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E路cre路a路tiv E
Home, Home on the Range: Robert Klemme, guardian of the Chisholm Trail The Enid Artists Project
Presents
Coming Home to Enid
Reconnecting to Local Roots and Contributing to Our Community
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Econtents
FEBRUARY 2011
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It’s Your Gym Too!
You aren’t fit enough to join a gym. You need to workout at home so you can get in shape to go to an aer obic class. You are a New Year’s Resolution-er and will give up by February.
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Renaissance of the Travel Agent: Enid Travel
The travel industry has changed dramatically over the years, but one local travel agency says they are experiencing a renaissance of interest in the services they offer.
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Home, Home on the Range: Robert Klemme
It’s never too late to embrace a genuine offer. Bob Klemme, 85, of Enid, exemplified the notion when he made good his 9th-grade O klahoma History and civics teacher’s offer to show their class a point on the Chisholm Trail just south of Enid.
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Autry Tech Presents: Coming Home to Enid New faces, different ideas, fresh perspectives—those who return to Enid after spending time in other communities bring all these things, plus an enthusiasm that inspires those of us who hav e been here a while.
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Efluff: Bundle Up in Style
When the weather outside is frightful, that doesn’t mean you should wrap yourself in your man’s hunting jacket and parade around like a giant marshmallow.
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The Athletic Doc... Dr. Amanda Stevens
Amanda Stevens is a doctor who doesn’t make house calls -- but if she did, she ’d arrive in world-record time.
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The Road to the 2011 Smokin’ Red Dirt BBQ
Get your ol' yellow galoshes, April 15-16, cheer on Patrick and his team, and have some fun this year at Roberts Ranch Smokin' Red Dirt Barbecue in Enid.
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E•Creative: The Journey Begins
ETOWN COVER STORY
As Etown’s three feature artists dove into the process of creating their first original piece for the EcreativE project, they reflected on the role of imagination, originality and inspiration. 4
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February 2011 Volume 5, Number 1
Managing Director Editor-in-Chief Art Director Project Coordinator Etown Promotions Director
Frank Baker Cindy Allen Amber Bailey Lynne Benkendorf Cathy Nulph
Writers
Candace Krebs Bridget Nash Cody Fleming Christy Northcutt Molly Helm Eva Lightsey Dave Kinnamon Liz Cady Tawny Dotson
Photographers
Account Executives
Muncy Photography Rachel Hancock Shane Scribner Chase + Jaime Photography Cammeron Kaiser Emily Steen Ron Newton Cathy Nulph Julie Hildabrand
ON THE COVER Riley Jantzen Photo by Shane Scribner
SUGGESTIONS Do you have an idea for future stories for Etown? We’re always looking for good ideas of people and places to featur e. If you have a suggestion, give us a call at 580-548-8186 or e-mail fbaker@eaglemkt.com. Etown Magazine • P.O. Box 1192 • Enid, OK 73702-1192 • 580-548-8186 6
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It’s Your Gym Too! by Christy Northcutt, Fit Chicks Owner & Fitness Specialist
You aren’t fit enough to join a gym. You need to workout at home so you can get in shape to go to an aerobic class. You are a New Year’s Resolution-er and will give up by Februar y. If this is your internal dialogue – stop it right no w! Think about how you are talking to yourself. Would you speak to someone else that way? It’s hurtful and not true. You deserve to be at the fitness center just as much as any one else. Are you afraid other members will stare because you’re not yet in great shape? What’s a gym for? Isn’t it for people to train and get their bodies where they want them to be? I t’s not just for people that are already fit. Do you look different than the gym member that has been exercising 3-4 times a week for the past 10 years? Maybe, but as much as I admire the people that fit in fitness y ear after year, I am truly inspired by individuals that are new to exercise and that give it their all. It’s not easy. I see you sweating, digging deep and putting your heart into your workout. Be proud. Keep at it. You’ll reap the rewards. In this New Year, if you are headed to the gym for the first time or it’s been awhile since your last visit, don’t be shy. Ask for help getting the treadmill or elliptical started. There should be staff that can lend a hand or ask the person next to y ou. At some point or another, we’ve all had to figure out the controls and someone was nice enough to help us. I t’s now our turn to help you. When trying out a group fitness class, don’t head to the back corner. You won’t be able to see the instr uctor and she/he won’t be able to see that you might need a few extra cues for the exercises. Position yourself towards the middle of the room, slightly behind the instructor and just to their right or left. You don’t have to be in the front row, but you’re not required to stay in the back row either. Please realize that in most group fitness classes there is a learning curve. The terminology, exercises, choreography, etc., may be completely new to you. Give a class several tries before making
up your mind whether it’s for you. If you find out it’s not, try a different class. Most fitness facilities offer a range of gr oup fitness classes. There’s a little bit of everything to help you find the one you love. Schedule a few sessions with a Personal Trainer to help you become comfortable with the training equipment and machines. Express to them your goals and ask them for training tips to use when training on your own. If the fitness facility offers a fr ee training session with your new membership, use it. It’s a great opportunity to receive professional tips on exercises, repetitions and weight/resistance levels. I do suggest a good (and possibly ne w) pair of workout shoes, but you don’t need a new outfit to go to the gym. D on’t spend extra time fixing your hair and/or make-up. Your plan is to sweat and work hard. Instead, add that time to your workout and you’ll see the results. I’ve personally seen that no one wor ks harder than those that have the biggest challenges. Pull on your sneakers and put your membership to work. It’s your gym too!
In health, Christy Northcutt
Fit Chicks, Owner and Instructor Nationally Certified AFAA & NETA Group Fitness Instructor IDEA Health & Fitness Association Member StrollerFit® and Restore the Core™ Certified F itness Instructor Youth Fitness Certified Instructor Prenatal and Postpartum Fitness Specialist Questions? Email christy.northcutt@fitchicksenid.com 7
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Renaissance of the Travel Agent Enid Travel Consultants Inc. By Cody Fleming
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Photos By Rachel Hancock
he travel industry has changed dramatically over the years, but one local travel agency says they are experiencing a renaissance of interest in the services they offer. “We are full service. We do everything, and we do it worldwide,” says Karen Berkenbile, owner of Enid Travel Consultants Inc., one of two local travel agencies with 150 years of experience between them. “We do the hotels, the air travel, cruises, tours and more.” Enid Travel Consultants was a buzzing office with six employees when the terrorist attacks of 9/11 dealt the travel industry a serious blow. “Now we’re down to three of us who have been together for 19 y ears,” Berkenbile says. “We are getting to do the second and third generations of some of the same families. We do weddings and honeymoons and trips to Disneyworld. Cancun is huge, and I’m booking Disney every day now.” A legacy of 9/11 is that air trav elers need to plan to arrive early for
Transportation Security Administration screening at airports. Also, passports are a must for any international trav el. Names on airplane tickets need to match-up perfectly with a driver’s license. Airlines are also offering fewer non-stop flights. In addition, there’s been a downturn in Mexican bookings, but Berkenbile says it is largely unwarranted. “ They are very safe,” she says of the M exican resorts. “If a person knows where they want to go, and has a budget, w e can look through the options and get them fix ed up in a day,” Berkenbile says. “The companies that have been at it the longest and are the best — usually having proven themselves by their volume of business — can offer better prices.” Enid Travel is currently busy sending travelers to Hawaii, Paris and other European destinations, the South Pacific and a new Club Med all-inclusive beach resort at Port Saint Lucie, Florida. “With all-inclusive trips, you get all 9
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of your meals, all of your drinks, all of your snacks, tips and gratuities,” Berkenbile explains. “To have something like this offered in the U.S. is unique.” Berkenbile estimates that she books at least one cruise per day. “Cruises have changed in the last twenty years,” she says. “They have gourmet restaurants, steakhouses, Italian eateries — the kinds of things you make reservations for. There is also ‘anytime dining’ on some cruise ships.” Enid hasn’t had commercial flight service for the last three or four years, but Oklahoma City, Tulsa, and Wichita offer excellent travel options. “Wichita is generally cheapest. You have to pay a
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toll when driving to Wichita, but it can save you $300 dollars,” Berkenbile says. “Parking is very affordable. The airport is so much less congested.” While more travelers are now using the Internet to plan their trips, E nid Travel Consultants remains committed to offering the comprehensive services that many people need and enjo y. “When we book cruises and tours, there is nothing added to y our fee; the tour companies pay the agency a commission,” Berkenbile explains. “When we book airfare, the airlines don’t pay us commission, so we have to add a fee to the client. But we are busy, and we are seeing people shifting back to using the agencies.” E
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Home, Home on the Range: Robert Klemme, guardian of the Chisholm Trail
By Dave Kinnamon
Photos:
IT’S NEVER TOO LATE TO EMBRACE A GENUINE OFFER.
