FREE TAKE ONE
2010 Edmond
Bridal Guide A Reference Guide To All Things Bridal In Edmond
POLITICALLY ACTIVE YOUTH
21 year old Dylan Billings Wants your vote for State Rep
Go To BLFit.com
VOLUME 2, ISSUE EDMONDACTIVE.COM 2, FEB 10 advertising / editorial / publishing sherri hultner
OM
editorial / layout / photography chris hultner editorial / photography
M
trevor hultner photography jeff hultner contributors chris marlatt /
16 26
24
10
9
jennifer hicks / Jessica Miller-Merrell / Bruce Maxwell
We are constantly on the lookout for story ideas featuring interesting people, places and events. If you have an idea for a story that you feel
TABLE OF CONTENTS
would be a good fit with Edmond Active don’t hesitate to call or e-mail us.
HULTNER P
U
B
L
I
C
A
T
I
O
N
S
Sherri Hultner 405.315.7325 sherrih@edmondactive.com
Chris Hultner 405.315.6405 chrish@edmondactive.com All photography and editorial in Edmond Active Magazine is copyrighted (2009-10) material and may not be reprinted or used in any way without written permission from the publisher.
4. Around Edmond Bring on the spring
16. Edmond Bridal Guide Get your gown on
6. Event’s Calendar Edmond entertainment
20. Interview: Debra Sanders D’Plazzo couture gowns
8. Shop Local All about weddings
22. Engagement Rings From budget to bling
9. Locally Owned Personal assistants
23. Weddings on a Budget Don’t break the bank
12. Food & Drink Submitted for your approval
24. Working Out Exercise while expecting
14. My Home Organizing for spring
26. Politically Active Dylan Billings
15. My Yard Spring’s coming
30. Losing It Getting results edmondactive.com
03
around EDMOND
Welcome to the 3rd issue of Edmond Active Magazine. This month has presented its challenges early on, such as another blizzard/ice storm, an emergency visit to San Diego so Chris could visit his ailing dad, what seemed to be an endless amount of snow days and much more than we can mention here. To some this would be discouraging, but to us when times like these occur, it really is a test of our focusing skills with only just the two of us publishing the magazine. When we started publishing our own magazines in 1998, we started in a 750 sq. foot apartment and our boys were 6 and 2, respectively. Chris had been in the motocross industry, as a features editor and was the top motocross photographer in the world at the time. Even with this stature behind him, we weren’t given any special treatment. We started from scratch and had to build our way, over 11 years, to becoming the top publication and website in the world for amateur motocross fans. We did our best with what we had, having to send our kids to play in their room so we could ship out our magazine (there wasn’t enough room for all of us in the living room), spending 16 to 20 hours a day working on the publications, and marketing our business, as well. I have to say I feel very lucky to have that experience to draw upon now, with Edmond Active. With life’s challenges, there is always a lesson. We don’t think we are entitled to anyone’s support and are so grateful to each and every business and reader who takes an interest in what we are trying to accomplish. With that, please take a moment and try to get out and support each of the businesses that support Edmond Active Magazine. Shopping local helps you in ways you can’t see initially, such as park restoration, upkeep of all public landmarks and the quaint places we all like to enjoy, as well as cool things like the Fireworks display on the 4th of July and more.
Instead of doing the typical Valentine’s Day fare, we decided to highlight all the wonderful businesses in and around Edmond that are wedding related! A lot of people get engaged at Christmas time so we thought we would try and bring you a reference guide to businesses, in and around Edmond, you might need the services of to plan your wedding. With this issue, we had the help of some pretty terrific business people such as Deb Sanders of D’Plazzo Couture Gowns, Camden Maxwell of Emerson Events and Design, Pete Holloway of Boulevard Steakhouse, the Colcord Hotel, Hopefully Yours, Samuel Gordon Jewelers, and so many more. We have designed this issue with information that can help you with budget weddings to full on gala events. From beautiful 2nd hand gowns & tuxes with $750 platinum wedding bands to couture custom gowns and $80,000 wedding rings and everything in between! Starting with our March issue, Deb Sanders will be doing a column each month that will hopefully help take the guesswork out of planning your big day! This month we discovered a 20 year old student, Dylan Billings, a student at UCO who is running for Oklahoma House of Representatives in District 39. We found this to be incredible and a real showing of today’s youth who are politically active. Our monthly columnists have turned it up for this month’s sections! In the My Home section by Jennifer Hicks CID, she touches upon organizing the most difficult rooms in your home and how to keep them that way. The My Yard section by Bruce Maxwell, talks about keeping your yard mulched correctly and getting your trees ready to bud for the spring. The Losing it column by Chris Hultner talks about the challenges of losing weight through all of the “eating holidays”, and the Getting Fit workout by Chris Marlatt provides a workout for pregnant moms to be. As well, we are lucky enough to have back Jessica Miller-Merrell, author of newly launched “Tweet This”, which is a fantastic new no nonsense book that can have you or your business up and running on Twitter in 30 minutes or less. This month her column touches on Social Media ROI, and is a must read. And don’t forget to check out the Locally Owned business profiles on local business owners and our monthly Shop Local section which highlights local businesses newest items! We hope you enjoy this issue of Edmond Active Magazine; we had a lot of fun putting it together for you!
Sherri Hultner
edmondactive.com
04
We would love to have you as a... Customer, Lifestyle Host, Soul Purpose Entrepreneur! And I would love to add you to my team! for A one of a kind opportunity for you to increase your income while staying at home and finding your true life purpose! Come join our team!
Mari Belle (405) 473-5744
around EDMOND
FEBRUARY / MARCH EVENTS CALENDAR 14 BAND OF THE IRISH GUARDS & ROYAL REGIMENT OF SCOTLAND Featuring Pipes, Drums, and Highland Dancers performing marches, anthems, changing of the guards, music from the Royal Castles of England, Scotland & Ireland, highland dancing, broadswords and much more! A kid favorite. Time: 8:00pm Location: Armstrong Auditorium, 14400 S. Bryant 14 SYMPHONIC BAND/JAZZ ENSEMBLE/CHAMBER ORCHESTRA WINTER CONCERT This concert will feature OC bands and Chamber Orchestra. Time: 2:30pm Price: Free Location: Hardeman Auditorium, OC Campus 16 THE KING’S SINGERS Back at Armstrong College for their third performance in as many seasons, the King’s Singers’ “voices of spun gold” (BBC Music Magazine) display astonishing vocal artistry and their sellout performances are not to be missed. Time: 8:00pm Location: Armstrong International Cultural Foundation, 14400 S. Bryant 16 UCO FACULTY STRING QUARTET Doors open one hour prior to show time. Enjoy food and beverages available for purchase from Hideaway Pizza. Time: 7:30pm Price: $10 Location: UCO Jazz Lab 18-20 THE OKLAHOMA NATIONAL MEMORIAL PERFORMANCE The collection of prose, poetry, monologues and other powerful literature expresses the emotion of those whose lives were forever changed by the attack on the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building on April 19, 1995. Time: 7:30pm Price: Free Location: Pegasus Theater, UCO Liberal Arts Bldg. 19 CIVILIZED TRIBE Dixieland. Doors open one hour prior to show time. Enjoy food and beverages available for purchase from Hideaway Pizza. Time: 8pm Price: $10 Location: UCO Jazz Lab 19-20 THE TRAGEDY OF TRAGEDIES: OR, THE LIFE AND DEATH OF TOM THUMB Suitable for ages 10 and up. Time: 8pm Location: Judd Theatre at Oklahoma Christian University 20 MICHAEL SUMMERS Jazz. Doors open one hour prior to show time. Enjoy food and beverages available for purchase from Hideaway Pizza. Time: 8pm