Craft Time

Last-Minute FESTIVE CRAFT

Written by Ashley Wedding // Photo by Jamie Alexander

Looking for a quick craft for your little ones? This is the perfect choice! Use up all of your leftover cupcake liners in this adorable Christmas tree decoration.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

›› Various cupcake liners - different designs ›› Glue ›› Popsicle sticks (optional) ›› Ribbon (optional) ›› Pom poms (optional)

Fold each liner in quarters - at varying sizes. Glue them together, largest on the bottom to the smallest on the top. Four to five liners should be the perfect number for a tree. Decorate as you want! Add a ribbon to make an ornament or a popsicle stick to create a trunk. Pom poms make adorable add ons too!

This is a great craft to work on fine motor skills as well as sorting and size sequencing practice!

If you make these adorable crafts, be sure to tag a photo of them on our social media accounts! We would love to see them!

ASHLEY WEDDING is the editor of Owensboro Parent Magazine. She enjoys everyday adventures with her husband, Drew, and their three kids, Avery, Reed and Mason.

Community

THE PEOPLE AND PLACES THAT MAKE HENDERSON GREAT

Bringing Back the THE GIFT OF SKATEBOARDING

A New Non-Profit Revives Passion for the Sport

Driving along Highway 41 in Henderson, you often notice Columbia Sportswear located in the Audubon Village Shopping Center. But what you may miss if you don’t look hard enough is a community building at the end of the complex inside an old storefront - a community of kids and adults centered around skateboarding.

Teens like Xander Pruitt trying out tricks in an indoor skate park alongside nine-year-old Ty Hudnall and sevenyear-old Reid Phelps is what this new non-profit is all about. Pruitt started skateboarding two and a half years ago. After watching his dad, Pruitt decided to try the sport for himself. “It teaches you a lot of life lessons,” said Pruitt. “You kind of have to take more risks when you’re skateboarding and like don’t try to get mad at everything. Just be more chill.”

FILLING THE GAP FOR SKATEBOARD ENTHUSIASTS

Taking risks is not only a life lesson Pruitt puts into practice but it’s how the non-profit “Gift Skateboarding” started in June of this year. Executive Director Matt Glick has been skateboarding the majority of his life and decided to open Cure Skate Shop inside The Elm Consignments in May of 2020 in downtown Henderson. “The primary focus was to expand the local skate community,” said Glick. “I know there were a lot of kids in the area that started skating, especially at that point in time, because there was nothing else to do.” After talking with customers and families, Cure transitioned to a nonprofit to provide safe and accessible spaces and programs centered around skateboarding.

In order to achieve that mission, Glick needed a new home - “Free indoor skate park which will be open to the public,” said Glick. “Free group lessons periodically, typically once a week. We will also offer paid private lessons.”

The organization also plans on continuing a tradition that started with Cure that will live up to its name, gifting skateboards to children and families. “We are putting together an application process on that now so that people even on a national level can apply for gear that they need that they can’t quite afford,” said Glick.

Glick remembers growing up in Henderson in the late 80’s skateboarding, relying on his parents to build ramps for him and his friends to use to learn new skills. “This was before we had any public skate parks,” said Glick. “And at that point in time you felt like an outlaw skateboarding anywhere other than your backyard.”

When Gift Skateboarding entered the design phase of the indoor park, Glick along with a few fellow skateboarders, wanted to create a space for all skill levels to learn. The indoor park includes a street set with two levels of stair sets, as well as,

a 40 foot wide bank ramp and a half pipe. The goal is not only to teach students but also provide a safe arena to grow as individuals. “It builds determination,” said Glick. “You become really self-reliant. There is a sense of community around skateboarding. It teaches you to fail. 90% of skateboarding is falling down. You learn really quickly that failing at something is just a step on the ladder to succeeding with it.”

Even though Gift Skateboarding focuses on the skateboarder, the organization is a family affair. Parents are a part of each lesson and offer encouragement to not only their child but the others that are using the park. “One person will be trying to land a trick and everyone is trying to offer them advice and ways to tweak certain tricks,” said parent Kara Hudnall. “And whenever that person does finally land that trick you see how everyone in the whole room is excited for them.”

Kara Hudnall has watched her nineyear-old son, Ty, tackle the sport for the past year and a half. “He’s learned that if he puts in the practice and has the determination, and he puts in the hard work that he can learn these tricks and achieve these goals. That’s something that can go beyond skateboarding and implement in their everyday life.” said

Hudnall.

After studying YouTube videos, Ty decided to try skateboarding. “I like it when you are really focused on a trick and you finally land it,” said Ty Hudnall.

“But don’t be scared to fall down.” A current goal: landing a kickflip.

For other parents like Jamie Phelps,

Gift Skateboarding offers a safe environment to pass his love of the sport to his young son, Reid. Reid started skateboarding in December of 2021.

“This is a great tool for building confidence,” said Phelps. “This place is very important for a lot of kids. It’s an outlet for a lot of the kids here. So much encouragement.”

