QUARTER III | 2017
THE NEWSLETTER OF THE LOS ALAMOS COMMERCE & DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
Be Part of Something Big – Shop Small Last year 112 million people shopped local on Small Business Saturday and spent $17.8 billion at small businesses, according to American Express. Here in Los Alamos we don’t have a shopper count, but we do know that SBS makes a difference in the financial data of the local business owners and managers. Metzger’s Do-It- Best Hardware Manager David Jolly said “We had a great Saturday for November. Compared to last year, Los Alamos was up 12%. White Rock 82% (But they were in the middle of construction last year) Sue has kept a spreadsheet since we started in 2012. Each year sales have grown on SBS (again White Rock dragged us down last year). Over the past 4 years, our sales for this day are up 32% overall. We donate 5% of sales for the day to the United Way, so that contribution has also increased 32% from 2012 to 2016. I’m pretty excited about the way this has turned out, and anxious to hear from everybody else.” Stats from the Small Business Administration • There are 23 million small businesses in the country.
homemade goodies provided by my dear friend Marilyn. It was a wonderful day. We had a LOT of traffic. I would say that we had about 25% more shopper foot traffic than a usual Saturday. We were able to donate $165 (percentage of the day’s sales) to NMDOG as well as an additional $32 generously donated in our donation jar. Our day’s sales were 13% higher than our previous best day ever! So, I would say it was a rousing success!!” Dillane said. A SBS tradition in Los Alamos is for the participating businesses to donate a portion of their proceeds from Small Business Saturday to the nonprofit of their choice. This sets Los Alamos apart from all other communities that observe American Express’ Small Business Saturday and gives it a unique nature that makes it more about community. Businesses select what percentage or flat dollar amount they want to donate, and they select the nonprofit – which can be local, statewide, national or international, animal or people focused. Anything goes, including choosing not to participate in the tradition.
• Small businesses have increased by 49% since 1982 • 54% of U.S. sales happen at small businesses.
• Small businesses donate 250% more than larger
• Small businesses have created 8 million jobs since 1990.
businesses to non-profits and community causes (Source:
• Franchised small businesses employ roughly 8 million
Seattle Good Business Network).
people, and make up 40 % of all American retail jobs.
It costs nothing to register to participate. The benefits of participating in 2017 include being listed on the Small Business Saturday map, listed on the SBS website, mentioned in SBS social media posts, potentially being the focus of a SBS feature article, potentially being included as a challenge in the SBS Goosechase game, and receiving SBS swag to decorate your store for Small Business Saturday. There will be a kiosk mall set up in project Y for home-based businesses. Small Business Saturday is a tradition for Anna Dillane of Boomerang, who opened her business on SBS in 2014. “Our 2016 Small Business Saturday marked our two year anniversary. We had a bit of a party to celebrate with
• If you spend $100 at a local business, roughly $68 stays in your local economy. If you spend the same are a large business, only $43 stays in the local economy.
Some nonprofits participate as both a recipient of retailers’ proceeds and as a retailer themselves – such as the gift shop at Pajarito Environmental Education Center. Sandra West, PEEC Marketing Manager, said “We did a 20% increase over last year’s Shop Small event, which is post member discount and other coupons.” Contact us to get involved nancy@losalamos.org 661-4872 or ufemia@losalamos.org 661-4816. We have free marketing materials for use in promoting your business.
Events & Reminders October 11: Chamber Breakfast 7:30-9am UNM-LA bldg. 2, Tourism Strategic Plan
November 8: Chamber Breakfast 7:30-9am UNM-LA bldg. 2, Mandy Marksteiner - Marketing
October 27-28: Halloweekend Trick or Treat on MainStreet is Friday, October 27, 4-6:00pm
For more information call KayLinda at
Patrick Sullivan, Executive Director
505.661.4860 or email kaylinda@losalamos.org Register at losalamosmainstreet.com/events/ halloweekend/
November 25: Small Business Saturday Sign up now to participate! For more information call Ufemia Bernal 505.661.4816 or email Ufemia@losalamos.org
December 1-3: Winterfest The WinterFest Light Parade is Friday,
A Note From Our Executive Director Greetings, I hope everyone has made the transition from summer to a new school year easily. It’s hard to believe summer passed so quickly. There was a lot of activity in Los Alamos over the summer and LACDC staff has been working hard to stay involved and integrated into several local projects. LACDC staff has been very engaged in a number of County projects over the last few months. The County is undertaking a Branding Implementation initiative and Tourism Strategic Plan project. LACDC staff has been present at several meetings and has provided input and suggestions based on our experience and knowledge in these areas.