Price: $7 Location: UCO Jazz Lab 20 TWISTER AGILITY DOG SHOW & TRIALS Location: Lazy E Arena, Guthrie 21 THE OKLAHOMA NATIONAL MEMORIAL PERFORMANCE The collection of prose, poetry, monologues and other powerful literature expresses the emotion of those whose lives were forever changed by the attack on the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building on April 19, 1995. Time: 2:00pm Price: Free Location: Pegasus Theater, UCO Liberal Arts Bldg. 22 UCO STUDENT JAZZ COMBO CONCERT Doors open one hour prior to show time. Enjoy food and beverages available for purchase from Hideaway Pizza. Time: 7pm Location: UCO Jazz Lab 23 CHAMBER ORCHESTRA Doors open one hour prior to show time. Enjoy food and beverages provided by Hideaway Pizza. Time: 7:30pm Price: Free-Donations Accepted Location: UCO Jazz Lab 24 MUSIC RECITAL Music dept. recital featuring performances by OC music students. Time: 2:30pm Price: Free Location: Recital Hall at OC 26 BRIAN GORRELL & JAZZ COMPANY Jazz. Doors open one hour prior to show time. Enjoy food and beverages available for purchase from Hideaway Pizza. Time: 8pm Price: $7 Location: UCO Jazz Lab 26-27 THE TRADEGY OF TRAGEDIES: OR, THE LIFE AND DEATH OF TOM THUMB Suitable for ages 10 and up. Time: 8pm Location: Judd Theatre at Oklahoma Christian University 26-28 LAZY E/TRI K BARREL RACING
edmondactive.com
06
Location: Lazy E Arena, Guthrie 27 DIANNE SCHUUR W/UCO JAZZ ENSEMBLE SPECIAL EVENT Doors open one hour prior to show time. Enjoy food and beverages available for purchase from Hideaway Pizza. Price: $100.00 Location: UCO Jazz Lab 28 WIND SYMPHONY AND SYMPHONIC BAND CONCERT Time: 3:00pm Price: Free Location: First Presbyterian Church, 1001 S. Rankin 28 CANADIAN BRASS Returning for their fourth season at Armstrong College, the immensely popular, Grammy-award-winning brass ensemble promises to delight the entire family with their astonishing virtuosity. Book early as performances sell out fast! Time: 8:00pm Location: Armstrong International Cultural Foundation, 14400 S. Bryant 28 MOUNTAIN SMOKE - SPECIAL EVENT Bluegrass. Doors open one hour prior to show time. Enjoy food and beverages available from Hideaway Pizza. Time: 7:00pm Price: $20 Advance, $25 Day of Show Location: UCO Jazz Lab MARCH 2010 2 DAVID FORBAT, PIANO & FRIENDS Doors open one hour prior to show time. Enjoy food and beverages available for purchase from Hideaway Pizza. Time: 7:30pm Location: UCO Jazz Lab 2-13 A LOOK THROUGH THE LENS: PHOTOGRAPHY THROUGH TIME Learn about the life and equipment used by shutterbugs over the years and the history of the camera in a time before cell phone cameras were even thought of. Time: Tues.-Fri. 10a-5pm & Sat. 1pm-4pm Location: Edmond Historical Society & Museum 4-7 PIPPIN The hip, tongue-in-cheek, anachronistic fairy tale capitavated Broadway audiences and continues to appeal to the young at heart everywhere. The pip-influenced score by three-time Oscar-winning composer/Lyricist Stephen Schwartz bursts with one show-stopping number after another. Time: 7:30pm Price: $14, Seniors $10 Location: Mitchell Hall Theater Extra Info: 405/974-3375 or www.camd.uco.edu 5-7 WRANGLER TIMED EVENT CHAMPIONSHIP The Wrangler Timed Event Championship is a true test of versatility and stamina. Contestants compete in all five grueling timed events: tie-down roping, steer roping, heading, heeling and steer wrestling-over 5 rounds in 3 days. Location: Lazy E Arena, Guthrie 8 UCO STUDENT JAZZ ENSEMBLE CONCERT Doors open one hour prior to show time. Enjoy food and beverages available from Hideaway Pizza. Time: 7:00pm Price: $7 Location: UCO Jazz Lab 9 ANDRE WATTS Andre Watts appears for the first time in the Armstrong Foundation Concert Series in a rare piano solo performance. Don’t miss this exciting opportunity to see one of today’s most celebrated and beloved piano superstars in recital. Time: 8:00pm Location: Armstrong International Cultural Foundation, 14400 S. Bryant 9 SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Time: 7:30pm Location: Mitchell Hall Theater 10 MUSIC RECITAL Music dept. recital featuring performances by OC music students. Time: 2:30pm Price: Free Location: Recital Hall at OC 11 UCO CHORAL ENSEMBLES Time: 7:30pm Price: $8 Location: Mitchell Hall Theater 12-13 CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY Eccentric Willy Wonka, a brilliant candy maker, hides five golden tickets inside the wrapper of his candy bars and sends them all over the world launching a contest everyone wants to win! Time: 7pm Fri, 3pm & 7pm Sat. Price: $5 Location: Oklahoma Christian Academy, 1101 E. 9th St. 12-14 USTRC WINTER CLASSIC TEAM ROPING Location: Lazy E Arena, Guthrie 19-21 OKLAHOMA HOME & OUTDOOR LIVING EXPO Location: Lazy E Arena, Guthrie 23 CHORALE AND CHAMBER SINGERS CONCERT This concert will feature the OC Chorale and Chamber singers. Time: 7:30pm Price: Free Location: Recital Hall at OC
08
around EDMOND
SHOP LOCAL then The Paper Lion should be your first and last stop. As well, they offer custom wedding invitations and all of your wedding day accessories. They are open Mon. – Fri. 10 am to 6 pm and Saturdays 10 am – 4 pm. Give them a call at 405-348-0952 or visit their store on 33rd & Boulevard. SOUL PURPOSE
these New York Life Agents for more
Soul Purpose is a line of beauty and
information about the most selfless gift
body products that is designed to capture
you can give! Trevor Leffingwell 405-
your senses. Check out the website at www.
368-3268, Amanda Coleman 405-818-
Maribelle.Soulpurpose.net to order your
9956 or Adam Lodge *Financial Services
bridal party gifts now. Call or email Mari
Professional 918-637-1566.
Belle at (405)473-5744/marisbusiness@ yahoo.com WHICHWICH SANDWICHES If you are looking for a great place to cater your engagement party or to cater for your family functions, be sure to consider WhichWich Sandwiches. One of Edmond’s best kept catering secrets! Give them a call at (405) 471-5363 or visit them just off of 2nd Street on Bryant. THE NAIL LOUNGE
SUPPER THYME Get ready for your big day by eating the Xtreme Fitness 3 a day Fast Track meals! These are simple heat & eat meals and are
Schedule a visit to The Nail Lounge with
safe, fast and healthy! Contact Caroline
your bridal party before your big day! They
Northerner at 405-285-1340 or visit
offer massages, waxing, manicures and
Supper Thyme at 300 W. 33rd Street.
pedicures. They are located on Danforth just west of Sante Fe. They are open Mon. – Sat. till 7 & Sunday’s 12-5. You can make an appointment by calling 513-7000, however walk ins are always welcome! CHIRPS AND CHEERS Whether you are considering your custom wedding invitations or gift ideas for your bridal party, be sure to stop in to Chirps and Cheers. Susan has everything from
THE PAPER LION
Bring your entire Bridal party in to Aqua
located at 100 North Broadway Suite 106
Nails for pampering! They offer massages
or you can call her at (405) 509-6336. The
with licensed massage therapists, exclusive
store hours are Mon - Fri: 11:00 am - 6:00
Lena Lai Mineral Make up, they have
pm and Sat: 11:00 am - 5:00 pm.
licensed aestheticians on hand for your skincare needs, waxing and nail services.
If you’re looking for the perfect bridal party gift, engagement gift, wedding gift or are looking for a place with a bridal registry
edmondactive.com
AQUA NAILS DAY SPA
traditional to cute and eclectic. Her store is
NEW YORK LIFE INSURANCE Give the gift of Life Insurance! Call
They can also take care of your make up and up do’s on your big day! Give them a
around EDMOND
LOCALLY OWNED call at 405-720-2782 and are located at 12309 N Rockwell
EMERSON EVENTS AND DESIGN Whether your looking for help with your wedding planning or need a great floral designer, Camden Maxwell is there to help with Emerson Event and Design. She provides affordable event planning services and seamless floral design for any event. Want to plan your own wedding but don’t know where to start? Give her a call to make an appointment at 405-286-2075
BODY LANGUAGE Looking to lose a size or two before your wedding and honeymoon? Give Chris Marlatt, certified personal trainer a call at (405)203-3336 to schedule your appointment, so you look your best!