B
ob Klemme, 85, of Enid, exemplified the notion when he made good his 9thgrade Oklahoma History and civics teacher’s offer to show their class a point on the Chisholm Trail just south of Enid. Klemme followed through on the offer in his own way – nearly half a centur y after the teacher originally made it (which the teacher had made back in 1939). The teacher was Mr. Dewey Bickel. Mr. Bickel taught at Longfellow Junior High School. “Mr. Bickel is the one who got me interested in history,” Klemme said. “I remember one day in class, he said, ‘I can take you down south of town and show you the Chisholm Trail.’ Heck, I didn’t even know what the Chisholm Trail was,” said Klemme. “As far as I know, no one in class took him up on the offer.” Mr. Bickel had a fearsome reputation among the students of Enid’s public school system. “When I first started at Longfellow Jr. High, in 1937, I heard about Mr. Bickel and how tough he was, and I always
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dreaded – that when it came time for me to be in the 9th grade – being in his class. Mr. Bickel was a small guy, but he was tough. Everyone hated to be in Mr. Bickel’s class,” Klemme recalled. …. Fast forward 45 years, a hitch in the Navy during WW2, working, and raising a family …. The year is 1984: Bob Klemme, who by this time was preparing to retire from careers in the lumber and insurance businesses, now revisited his history teacher’s offer in a most unexpected way. (Mr. Dewey Bickel had passed on.) One does not have to have a metal detector in hand -- waiving the metal detector side-to-side, across sandy beaches, old railroad tracks, or desolate fields -to discover buried treasure. Buried treasure is sometimes “buried” right before our very eyes, as Klemme discovered in 1984, while conducting a legal records search at the Garfield County Courthouse, here in Enid. On that momentous day, Klemme had an epiphany about the Chisholm Trail and of, by extension, Mr. Bickel, his old history teacher.
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The voice of Mr. Bickel had never left Klemme’s consciousness. “It stuck in my head,” Klemme said. “I wished a million times now that I’d taken him up on his offer.” Klemme was sitting by himself in the records room of the Garfield County Clerk’s office, at the courthouse, researching a legal description for a lot when he noticed a large, old book inside a metal cabinet. He pulled out the tome and stuck his thumb smack in the middle of it. “The book turned out to be the origi nal government survey that was made in Oklahoma starting in 1871, a township map for where downtown Enid is today located, the original survey and original surveyor’s notes from the U.S. government survey,” Klemme said. “In another book were the notes made by the surveyors, which told me where the Chisholm Trail crossed each section line,” Klemme said. Instantly, Klemme knew he’d discovered a “gold mine.” (A section line divides a notional “sec-
tion,” or grid square over-laid on a map. A section is 640 acres square.) On the map of what later became Enid, running from the southwest to the northeast, Klemme saw a dashed line that was labeled, “Abilene Cattle Trail,” which was one of the earlier references for the Chisholm Trail, also called, variously, the Kansas Trail, McCoy’s Trail, or simply The Trail. “I thought, ‘Wow!’ Now I knew where the (Chisholm) Trail came through Enid. And when I found out wher e it was, every time I went to town I realized I was crossing it and didn’t even know it,” Klemme remembers of that fateful day in 1984. The Chisholm Trail was a cattle pathway that ran as wide as r oughly one mile in places. The trail began at the TexasOklahoma border, and stretched northward, through the center of Oklahoma, into Kansas, generally terminating at Abilene, Kan. The Chisholm Trail was as long as 1,200 miles, from beginning to end. The trail was used by cowboys to drive their cattle to Kansas cattle mar kets
and railheads -- used from 1867 to 1887. The purpose in driving the cattle so far was for the cattle owners to earn a higher, fairer price for their cattle, which w ere worth practically nothing in Texas cattle markets at the end of the American Civil War. The low cattle prices in Texas were due to overabundant herds left to graze during the Civil War while their owners were off fighting, according to historical records. His courthouse epiphany inspired Klemme to make the marking of the Chisholm Trail a mission in his life. Klemme designed and made the metal mold for 6-inch-by-6-inch-by-7feet trail markers, which are poured of concrete with lettering cast into the mar kers’ fronts, painted white, and then the lettering painted black. Each marker weighs about 200 pounds. Klemme personally make 104 of these trail mar kers, he said. Klemme planned to mark every place where the trail crossed a section line within the Cherokee Outlet, which ended up 13
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requiring 79 markers. When he finished marking the Chisholm Trail in the Cherokee Outlet, he still had 25 markers. “I was having so much fun, so I kept on” (until he had set all 104 markers), he said. Klemme set every trail marker 30 inches into the ground. He dug every hole with an old, handheld, posthole digger, referred to, colloquially, as a “man killer.” In his research on the original surveyors’ maps and notes from the early 1870s, Klemme learned the trail point that Mr. Bickel offered to show his class was at the present-day farm of Gene and Carolyn Semrad, a farm visible just off the w est side of the Highway 81 viaduct north of Vance Air Force Base, just south of Southgate. The trail section Mr. Bickel wanted to show his class had in 1939 and still has today visible trail ruts. (The Semrad trail marker lays on the North 36 degrees, 21.486 minutes latitude, West 97 degrees, 53.518 minutes longitude.) “I placed a trail marker there and put the Semrads’ name on the back of it,” Klemme said. Klemme used the original government survey and the surveyors’ notes to locate the trail crossing location. The original surveyors used a chain (66’ long) when they surveyed the state. There are 80 chains in a mile. He used a wheel that measures chains to find the exact location of each trail crossing. After all the posts were set, he went back with his GPS and got a r eading for each post. The locations had to be found before he could use a GPS. All counted, Klemme said he’s posted 400 of his molded Chisholm Trail markers, from just north of the Red River (the Texas State Line) all the way to Caldw ell, Kan. The balance of 296 markers were constructed by consumers of the Oklahoma state penitentiary in Helena, after a suggestion made by then state Sen. Bill Gustafson (R-El Reno), following a Chisholm Trail presentation Gustafson heard Klemme make at Redlands Community College in El Reno. “Sen. Gustafson said, ‘Bob, I’m on the Corrections Committee in the Senate. We’ll get our jail birds to make the rest of those posts for you,’” Klemme remembers, an offer Klemme was at first r eluctant to accept. “I’ve always been hesitant getting the state mixed up in my project because I knew they’d want to tell me how to do it,” Klemme said. Connecting the knowable past with coherence, meaning and goals in and for the present …. On one pleasant morning early this 14