December 1 at 6pm followed by the Ashley Pond Tree Lighting at 7pm.
For more information call KayLinda at
Additionally, LACDC continues to work with County staff and other stakeholders to bring more housing options across all price ranges to our community. Although vacant land is scarce, we are making progress in getting developers interested in the parcels that are or will become available.
505.661.4860 or email kaylinda@losalamos.org Register at losalamosmainstreet.com/events/ winterfest/
December 13: Chamber Breakfast 7:30-9am UNM-LA bldg. 2, Breakfast with the Board
FYILosAlamos.com
We also continue to promote our many events that aim to promote local business and bring more people downtown more of the time. Chamberfest and ScienceFest were great events again this year and we are looking forward to Trick or Treat on Main Street, Small Business Saturday, and Winterfest in the coming months. If you would like to be involved in planning or participate in any of these events, please contact LACDC staff, we’d love your help!! As always, if you need assistance starting, expanding or growing your business, feel free to stop by to see me or any LACDC staff. We’re ready to help.
The definitive events calendar of Los Alamos. Post your public, free or ticketed events right
Best,
from the website. Check the site for all that is
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going on in Los Alamos.
Patrick
Los Alamos Commerce & Development Corporation
Commerce & Development News Congratulations to Lauren McDaniel Lauren McDaniel, director of projectY cowork Los Alamos, along with her husband, Hunter, a local Los Alamos entrepreneur with UbiQD, welcomed a baby boy on Friday, Aug. 18. Duncan Quinn weighed 6.5 pounds and measured 19.5 inches at birth. He is excited to be one of the newest residents of Los Alamos!
Duncan Quinn McDaniel
Launch LA Launches Again LAUNCH Los Alamos, an eight week incubator program for youth launch their product or service, will officially begin September 16, valuable lessons that have helped them in their future endeavors. session with teen founders eager to move forward in producing the next great idea.
with entrepreneurial passions to 2017. Past participants have learned We are excited to kick off the new
LAUNCH los alamos
Based on the “Lean Startup Method,� LAUNCH LA will engage participants in a team-based environment of learning ideation, market validation, business model development, problem solving, and pitch development. Participants end the program with a pitch presentation in front of entrepreneurs and investors for critiquing and possible start-up funding on Pitch Day. The best startups are awarded prizes ranging from cash to in kind support from companies. Pitch Day is open to anyone interested in the local entrepreneurial community.
LACDC Welcomes KayLinda Crawford KayLinda Crawford has joined the LACDC as an Event Coordinator assisting Suzette Fox, MainStreet Executive Director, with MainStreet events. Crawford, an avid golfer, lives in Los Alamos with her husband and two daughters. Crawford also serves as Secretary of the Bradbury Science Museum Association. KayLinda Crawford
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Chamber Member Anniversaries July Atomic City Cleaning Coca-Cola Bottling Co. of Santa Fe, Inc. COMPA Industries, Inc. Highline Associates Homewise, Inc. Kiwanis Club of Los Alamos LANL Community Partnerships Office Los Alamos Concert Association Los Alamos County Government Los Alamos Fitness Center Los Alamos Retirement Communities Los Alamos Youth Soccer League Mandy Marksteiner Content Marketing Pajarito Environmental Education Center Quaking Aspen Fine Art Smith’s Food & Drug Templeton Design & Custom Homes LLC. UbiQD Virtual Los Alamos
2005 2013 2008 2013 2016 1978 1996 2006 1997 2003 2002 2008 2008 2003 2016 2006 1997 2016 1995
Welcome our Newest Chamber Members The Los Alamos Chamber of Commerce now has 325 members. We have grown more than 8% in the past year. Please welcome our newest members.