THE RILEY GROUP The Riley Group is a terrific new Edmond personal errand running service. Valerie Riley is the owner and her motto is “Give yourself the Gift of Time”. Valerie and her husband moved to Edmond in the fall of 2009 from Northern California, and are now enjoying all that Edmond has to offer. Her services include: Banking, Post Office, Dry Cleaning pick up, Car Wash, Oil change, Grocery shopping, Gift Buying, Gift wrapping, and Party Planning. Animal services: Driving your pet back & forth to vet appointments, grooming appointments, daily walks. Home services: Wait for service appointments, referrals for housekeeping, landscaping & decorating services, housesitting while you are out of town. Also included in her services are Financial Analysis, Bill paying, Bank Statement reconciliation, Budget Set up. Travel planning, Mass Mailings and Office & Home organization are also offered. To contact Valerie, you can reach her at her office at 405-242-2267 or on her mobile at 972-754-1381.
EDMOND CRITTER SITTERS Last week I was able to go out to the Edmond Dog Park and visit with Edmond Critter Sitter’s owner, Sheila Manning. Normally we get to see the restaurant or retail store of one of our advertisers, so this visit was hands down one of the most unusual, but one of the most fun! This visit included Sheila’s dog, who assists with socializing Sheila’s furry clients. We were able to sit in on the first part of “Exercise & Socialize” and it was very cool. Sheila takes her clients dogs to the Edmond
NDACTIVE.COM
Dog Park for lots of tug of war, ball chasing and learning to follow directions and basic social skills. During each session, Sheila starts off at the dog park, then goes to the local Petsmart or Petco, to get used to being around people and other dogs. Then they head off to Lowes or Home Depot. Next week we will take our black lab Pongo through the entire experience and post a video, as this local business is one you have to see in action! The different services Sheila offer’s are: Pet & House Sitting Horse, Farm & Exotics Socialize & Exercise Program Housecall Veterinary Service Dog Walking Private Training & Training Camp Transportation Edmond Critter Sitter has 4 very capable people involved: Sheila Manning, owner and manager, Laura McCoy, trainer and sitter, Dr. Tracey Ann Alden, Veterinarian, and Andrea Tallent, pet sitter. Edmond Critter Sitter has temporarily discontinued boarding due to the cold weather and to focus on our core business of pet sitting & socialization ~ Edmond Critter Sitter currently offers service the Edmond, Guthrie, NW Oklahoma City and Piedmont areas, however we expect to expand in the future as needs arise. EDMONDACTIVE.C Whether you have a puppy or a mature dog, it is very important to get your pup out of the house to experience different places, people and situations to eliminate fear and/or aggression. We want well rounded well socialized pets so even from the smallest puppy to the biggest dog it’s very important to socialize and exercise. Let Edmond Critter Sitter pick up your pet for weekly exercise and socialization. www. edmondcrittersitter.com or 590-3231
10
around EDMOND
105.3 the Spy
TWEET THIS
THE P L APLAYLIST YLIST
ADDS: Beach House Bear Hands Yeasayer Everybody Was In The French Resistance...now Locksley Hadouken Field Music HEAVY ROTATION: Hot Chip Neon Trees Ok Go Friendly Fires Vampire Weekend La Roux Metric Starlight Mints The Xx Band Of Skulls The Big Pink Cold Cave The Lucy Show Tegan & Sara Florence & The Machine Lissy Trullie Girls Cold War Kids Bravery Spoon MEDIUM ROTATION: Antlers B.r.m.c. Vv Brown Mumford & Son Eva & The Heartmaker Eels We Were Promised Jetpacks Transfer Animal Kingdom Watson Twins Seneca Broken Bells Dan Black Hotrats Lieana Los Campesinos! Magnetic Fields Miike Snow Soft Pack Stars Of Track & Field Editors Kings Of Convience
edmondactive.com
Norway What A Drag O.N.E.
G.i.r.l.f.r.e.n. The Whip M.a.d. Them That Do Nothing One Life Stand Animal White Knuckles Kiss Of Life White Sky & Horchata In For The Kill Gold Guns Girls Zoomba Crystalised Death By Diamonds & Pearls Domino’s Heaven Was Full The White Space & This Is No Heaven Hell & Arrow Girl With One Eye Money Laura Audience Hate#$%& & The Spectator The Mystery Zone Bear Berlin Bottles & Crying Blood Little Lion Man Please A Line In The Dirt Quiet Little Voices My Suspicions Walls Of Jericho Modern Man Down To Today The High Road Symphonies Fight For Your Right Nothing = You Romance Is Boring Seduced & Abandoned Silvia C’mon Racing Lights Papillon Boat Behind
Our regular social media columnist, Jessica Miller-Merrell, introduces ‘social media mullet’ in new book: Tweet This!: Twitter for Business. Business in the front and party in the back. More than a tongue-in-cheek reference to a 1980s hair style, the phrase is now serious strategic advice professionals can follow to improve the way they connect with others online. According to Jessica Miller-Merrell, a nationally recognized recruitment expert and author of Tweet This! Twitter for Business, encourages professionals to follow what she refers to in her new book as the Social Media Mullet Rule when using Twitter for branding. “Basically, following the mullet golden rule means keeping most of your tweets professional and related to your business, roughly 70 percent,” MillerMerrell said. “The remaining 30 percent should be personal, allowing the reader to see your true, authentic self.” Tweet This! is Miller-Merrell’s first book. The self-published, 128-page Twitter tome was created as an easy-to-read resource intended for busy entrepreneurs, small business owners and nonprofit organizations. “Busy people will appreciate the way it’s structured, short and to the point,” she said. “Anyone, regardless of their level of Internet savvy, should be able to pick up this book and immediately get started building their Twitter profile, based on solid business principles. Oklahoma Twitter experts will enjoy seeing their success stories included among national case studies that show the incredible influence social media can have on the bottom line.” According to Miller-Merrell, Tweet This! is currently the only book available that provides a daily 30-minute Twitter time management system. Worksheets are also included in the appendix that guides readers through the process of creating a Twitter marketing plan. Copies of the book can be purchased at www.tweetingmybusiness.com, $19.95 for the paperback version and $14.95 for the e-book.
around EDMOND
ENOUGH ALREADY...SERIOUSLY
Understanding Social Media ROI By Jessica Miller-Merrell
This certainly has been one tough winter! Since moving here 5 years ago, from Southern California, we have come to accept the winter weather here and have even learned a lot of new words; like Thunder Snow, Frozen Fog and Freezing Drizzle. But the other day Mike Morgan at channel 4 threw out a brand new one...Ice-ness. I’m not sure I can even use that in a sentence, but Mike did. But seriously, I think we’ve all had enough of all this cold weather, snow and ice-ness. Bring on Spring!
SCOREBOARD Oklahoma 6A High School Boys Basketball Rankings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 NR
Edmond Santa Fe Broken Arrow Putnam City West Putnam City Muskogee Southmoore Midwest City Edmond Memorial Putnam City North Norman North Edmond North
16-1 17-1 16-3 16-4 14-3 14-4 12-5 13-4 13-7 12-6 4-13
Oklahoma 6A High School Girls Basketball Rankings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 12
Midwest City Norman Edmond Santa Fe Edmond North Lawton Jenks Union Norman North Shawnee Owasso Edmond Memorial
15-2 14-3 14-1 15-2 16-3 12-5 10-3 10-3 11-4 9-4 9-8
More often than not when meeting with a new client I am asked questions surrounding Social Media ROI or Return on Investment. Potential clients who are unfamiliar with social media as a form of lead generation, brand awareness, networking, research, or customer service platform are extremely skeptical and quick to ask the ROI question. While I understand that numbers are used to determine business success, social media is extremely hard to measure mainly because social media is in its infancy recently becoming a recognized form of business marketing within the last year. Much like in business, there are qualitative or soft benefits to social media like loyalty, trust, passion, interaction, and brand awareness among the clients, colleagues, and customers you interact and engage. Business owners understand that you can’t put a price on things like the smile on a customer’s face and social media is no different. These qualitative factors in addition to the fact that social media is extremely fragmented makes it difficult in providing tangible and measureable results. Measuring quantitative success starts with business leaders having a clear and specific strategy with measurables in mind and that starts with business leaders having an understanding of social media. When determining these measureables, I recommend that business professionals consider the following: • Define your metrics and what success looks like with many stair-stepped goals along the way. • Ignore metrics like number of followers. • Focus on relationship building with influencers and buzz marketing. • Keep detailed records of touches and brand mentions. • Record web traffic, retweets, and number of mentions or links. Keep in mind that driving web traffic on social media is only half the challenge in selling a product or service. How you determine your social media success largely depends on your organization’s culture, industry, and ultimate goal within the space. Creating value and differentiating your product or service using online marketing and social media can help.