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past autumn, Klemme led Eric Benson, Enid city manager; Brian Engel, Vice President of Public Affairs for Continental Resources; and Enid anesthesiologist Dr. Lynn Phillips; and Klemme’s son, Mike, a professional, world-class photographer; on a guided, “windshield tour,” as Engel called it, of the Chisholm Trail sections in Garfield and Grant counties, in Enid and north of Enid up to the old Sewell Ranch, near Jefferson. Benson drove. “He took us on a tour of unkno wn monuments, markers, and events in our history here that were just fascinating,” Benson said. The old Sewell Ranch, built in 1866, was one of the few man-made features on the original U.S. government survey of this area in 1872, Klemme said. Jefferson is due north – and just a little bit east -of Pond Creek about 3 miles. Klemme showed Benson, Engel, Mike Klemme, and Phillips the large marker of two cowboys – Tom Best and Ed Chambers -buried there, as well as the marker commemorating the Sewell Ranch. (Both Best and Chambers were killed by Indians, Klemme said.) The men were bedazzled on so many levels and in so many ways. “My fascination with this project is the trove of knowledge that most of us are oblivious to; the efforts of one man (Bob Klemme) to ensure that it’s somehow captured and recorded, and not lost,” Benson said. “It’s not just the tour. To sit with a fount of knowledge and insight that a gentleman like that has. It’s not just what he’s showing you, but what he offers you along the way. You’ll just be driving along and he’ll start a conversation about a saddle and it’ll segue into a story about a particular cowboy at this spot and that. Bob Klemme is a walking archive of rich Oklahoma lore,” Benson said. Each traveler had just as momentous, meaningful an experience on the Klemme tour, but seen through different prisms, with slightly different takeaways. Engel moved to Enid about 2 years ago. “Living some place, when you begin to learn the local history, you begin to understand context. I’m pretty much a newcomer compared to most, so I’m still learning the local history,” Engel said. “It (Klemme tour) was fabulous. I still tell people what a wonderful experience that was. Especially for me because I lo ve history so much.” Engel was particularly energized when the group passed, and Klemme pointed
out and discussed, the 36 degrees, 30 minutes North latitude: the Missouri Compromise (of 1820) Line. In 1992, Klemme, with the help of Pellow Monument Works, placed a granite marker to mark the Missouri Compromise Line in Garfield County where it crosses highway 81. The Missouri Compromise Line crossing is located approximately five miles north of Enid, right off Highway 81. In 2007, he also installed a metal marker in the same area for the Oklahoma Centennial Commission. The Missouri Compromise Line, as the name implies, is the latitude of Missouri’s southern border and also the south border of the Oklahoma Panhandle. (The U.S. Congress made this compromise in 1820 by allowing Missouri to enter the United States as a slave state while Maine came into the union as a free state.) “There is so much to Garfield County and to Enid and to the surrounding area that are hidden gems. There are so many great stories and things to know about our hometown. History is really about the stories – told and untold,” Engel said. The Enid “tourists” -- touring their own neck of the woods -- all agr ee Klemme is a community resource and – talk about gold mines – a community treasure. “Klemme is an incredibly dedicated public servant. This ranks up there with the guy who saw a vision to build M ount Rushmore,” Benson said. Benson believes cowboys and cowboy history and culture, symbolized by our Chisholm Trail, tell us much about the American pioneer spirit, entrepreneurism, and commercial energy. “They (cowboys) go all the way down to south Texas and round up a bunch of feral cattle, drive them a thousand miles north to Kansas -- talk about visionar y!” Benson said. “I think about a guy who says, ‘Let ’s get a bunch of boys together; let’s not give them any food; if they got a gun, that ’d be good, too; maybe they’ll have an extra pair of britches, maybe not; and it ’ll be extremely cold; and it’ll rain on us; we’re gonna have to fight our way through; if you get hurt, you’re on your own. But let’s take 5,000 head of cattle up ther e, and I’ll pay you 50 bucks when we get there. What d‘ya think?’ To a man, they said, ‘Heck yeah, that sounds like a lot of fun! That’ll be a great adventure,’” Benson said. “These were 12-, 13-, 15-year-old kids. They were young and wiry and no 15 15
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one ever told them they couldn’t do that,” Benson said. Benson personally identifies with the cowboy spirit. “I am a cowboy. I have a degree in agriculture. I was raised on a cattle ranch. I raise horses and train quar ter horses. But I can tell you this, I don’t have the sand to be what those cowboys were,” Benson said. Enidians should embrace their cowboy heritage, not shy away from it, Benson believes. “I am a firm believer that you can learn from history in order shape the future. This is an independent, self-sufficient part of the world. You carry your own weight, or you fall by the wayside,” Benson said. Read my lips: It’s the Cherokee Outlet, NOT the Cherokee Strip …. Klemme clarifies, too, many people misuse the term “Cherokee Strip.” The section of the Cherokee Indian Territory opened to settlement in 1893, in which Enid sits, is correctly called the Cherokee “Outlet,” Klemme said. The Cherokee Strip was actually a very narrow (2 1/2 miles deep) strip of former Indian Territory annexed by Kansas when the 16
Free State set its southern legal limit. When the state of Kansas entered the Union in 1861, the government set Kansas’ southern boundary on the 37th Parallel, which encroached roughly 2 1/2 miles deep into what had been Cher okee Indian Territory. This so-called Cherokee Strip ran from the Oklahoma Panhandle (called “No Man’s Land” in 1861) east to the Missouri border, near Hornet and Loma Linda, Mo., approximately 200 miles east-to-west. Probably cowboys ranching in the Outlet, prior to the Land Run of 1893, gave the Outlet the name “Cherokee Strip,” Klemme thinks. “The ‘Cherokee Strip’ is all in Kansas,” Klemme said. For further geographical orientation, today’s Jefferson, Okla. – where the old Sewell Ranch had been -- is about 22 ? miles south of the Kansas State Line, and just fewer than 25 miles south of Caldwell, Kan., one of the original termi nuses of the cattle drive along the Chisholm Trail, Klemme noted. The Trail was active with large cattle drives -- sometimes as large as 10,000 head but generally about 2,500-3,000 head -- from 1867 to 1887, only about 20 years, according to historical records.
The Trail effectively ended when the land runs began in 1889, but also because of the construction of new railroad lines, like the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad. The MKT Railroad was called “K-T,” for short, then “Katy.” The Katy Railroad was acquired by the Union Pacific Railroad, still in operation today, according to online historical searches. The Chisholm Trail serves as a testament to American commercial ingenuity and supply-and-demand economics: If the local market won’t pay what the owner believes the product (cattle) is worth, take it to a market that will pay, many historians and economists believe. Klemme is devoted to Chisholm Trail history because of his love of local history, deference to his teacher, Mr. Bickel, but also because of his personal understanding of the symbolic magnitude of the Chisholm Trail. “The Chisholm Trail did a lot for the United States, especially Texas. Texas was broke at the end of the Civil War. The northeast part of the country was beefstarved during the war, whereas Texas had more cattle than they could use, so both sections of the country benefited from the Chisholm Trail,” Klemme said. “The Chisholm Trail was the inter-
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state highway system of its day,” says Klemme, “The present day truck driver is the old ‘muleskinner’; the bus is the stagecoach; and the car is the wagon or buggy. I am sure all of us would rather driv e in an air-conditioned pickup truck.” Over the years, Klemme has allowed Boy Scouts working on Eagle Scout projects to help him install trail mar kers, replace lost ones, and refurbish worn ones. “I always try to get kids involved in this (Chisholm Trail marking),” Klemme said. “Just like Mr. Bickel, you never know when some little thing someone says will give you pleasure for your entire life,” Klemme said. Klemme placed the 400th trail marker north of Yukon, Okla., on Sept. 19, 1997, seven years after he placed his first mar ker on Nov. 30, 1990, on a farm near B ison, Okla. When prompted what he’d do if Mr. Bickel, his old Longfellow history teacher, was sitting and talking with him today, how would Klemme react to Mr. Bickel?: “Oh, I’d grab him, and I’d take him on a tour of the Trail,” Klemme says -- with visible relish and enthusiasm.