Exit Realty Advantage NM Cruisers Custom Embroidery Ohkay Owingeh, Housing Authority
JUL AUG AUG
2017 2017 2017
August Bathtub Row Brewing Eye Associates of New Mexico Fran Berting Gordons’ Concerts J. Robert Oppenheimer Memorial Committee Los Alamos Chiropractic Los Alamos Community Health Council Los Alamos School of Gymnastics Pasta Paradiso, Inc. Stewart Title Storkan Chiropractic, Incorporated Vanguard Resources, Inc. Vest Orthodontics Waddell & Reed
2012 2003 1998 1993 2005 1997 2012 2010 2016 1998 2011 2016 2008 1999
Friday, Oct 27 4:00 – 6:00 PM
September Animal Clinic of Los Alamos, P.C. Berardinelli Family Funeral Service Buffalo Thunder Resort CORTEX & co. Dance Arts Los Alamos Enchanted Trek Travel Fidelity Investments Fusion Multi Sport Hilltop Spa Holiday Inn Express at Entrada J & L Self Storage & Vans Jorge Ferreira, DMD, LLC Little Forest Playschool Los Alamos Heart Council, Inc. Los Alamos Home Improvement Los Alamos Public Schools Foundation Mary Deal Realty North Central Regional Transit District PAC 8 Ponderosa Montessori School, Inc. SMPC Architects The Family YMCA White Rock Baptist Church Youth for Christ
1998 2016 2008 2016 2001 2008 2015 2013 2014 2009 1986 2014 2006 2008 1988 2007 1978 2008 2000 2008 2001 1988 1995 2016
Sponsored by
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www.losalamosmainstreet.com
Los Alamos Commerce & Development Corporation
Chamber News 1947 – 2017 Metzger’s Celebrates 70 years After kicking off the spring with a party at the White Rock store, Metzger’s is closing out the summer with a party at its’ Los Alamos store. The Do-It-Best Hardware store is celebrating 70 years of doing business in Los Alamos County, where it has served the residents from many locations and with three generations of ownership. The Metzger’s 70th Anniversary Party in Los Alamos will be Sept. 23. They will be open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. with the main focus of the party being held between 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. there will be free Hot Dogs and Brats. At 2 p.m. the Birthday Cake will be cut and at 2:30 there will be a drawing for a Grand Prize, which is a $799 value Traeger wood pellet grill. The High School Band will be performing at 2 p.m. and there will be demonstrations by the Fire Department and the Police Department Bomb Squad robots. Throughout the day
“In White Rock it was like a block party, It will be interesting to see the difference between White Rock and Los Alamos,” Metzger’s General Manager David Jolly Metzger’s 70 Years said. “It’s a Celebration ~ 1947 Lee Metzger Sr. wins bid from Atomic Energy Commission to … Just a Thank You to operate an auto supply and hardware store, opens in Nov. 1947 ~ the community for 70 years.” ~ 1948 Metzgers moves to the brand-new Community Center ~ ~ 1950 Metzgers opens location in the Contractor’s Village in White Rock, it later closes ~ ~ 1951 Metzgers opens location at Diamond and Sandia as Western Area is being built ~ ~ 1973 Metzger’s opens location on State Road 4 in White Rock ~
~ 1979 Metzgers Community Center location relocates to Safeway building at 15th and Central, becomes a True Value Hardware Co-op ~ ~ 1982 Lee Metzger Sr. passes away and Lee Jr, Tom, and Bob Metzger take over operations ~ ~ 2002 Metzger’s rebrands to Do-it-Best Hardware ~ ~ 2007 Lee Metzger Jr buys out his siblings and consolidates his ownership ~ ~ 2007 Metzger’s Do-it-Best Hardware remodels Central Avenue location ~ ~ 2014 Lee Metzger Jr. retires and passes operations to his son Greg Metzger ~
First location in the old Commissary Building
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there will be vendor demonstrations and hourly drawings for gifts and prizes.
Jolly said Los Alamos has many events taking place on the 23rd. His friend and Health Fa i r C oord i nator Phil Gursky is calling the day “Stay in Los Alamos Day.” The pair are recommending that residents go to the Health Fair in the morning to get their cholesterol checked, then eat brats and cake at the Metzger’s 70th Celebration before heading up to the ski area for a beer at ULLR Fest.
Contractor’s Village in White Rock
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Chamber Member Survey Give Us A Few Minutes Of Your Time To Help Us Better Serve You Los Alamos Chamber of Commerce is always looking to make sure the programs, benefits and services we offer are meeting your needs. Please help us ensure that we are on track by completing the following survey. 1. What are your main reasons for belonging to the Los Alamos Chamber? (Check all that apply) ☐ Various benefits offered by the chamber ☐ Participate on chamber committees ☐ Leads generation ☐ Advocacy efforts on issues important to the business community ☐ Connections with other businesses ☐ Credibility of chamber membership ☐ Civic Responsibility ☐ Want to make a difference in our community ☐ Educational opportunities (seminars and workshops) ☐ Business exposure ☐ Other , Please Specify 2. How relevant is the Los Alamos Chamber to YOUR BUSINESS? Not Relevant 1
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3. Based on your experience, how valuable are the following services/programs offered by the Los Alamos Chamber to you and your business? (Ranking Question) • ChamberFest
• Awards Gala
• Business Breakfast
• Chamber Checks
• Video Library
• Monday Messages
• Ribbon Cuttings
• Job Postings
• Coffee and Connections
• Referrals
• Advocacy
• Business After Hours
• Take Out Talk
• Business Page on LA Daily Post
4. How important is it for the Los Alamos Chamber to be a champion for a stronger community (quality of education, infrastructure improvements, recreation, etc.)? Not Important
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Los Alamos Commerce & Development Corporation
Chamber Member Survey
5. How well do you think the Chamber performs when it comes to being a champion for
a stronger community?