12
Food & Drink
Aphrodite’s Ambrosia Looking for a romantic drink to prepare for that special someone? Give Aphrodite’s Ambrosia a try. It’s very simple. Just take 1 oz. Godiva White Chocolate Liqueur and 1.5 oz. Smirnoff Strawberry vodka. Put them in a shaker with a little ice and shake. In a Martini glass, coat the rim with chocolate sugar then drizzle some dark chocolate inside it, add a fresh strawberry garnish. We found all the ingredients we needed for this drink at Old Vine Wine on 164th and Penn. Give it a shot, it’s really an easy drink to make yourself.
edmondactive.com
Food & Drink
Chocolate Dipped Cherries By Christa Carretero www.CookingGirl.org
February is national cherry month which is a little odd because cherry season is late July to August. On the upside, National Cherry month does coincide with Valentine’s Day. So this month is perfect to dedicate to cherries and chocolate. INGREDIENTS • 40 maraschino cherries with stems, drained well • 1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate morsels DIRECTIONS Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or waxed paper. Pat cherries dry with paper towels. Melt chocolate in microwave at 30 second intervals, stirring in between. Holding stem of cherry, dip cherry into melted chocolate to coat. Transfer chocolate-dipped cherry to prepared cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining cherries and melted chocolate. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes, or until set.
edmondactive.com
13
14
my HOME
ORGANIZING FOR A
SPRING
By Jennifer Hicks CID / Designing Diva Interiors, LLC / www.DecorateOKC.net/blog
s spring approaches we come face-to-face with the winter cave our homes have become since last October. Months of being cooped up indoors has led to clutter leaving many feeling out of control of their own belongings. I would like to offer up a few organizing tips for the most used rooms in the home. You may have to try several before finding the one(s) that work for you. Since all personalities look at organizing differently not every tip will be a sure-fire solution for everyone. Let’s start at the most frequented (and often most overlooked) room: the foyer/entryway. 1) A narrow bench or ottoman with built-in storage serves two purposes here; as seating for removing shoes and as an out-of-the-way solution for extra throws, sports equipment, hats, garden tools, dog toys, etc. 2) Wall-mounted trays can keep incoming and outgoing papers at bay. For your family it may look something like this: one tray for outgoing mail, one tray for dad, one tray for mom, one tray for items to be returned (think library books, a friend’s DVD, etc). For most families the kitchen is the hub of all activity and thus becomes the most difficult to keep clutter-free. 1) Invest in clear, airtight canisters for everything from baking goods to dog treats. You will be able to see at a glance what you are running low on so you don’t buy more than you need (and you’ll need to find a place to store it when you get home). I also use one for collecting powder mixes that would get lost elsewhere, like Kool-Aid packets and dips. I love my Glass and Brushed Aluminum Canisters from The Container Store! 2) Put as much as possible on tiered shelving. This not only saves space but also allows you to see what you have at first glance. I do not recommend this for short spaces, as it will be inconvenient to get anything off of the top shelf without knocking over the bottom tier’s items. Try The Container Store’s 3-Tier Mesh Cabinet Organizer, $7.99, or their Spice Drawer Organizer, $7.99. When the tornado that is your family has moved on from the kitchen they may turn their attention to the living room/den/media room. If you find that yours always looks like you just moved in, here are a few tricks for keeping things tidy. 1) Keep an empty laundry basket nearby. At the end of every day have every person in the household do a 5-minute dash throughout the shared spaces in the home. Everything that doesn’t belong in that room goes into their laundry basket and they have to empty them before going to bed. Stick to 5 minutes!
edmondactive.com
Any longer and it officially becomes a chore that no one will maintain. 2) If you have a flat screen TV chances are you have room on either side for free standing storage. My clients love West Elm’s Spine Wall Shelf, $79.00, which holds books, magazines or small objects with its sleek and modern design. 3) Make your coffee table work overtime. A table with built-in storage, either inside or underneath, works to your advantage. If you have small children in the home this makes for a great cubbyhole where they can easily put away their favorite toys or books without help from anyone. Teaching them young only helps you! Kids’ room and nurseries probably create the most stress for readers. As adults, we look at every room from our grown-up perspective but a child sees things much differently. It isn’t that they won’t clean up; it could be that they honestly can’t because everything looks impossible through their little eyes. 1) Get on their level. Literally. Get on your knees and see their room from their viewpoint. Drop a clothing rod down several inches so they can reach hangers and you now have room for additional shelving above for items that only you can get into! 2) Label open baskets with visual images (a picture of a shoe, for example) and store additional clothing, toys, diapers, etc under the crib or bed. Your child will quickly learn where his books go because there is a picture of a book on the front of the basket. I would venture to guess that even Martha Stewart struggles with this one some days: the home office. Lucky for the thousands of Edmonites who work from home, local boutique Chirps n Cheers offers tools for keeping it all under control. 1) MomAgenda has an array of Day planners, folios, binders and more to keep the busiest mom calm and collected 24/7. Customize to fit your needs at Chirps n Cheers, 100 N. Broadway. 2) Here you can also find the Macbeth Collection, a dazzling array of containers for everything on your desk in the most fabulous patterns! 3) While you’re there pick up a few folders in fun colors that make you want to organize! I personally need several to get through my month: one each for Upcoming Events (where I store invitations, flyers, confirmations, etc), To Do This Week, To Do This Month, To Shred, To Read etc. Label each folder and use them for a month before deciding if the system is working for you. If not, try something else. You will rarely stick with a plan that doesn’t come naturally.
my YARD
GET YOUR GARDEN READY FOR SPRING
Happy New Year! Hope all is well with you and your family. This Holiday season was different than I had ever seen before in Edmond. If you were dreaming of a white Christmas, well, your dreams came true. Never do I remember having that much snow around the holidays. But, there is something good that came from all the snowfall. We will not have to do our monthly watering this month. Most plants need at least 1/10” of water monthly throughout the winter months. This is equivalent to 1” of snowfall. So for the time being, we’re in good shape. Let’s get started on some winter chores that need to be tended to in our landscapes. Remember, we’re trying to be the envy of our neighborhoods this upcoming spring. • January and February are perfect times to transplant evergreens and shade trees. It is best to find days that are above freezing temperatures so that the ground will not be frozen. • Fertilize ornamental, fruit, and nut trees and shrubbery, annually. • Finish pruning shade trees, summer flowering shrubs. Spring blooming shrubs such as forsythia may be pruned immediately after flowing. • Apply the first pre-emergent summer annual herbicide to turf area from February to mid March.