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Presents
Coming Home to Enid
Reconnecting to Local Roots and Contributing to Our Community
Edited by Molly Helm • Photos by Emily Steen
Noah, Sophie, Cecilia and Scott Holle
Thanks to The Great Land Run in 1893, Enid went from a prairie town to a bustling community of thousands o vernight. While the latest population increase certainly has been more gradual, Enid can celebrate a return of former residents who graduated from high school in the area, moved away for a while, and then r eturned to reconnect to their roots, start businesses and raise their families. What makes people return to Enid? How do they woo their “not-from-Enid” spouses to come along and make E nid their new home? As the ETOWN staff realized this trend (which has happened for years, but we often overlook it), we decided to visit with a fe w of the many people who made the decision to come “home.” New faces, different ideas, fresh perspectives—those who return to Enid after spending time in other communities bring all these things, plus an enthusiasm that inspires those of us who have been here a while. A busy hub for northwest Oklahoma with a small-town feel, Enid combines family values with the commercial and educational resources vital for a growing city. Big box stores and nation-wide chains, local restaurants and gyms, colleges and education centers all add to Enid’s versatility. The entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in this mini metropolis, where the cost of living is lo w and the quality of life high, wher e passion and creativity can blossom into a thriving small business and a pr ofession can mesh with family, friends and community. At least one member of each of these couples is nativ e to the Enid area. In several cases one spouse convinced the other to fall in love with the spirit and charm E nid offers and decided that this was wher e they wanted to plant roots. 22
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By Eva Lightsey • Photos by Emily Steen
SCOTT AND CECILIA HOLLE Family and community drew Scott and Cecilia Holle from southern California to Enid when their son, Noah, reached school age. Scott grew up on a family farm near Breckinridge that they have had since the land r un. Moving to Enid seemed like the perfect situation for the young family. A little house was available just across the street from Scott’s grandparents, a school was close by, and Enid’s small-town feel quickly made the town feel like home. “I think it’s been better than we ever thought it would be,” Cecilia said. The school Noah would have gone to in Long Beach had razor wire around the perimeter and parents could leave their children there from 6:00 am until 7:00 pm. Scott had grown up with the same kids all through his school years while Cecilia’s family had moved every few years. Scott’s profession allowed him to move his family. He is currently a pharmacist at Evans Drug and also teaches the Pharmacy Tech class at Autry Technology Center. “To be able to give my kids a childhood where they could really get a sense
of community is amazing,” Cecilia said. “I go to football games now and there are kids that are a foot taller than me and I look at them and they’re the same kids who I helped learn to write their names and memorize their phone numbers.” Their children are now in their teens. Noah is 17 and Sophie is 14. They take advantage of downtown’s First Fridays and invite 15 friends to join them in visiting various downtown businesses and events. “They have so much fun,” Cecilia said. “They’re making the most of where we live.” Downtown life not only appeals to the Holle kids. A personal trainer, Cecilia decided to open Body Solid (now Gym) in 2007, utilizing space behind The Bike Shop as a training facility. Cecilia appreciated the resources Enid offered and kick started her business by taking her business plan and financial information to the James W. Strate Center for Business Development at Autry Technology Center. After the gym opened, Cecilia took advantage of entrepreneurship classes at Autry. “It let me know there was always a support system for my business out at Autry,” Cecilia said of the classes and consultations. “The people out there are
amazing and they have a lot of resources. It really covers all the bases.” Outgrowing the space behind The Bike Shop, Cecilia moved to the square, working with local architects at Corbin Associates to renovate. “We’ve always been in love with the square from the first time we drove through it when we first got married,” Cecilia said of her decision to open a gym downtown. ““I think this is the only place that could be any better than our first gym.” Trying to preserve some of the architecture in the downtown space, architects Ken Corbin and John Merz utilized creative lighting, a pressed tin ceiling, and a raised cardio platform to create a design that sparks interest and garnered an award for best interior design at the 2010 Oklahoma Main Street awards ceremony. “I just like to be in a place that ’s pretty,” Cecilia said. “And I’m not going to do anything different with this place than I would do if it was at my house.” She and Scott have never regretted their decision to relocate their family and open their business in Enid. “Enid deserves a nice place to play and I deserve a nice to play in when I spend 16 hours a day here. We deserve it here,” Cecilia said. “People get it here.” 23
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By Eva Lightsey • Photos by Ron Newton Julia, Christine, Rachelynn and T im Coffman
TIM AND CHRISTINE COFFMAN An Army family, Tim and Christine Coffman with their two daughters, Rachelynn and Julia, moved back to Enid six years ago and would not have it any other way. “It has been wonderful being close to family. It has been wonderful reconnecting with old friends as adults,” Christine said. “We’ve just been greeted back in this community very, very warmly.” Tim grew up in the area and Christine graduated from Enid High School. Friends since they were young, the two married in 1985. They both graduated from Oklahoma State University and Tim chose to pursue a career as an officer in the Army. Twenty-one years later, Tim is now stationed at Ft. Sill. They have lived in Georgia, North Carolina, and Oklahoma during his career. Christine has earned a nomination for the Mary Walker award – the highest award the military gives a civilian – for her work with military families while her husband was deployed. “That was such a huge honor for me,” Christine said. “It was one of the most amazing experiences to be par tners with my husband in his career. Normally, his part in the military is so separate from
my life and it was so neat to be able to be partners and to do the best that w e could for our soldiers.” The family has been in Oklahoma for the last 11 years. Five of those years they spent living in McAlester. In 2002, however, the tempo of the militar y started to change. Deployments were starting to become more frequent and Tim was to go on a tour in Korea. “We decided it would be in the kids ’ best interest to move to Enid and establish some roots,” Christine said. While Christine and their two girls have lived in Enid for the last six years, with three deployments to Iraq and training exercises that take him away for three and four months at a time, Tim has been gone for four and a half of those y ears. When he’s stateside, Tim has chosen to take positions that keep him geographically close inside Oklahoma. “He’s kind of compromised his career to facilitate us keeping the family her e,” Christine said. “I know it’s hard on him and it’s inconvenient, but we just really feel like it’s in the best interest of the kids to be settled in. I love the military life and loved moving, but it seemed kind of silly to move and settle in, then two w eeks later have him deploy for a year. It just didn’t make sense.”
Christine in her classroom
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They both have family in town and near by. Rachelynn is finishing her second year at Northern Oklahoma College in Enid, and plans to go to OSU next y ear. Julia is a sophomore at Enid High School, and Christine teaches at Emerson Middle School. “We’re super happy with our decision and glad to be back and be par t of the community in Enid,” Christine said. “It was the best decision we could have made.” They live in a home in the Waverly historic district, fulfilling a lifelong dream to own a historic house. “I love the old homes, so much character, so much history,” Christine said. “We love our old, creaky house.” For the Coffmans, Enid has all the ingredients to make this place home. I t has family, friends, community, and is just the right size – big enough to offer some anonymity, but small enough to know what is going on with their children and to have plenty of networking with the people here. “We have so much more than I expected when we decided to come back,” Christine said. “There’s nothing that we want that we can’t have here.”