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6. How important is it for the Los Alamos Chamber to represent the “interests of businesses with
government” on issues that affect the business community?
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7. How well do you think the Chamber performs when it comes to representing the “interests of
businesses with government” on issues that affect the business community?
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8. How important is it for the Los Alamos Chamber to help get business friendly candidates elected
to public office?
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9. How well do you think the Chamber performs when it comes to helping get business friendly
candidates elected to public office?
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10. How important is it for the Los Alamos Chamber to be a catalyst for business growth and
strengthening the local economy (such as attracting, retaining and growing jobs to our area)?
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*Suvey continued on next page.
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Chamber Member Survey 11. How well do you think the Chamber performs when it comes to being a catalyst for business growth and strengthening the local economy (such as attracting, retaining and growing jobs to our area)?
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12. How important is it for the Los Alamos Chamber to provide programs to help build business relationships (networking and referrals)? Not Important 1
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13. How well do you think the Chamber performs when it comes to providing programs to help build business relationships (networking and referrals)? Very Poorly 1
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14. How important is it for the Los Alamos Chamber to promote the community? Not Important 1
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16. Please score the Los Alamos Chamber on each of the following statements: The Chamber excels at being a trusted convener for leaders and influencers. Strongly Disagree
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Los Alamos Commerce & Development Corporation
Chamber Member Survey
The Chamber excels at embracing age (generational) diversity throughout the organization.
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The Chamber excels at continuously innovating, exploring new programs and embracing change.
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The Chamber excels at keeping up with the times and changing local business needs.
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Your Name:
Los Alamos Chamber of Commerce
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Company:
Definitely Yes
109 Central Park Square
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recommend joining the chamber to your friend?
Los Alamos, NM 87544
17. If a friend of yours was not a member of the Los Alamos Chamber, would you
18. How long have you been a member of the Los Alamos Chamber? ☐ Less than one year ☐ One to two years ☐ Three to five years ☐ Six to ten years ☐ More than ten years
20. Which of the following groups represents your age? ☐ 18-24 years ☐ 25-34 years ☐ 35-44 years ☐ 45-54 years ☐ 55-64 years ☐ 65 years or older Quarter III 2017
Or scan and E-mail to nancy@losalamos.
19. How many employees does your company have? ☐ 5 or fewer ☐ 6-10 ☐ 11-20 ☐ 21-49 ☐ More than 50 employees
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MainStreet Get Registered to Participate in MainStreet Events Looking for a great way to promote your business or organization? Don’t miss this opportunity to be a part of Halloweekend and Winterfest! Register now to participate in two of the most popular Los Alamos MainStreet community events. Halloweekend: October 27-28 Halloweekend returns to haunt Los Alamos on October 27-28. On Friday, October 27 Los Alamos MainStreet will host Trickor-Treat on MainStreet in downtown Los Alamos from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Main Street and Central Avenue, from 15th to 20th Streets, will be closed to auto traffic and become a pedestrian area where local businesses distribute candy to costumed families. This is also an opportunity for businesses and organizations that are not located in the downtown area to be involved. Last year an estimated 4,000 people took part in Trick-or-Treat on MainStreet. Halloweekend festivities will continue on Saturday, October 28th. The Los Alamos Arts Council will host the Pumpkin Glow on the lawn at Fuller Lodge from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Los Alamos
MainStreet will provide live entertainment inside Fuller Lodge from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. with the Nomads. Winterfest: December 2-4 The Los Alamos Winterfest theme this year is “Woodland Holiday”. The annual Holiday Light Parade will march up Central Avenue beginning at 6:00pm Saturday, December 2. The official Tree Lighting Ceremony will immediately follow the parade at 7:00pm at Ashley Pond. Register now to enter your “Woodland Holiday” themed float for the Holiday Light Parade. The Winterfest celebrations run from Friday through Sunday. To register for booth at Trick-or-Treat on MainStreet or a float in the Winterfest Holiday Light Parade, visit: losalamosmainstreet. com/events or Eventbrite.com. For questions or more information, please contact KayLinda Crawford, Los Alamos MainStreet Event Coordinator at 505-661-4860 or KayLinda@losalamos.org.
