Letter from the Editor

14

VOL. 17 • NO. 11 • NOVEMBER 2021

COVER STORY

HEART OF GIVING: In this season where gratitude is celebrated, we take a look at how Moore Public Schools and Simple Modern are making a remarkable difference in our community and around the world through their giving.

SOONER FLIGHT ACADEMY

Augmented reality brings home the experience of aviation education in a powerful way, allowing students a close-up look at aircraft without ever leaving their school or home.

TASTE LOCAL

24

NOSH: Weathering a pandemic has been a major challenge for this unique restaurant and catering company. But owner Kim Torres says Nosh has managed to adapt and grow through these past difficult months.

CLASS ACTS

42

Southmoore's Sydney Borchardt is breathing easier these days thanks to a cutting edge surgery which helps her live with scoliosis. She has also been honored as one of two National Ambassador's for Shriners Hospitals for Children.

4Letter from the Editor 12 Boomtown

Giving Thanks is Good for the Mind, Body, and Soul 16 Brand Senior Center Activities 19 Senior Living

Caring for the Caregiver 22 Business Building Blocks

Business Startup Training & Support 26 Heroes of Moore:

Veteran's Spotlight

Aaron Whitlow 27 Heroes of Moore:

1st Responder Spotlight

Dustin Davis

28 Calendar of Events 33 Pioneer System Library Calendar 34 Children's Book Review

Bear Grylls Adventures: The Jungle Challenge 37 Moore Healthy

Collaboration Creates OU College of Nursing at Norman Regional 36 Ask a Dietician

The Most Versatile Vegetable - But Make It Sweet 40 The Station Schedule 41 Moore FFA Adds Industrial

Laser to Print Shop Arsenal

44 Sports

The Fast and the Serious: Zach Oliva Races to Battle Pediatric Cancer 45 Sports Calendar 46 Sports Photos

Letter

from the Editor

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite seasons. And it's not just for the abundance of great food and pecan pie (don't get me started on the issue of which pie rules supreme during the holidays...my mind is made up). November is a great time to take stock of the many blessings we have, even in the midst of difficult times.

There are so many stories of generosity to tell in Moore. But this month we settled on two of the more remarkable: a collaboration that is tackling the growing issue of teen homelessness in Moore and a company with a world-wide impact, based here in Moore, that is has committed to generous giving as a core value of their business. We are grateful for these stories along with all the others that are unfolding in our community right now.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Editor

Moore Monthly

Publisher Brent Wheelbarger Writer/Editor Rob Morris Designer April Burgess For ad placement, specifications and rates, call or email Aleta Wheelbarger 405-659-7224 | aleta@mooremonthly.com

28 NE 28th Street, Oklahoma City, OK 73105 • trifectacomm.net

Heart of Thanksgiving

MOORE GIVES BACK IN A BIG WAY

A Bridge of Hope

Haley Wigg's sophomore year at Moore High School began with enthusiasm and hope. But it wasn't long before she found herself facing the kinds of challenges that could extinguish the dreams of youth.

"I had gotten pregn a n t my sophomore year," said Wiggs. "And then I was kicked out of my house and had nowhere to go."

For the next six months, Wiggs just did what she could to survive.

"I did a lot of couch-surfing, sleeping at friend's houses," said Wiggs. "And sometimes I just slept in my car because I didn't have any other options."

Finally, Wiggs said she called one of her teachers to see if she could find help. That led her to connect with Bridges program in Norman. Bridges is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping high school students in family crises to pursue their education. Stacey Bruce, the Executive Director of Bridges, says the organization was born in the mid-90s, out of a partnership with Norman schools and the Norman Housing Authority after caring adults in the community recognized the problem of teen homelessness.

"Teen homelessness is a growing problem," said Bruce. "Kids might leave homes due to abuse, neglect, or overcrowded living situations. It might also be due to financial issues. But each year, a surprising number of kids in Cleveland County end up on the streets."

Bruce says Bridges provides those teens with the housing and support they need to finish high school and take the following steps into adulthood. That support includes help with food, clothing, shelter, and medical needs. The students also receive counseling in life skills and advocates to help them graduate.

Unlike any other in the area, it's an organization connecting with a growing group of kids who would otherwise fall through the cracks. For Haley Wiggs, it was just the lifeline she needed.