• If you’re going to have a vegetable garden this year, now is the time with cool season crops. • Mid February is a good time to apply dormant oil to control mites, galls, overwintering aphids. • Spray peaches and nectarines with a fungicide for prevention of peach leaf curl before leaf buds swell. • Make sure that all your shrubbery is mulched at a 2” depth. Winter is not over. Don’t do anything with your Roses at this point in time. Make sure that they’re mulched adequately. It appears that the Roses may have been damaged due to the sudden frigid temperatures. Time will only tell. Again, these are just a few things we need to do in our landscapes, now, to prepare our gardens for a very successful 2010. Stay warm and have fun. Make it a great 2010. If you’re unable to perform these chores on your own, hire a professional to assist you. Bruce Maxwell is the owner of Maxwell Landscape Company, a local commercial landscape business which is celebrating its 25th year this year. If you’d like to get in contact with Bruce or have any questions, call 405-478-8883.
edmondactive.com
15
16
edmondactive.com
2010 Edmond
Bridal Guide O
ur 2010 Edmond Bridal Guide will hopefully help you navigate your way through what is the most wonderful time of your life, but can also be the most stressful. Our goal is to give you the information you need to plan your wedding, whether it be a gala event, whether you are planning on a budget and everything in between. We were lucky enough to have the help of whom we consider to be experts in weddings, and have included a list of businesses in and around Edmond that can assist you in your planning. We’d like to thank Debra Sanders of D’Plazzo Couture Gowns, The Colcord Hotel, Dan Gordon of Samuel Gordon Jewelers, Camden Maxwell of Emerson Event & Design, Tara & Tracie of Bella Rose Bridal, Pete Holloway of Boulevard Steakhouse, Olya, Ashley and Michelle Lacy Meyer of Tawfik. Without the expertise of these fantastic businesses, we wouldn’t have been able to bring all of this information together for you. We hope the information we’ve provided is useful and you enjoy the upcoming pages! By Sherri Hultner Photos By Chris Hultner
edmondactive.com
17
18
In this list, we tried to gather as many companies as possible, for as many wedding related categories as possible, so that you would have a good starting point of wedding oriented businesses in Edmond to pick from. As with anything in life, we are sure this list is not a complete list, and we will be adding to it for future Bridal issues! We hope it’s helpful in your search for wedding vendors! WEDDING RINGS/JEWELRY Samuel Gordon Jewelers www.SGJ.com Gerjeans Fine Jewelry Paul Brockhaus Jewelry Kinnard Jewelers Parsons Jewelry Rings, Etc. Barretts Jewelry Fields Jewelers
5521 N Pennsylvania Ave
(405) 842-3663
Danforth 15th & Bryant Broadway Broadway Broadway 33rd & Boulevard Broadway
INVITATIONS/BRIDAL PARTY GIFTS Chirps and Cheers 100 North Broadway Suite 106 www.ChirpsandCheers.com The Paper Lion 3218 South Boulevard www.ThePaperLionOnline.com
(405) 509-6336 405-348-0952
WEDDING GOWN SHOPS/DRESSMAKERS/SHOES/ACCESSORIES D’Plazzo Couture Gowns www.dplazzo.com Bella Rose Bridal Hopefully Your’s David’s Bridal Pink Sugar Shoes White House/Black Market
Edmond
(405) 401-8994
1289 E. 15th Street Ste 116 Broadway Gently worn wedding gowns Memorial 15th & Bryant 15th & Bryant
(405) 340-8105
DRESS RESTORAL/DRY CLEANING Parkway Cleaners
5th Street Edmond
TUXEDOS/SUITS Karen Moore Studio 104 S. Broadway www.KarenMooreStudio.net McCalls Broadway Mens Wearhouse Memorial Tux Sales & Rental Parkway Menswear 5th Street Hopefully Your’s Broadway
(405) 340-7445
SPA/SALON/MAKEUP & DO’S Aqua Nails Day Spa 12309 N. Rockwell Ave. The Nail Lounge 2300 W. Danforth The Clubhouse Barber Shop 316 W. 33rd Jon Ric 33rd & Broadway Bella Strada 33rd & Broadway Cottonwood Salon 33rd Street Trichology May Ave. DK Hair May Ave. Tangles Danforth Urban Retreat Broadway Spring Creek Salon 15th & Bryant
(405) 720-2782 (405) 513-7000 (405) 286-2038
EVENT PLANNERS D’Plazzo Event Planning Edmond www.dplazzo.com Emerson Event & Design Event Planning & Floral Design The Riley Group Edmond
(405) 401-8994 (405) 286-2075 (405) 242-2267
FLORIST’S & FLORAL DESIGN Emerson Event & Design Fosters Kickingbird Woods Floral
edmondactive.com
Event Planning & Floral Design 15th & Bryant Danforth Kelly & Danforth
(405) 286-2075
A Bloom Above The Rest Madelines Flowers by Tammy
Broadway Broadway Sante Fe
WEDDING VENUES OUTSIDE OF CHURCHES Colcord Hotel 15 North Robinson Avenue Creekside Chapels & Gardens Event Center Western Ave. Oklahoma City Farmers Market S. Klein Ave. OKC Festival Marketplace 1st Street Edmond Gaillardia Country Club Gaillardia Boulevard River Oaks Golf Club Clubhouse Rd. Oak Tree Country Club Country Club Dr. 1st Christian Chapel 2nd Street
(405) 601-4300
REHEARSAL/ RECEPTION Boulevard Steakhouse 505 South Boulevard Street www.boulevardsteakhouse.com Colcord Hotel 15 North Robinson Avenue Lottinvilles Santa Fe The Petroleum Club Broadway OKC Creekside Chapels & Gardens Event Center Western Ave. Oklahoma City Farmers Market S. Klein Ave. OKC Festival Marketplace 1st Street Edmond Gaillardia Country Club Gaillardia Boulevard River Oaks Golf Club Clubhouse Rd. Oak Tree Country Club Country Club Dr.
(405) 715-2333 (405) 601-4300
LODGING FOR FAMILY & FRIENDS Arcadian Inn Bed & Breakfast Fairfield Inn & Suites Comfort Inn & Suites Holiday Inn Express
1st Street 2nd Street 2nd Street 2nd Street
ENTERTAINMENT The Oklahoma Photobooth Co. Very Berry Booth Co.
www.okphotobooth.com www.veryberrybooth.com
FOR THE FELLA’S: CLUBHOUSE BARBER SHOP
Don’t forget the Groom & Groomsmen! Bring the entire bridal party in to The Clubhouse Barbershop for an impeccable look! Complete with hot lather straight razor neck shaves and straight razor face shaves for the finished look you’re looking for. Give Curtis Johnson a call 405-286-2038 or stop in to the shop on 33rd Street. Open Tues – Fri 9 am to 6 pm and Sat. 8:30 am to 1 pm.