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By Eva Lightsey •
MICKEY AND MANDY DE LA CRUZ Mickey and Mandy De La Cruz moved from Las Vegas to Enid six years ago, planning to open a small wine stor e that also offered a few cooking classes. That stalled, however, when faced with the legal logistics of selling liquor and other items under the same roof. They changed the plan to opening a tapas bar called Panevino. “I just adored growing up in Enid and thought it was the most amazing town,” Mandy said of their decision to move back to her hometown. While they had originally intended to remain quite small, opening only at night and serving only tapas, it took six months to get liquor license. They started serving lunch to generate more business while they waited for the license. Once the license arrived and they tried to go back to their plan of tapas and wine in the evenings, there was a general outcry. Although they continued to serve lunch as they added tapas and wine, people still wanted more of Mickey’s cooking. They remodeled the kitchen, exchanging a convection stove for one better suited to handling a steady str eam of entrees, and life has not been the same
since. “It’s just such a joy,” Mandy said. “People love to eat and people love to drink and to be able to hav e the two under one roof and the two of us do it together is amazing.” Mickey makes everything from scratch and he approves each plate that leaves the kitchen. This attention to detail and passion for the restaurant is also filtering into the next generation. Mandy and Mickey’s daughter, Grace, comes down to the restaurant and picks up plates and delivers food already. When she’s at home she wants to play waitr ess or restaurant. She loves to cook at home and always wants to be in the kitchen. “Our goal in this is to keep going and keep growing,” Mandy said. “We want to be here as long as Enid will support us and as long as we can. We love it. I’ve always said I don’t know what we’ll do if we ever get out of this line of business because now we’re addicted.” While Mickey grew up in Las Vegas, Mandy’s childhood was spent in a nor thwest Oklahoma farm family miles away from their neighbors. Living in town and running the restaurant has been a blessing for their family, Mandy said. “Through the restaurant we’ve met so
Photo by Wess Gray
many people in the community. They’re just amazing,” Mandy said. “It has exceeded my expectations just for the pure fact that so many people kno w us now and they know my children and they care for my children and that part I don’t think I could replace.” Their location downtown has added to that sense of belonging, Mandy said. “We have that small town community down here and downtown,” Mandy said. “You can walk from block to block now, and there can be something on every block that you need to go see or go do whether it be the gym, shopping, the coffee shop, post office, library – we’re all down here.” With the amount of time they spend at the restaurant, they’re even considering renovating the upstairs so that they would also live downtown. “There’s just a passion between Mickey and me,” Mandy said. “It’s amazing that the two of us found each other . We just mesh really well together; we work extremely well together. And we both have the same passion. It just really clicks for us. There’s no other place we’d rather be. “ 25
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Christy Northcutt with a client
SCOTT AND CHRISTY NORTHCUTT Starting her own business is the best decision she ever made, said Christy Northcutt. The owner of Fit Chicks – a fitness business primarily targeted towards young moms – Christy never imagined it would grow as much as it has. Originally from Enid, Christy left town to go to college and begin a successful career in marketing. In 2002, after several years living in various cities in and out of Oklahoma, Christy met her husband, Scott (an Enid native), and moved back to Enid, where he works at his family business, Northcutt Chevrolet Buick Toyota. She kept her position with BOK Financial for a year, but decided to become a full-time mom with the bir th of their son, Nate. Fitness had always been a large par t of her life, Christy said. She had taught fitness classes as a hobby for 12 years. Once she had her son, she found that finding the time to exercise became much more difficult, especially when many of the child care facilities at the gyms she looked into were crowded and had waiting lists. “I thought that there was something missing in Enid, and that was a fitness program for moms with young kids,” Christy said. A year after Nate was born, Christy
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began teaching a class that utilized baby strollers as a fitness tool so that moms could exercise with their children. Eleven women attended the first class, and they all joined the new Stroller Fit program. “I wanted to add a fitness class that I could do with my child,” Christy said. “And there were a lot of women who wanted that same thing. We want to promote fitness for all women, pre natal, post natal or if your children are 30 years old,” Christy added. “My youngest client is the newborn in his or her stroller, while my oldest client is 83 years old. No matter their age, my goal is to giv e them a great class and have fitness be a positive part of their day.” After five years, the business has grown. Currently, there are 17-20 strollers in each Stroller Fit class – many strollers now hold multiple children. With a variety of times and classes available, Christy also hired four additional instructors. While some parts of the business – like marketing – came easily, others were more difficult. “With any business you have there will be parts that you love and parts you absolutely hate,” Christy said. For her, it was the paperwork. “If you’re not good at paperwork find somebody who is and pay them to do it,” Christy added. “As you build your busi-
By Eva Lightsey • Photos by Emily Steen
ness, you have to find people that can help support you.” Following on the success of the stroller classes, and keeping women-centered fitness in mind, Christy also offers Core Restore. The program is geared to target the core abdominal muscles quickly and runs in eight-week sessions. The classes are limited to 20 people, but it is like having a personal trainer in a gr oup fitness class setting. The instructor checks for form and offers personal attention to ensure participants get the maximum benefits from the program. Christy, now has two children: Nate, 6, and Lindy, 3. “The amazing thing about including my kids in my class is that they mimic what we do,” Christy said. “Good or bad, kids will mimic what their parents do and I’m very fortunate that in my business it models for them a love of fitness.” The classes provide a social atmosphere for moms and children. As well as the classes, there are two play dates a month, a mom’s day out, a book club, and two monthly newsletters. “My focus with Fit Chicks is really to help Enid women be happy with themselves, happy with their health, happy with their fitness level, and happy with the time they spend with their families,” Christy said.
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By Liz Cady • Photos by Ron Newton
MARK AND MARY BUTHMAN After graduating from Enid High School and Central State University (now, University of Central Oklahoma), Mary Buthman wanted to experience new places. Opportunity for just that arose when Mary’s brother and sister-in-law asked her to move to San Francisco with them. Little did Mary know that her chance encounter with a Ringling Brothers clown in San Francisco would start a new chapter in her life. That clown just so happened to be futur e husband Mark, who, after knowing Mary for only five days, asked her to move to Chicago with him. Arriving in Chicago, both Mary and Mark worked for the Second City Theatre alongside Jim Belushi and Bernadette Peters. When the two decid-
ed to marry, theatre producers insisted upon having the wedding right there in the Second City Theatre, giving the two a wedding they could never have afforded on their own. After their stay in Chicago, Mary and Mark moved back to southern California, until one of Mary’s brothers offered Mark a chance to go into business with him. This would be the move that brought Mary Buthman back to Enid. When they arrived, Mark worked with Mary’s family in the pest control business, but after their time in southern California, they did miss one thing: good M exican food! And so, though they had no experience in the restaurant field, they opened Maria Rae’s. “We learned a lot that first y ear. The first day we opened, we thought we had a lot of food cooked up, but we soon ran
out with a line still out the door,” remembers Mary. Mary attributes their success to the Enid people, who, as she recalls, would often help bus tables and deliv er drinks when they saw that Mary and Mark were beyond busy. After several years, Mary and Mark decided to sell the restaurant, so they could be more available for their children’s activities. However, the new owners couldn’t quite make it work, and after receiving many requests for Maria Rae’s salsa, Mary and Mark bought back the recipes, choosing instead to sell and bottle the salsa as opposed to reopening. “Every day, I would load up my car with the bot tles of salsa and go to the gr ocery stores to ask if they wanted to carr y our salsa. Starting off in Enid was helpful as most people remembered the restaurant and were very receptive. The community is very supportive and very loyal; if they like your product, they’re going to buy it,” says Mary. Now, Maria Rae’s has expanded to grocery stores throughout Oklahoma and gift shops within Enid. With three salsas, tortilla chips imported from Canada and three different seasoning packets, Maria Rae’s continues to be a success. M ary attributes it all to Enid and Oklahoma, and she touts the great avenues new business owners can explore through programs at Autry Tech. “We’ve lived in a lot of places, and I enjoy Enid a lot. This is a very good place to start a business.” 27
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E-Fluff Leslie Blevins
Bundle Up In Style By Cathy Nulph, E-Fluff Extraordinaire • Photos by Rachel Hancock Jennifer Pruitt, Kathy King, Cathy Nulph, Kathy Deboer and Cara Looper
Greetings, sisters of fashion! Let me begin by saying I have a bone to pick with the women of Enid. When the weather outside is frightful, that doesn’t mean you should wrap yourself in your man’s hunting jacket and parade around like a giant marshmallow. It is possible to stay warm and still look cute. As is my usual way, I brought in some gal pals to model a v ariety of cute looks for winter. I am passionate about looking good, and I am tearing up as I write this, so ladies, follo w my guidelines, and we can brighten up the winter months. Bright coats and print coats paired with scarves and gloves make for a cute warm look. Hats with some “bling” can brighten up your face. If you are hair-impaired like me, cute hat alternatives like a hand crocheted ear warmer or earmuff will keep y ou cozy without resulting in dreaded “hat head.” Clodhopper boots are OFF limits unless you are dog sledding. However, flirty booties are a great match with tights and a dress. Ugg-type boots are adorable and toasty and can be worn with either a dr ess or jeans. Remember, you don’t have to be all “matchy-matchy” with your outerwear. Go ahead and show some personality. I love leopard print and it shows when I walk down the street — but hey, it’s fun and it’s me. Strut your stuff, look good and stay warm this winter.
