Speaker 1: Good morning, good morning, good morning, and welcome, welcome, welcome.
Speaker 1: It's time now for our community connection right here on
Speaker 1: K one, the one you trust. Ms Whitney is in
Speaker 1: with his hair from our vest bank and we've got
Speaker 1: the million meals going on. How are we progressing.
Speaker 2: We're doing great. We're halfway through our campaign. We have
Speaker 2: one month left to go. We've raised a lot of
Speaker 2: money so far. So for those of you who've made
Speaker 2: a donation, we want to say a big thank you.
Speaker 2: I know Mary Martha is going to put that money
Speaker 2: to great use, but we still haven't met our goal yet.
Speaker 2: And so I think the last time we were here
Speaker 2: we talked a little bit about it's our fifteen year
Speaker 2: anniversary and so strong yes, and so we want to
Speaker 2: raise fifteen percent more this year than we did last year.
Speaker 2: And so we still got a little ways, a little
Speaker 2: runway ahead of us, and we're excited that we're going
Speaker 2: to meet that goal.
Speaker 3: Who's our food partner here in our area.
Speaker 4: It's Mary Martha Outreach Catholic Charities.
Speaker 2: Missy Wishall and her team are excellent partners in crime
Speaker 2: for us.
Speaker 4: They do great work in this community.
Speaker 2: And so we've been partnering with them for several years,
Speaker 2: and we're just proud of all the work that they
Speaker 2: do to feed our neighbors and community members here in Martlesville.
Speaker 1: Now, with our best we've got quite a footprint here
Speaker 1: in Arkansas, Kansas and Oklahoma and.
Speaker 3: All over the place.
Speaker 1: Really, but this just doesn't help right here, and this
Speaker 1: helps everywhere. We have our best location.
Speaker 4: Correct, we have over eighty food partners that we work with.
Speaker 2: Lordy, Yes, if you make a donation here in Bartlesville
Speaker 2: or Dewey, it's going to stay here locally, But in
Speaker 2: those other communities, our other partners are working with them,
Speaker 2: and so if a donation is made in Fayeville, Arkansas,
Speaker 2: it stays in Fayeville, Arkansas, or if it's right here
Speaker 2: in Bartlesville, it stays in Bartlesville. And it's really important
Speaker 2: to us because we have a lot of great partners
Speaker 2: that we work with in the town that we serve
Speaker 2: and the communities that we serve, and we want to
Speaker 2: be able to support those local communities and those local nonprofits.
Speaker 1: That's what it's all about, you know, when we're here
Speaker 1: just taking business, taking care of business at our best.
Speaker 1: You're so much a part of our community. We see
Speaker 1: your workers everywhere and everything, so we know it's a handshake,
Speaker 1: it's an understanding. We all mesh, we all take together.
Speaker 1: We all know what's going on in our community, and
Speaker 1: if we see something that needs fixing, well, we identify it.
Speaker 1: And this is one of them that our vest is
Speaker 1: really tackled and tackled well for fifteen years.
Speaker 4: Yes, sir, you know.
Speaker 2: One of the things that we know about the communities
Speaker 2: that we serve in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Kansas is
Speaker 2: that they're one of the highest in food insecurities in
Speaker 2: the nation. Oklahoma is rked fifth in the nation. Arkansas
Speaker 2: is even higher than that. And so we know that
Speaker 2: there's a need here and there's a lot of folks
Speaker 2: that don't know where their next meal is coming.
Speaker 4: During the summertime.
Speaker 2: Families are struggling to put food on the table for
Speaker 2: kids that are at home, and so this is an
Speaker 2: opportunity to support those families and those young people to
Speaker 2: be able to relieve some stress, be able to feel
Speaker 2: good about Hey, we know where the next mills coming.
Speaker 2: We don't have to make a decision whether we're going
Speaker 2: to pay the rent or buy food there's an opportunity there,
Speaker 2: and Misty and her group always do a great job
Speaker 2: of outreach to let people know that there's you know,
Speaker 2: absolutely no shame. We all have times where we need
Speaker 2: help and this is an opportunity for people to have
Speaker 2: that help that they need.
Speaker 1: Now, Whitney, how can we go about making a donation
Speaker 1: to Mike and meals?
Speaker 2: Absolutely well, there's three ways, so we try to make
Speaker 2: it as easy as possible. If you have time to
Speaker 2: come see as we love to see you and thank
Speaker 2: you for your donation. So you can stop by any
Speaker 2: of our three Bartlesville locations, they're happy to take your donation,
Speaker 2: or even in Dewey they would love to take your
Speaker 2: donation there. Or if you're our best customer, our our
Speaker 2: vest Go app, you can go and transfer money from
Speaker 2: your account into the r vest Go or into the donation.
Speaker 4: Account.
Speaker 2: Or you can go to RvEs dot com forward slash
Speaker 2: Million Meals and make a donation that way as well.