"Bridges gave me everything I needed to make it through high school," said Wiggs. "I was able to go have my daughter, go back to school, and graduate. It was a place where I was safe and helped."

After graduation, Wiggs enlisted in the Air National Guard and got her own apartment. She and her four-year-old daughter are in a healthy place that might not have happened if not for Bridges.

It is, in nearly every detail, a remarkable success story. The one negative element for Wiggs is true for every homeless Moore student who can be helped by Bridges of Norman: each student is required to enroll in the Norman school system to participate. That's why Moore Public Schools and the Moore Public Schools Foundation are partnering with Bridges of Norman to begin a new program in Moore. Moore Public Schools hired Amanda Robinson to spearhead this effort.

"We became aware that our homeless teen numbers were climbing in Moore," said Robinson. "Last year, we identified 85 homeless families, with 34 of those being unaccompanied, homeless youth. Everyone who works with homeless teens will tell you that if you have 34 who have been identified in that category, then you almost certainly have twice that number who are homeless."

The urgency of the problem was driven home last year when Moore's superintendent, Dr. Robert Romines, met a Southmoore student who had gone through the Bridges program in Norman.

"That student told him that if it weren't for Bridges, he would have ended up living under a bridge or dead," said Robinson. "That student was able to complete his high school education at South- moore through the virtual program. We've realized the im- portance of not only providing things like shelter, food, and clothing to these kiddos, we also need to do everything we can to keep them in the school community where they've grown up and connected to their teachers, friends, and other important adults in their lives."

The realization that such a dramatic problem exists in our city has sparked a fire among Moore Public School's administrators and

teachers, who decided to establish a Bridges program in Moore. That's where Clayton Remick and the Moore Public Schools Foundation have gotten on board.

"The Foundation's basic mission is to enhance, enrich, and expand the educational experience here in Moore," said Remick. "The needs in Moore are great. For example, we have 700 kids that go home with a backpack from the Regional Food Bank each weekend. When we learned that there were 34 kids in Moore that did not have a secure place to sleep at night, that did not sit well with our board or our stakeholders."

As Remick and his team continued to explore solutions to the issue with Robinson and Dr. Romines, they agreed that they didn't want to build something from scratch when there was an organization like Bridges already in existence and just down the interstate.

"They've been doing this with a high degree of success for 30 years," said Remick. "We don't want to reinvent the wheel here. So, we're raising the

What that program will look like is a piece of property in Moore that will offer housing, most likely in the form of tiny homes, along with school supplies, employment, mentors, tutoring, life skills lessons, clothing, food, and medical care.

"We're still having conversations on how this collaboration will work," said Remick, "But we are moving forward with enthusiasm. And one of the cool things is that this year's Moore Love campaign has named us one of the recipients of their fundraising initiative. Everyone in the district wants this to happen, and it is greatly needed."

In the meantime, Bruce says the Bridges of Norman team operates with a "Phase One" mindset for this new collaboration in Moore.

"We essentially do the legwork to find them a safe place to live, perhaps with grandparents, relatives, or friends, while they continue to go to school in Moore," said Bruce. "We'll also help supplement income so they can have groceries and utilities. We try to provide them with all the things our students get at our Bridges location. They just don't put their head on a pillow at night here."

It's a life-changing step in the right direction for those students in Moore who find themselves wondering where they'll sleep each night. It's the kind of thing that can provide a lifeline for students like Haley Wiggs.

"People don't know how many people like me there are out there," said Wiggs. "To have something like this for them would be amazing. I know that my life would have turned out very different if I didn't have this."

A Simple But Profound Mission

Every day, tens of thousands of drivers on 19th Street pass the sharply designed but unassuming three-story office building nestled behind Target and Moore. Maybe a handful of people know that the former Computer RX building is now the home of Simple Modern, one of the more popular e-commerce companies in the country. The business was started in 2015 by three friends who wanted to

build a company that would become more than just a successful business.

"Mike Beckham,

Brian Porter, and

Micah Ames were working together at a company called Quilted.com in Oklahoma City," said Chris Hoyle, Simple Modern's Chief Marketing Officer. "These guys decided to work together with a vision to create a business that was successful but would also have generosity as a core component of that company."