-Cathy Jennifer DeVaughn, Leslie Blevins, Jessica Andrew and Chelsey Waddle
P.S. Special thanks to For You Boutique, Dillard’s and The Felt Bird for helping to illustrate my winter fashion tips. 29
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Michael & Amy: A Red Cross Benefit By Tawny Dotson• Photo by Rachel Hancock
I n 2010, Enid’s Cimarron Valley
Chapter of the Red Cross responded to 24 local disasters and helped 43 fami lies and 103 individuals with fr ee emergency food, free shelter and free supplies. They educated 7,289 individuals on lifesaving skills through 712 courses offered throughout the year. Those courses included first-aid, CPR, and Automated External Defibrillation training to the area's lifeguards, healthcare providers, emergency personnel and a number of public schools. "All of our school trainings and disaster trainings are offered at no charge," said Robin Unruh, executive director of the Cimarron Valley Red Cross. When disaster threatens or strikes, Enid’s Red Cross Chapter is there. Now it is time for the people of E nid to help continue the effor ts of the local Red Cross by attending their annual fundraiser. St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center is sponsoring the fantastic evening. The event will take place Mar. 4 at 6:30 p.m. A cocktail hour starts the event at the Oakwood Country Club at 1601 N. O akwood Rd., in Enid. “The fundraiser is designed to help 32
our donors realize what we are doing in the community. The funds help disaster services and community outreach,” said Unruh. “This is the first year we have done this version of a fundraiser with entertainment. We redesigned it for the needs of the community. The buzz that’s out there is positive and we expect a sold out crowd.” The evening will include a silent auction and dinner performance by Michael and Amy, The Dueling Pianos. The duo, who happen to be husband and wife, are unique and multi-talented music and comedic artists. They have transformed the popular duelling pianos entertainment concept into an award winning headline show hit. Their show is a magical and eclectic mix - par t music, part comedy, part theatre, part concert, part improvisation, and all chemistry. A live auction will take place later in the evening. “Adding Michael and Amy as entertainment has been exciting. It’s the first time we have done something like this and I’m really looking forward to it,” said Unruh.
Tickets for the event are $40 and are available for purchase by visiting the Red Cross office at 1023 W. Elm in Enid, calling (580) 237-5994, or e-mailing cimarronvalley@enid-redcross.org. No tickets will be available at the event.
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The Athletic Doc... Dr. Amanda Stevens
Amanda Stevens before the Ironman 70.3 World Championships in Clearwater, Florida where she finished 4th overall and Top American
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manda Stevens is a doctor who does n’t make house calls -- but if she did, she ’d arrive in world-record time. Stevens, 33, is a top-ranked, world class, elite Ironman tri-athlete. She was born and raised in Enid, America. A passion for swimming and an intense spirit of competition ran, so to speak, in Amanda’s family. “At Christmas every year, my family has a huge Ping Pong tournament. We have a full-on bracket, and my mom (Sally) finally beat me this year,” Stevens said. Amanda’s brother, Zhawn, 40, and sisters, Angela, 35, and Amanda, 33, all swam intensively and competitively during their childhood and teenage years
By Dave Kinnamon Photos By Randy Sadler growing up in Enid. All swam collegiately at the NCAA Division 1 level. Zhawn, 40 – the oldest sibling – took to swimming “like a fish in water,” says Amanda, when their mother took him to the Enid YMCA for swim lessons when he was a one-year-old baby. Zhawn held some U.S. national swimming records when he was only around 9 years old, Amanda said. The Stevenses’ father, Tommy, played NCAA golf at the University of Oklahoma and golfed on the PGA tour for several years. Amanda Stevens sets her athletic goals at the highest level. “The Olympics have always been the ultimate dream. I have my sights on a
Triathlon World Championship,” she said. Ironman triathlon is a grueling, survival-of-the-fittest, ultra-endurance sport that includes (all consecutively, with no break in between events): 2.4-mile swim; 112-mile bike; capped off with a full marathon (26.2 mile run). Stevens aims to be one of the best woman competitors in the world in the Ironman. And she is succeeding. In 2010, Stevens was the Ironman 70.3 (half the distance) U.S. Pro Champion and the Ironman 70.3 Cancun champion, according to her Website, dramandastevens.com. Stevens has competed in the Olympic Trials for women’s triathlon twice: in 2004 and 2008. Though she didn’t make 37
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Amanda Stevens biking during her full-distance Ironman debut in Cozumel, Mexcio where she finished 3rd Overall
the cut either time, Stevens still hopes to someday compete as a member of the U.S. Olympic Team. She still has time. “In endurance sports, the older you are, the better you do,” noted Stevens, “35-36 years old is the average age of women on the Olympic team (for the triathlon event).” However, “it’s a small window of time to be able to be in an elite status in sports,” she said. And elite Stevens is. As of early 2007, Stevens was ranked 10th in the world in the USA Triathlon rankings. Following Stevens’s graduation from Enid High School in 1995 (after a senior year during which she was named “Oklahoma Swimmer of the Year”), Stevens attended Texas Christian University, in Fort Worth, on a swimming scholarship. In all, during her three years at Enid High School, Stevens won five Oklahoma state swimming championships. At TCU, Stevens earned AllAmerican honors in 1994 and 1995. S he also was captain of the women’s swim team. Stevens graduated magna cum laude from TCU in 1999 with a B.S. degr ee, double major in biology and chemistr y and then attended medical school at Oklahoma University, earning her medical degree there in 2006. Stevens is considered a general practitioner right now – though in a lull from practicing medicine while she focuses full time on triathlon – and she intends to work up a residency in sports medicine when she retires from the professional triathlon circuit. Until her mid-20s, Stevens was a 38
swimmer and also an avid gymnast (until about age 14) and was focused on entering the Olympics as a swimmer. “I met some people during my first year of medical school who invited me to compete in a triathlon. After that, I was hooked,” Stevens said. Stevens took to triathlon so well and so naturally, she won the National Championship title at the end of the summer 2001. She became so intense about her new sport, she decided to take a break in her studies. “That was a big commitment to take a two-year break from medical school,” she said. In 2002, the Olympic Training Center, in Colorado Springs, Colo., invited Amanda to come out and train, which she did. She makes Colorado Springs her home today, where she trains intensively every day. “You do a lot of training for triathlon. There’s a huge mental aspect to it. You go through highs and lows during a triathlon. When you get to a good spot, you want to stay there and prolong it as long as you can,” Stevens said. In addition to being a tenacious competitor and preparer, Stevens is simply tenacious: This past June, she endured gallbladder removal surgery and was then out exercising within a few days after being released from the hospital. By the fall, she won the triathlon in Cozumel. “I’m very passionate about the sport. I absolutely love what I do. For me, I get to swim, bike, and run every day,” Stevens said. To illustrate her passion about triathlon, Stevens points to the difference
Amanda Stevens’ championship finish at Cancun Ironman 70.3
between the values of her car and her bike, a question she answered from Enid photographer, Wess Gray, after he asked her, “Amanda, how much is your car worth?” “My bike is worth three times what my car is worth,” Stevens chuckles. She also is passionate about community outreach. “I am deeply involved in a program called ‘Girls on the Run,’ a nationwide program dedicated to helping educate and prepare girls, 3rd-8th grades, for a lifetime of self–respect and healthy living, and also ‘Making It Count,’ a nationwide program seeking to motivate high school students to excellence. I do a lot of speak ing and community service, like Athletes For Hope, Girl Scouts, Schools For Healthy Lifestyle, others, and I’m a mentor for at-risk high school students,” she said. She tells the girls the same things she tells other people who inquire about her passion for training and her passion for triathlon at the elite level as a full-time profession: “The biggest thing is to enjoy it. You have to enjoy what you’re doing to stay motivated. And set goals. Set good, achievable goals,” Stevens said. Stevens ties her success back to her family and to her childhood. “I say thanks to all my family and friends in Enid who’ve supported me along the way. Enid is a great community. That’s what makes it great – that there is a community of support. There are lots of activities in Enid for kids to get involved,” Stevens said.