edmondactive.com
19
20
INTERVIEW WITH
DEBRA SANDERS OF D’PLAZZO GOWNS
How did you get started in this business? I’ve always had a love for designing and creating, and I got to design my own wedding gown, starting with a sketch. My mother had a seamstress who made my clothes and she worked with me on designing my custom wedding gown. I have seventeen years experience in public relations, marketing and event planning, which helped in my decision to open D’Plazzo Couture Designs. Working on large events in the corporate world let me know that I could also bring design into wedding planning for brides. I inspire D’Plazzo Couture gowns to tell a story of love and to reflect luxurious beauty in every detail of the gowns artful design. One of reasons I wanted to start D’Plazzo was so that brides could have an haute couture designer gown made for them in Oklahoma, where they didn’t have travel to Dallas or New York. I’ve always enjoy shopping, and now I get to shop for unique fabrics across the United States, and in Europe, so that D’Plazzo brides can have fabric that is the highest quality silk, laces and crystals. When I started D’Plazzo I did not want it be a tradition retail bridal salon, and in Europe the couture designer meet one-on-one in an atelier salon…and that is what we do at D’Plazzo. The goal of our first consultation with a bride is to take their gown vision and make it a reality, so that the bride can have her dream wedding. What does D’Plazzo provide? D’Plazzo provides “one-of-a-kind” haute couture Wedding gowns, Bridesmaids gowns, Veils, Motherof-the Bride dress, Flower girl dress, Party dress and accessories. D’Plazzo brides also receive a gorgeous piece of art, a framed 8 X10 hand painted sketch of their wedding gown that is matted with the bride’s silk fabric. D’Plazzo designs one-of-akind brooches for gowns and jewelry for brides and bridesmaids, and new designs for cake jewelry. One of the new services that were so excited about is D’Plazzo Couture provides professional designer wedding planning. Today brides start planning their wedding and get overwhelmed and find out that there is so much work into planning their dream wedding. D’Plazzo designer wedding planners have knowledge and experience with professional wedding vendors and can take the stress away from the bride and help bring her vision of her dream wedding to a reality! What is the process for a D’Plazzo Couture gown? Our brides have the once in a life time opportunity to have a gown designed just for them, made to
edmondactive.com
complement their unique personality and vision for their wedding day. Our design team will work with you individually to create a gown sculpted to your body, resulting in a dress you were truly born to wear. D’Plazzo haute couture wedding gown is designed and made for her body. A gown that is created to reflect the beauty and the spirit of the bride within, giving each bride a unique creation and a memory of the journey along the way. You will start with a complimentary consultation, where you can bring your ideas to the design table. After D’Plazzo designer has a feel for your personal style, our D’Plazzo designer will take that vision and pray for inspiration! After scores of preliminary sketches, we will hand paint the gown she has sketched for you and then we will select the perfect fabrics from all over the world to create your wedding gown. After you have selected your favorite fabrics, & color, we will begin the process of making your dream gown. Your first fitting will be with the mock “muslin” dress, a pattern dress that the real gown will be based on. After the mock fitting, you will return for two to three more fittings with the real gown to adjust the fit until it is absolutely perfect for you. What our some of the new trends? Wedding Gown trends: One of the new trends is large silk rosette flowers and bows accenting the gowns. Color added to gowns is a growing trend... especially for the bride who wants her gown design to be out of the box. Black is also back in for adding color to gowns and bridesmaid dresses in black. Brides who really don’t want their wedding gown to look like the traditional, are turning to bolder colors in their wedding. Wedding trends: Wedding receptions each year are becoming more luxurious, from coffee catering, candy bars, and ice sculptures shaped as a bar where you receive your drink. Photo booths were the people attending get photos taken to give bride and groom. Custom table top designs with lots of crystals and even trees hung with lots of crystals for receptions. A lot of brides want their wedding to have the WOW factor, and sometimes that means adding a lot of bling. The over the top weddings like Platinum Weddings give the guests who attend gifts made from gold or silver as party favors. Individualized styles of weddings; the couples want their wedding to reflect them. From the couples initial’s to having a theme wedding. The theme wedding sometimes reflect the season when the couple will be married, other times the theme reflects a fantasy wedding that the bride has been dreaming of her entire life. Going Green is growing more with brides. Out of town guest - Bridal couples give out of town guests a gift for traveling to their wedding. One suggestion is to give a gift basket from the bridal couple that represents where they live, Example: Oklahoma gifts - put products made in Oklahoma. How are brides and Mothers overwhelmed? First in meeting with brides and mothers they are overwhelmed at the time that is involved in planning a wedding. Working moms and brides try to juggle schedules to talk to vendors and they don’t know where to begin. Venues – Country Clubs – book a year in advance…the venue should be one of the first things that brides book. If you going to have a
couture wedding gown you have to give at least 3 months for the gown to designed and made…most brides have at least 3 fittings to get the gown to fit their body perfect..(that is the way D’Plazzo does it) Wedding cake vendors also get booked up fast… and you need to book some professional wedding cake vendors 6 months in advance. Lighting plays an important role in the décor for weddings, and sometimes the bride doesn’t understand how important lighting is for wedding and reception. Music, does the bride like bands…or does she want a DJ, these are just a few of the questions that you have to figure out when planning a wedding. When you’re planning a wedding it is more like an event, because now the trend is for the brides to entertain their guests. How can hiring someone like D’Plazzo help the bride in planning her wedding? D’Plazzo Couture wedding planners works with only expert wedding vendors and they know if the vendors are qualified and have experience they need for the wedding. Example: Florist – do they have beautiful flowers that are fresh and won’t fall apart before the wedding and reception are over? Do the vendors show up when they’re suppose to? These are just a few of the questions that a wedding planner will know, because she has worked with the wedding vendors and seen their work and experience. If there is a problem wedding planner know how to resolve the problem and work so that the wedding couples have their dream wedding. Expert planner can also relieve the stress from the mother-of-the-bride and let her know that she is going to take care of her daughter’s needs. That was something I appreciated when my daughter got married…I had staff that did a wonderful job for me…so that I could be mom and enjoy my daughter’s wedding. Debra Sanders - Owner D’Plazzo Couture Design D’Plazzo by appointment only: 405- 401-8994 Website: www.dplazzo.com D’Plazzo is also on facebook and you can follow D’PlazzoCouture on twitter
22
1 2
First of all, when picking a jeweler, you’ll want to make sure they are an “AGS Accredited” jeweler. The AGS is like the Better Business Bureau for Jewelers, and it means that jeweler operates under a certain standard of ethics.
How to Choose an Engagement/Wedding Ring Courtesy of Daniel Gordon/Samuel Gordon Jewelers
If you are choosing an engagement ring, first decide on the setting/ring, and then you’ll be ready to select your diamond. With this method of selection, you are able to see the diamond before its set (unlike mall stores), and you will be able to tell if the diamond has any flaws or inclusions before it’s placed in its setting.
3 4
If your diamond comes with a certificate, be sure it’s a GIA or AGS certificate, as these are these organizations use most accurate grading methods. This will help you be more confident that you are getting the grade diamond you are expecting. Do not believe the myth that wholesale/internet jewelers are less expensive than your local jeweler. Everyone buys their diamonds from the same sources, so this is just a sales tactic to get you in the door or to the website. A site like Blue Nile will never lay eyes on your diamond, and doesn’t offer the same customer service options i.e. Lifetime cleaning, resurfacing, etc., as your local jeweler. As well, there is no such thing as a diamond wholesaler, so beware of anyone who states this. edmondactive.com
$750
$2700
$40,000
$80,000
For The Budget Savvy Bride Ways to cut costs without cutting class
By Camden Maxwell / Emerson Events & Design / www.emersoneventsanddesign.com
D
ownsize the cake! Food, alcohol, dancing and diets can deter people away from sweets. If you’re having a grooms cake, this should also be a factor. Though fondant is gorgeous, it also comes with a high price tag. Buttercream can be just as beautiful with fresh flowers. Cut back on the guest list. Remember this is your day, so only invite those who mean something to you. Hire a wedding planner. A wedding planner is a professional who will be able to help you determine what your budget is and what’s most important for you. They will also be able to use their contacts and preferred vendors to possibly get you a better deal. Use flowers that are in season and hire a florist you trust. Select more greenery and less blooms. Cut decorations at your
ceremony site and more at the reception where they will make the biggest impact. Limit the number in your bridal party. Each person in your bridal party means additional bouquets, boutonnieres, guests at rehearsal dinner, etc. Check with a local college’s music department to ask for references for your ceremony musicians. You will be able not only to help out a college student or two but most of the time they are more than qualified and eager. Start early & do your research! Book everything you can as soon as possible. Sometimes you can get a better deal the further out you book. Even if you fall in love with the first most expensive vendor, always call around and get other quotes. Instead of renting the stretch limo for your bridal party, rent a couple of nice SUVs
from a local car rental. It saves a bunch of money and you get them for the entire day! If your heart isn’t set on getting married in a church, use a venue that you can have your ceremony and reception in the same location. Have a dessert and champagne reception. If you can’t cut your guest list, this is a great way to have a large, fabulous reception at a smaller cost. Hiring a professional to help you along the way can be well worth the money and your peace of mind. Want to do it yourself but don’t know where to start? Most wedding planners also offer advice, vendor referrals, budgets and timelines for a small cost. Happy Planning!
Hopefully Yours Every girl dreams of the custom couture gown for her special day, but sometimes finances don’t allow for this. If you are looking for a gown that is gently worn, but every bit as beautiful as the bridal stores, check out Hopefully Yours in Downtown Edmond on Broadway. They stock some new, almost new, and absolutely beautiful gowns for $100 or less and have gowns for the bridal party, as well as tuxedos! If they don’t have what you are looking for, check in often as they receive new stock every week!
edmondactive.com
23
24
working OUT
We’re Not Fat, WE’RE PREGNANT!