Speaker 1: You know, if you're new in town, you haven't selected
Speaker 1: a financial institution, this is a great way to get started.
Speaker 1: How you say, hey, I want to help, and then
Speaker 1: by the way, what do you offer and they can
Speaker 1: help you out.
Speaker 3: That way too.
Speaker 2: Yeah, we would love to talk to you about your
Speaker 2: financial needs how we can help you. Know, that's our
Speaker 2: goal is really our mission here in Bartlesville and across
Speaker 2: the communities we serve are people helping people find financial
Speaker 2: solutions for life. And so if you have questions or
Speaker 2: concerns about maybe you're needing to make a big purchase,
Speaker 2: or you're wanting to save money, or maybe you want
Speaker 2: to get out of debt, we'd love to help you
Speaker 2: through that process and give you some great advice and
Speaker 2: maybe some products that can help you through that.
Speaker 1: You know, when first came to town, that you're welcome wagon,
Speaker 1: as I call it, was. Your onboarding process was pretty cool.
Speaker 1: I've lived in a lot of different communities over my life,
Speaker 1: and usually it was just so, you know, vanilla playing
Speaker 1: everything else nothing. I come in here and it was
Speaker 1: very warm, very inviting, smile.
Speaker 3: That was great.
Speaker 1: I hadn't seen that in years, And the process was
Speaker 1: explained so well, and even with a thing called an app,
Speaker 1: which I was new to at that time, there was
Speaker 1: a great deal of patience explaining.
Speaker 3: How that worked. And it was like, oh, well, this
Speaker 3: is pretty darn good. You know, feel kind of home here.
Speaker 2: Well, we appreciate your business, Tom, and we appreciate anyone
Speaker 2: who's considering our vest.
Speaker 4: You know, our goal is you know, we're part of
Speaker 4: this community.
Speaker 2: You know, we live here, we work here, and we
Speaker 2: just we want to be able to serve others. That's
Speaker 2: the goal at our vest. That's our mission is to
Speaker 2: serve other people. So whether it's collecting to donations, or
Speaker 2: it's being able to welcome someone to town, or hey,
Speaker 2: you're really going through a hard.
Speaker 4: Time and you need some advice.
Speaker 2: We want to be that partner and we want to
Speaker 2: be that neighbor who helps you, and.
Speaker 3: You are that neighbor in so many ways. Although Million
Speaker 3: Meals is our main.
Speaker 1: Focus today, I was just in yesterday and there was
Speaker 1: some fundraising sale and going on and it looked delicious.
Speaker 2: Yes, so we from time to time do bake sales
Speaker 2: during our one million Meals campaign.
Speaker 4: Right now, we're there's one way to get you in
Speaker 4: the door.
Speaker 1: Yes.
Speaker 2: One of the things that's happening we're actually wrapping up
Speaker 2: today is our Silent Back the Basket auction that's happened
Speaker 2: over our east side location on Adam's Boulevard.
Speaker 4: There's some really fun things it's a silent auction.
Speaker 2: Feel free to go in and write down your bid
Speaker 2: and if you win, then we'll be able to get
Speaker 2: that we'll call you and get that basket to you.
Speaker 2: But there's a lot of fun things that they have
Speaker 2: over there, so you would, if you're interested, go take
Speaker 2: a look. I think they are cutting off all bids
Speaker 2: by two o'clock this afternoon, so you got a little
Speaker 2: bit more time to get to bid in.
Speaker 1: Should you be run to lunch, yes, and while you're there,
Speaker 1: slip in a couple of bucks from Million Meals please,
Speaker 1: because that halfway is great. We'd like to be all
Speaker 1: the way there, just a little bit ahead of time
Speaker 1: so that no plate goes empty.
Speaker 2: Absolutely, and you know, we'd love to be able to
Speaker 2: write the biggest check we've ever written to Mary Martha
Speaker 2: this year in twenty twenty five.
Speaker 1: Our invest is a successful business in many ways. Forbes
Speaker 1: recognizes our best every year, sometimes on two or three,
Speaker 1: sometimes even four different lists.
Speaker 2: It's amazing, really proud of the work that we do.
Speaker 2: But not only are we proud of the work we're doing,
Speaker 2: we're proud of the associates that work for us.
Speaker 4: We have great.
Speaker 2: People and one of the things. From time to time,
Speaker 2: our associates rank us one of the best.
Speaker 4: Places to work and what I was thinking about.
Speaker 2: And here in Oklahoma, and so we're very very proud
Speaker 2: of that recognition. But we're also just extremely proud that
Speaker 2: we have great people who are just as committed as
Speaker 2: the organization. They see the vision that our organization has
Speaker 2: to really be that community leader and that service provider,
Speaker 2: and so they really live out the mission every single day.