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The Road to the
2011 Smokin’ Red Dirt BBQ
By Cara Loper • Photos by MotoPhoto
"Sssssssssmokin'!" Remember that phrase that Jim Carey shot out in his movie The Mask back in the 90's? It caught on like a wild fire and you might still catch people saying it. B ut, Enid has it's very own version of the word "Smokin'" and it has to do with none other than some hard-core, pit-fire, big-meat BARBECUE! Bust out that charcoal and mark April 15-16, 2011 as this year’s annual Smokin' Red Dirt
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BBQ! Hey, it's not as easy as grilling burgers in your back yard to win some action on this years' $12,000 prize or craving the "mirror ball" trophy. So, we sat down with Patrick Andrews, General Manager of RibCrib in Enid (one of two training locations in the U.S.--this guy KNOWS his stuff ) to describe a bit more of the meat of the matter in these competitions. Patrick earned a hot seat on the barbecue team so delightfully titled: "Rib Cribs Pig Men" in Tulsa, out of the pure love of delicious, succulent, fall-OFF-the-bone BBQ, and the ability to train others in the art of it. Patrick explains that barbecuing is a science that consists of taking big, tough, bland pieces of meat while using "classi fied" marinades, rubs, injections or sauces. "Not to disguise the meat, but to simply complement its flavor so that it equals some, tender, juicy, glistening, mouth-watering-so-bad-you-can't-stand-it MEAT!" Plus, there are super-tight windows of time where 5 minutes can be the difference between the meat being over or undercooked. In translation, the team is awake on 'meat watch' all hours of the night, (yes, like a newborn baby) in the drizzling rain, in April, just to get the perfect consistency. Not only did the team win 1st place
in the pork section of the Smokin' Red Dirt Barbecue in Enid last year, Rib Crib’s Pig Men went on and competed in the Tulsa BBQ Challenge.....and they won. We're talking, "Grand Champion". You just can't get any better than that. This fire-starting win earned Patrick and his team a golden ticket to the Kansas City Royal Barbecue Invitational in none other than Kansas City. "There are over 130 teams from all over the world that compete in this competition," says Andrews, "and all of them have won 'Grand Champion' in some kind of barbecue competition in order to get there. We competed among the best pitt-masters from everywhere." Patrick's team is continually on call to "one-up" and perfect the goods he's already got going. You either get lucky or you're just "that good". In Patrick's case, they're just "that good" considering last year, for that particular invitational, the team placed 9th among 130 teams fr om all over. Put that on your fingers and lick it.
Again, get your ol' yellow galoshes, April 15-16, cheer on Patrick and his team, and have some fun this year at Roberts Ranch Smokin' Red Dirt
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Fashion Forward was a dream come true for myself and Dawn Muncy, The two of us had a similar vision. We teamed up and came up with a ne w feature for E-town. We had a chance to sho wcase all Enid has to offer in the fashion world. -Cathy Nulph, Etown Promotions Director
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ASK A
Realtor
®
By Bridget Nash Photos by Rachel Hancock
Selling your home is a big step and sometimes a little bit scar y! There are many questions that may run through your mind as your venture toward putting your house on the market . The Paramount Homes team of Realtors is always available to answer your questions. Here are some of the common questions asked about preparing a home for sale: Q: What is the first step in getting my home ready to sell? A: The first step is just a simple phone Jennifer Fugazzi, call to a Paramount Broker/Realtor® Homes Realtor. Any Realtor on the Paramount team will take the time to sit do wn with you and give you a step-by-step marketing strategy.
DanFugazzi,
Q: What are the most important upgrades or repairs I need to make to sell my home?
A: When a prospective buyer is looking at a home, the most impor tant rooms in the house are the kitchen and the bathroom. Updating the kitchen and bathroom increases the appeal of your home. Realtor®/Home Builder
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Q: If I have wallpaper, should I remove it and paint? A: By removing the wallpaper and paintShawn Shadduck, Realtor® ing the walls, your home will appeal to a much wider range of buyers. Painting is an easy and inexpensive way to update your home and make it attractive to prospective buyers.
Q: Does an updated home sell faster than one that isn't updated? A: Absolutely! The Paramount Realtors are ready and willing to help you decide which updates are the most important to help sell your home in the shortest amount of time.
Q: How do I know if a buyer is qualified to purchase my home? A: Buyers will be prequalified by Paramount Realtors before entering into a contract to purchase your home. Amber Sprague, Realtor®
Anyone who has questions about Real Estate may submit queries to Paramounthomesre@suddenlinkmail.com for next issue publication.
Sondra Hernandez, Realtor® GRI/ Se habla Español
580-237-6200 225 W. Cherokee Ave.
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Paramount • Time Cash • Realtor Money • Payment Home • Area Loan • Staging Financing • Realty Curb appeal • Bank Insurance • CMA Owner • Seller Sale • Buyer Taxes • Money Paint • Sold
Real Estate Word Search
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E ·cre·a·tivE
Amber Bailey
As Etown’s three feature artists dove into the process of creating their first original piece for the EcreativE project, they reflected on the role of imagination, originality and inspiration. Rather than starting completely from scratch, each artist was presented with a given theme. One of their pieces is intended to explore the “mundane,” the other, the “peculiar.” Greg Poole was especially enthusiastic about the themes, saying he could not have chosen better. Amber Bailey was neutral: “I tend to keep a stash of themes I want to tackle in my mind all the time and wait for each to get their turn. I then work over the theme until I find its place.” Musician Riley Janzen found the assigned themes the most challenging, due to how broad they are. “It is like asking me for dir ections to a location 1,000 miles away and me saying ‘north.’ There are hundreds, if not thousands, different ways to get there,” he says. But in the end, he calls it a “ fun challenge,” adding that, “if they were not broad, there would be no place for the creativity to live, so in that respect, this is just like any other project. You just have to keep your mind and heart open to whatever comes your way.” In the next issue of Etown, the artists will reveal their first finished piece. In the meantime, here are more of their insights. 52
The Journey Begins Story by Candace Krebs
Photos by Shane Scribner
“No amount of skillful invention can replace the
essential element of imagination.” -Edward Hopper Q. Can you identify the spark that started this piece? What was the first glimmer you saw in your imagination and do you have an idea of why or how it occurred to you? Riley Jantzen·For a musician, I am v ery
visual. When I hear “peculiar,” I imagine a cold clear night on my dad ’s farm near Okeene, when all you can hear is the wind blowing and the bare limbs on the trees scratching together. The unease and mystery in such a typically mundane moment actually seems quite peculiar to me. Mundane comes to me as the "day-to-day" and "paycheck-topaycheck" type of lifestyle and my take on society's acceptance and even promotion of mundane or boring liv es. Every human is able to do anything they want or dream of doing (within
reason) but to maintain our curr ent or historical living standards, many of us do very boring things for very little money.