By Chris Marlatt I would like to start first and speak for the guys by saying thank you to all the lady’s for carrying our children. Especially my wife Mimi, (love you). You lady’s are going through a lot of changes and its important to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Yes you’re pregnant and your going to have to simmer it down in the gym but try to maintain what you already have. It will make it a lot easier to bounce back after that little bundle of joy is born. Walking outside or on a treadmill is an awesome way to maintain your cardio but you can still incorporate weights in your workout. Weight Training while pregnant will help increase stamina, maintain your strength, and help tone your muscles. You obviously don’t want to strain to much so make sure your using a weight that is manageable. You know your body better than anyone else so if edmondactive.com
something doesn’t feel right like being light headed or dizzy please talk to your doctor. The workout These are just a few of many exercises you can do while pregnant. Start by doing just one set of 10-20 reps. of each exercise. Make sure you rest 30-60sec. between each set. If your first set is easy than repeat again.
working OUT
edmondactive.com
25
26
Politically Active
Grass Roots UCO student Dylan Billings’ quest to become one of the youngest State Representative in Oklahoma’s history.
At 20 years old and turning 21 in March, UCO Junior, Dylan Billings is one of the youngest Oklahoman’s to run for the State Legislature. The political science major and Young Democrat President is running for office in District 39 against incumbent Marian Cooksey. Edmond Active sat down with him to talk about his plans for the future and his views on everything from education to healthcare.
By Chris & Trevor Hultner
edmondactive.com
Edmond Active: Talk about what you want to do with your campaign. Dylan Billings: What we are trying to do is appeal to kids. Nationwide there is a big youth involvement in the politics scene, but in Oklahoma we didn’t see the same excitement that the rest of the country did. We’re hoping that by getting out there and talking to the kids—we want to go to each of the high schools—we can start that excitement in politics in Oklahoma. What got you interested in the idea of running for State Representative? I’ve been involved in politics for a while now, and I’d been paying pretty close attention to the last legislative session and watching what my representative was doing. I felt that I could make a difference. Really, there’s also not a lot of youth voice now in the Oklahoma Legislature. We used to; Representative Kenneth Corn was 22 whenever he got elected, and he represented the youth pretty well. There are some things going through the Legislature right now that we, the youth, don’t agree with. For example, Warr Acres Representative Sally Kern’s ban on divorce. How have you been politically active in the past? I am the President of the UCO Young
Democrats currently and I was active with the Oklahoma County Democratic Party for a long time as well. If you get elected, what would be your plan of action? I would focus on education. Our public education is being pulled apart at the seams right now by the Legislature as it is. They’re voting to remove the mandates on just about everything, making it to where everything is controlled by the local school boards. They voted to cut the funding for universities and colleges by four percent every year, making higher education less accessible to less fortunate families. That would probably be my main focus, on the education system of Oklahoma. And I also just found out last week, there are classrooms in Oklahoma City that don’t have heaters, apparently, and that’s why they had to shut down schools. What are some of the things that the Legislature has done recently that you don’t agree with? There was a bill during the last legislative session that made it to where you had to have an affidavit before you could bring a corrupt political figure to court, making it harder for us to hold our elected officials accountable. Have you been keeping track of your
opponent’s record in the Legislature? Yes I have. We’re going to be paying close attention during the upcoming election year. I know that she voted against making it illegal to leave unattended children in cars, which I think is ridiculous. Have you seen some of the things she’s introduced? Mrs. Cooksey? She hasn’t actually introduced much, and votes last on most bills, to see what the other Republicans do. I think that the citizens of Edmond deserve something a little bit better. So she votes with the party line? Yeah. We pulled up her voting record and there wasn’t really a single time that she voted against what the party leadership had done. And when I’m in the Legislature, I’m not going to care whether there’s a D or an R next to someone’s name, I’m just going to look at what we need to do to move our state forward. I think that’s what’s holding us back right now. The partisanship has gotten so crazy over the past year. Isn’t partisanship part of politics, though? That’s true. It just seems that over the past year, it’s become solidly defined, you know? The left has gone so far to the left, and the right has gone so far to the right. People don’t want to work together anymore. A good example of this is the Tea Party Movement; that’s about as far right as you can get. Have you gone to a Tea Party? No I have not. I want to go just to see what it’s like, to hear some of the things they say and to ask them what they believe. What is the biggest obstacle to your campaign right now? My age. Being 20, no one wants to donate to a 20-something, you know? But I think in the long run, it’s going to be something that I’ll be able to use to my advantage. The way I see it, if the people that wrote the Oklahoma Constitution didn’t want someone my age to run for office, they would have made the age limit higher. What have you been doing with your university studies to prepare for this and to gain some experience? Well, I am a political science major, so I know a lot about the issues at hand and how to work with them, but really the campaign is just getting started. We’re still in the early stages, with almost a year until the election. What’s the cutoff age for campaigning? 21. I have to be 21 by the election date, so I’ll catch it by just a few months. But yeah, UCO’s Young Democrats group is 100 percent
behind me, so they’ll be helping out. And we plan to get the Young Democrats at the local high schools ready to go as well. I think it presents a unique opportunity that someone my age is willing to ask for help (from the high schools), because our campaign is going to have to be volunteer-run. What are you planning to do to raise money? Well we were planning on doing a few different things that appealed to the younger group, like we were going to throw a rock show. We’re going to try to work with the Oklahoma Democratic Party on other things. We’re still looking to do some things for the youth. You know, maybe now do an acoustic show. Have you been in contact with the Oklahoma Democratic Party? Yeah, a little bit. I’ve been more in contact with the county party, but we’re actually going in on Monday to talk to the state party. Are they going to get behind you? Oh, I know they’re behind me, I’ve already talked to them about that. They’ve already shown support for me. Now we actually have to go fundraising. What is your opinion on special interest groups in the state? You know, here’s what I don’t understand. I was doing a little research on my opponent, looking at her donors and then looking at her voting record. What I saw was, she gets a $5,000 donation from Chesapeake Energy and she votes for all of these oil and gas bills, but then she gets a donation from the education lobby, and she votes against raising funding for public education. It doesn’t really make sense. I think [special interest groups] affect votes, as much as people want to say they don’t. Are you finding that, as you spread the word that you’re running for the State Legislature, people are taking you seriously or not? It really depends on who it is. A lot of people my age aren’t taking me seriously right now, but the older people that have been involved with the party are. How many people are involved in your campaign? There are six core people that make up my campaign staff. What kind of things do they do? Well I have my campaign manager, and then we have our Treasurer. I have a couple of people that function as political consultants. They throw out ideas and watch what’s going on. They give their opinion on what we can do. Oh, and Kiersten, by the way, as of last week,
is our Volunteer Supervisor-slash-Historian, she wants to write down everything. What is your plan of attack? My plan is to knock on every single door, and I’m not just saying that. This summer I am going to take a map of Edmond and divide this district up and write which days we need to go literally knock on every single door in the district. These lower level campaigns are all about collecting votes, one by one, so that’s what we have to do. Do you have anyone mentoring you, like a professor or another legislator? Not really. As we go along, we’ll meet different Democratic legislators in the House, and they’ll give us their two cents. What is the ratio of Democrat to Republican in the Legislature? I believe right now it’s 61-40, Republican to Democrat. And you know what’s funny is, most people look at our state and they think Oklahoma has been a Republican state since 1968, but it really hasn’t been that way. Up until this last legislative session, Democrats have always had control of one House in the Legislature, and up until some time in the mid-90s, we had both Houses. We’ve only had four Republican governors in our entire state history. At the lower level, we are
edmondactive.com
27
28
Politically Active
Grass Roots
a Democratic state, but at the national level, not so much. I think that’s so because the national Democratic Party is a lot more liberal than the state Party is. We’re more moderate, conservative Democrats whereas they’re not as much. Are you more of a moderate, conservative Democrat or a liberal Democrat? I don’t like to label myself, because I feel like that puts a clamp on how people will look at me. There are already a few people that will look at me and say, “He’s a Democrat, I’m not going to vote for him.” I like to stay away from the labels as much as I can and have people look at the issues that I stand for instead. I’ve lived in District 39 all my life, so I feel like I have a pretty good understanding of the core values that our people stand for. And also, I come from a part of Edmond that isn’t represented so much. You know, my family, we’re not as fortunate as other families, in Edmond at least. We don’t feel like we’re represented in Edmond as well as we should be, so I’m hoping to give voice to those that don’t have any. What kind of social programs are you advocating for, aside from education? I think SoonerCare is definitely great for families that can’t afford healthcare. Also, I advocate for the food stamp program. The thing I have a problem with is that there are people out there that are using the system poorly. My cousin was telling me about this guy she knows. He has a job, gets paid underthe-table, but also collects unemployment and food stamps. That needs to stop. That kind of thing is taking away from the people that really need it. It’s getting harder and harder. I don’t really like to bring this up in
edmondactive.com
my campaign, because I don’t want people to feel sorry for me, but my dad lost his job in the economic downturn of 2008. When he went to apply for unemployment and aid for our six-person family, he was turned down because there were too many people already in the system. Apparently we didn’t make low enough income. I don’t understand why he got turned away, but he did. It’s just sad to see someone who has worked as hard as my dad has for his entire life get turned away when he finally comes to the point where he feels like he needs to ask the government for help. I guess that kind of plays into why I decided to run. Maybe a chance to actually make a difference? Yeah. I don’t know; it’s sad to see someone that you care about come to the point where they have to do this for the good of the family, and then it can’t happen. How do you anticipate this is going to go? Be honest. Okay. I think what’s going to happen is that it’s going to be pretty slow going for us up until the summer months. When school gets out, we’ll have more time to focus. But I think during the summer months we’ll really start to pick up steam quickly, and then going into the election, we’ll be at full power and win by a couple of votes. (laughs)There’ll be a recount. Have you filed yet? The filing date is in June. We’re filed with the Ethics Commission and all that. We had to file with the IRS for Tax Exempt status. And then the filing with the Oklahoma Election Board is in June. How involved is the process to sign up to run?