The three friends were e-commerce experts, so they tried out a few products on Amazon before settling on water bottles.

"Micah had a particular interest in water bottles," said Hoyle. "He was an outdoorsman and knew water bottles well. At the time, the world was just getting to know stainless steel insulated bottles, but they were costly. Simple Modern was able to locate a manufacturer in Asia making great bottles and putting their unique spin on it. And things just took off."

Simple Modern's products hit shelves in 2016. But Hoyle says things took in in 2017 when the company was looking to connect with a major retailer. At the time, Hoyle was working in mass retail in northwest Arkansas, so he connected the Simple Modern owners with a broker.

"They had been selling for about six months and just gotten a contract with OU," said Hoyle. "But they had a proven track record in e-commerce, so Sam's Club told them, 'If you can get all the college li-

censes, we'll give you a university tumbler program.' Mike and the team went out and got all the licenses, and that was the fuel that propelled the business forward."

Today, you'll also find Simple Modern products Sam's Clubs, Walmart,

and Target, and the product line includes the NCAA, NBC, NFL, MLB, NHL, Disney, and Nickelodeon. In addition to the tumblers that marked the company's early inventory, they now offer a range of products, including coffee mugs, barware, kids backpacks, lunch bags, Bento boxes, food provision jars, and of course, water bottles. Shoppers visiting the simplemodern.com website will find a dazzling array of designs and options to purchase custom products for teams, businesses, and organizations. The company's products are also being purchased on Amazon in Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, and Denmark.

As interesting as the business-success side of the story is, Simple Modern's commitment to generous giving makes it even more fascinating, especially in a world where the bottom line seems to be the preeminent reason for a business's existence. CEO Mike Beckham says that the attitude of giving has always been a part of his life.

"I grew up in a family where both of my parents emphasized the importance of helping others," said Beckham. "I spent the first half of my career in the non-profit world, and those years were foundational in the dreams I have for the rest of my career."

Porter and Ames shared Beckham's philosophy of giving. So,

when it came time to build their own company, it was an easy call to make generosity a core value. "Our view is that it is healthy for financial giving to be happening at both the corporate and individual levels," said Beckham. "It signals the central role that giving has in the organization as a whole, and it also empowers our team members by giving them the ability to direct more funds than they would be able to give personally."

Simple Modern gives away 10% o f its profits annually. Their annual giving partners include:

•Restore OKC – focused on eliminating racial divisions in Oklahoma City through education and compassion and taking on projects that allow all community members to work together toward common goals.

• Water 4 – an organization dedicated to empowering people living in water-scarce regions worldwide to provide clean water for their community. • St. Paul's Community School provides a high-quality and classical Christian education accessible to all families in OKC, regardless of income or ethnicity.

• The Spero Project – an OKC-based non-profit that embraces resettled refugees and connects them with people, resources, and opportunities to help them feel welcome in their new community.

But the giving doesn't stop there. Hoyle says the corporate culture of giving is cultivated in Simple Modern's employees.

"Generous giving is a part of our recruiting pitch to new employees," said Hoyle. "We let them know that we give our employees five percent of our profits, and they get to donate that money to the non-profit of their choice, so that's the kind of company we're trying to build."

Hoyle says all of that has been a part of Simple Modern's winning formula. And it's a formula that includes the choice to locate in Moore instead of other locations. It puts Simple Modern in the unique position of being a business where employees commute to Moore instead of Oklahoma City. The availability of the Computer RX building made the decision a smart one for Beckham.

to grow over the years environment to do our best work." "Coronavirus led to almost a year of remote work for our team, and when vaccines began to be available, we re-evaluated our commitment to an in-person working environment," said Beckham. "The result was reaffirming our belief that a team with a strong mix of flexibility and in-person collaboration was the best option for Simple Modern. We had been sub-leasing the Computer RX building and loved the location. We feel like setting up our headquarters here has given us room to come and the perfect

Beckham believes the future is bright for Simple Modern and Moore as the company puts down deep roots.

"I feel like the best days are in front of Simple Modern," said Beckham. "We plan to expand our domestic manufacturing capabilities, and we will be announcing another major retail partner soon. In addition, our capacity for generosity and impacting lives should continue to grow. I'm very excited about the road ahead."