Speaker 1: Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. So the website once again for folks
Speaker 1: who aren't familiar, let's get them acquainted with that so
Speaker 1: they can read up on Million Meals.
Speaker 4: Sure, it's our vest dot com forward slash million Meals.
Speaker 3: That's it. That's it simple. I can even do that,
Speaker 3: of course. Yeah, and of course, and if you're.
Speaker 1: Not computer savvy, just just dropped by one of the
Speaker 1: branch locations and they will happily explain to you how
Speaker 1: it works and how you can help.
Speaker 4: Absolutely. I also don't want to miss that.
Speaker 2: You know, in no Wada we're also raising money and
Speaker 2: No Wada, if you're from Nowada, that is a different
Speaker 2: food partner. In Nowada County, it is Fishes and Loaves,
Speaker 2: and they're a food pantry that does.
Speaker 4: A great job.
Speaker 2: And so if you make a donation and No Wada,
Speaker 2: all of that money will go to that local food pantry.
Speaker 1: And you can't miss the Arvest branch in No Water.
Speaker 1: It takes up pretty much a city block.
Speaker 4: It does.
Speaker 2: It does, and there's great people that work there and
Speaker 2: they would love.
Speaker 4: To meet you and get to know you and see
Speaker 4: how they can help.
Speaker 1: And so if you're in Nowada County and you want
Speaker 1: to know where our vest is, just go into downtown
Speaker 1: know Wada. You will see the sign. It's almost as
Speaker 1: big as life. Yes, you can't miss it. If you do,
Speaker 1: you need to see somebody about prescription glasses. But this
Speaker 1: is great so you can help out No Water in
Speaker 1: your community. Also in Bartlesfield Dewey we help Mary Martha
Speaker 1: and it's a great way to take care of home
Speaker 1: base and take care of people who might be falling
Speaker 1: through the cracks. And like you said, this is something
Speaker 1: that not everybody is aware of. With Oklahoma being what
Speaker 1: fifth in food insecurity.
Speaker 2: It's in the nation and about over fifteen percent of
Speaker 2: folks are concerned about where their next meal is coming.
Speaker 2: And so we want to again we just we don't
Speaker 2: want people to have to struggle through that that stress
Speaker 2: in their life. And so and I know Mary or
Speaker 2: I know Mary, Martha and Misty and her team don't
Speaker 2: want that same worry for people that they know exactly
Speaker 2: where they can get help.
Speaker 1: I want to make an appeal to the pretty much
Speaker 1: anybody who's listening right now. You might have had a
Speaker 1: tough day in your life where you weren't too sure
Speaker 1: if you're going to have a meal or not.
Speaker 3: You might have had a rough week.
Speaker 1: Or a month, but can you imagine pretty much your
Speaker 1: current state extending for long periods like that now. I
Speaker 1: want you just to imagine that one day, or that
Speaker 1: one week, or that one month. Then imagine the people
Speaker 1: who are struggling now. If you're in a better spot
Speaker 1: than what you were back then I want to appeal
Speaker 1: to your conscious to make the decision to give to
Speaker 1: Megan Meals, because that is one way is say thank
Speaker 1: you maker, I've made it a little bit, and then
Speaker 1: you can help your brothers and sisters along the way
Speaker 1: so that in time they can make it.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 2: I think one thing to know is if you're considering
Speaker 2: a donation, every little.
Speaker 3: Bit helps it does even a dollar.
Speaker 4: Correct, It doesn't have to be a large donation.
Speaker 2: We know that some folks are they're getting food on
Speaker 2: the table, but maybe they're working paycheck to paycheck and
Speaker 2: right now it's a difficult time.
Speaker 1: And they're chasing everything while they're being chased by everything.
Speaker 2: So you know, I would just say that, you know,
Speaker 2: if you're considering giving, no donation is too small. We
Speaker 2: appreciate any time that you consider giving to the community
Speaker 2: and giving to Mary Martha. And so whether it's just
Speaker 2: a few cents or whether it's a fifty dollars check,
Speaker 2: anything is important, and we just want to say thank
Speaker 2: you so much for considering giving the today and even
Speaker 2: in the future to million miles.
Speaker 1: Alrighty, hey Whitney, it's always a player. You got to
Speaker 1: come back and visit us here again.
Speaker 2: I am one more time, and hopefully I all have
Speaker 2: a great update that says, because I think it's in
Speaker 2: the next few weeks, hopefully we'll have an update that
Speaker 2: says we're really close to that goal and we're going
Speaker 2: to meet it or exceed it.
Speaker 4: I hope.
Speaker 1: Whitney, thank you for coming in and thank you Forrvist
Speaker 1: Bank for providing a million meals to our area.
Speaker 4: Mary Martha, We're so happy to be a part of
Speaker 4: the community.
Speaker 3: Thank you, Thank you, folks. You've been watching and listening
Speaker 3: to our community connection.