It’s way more frustrating than I thought it would’ve been. The first thing you do is file with the Ethics Commission so you can keep track of your donors and expenditures. Then you go get a bank account, but then the bank tells you that you need to get this from the Ethics Commission. So then you go back to the Ethics Commission and they tell you that you don’t need this. You go to the IRS and they’ll give you something, go back to the bank, get told that this isn’t what they need— it’s pretty crazy. The hardest part is getting donors. We really have next to no one willing to give us some money. Well, what do you need money for? Signs, flyers, etc. We were talking to Eric Proctor at the Young Democrats of Oklahoma Conference in Tulsa, and he was saying 50-70,000 dollars is needed to run a State Legislative campaign, but we budgeted for 8,000 dollars. That’s mega-shoestring budgeting right there. I can do it. I think nowadays, especially with Facebook and Twitter and Myspace, I don’t think I need to spend 70,000 dollars on a campaign. I really think 8,000 dollars is more than enough for what I want to do. So has social networking streamlined the process? Oh, totally. Absolutely. How many friends do you have? I have 238. (Laughter) Is that just Facebook and Twitter? That’s just Facebook. We don’t have a Twitter account yet. You don’t have a Twitter feed? Well, we were trying to get more fans first, so that way we would look cool. (Laughter) So, how long have you been
politically-minded? Always. As far back as I can think of. I remember the 2000 election and taking a poll of my class to see who the winner would be. And who won? George Bush. By a landslide. Did that kind of give you a clue right there, how hard it would be? A little bit. (Laughs) These are your peers, they’ve come through school with you, and now they’re college-age and ready to vote. As my government class taught me, as people get more educated—oh, this is going to sound bad—as people get more educated they get more liberalized. I don’t know. I think a lot of kids will just vote how their parents vote. How are you going to get through that barrier? I think it’s easier for me, at least, because younger people may respond better to me. If an
older person comes up to you, trying to convince you to do something, you’re less likely to listen. Are you relying primarily on the youth vote? Not necessarily, but I think it’s a big factor. We want to appeal to all, but it’s all up to the individual. You can’t change a person’s views when they’ve voted the same way for 60 years. Well, you can—it’s just extremely difficult. We’re going to try to get everybody to vote for us. But I think just having the youth involvement is important to me. Even if we get a higher percentage of youth to vote, I’ll count that as a victory. As long as they’re voting—and they thought about who to vote for. They made up their own minds. Who would you like to thank in your campaign? Landon Williams, Margrite Leone, The Oklahoma Democratic Party Vice-Chair, the Young Democrats of Oklahoma and UCO and all my Facebook fans. (Laughs)
SPECIALIZING IN ALL ASPECTS OF LOCATION PHOTOGRAPHY seniors families sports event engagement
Call Now To Book Your Session! (415) 315-6405
edmondactive.com
29
30
losing IT
GETTING RESULTS By Chris Hultner
Now that I’m a couple months into the program I am definitely starting to see some results. Working out with Chris Marlatt at Body Language has been awesome. I feel great and have a lot more energy. So far I’ve lost a total of 30 pounds and I have my sights set on the next 30! However, this hasn’t been easy by any stretch—it’s been a lot of hard work and there have been a few challenges. The biggest challenge was definitely the Holiday season. Why is it that every Holiday on the calendar involves food. Thanksgiving, Christmas, New years and the Superbowl all involve massive amounts of grub. I know the Superbowl isn’t a holiday, even though some would differ, it’s still one of those days that’s scheduled around the TV and food. Instead of starving myself on these fooddays, I just gave in and ate. But I did so knowing that this would be a cheat day, then it was right back on the program the next day. No leftovers, picking from the fridge or any of that stuff. While I did gain some weight on the cheat days I was able to drop it all in a few days following. The point is, as long as you do things in moderation, it’s okay. Just don’t go overboard. As I mentioned in my last column, the first couple weeks of working out were the toughest, because of how out of shape I was. On the treadmill the most I could run in a single stretch was about three minutes. But every time I got on it I would set goals for myself. Like once I could do 3 minutes with no problem, I would push myself to do 5 minutes...and so on. There were other things to deal with during those first few weeks too, like being almost too sore to walk...seriously. But you do get through it and you’re stronger for it. Now working out is something I look forward to very much, because now I’m noticing the results. And after working out I’m disappointed if I’m not sore the next day. That just means I didn’t work hard enough or push myself enough. I know that sounds a little weird, but you only get out of it what you put into it. There have been some pitfalls though. The biggest being food...as always. Once you get to a certain point in weight loss, you starting thinking you can eat some of the same foods that got you fat in the first place. Plus, dieting gets old pretty fast. The first sign that you need to continue cutting calories comes when your weight starts hovering. The solution here is to switch up the diet. It can be really difficult to come up with different things to cook that are low in calories and it does get tiresome eating bland food all the time. After all, variety is the spice of life. So go on the search for something new that will help stay on track. For instance, Supper Thyme on 33rd Street has some new low calorie, ready-made meals that will do just that. And they have 21 of them that you can mix and match. They are awesome and definitely do the trick. That’s all for now. If you are following along on your own program, or would like to, and have any ideas or questions, shoot me an e-mail at chrish@edmondactive.com
edmondactive.com
300 W. 33rd Street, in Edmond (405) 285-1340
Trevor Leffingwell Agent 405.368.3268
Amanda Coleman 405.818.9956
Agent
Adam J. Lodge
Financial Services Professional* 918.637.1566 *Registered Representative offering securities through NYLIFE Secrurities LLC, Member FINRA/SIPC, an affiliate New York Life Insurance Company 3030 NW Expressway, Ste 1800, Oklahoma City, OK 73112 T 405.813.7400
$35 CHOCOLATE PEDICURES for Valentine’s Day! Chocolate Scrub, ChocolateMask, Hot Towels & Champagne! RELAX.REJUVENATE. REVIVE. 10% OFF Wedding Parties Of 10 or more Refreshments Provided
Suffering from ACNE or ACNE SCARS?Let us help alleviate your pains andimprove your appearance! Call for a free consultation. Facebook •www.aquanailsndayspa.com CertifiedMedical Aesthetician Practitioner on staff