so we're excited about that. We're nailing some things down for opening night.
I gotta we're gonna have something. We're gonna have one thing new this
year. I'm really excited about. But I don't want to get that away
yet. So yeah, we're working on wepping on details. We have a
couple, not a whole lot. We need to create some more sponsorships available
if anybody wants to be a part of that. I mean, it is
a month long festival. People need to realize that when they're when they see
you know what they're looking at. Just remember this isn't a one night event.
This is a month long. You're out there and in some cases you're
out there actually a little more than a month. But all our banner ads
around the rink, those are taken, those are sold. All our major
sponsorships are taken, which we really appreciate. And let me just give a
shout out abb Prospective Advisors, Roger State University this year and Kelly Williams Reality
with with Shelley Coster. Those are our four lead big sponsors and we really
could not do this without them. And so I do want to give a
huge shout out and a huge thank you to those four companies for what they
do to support the festival. You know, every year it just seems like
there's more and more people showing up, not only on opening night, but
for the whole dark deal, for the whole Yeah, the whole season.
And I love it. Working with Maria Guests with Visit Bartlesville, she now
can g offense and has all that magic that I don't get how it works,
but anyhow, she was able to give us hard numbers because it's so
hard to estimate, you know, I don't know. I mean I look
at a crowd, I'm like, I don't know how many people it is,
you know, And so she can actually give us numbers and she can
track, which was very very interesting, how many people are more than forty
miles out, how many people are coming in, because that's one of the
reasons we started it was, you know, people that are coming in,
they're more than likely if they're that far away, they're gonna at least eat
at our restaurants. Probably they're gonna shop, They're gonna, you know,
at least get some gas, get some gas, and you know, they're
probably gonna hit that time of year, they're gonna they're hopefully they're gonna hit
our locally own but they're probably gonna hit the Walmart and everything else while they're
here. So all of that is sales tax money, all of that supporting
our businesses in particularly fourth quarter. Everybody knows that, but fourth quarter is
a lot of times what makes her breaks a business this year, and so
we love to bring those people downtown. And it was it was neat to
see those numbers increase and how many there were. And don't ask me,
because off the top of my head, I'm going to get it wrong,
but we saw an increase from the year before. So it keeps getting bigger
and bigger and word is, you know, keep spreading out further, which
is what we're after. If you ever want to catch Sherry on her coffee
break, she's out sweeping the ice. Yes, I am Sharry. Is
there anything might we might have missed? Boy, you've got a busy calendar.
Any just one other thing? On September twentieth, we kick off our
Women in Business Luncheon series and that's at Hillcrest Country Club And that's a it's
gonna be a great topic. I'm real excited to hear their speaker. It's
networking with a purpose, shake hands with your goal, and she is she
actually increased her sales over three hundred percent in just three hundred and sixty five
days. So I'm really anxious to hear her story. And it says through
chamber networking events is how she did it. So I'm really excited about that.
I think it's gonna be really fun. I think there's gonna be a
lot of it's not just listening to the speaker, So I think it's gonna
be a really fun one to kick off the season. We've got some really
good speakers. This yeared lined up so works right about that. That is
September the twentieth, and you can register for that or any of these events.
The Conoco Phillips Forum question enough to register for after hours or the expo,
but at Bartlesfield dot com