Greg Poole·The source or inspiration
for this work most likely has something to do with my own demise, perhaps my own death. Not necessarily a physical death, but more like a regression, a collapse of the senses, and, in effect, a reincarnation of mental, emotional and physical states.
Amber Bailey·I am creating reliquaries with optical effects (in other wor ds, containers for special objects). I first became intrigued by the idea in college when I saw a poison ring that had a glass lens for the lid. I immediately cr eated a necklace using mirrors and glass lenses. Ever since, I have wanted to do it again.
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Greg Poole
Q. What is more important to your art… craftsmanship or originality? Riley Jantzen·The craftsmanship is all in doing something that is original without being too obscure, so they are very much tied together. If I were only to do the world’s most original song, nobody would want to listen to it, because there would be no emotional trigger to get them hooked. So the idea is to take something that ev erybody is familiar with, but to put a spin on it to make it original.
The first component of Amber Bailey’s creation
Q. What is the role of the unexpected or surprising (perhaps we could even say “peculiar”) in the art you create? Riley Jantzen·To set my art apart from all the other billions of songs in the world. Greg Poole·I will always enjoy the information my brain spills from pen to paper and paint to canv as. Amber Bailey·I like to use unexpected juxtapositions (placing things together to compare and contrast them) to lead the viewer into the meaning.
Greg Poole·That’s a sticky subject. It’s hard to say, because one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Originality is a myth, and craft is subject to interpr etation, but important. Amber Bailey·Craftsmanship is of the utmost importance. A great idea can be ruined by poor execution! I get that view from my experience with Chris Ramsay, my jewelry professor in college.
Riley Jantzen
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Greg Poole
Q. Some art has a high level of shock value. In your opinion as an artist, is it ever possible to go “too far?”
and art. There is a something in this world for everybody, and that is a beautiful thing.
Riley Jantzen·In the mainstream music
times. It’s almost worse than the 1980s with its ultra-conservatism and Van Halen fans. This is the Digital Age now: information is streaming all over the place non-stop, but what about the depth of all this information? What happens when I have to actually talk to somebody face-to-face or write (with pen and paper) a letter? We are feeding and nurturing a society of non-personable relationships, so far removed from
business, the music is mostly mundane because that is what the mar ket wants to hear. This is not an insult to fans of mainstream music. It is just that if a record company thought they could make more money by pushing the envelope they would do so, but since they do not, I am happy ther e is a subculture that thrives on obscure music 54
Greg Poole·We are living in mundane
the senses and disconnected from the present moment. What is shocking is that people are still shocked by a nude painting.
Amber Bailey·I believe that true art never goes too far in being shocking, so long as the shock has a deeper mean ing. Shock for the sake of shock leav es the viewer with nothing. All ar t should have something the viewer can take from it. The risk of not going bey ond the predictable is great. Why waste your time creating something you could buy at Walmart?
E
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The Trip to
BOUNTIFUL
Holly McCormick and David Whyburn (Photo by Dawn Muncy)
by Dave Kinnamon
StarTek’s decision to land in Enid, Oklahoma, has been described as a journey with bountiful results in all measurable areas. As a result of StarTek’s fortuitous decision in 1999 to establish a call center here, Enid has gained approximately 550 full-time equivalent jobs. Additionally, StarTek has invested considerable treasure, effort and vision into transforming the historic Sears and Roebuck building – the location of the StarTek Enid site – at 116 E. Randolph Ave. into an eminently beautiful structure, both inside and outside, which has significantly added to the cosmetic allure and geographical dynamism of downtown Enid. Additionally, the local economic impact of StarTek’s presence in Enid is $11.4 million in annual personal income (aggregate annual salaries from all Enid StarTek employees), a $36.3 million total annual economic impact in Enid and Garfield County, and the creation of 700 indirect jobs in the Garfield County area, according to Brent Kisling, executive director of the Enid Regional Development Alliance, citing an economic impact analysis his organization recently conducted. 58
“StarTek is one of our top 10 emplo yers in Garfield County,” said Kisling. “They have a significant impact on our downtown area. StarTek helped the core of our community come together and eliminated some empty storefronts.” A harmony of praise for StarTek comes from throughout Enid. “We’ve been real pleased with StarTek’s payroll and their presence in the city of Enid,” said Doug Frantz, who was mayor of Enid at the time StarTek arrived. Frantz and Jon Blankenship, president and CEO of the Enid Chamber of Commerce, were two key individuals in selling StarTek on the benefits of locating in Enid and in putting together an incentive package that was attractive to the company and to all the citizens of Enid. “We were all very proud when StarTek came to Enid,” Frantz said. Blankenship, who has been CEO of the Enid Chamber since 1995, Mayor Frantz and others hosted StarTek on several Enid visits in mid-1999. StarTek leaders were primarily interested in four things: quality of life, cost of living, edu cational opportunities, and entertainment opportunities.
“Early on, their site committee considered Enid to be a really good fit. The community had all the things they were looking for,” Blankenship said. StarTek also looked at locations around the United States. In order to seal the deal, Enid voters approved a quarter-cent sales tax earmarked for a StarTek incentive. Enid voters passed the sales tax by a healthy majority in January 2000. The sales tax was in effect for a maximum of 26 months. The condition of the incentive required StarTek to reach a $5.6 million payroll by Jan. 1, 2004, and an $8 million annual payroll by Jan. 1, 2006. StarTek received a maximum $2.5 million incentive from the quarter-cent sales tax, which StarTek agreed to allow the city of Enid to pay in installments over a period of time. The incentive was 3 percent of their annualized payroll, Blankenship said. “Just as we predicted at the time, StarTek has proven to be an outstanding company to have in our community, providing great jobs, offering employees an excellent benefits package. The company is an outstanding corporate partner in our community. Their people are involved and engaged in the com-
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StarTek proudly displays the many projects they are involved in throughout the community . (Photo by Dawn Muncy)
munity. It makes a difference to have companies with people that are vested in the community and committed to it,” Blankenship said. Enid leaders were pleased when StarTek took a strong interest in the historic Sears and Roebuck building and committed to making that building the StarTek Enid home. Lindy Chambers, executive director of Main Street Enid, believes StarTek’s renovations of the former department store tie in completely with her national organization’s mission and vision: revitalize downtown and neighborhood business districts by leveraging local assets — from historic, cultural, and architectural resources to local enterprises and community pride.
Main Street Enid believes the downtown area “is the economic engine, the big stage, the core of the community.” “Main Streets tell us who we are and who we were, and how the past has shaped us. We do not go to bland suburbs or enclosed shopping malls to learn about our past, explore our culture, or discover our identity,” according to the national Main Street website. “We were really pleased when StarTek came and found the (Sears & Roebuck) building to their liking,” Chambers said. StarTek’s renovation of the building ties in completely with Main Street’s belief in “adaptive reuse” of historic downtown buildings, she said. Adaptive reuse is a term which means renovating a historic structure to sup-
port a modern usage while maintaining the building’s original character, Chambers said. Former Mayor Frantz visited StarTek’s Enid site about four months ago. He was very impressed with StarTek’s transformation. “They really dressed up the building. They run a nice ship,” Frantz said.
September 9, 2010, Mayor John Criner delivered a proclamation to StarTek at the City Commission meeting highlighting the past decade StarTek has been part of the community.
David Whyburn, Site Director and Holly McCormick, Recruiting Manager at the Farmer’ s Market Pumpkin Fest, sponsored by StarTek. (photo by Diane WILLIAMS)
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