Postdoc Career Fair Aug. 29-31: LANL Involved Local Startups, Business Resources This year the Los Alamos National Laboratory Postdoc Career Fair featured local New Mexico startups and other companies hiring (or planning to hire) right here in the state. In addition to local companies, Los Alamos National Laboratory also enabled several business support organizations and resources to have a presence at the Fair and discuss options with postdocs (who might be interested in commercializing technology) about incentive programs that exist to help new entrepreneurs in the state. Some of the participating companies and organizations this year, which also include out-of-state companies, included: Descartes Labs, Center for Naval Analysis (CAN), ExxonMobil Upstream Research, IAEA, Institute for Defense Analysis (IDA), Intel, Los Alamos Commerce & Development Corporation and projectY cowork Los Alamos, MIT Lincoln Lab, New Mexico Consortium, New Mexico Economic Development Department, NMSU Arrowhead Center, Santa Fe Business Incubator, Small Business Development Center-Los Alamos, The Aerospace Corporation, The Shearwater GeoServices, UbiQD, and Viome.
To help prepare postdocs for the upcoming Career Fair and support their job-hunting process, Di Ye, a professional coach from New Mexico-based company Zhennovate — a personalized career and leadership development platform for the modern workforce — offered several group and one-to-one workshops at projectY cowork Los Alamos, located at 150 Central Park Square. Ye covered everything from networking skills, interview prep, evaluating a candidate’s fit with jobs in academia versus industry, to developing their resume and cover letter for highlighting their value propositions to industry employers. Zhennovate is dedicated to working with STEM professionals to develop their soft skills that complement their technical capabilities, something Ye has recognized is typically lacking in the industry. Zhennovate uses transformative coaching to help professionals break through limiting beliefs and behaviors so they can achieve sustainable results. You can learn more about any upcoming career and leadership development events offered by Zhennovate at https://www.zhennovate.com. 10 Los Alamos Commerce & Development Corporation
Creative District LACDC Announces New Creative District Curator Ryn Herrmann was recently named Los Alamos Creative District Curator. “I am excited to help grow the creative economy of Los Alamos and hope to engage the community in fun, new ways”, – Ryn said. The Creative District was established in 2009 for the purpose of promoting place-based community economic development rooted in our community’s dynamic arts and cultural environment. Some of the Creative District’s regular events include the bi-weekly On Tap series, the summer concert and entertainment series Tuesdays at the Pond, as well as playing a major role in Los Alamos’s annual ScienceFest. As a group, we also work on various other projects to strengthen the creative economy and introduce an artful quality of life to our downtown.
Ryn Herrmann
Busy Summer for Los Alamos and White Rock Visitor Centers Discover Los Alamos has had a busy summer at both the Los Alamos and White Rock Visitor Centers. We are in the home stretch of the peak summer hours and shuttle buses going to and from Bandelier National Monument down at the White Rock Visitor Center. These shuttles will no longer be required beginning Monday October 16th after which the White Rock Visitor Center will return to its winter hours: 10AM-2PM seven days a week. The Los Alamos Visitor Center will continue its normal hours during the winter season: M-F 9AM-5PM, Sat 9AM-4PM and Sun 10AM-3PM. It’s exciting to see the significant increase in tourism over the years, to date we are currently up 6% from this time last year. In 2015 we had an almost 12% increase over 2014. These increases show that Los Alamos is becoming more of a travel destination for visitors wanting to know more about our unique history, landscape and amazing aspects of daily life in Los Alamos and White Rock. Check out visitlosalamos.org for all Los Alamos/White Rock vacation needs and to find out all the local events happening in town. If you want to post your own event that is happening in Los Alamos County please visit fyilosalamos.com. Come in and Discover Los Alamos!
View from White Rock of Cerro Picaho and St. Peter’s Dome
Quarter III 2017
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PRSRT STD U.S. Postage
PAID
LOS ALAMOS, NM
Permit No. 152
P. O . B OX 1 2 0 6 LOS ALAMOS, NM 87544 IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO RECEIVE A D I G I TA L C O P Y O F T H E N E W S L E T T E R P L E A S E C O N TA C T MARK ETING@LOSAL AMOS.COM
New Artwork on 19th St. and Metzger’s True Value
Philip Kunsberg, Suzette Fox, and Heather McClenahan, at The Big House mural
Fractal art mural on the side of Metzger’s True Value
MYB Editor: Ryn Herrmann - 505.661.4807 | e-mail: ryn@losalamos.org | web: www.losalamosdevelopment.com Contributors: Patrick Sullivan, Nancy Partridge, Suzette Fox, Melanie Peña, Ryn Herrmann, April Dukes, Natalie Glass, Lauren McDaniel