Gift Skateboarding is located at 2480 US 41 N, Suite 170. It will be open noon8pm Sunday-Thursday and noon to 10pm Friday and Saturday. HF

GRETCHEN ROSS is a local journalist who currently lives in Newburgh. She loves theatre, running, volunteering, and shopping things small town.

Young Leaders IN COMMUNITY SERVICE

Written by Kaycee Inge

T T he Henderson Cotillion is an entirely student run, all-girls organization that has made it their mission to help the Henderson community. Since June of this year, the Henderson Cotillion has helped out with community service at New Hope Animal Rescue, Matthew 25, the Jeep Rally through Audubon Chrysler, and the Susan G. Komen walk. They have much more planned, including helping with the Henderson Christian Community Outreach organization and Adopt-a-Family, in which they plan on buying presents for three families using money from their Halloween party. The group also plans on donating feminine products to the Father Bradley Women’s Shelter, donating stuffed animals for tri-state children’s hospitals, donating blankets to the nursing homes in Henderson, participating and running an “adopt-a-thon” for the Humane Society and helping with the Tri-Fest in the upcoming year. These charitable helpings are tentative, but we can be sure that the Henderson Cotillion will be active in the community.

BEING A MEMBER

In addition to all of the community service, Cotillion also offers many activities for its members. Some of the fun events planned are a mother-daughter tea party, big-little activities, a cornhole tournament and chili cookoff that encourages members to bring an important male figure in their lives, and more. The Henderson Cotillion sometimes partners with the Gentleman’s Club of Henderson, a similar group for all male members. In December, there will be an alumni dinner for all past members of the Henderson Cotillion.

The current officers have been working hard to get the members involved in helping the community. This is what they had to say about Cotillion and the impact the organization and doing community service has on them:

CADENCE WOOLFORK

President

“Being a part of an all-girl philanthropy group has been such a great experience for me. Surrounding myself with like-minded young women who want to make a difference in our community is empowering to me. Cotillion is like a safe space or an outlet from the day-to-day struggles that each of us encounter. We are all alike and different in so many ways and that helps us to connect to each other. I have made so many friends while being involved

and made many connections in our community that can help me in the future.

My passion for community service comes from a desire to be a part of the solution to make things better. I am always amazed by the helpers, in every tragic story, you always see the helpers. I’ve grown up watching my mom volunteer, so it’s always been modeled to me that if you are able to help you should!

Being the President of Cotillion has definitely been a lot of pressure. Cotillion hasn’t always had the reputation that it does now. So, the other officers and I have been working extremely hard to shine a positive light onto this organization in any way we can.”

TALBOT CRAFTON

Vice President

“I like to see people happy. Whenever you help someone and they tell you how thankful they are for your group, it makes me happy. To see other people thanking us for what we’re doing makes us feel good. I’m excited to see where the rest of this year goes. We’ve had a lot of good participation and people willing to help out, so it’s really exciting to think about everything we’ll do.”

MALIA BAKER

Secretary

“It makes me happy whenever all the girls can come to our activities and can help out the community. It helps the community itself and also the reputation of Cotillion. So, people see us doing good things in the community and it makes us look better. And since the officers are kind of the face of the organization, it makes us look better, too. It’s a nice feeling. It’s a lot of work on us, but it’s worth it.”

LEXI KELLEN

Treasurer

“To me, Cotillion is a group of girls that come together and form relationships with one another. Being an officer of Cotillion has made me form my own relationships with each member. I truly believe that we have the best group of girls and look forward to serving the community and building more and more relationships with one another. “I find my passion for community service by knowing that I am truly making a difference in others’ lives. I’ve always been told I’ve had a huge heart in helping others. I knew when I became an officer of Cotillion, serving the community was going to be our top priority! I have the chance to make an impact on others’ lives and to me, that is what life is all about.”

Thank you, Henderson Cotillion, for all of your hard work! HF

KAYCEE INGE has lived in Henderson her entire life and plans to keep it that way. She loves animals and movies, and enjoys drawing with charcoal and working on local political campaigns in her spare time.

COMMUNITY

JADIE’S WISH

Written by Lyndi Mauk

“We were excited for Jadie. We actually didn’t know who was coming. They just told us volunteers would be there. Of course - this big group came from Old National Bank. They were like a big family. Amazing people. It was very, very heartwarming. It was amazing to see people that you didn’t know do something that special for your child,”

—Kristi Smith, mother to Jadie

About a year and a half ago, Eric and Kristi Smith moved to Henderson. They are a blended family with five kids and three grandkids. Kristi’s daughter, Jadie Ellison, is 16-years-old and was diagnosed at the age of 18 months. Jadie loves to be outside. Kristi saw that other kids with Jadie’s diagnosis had been granted wishes through the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Kristi thought she would try submitting an application and see if Jadie would be considered to receive a wish. “I submitted her application, and she got it!” The paperwork was submitted after their move to Henderson, but due to COVID, the process took a bit longer. Jadie’s wish was to receive playground equipment in their backyard so she could enjoy the outdoors.

A CALL TO HELP

The Make-A-Wish Foundation reached out to Old National Bank about sending volunteers to help grant Jadie’s wish. Maria Quinton, Indiana Market Advancement Officer with the Make-AWish Foundation, said, “We chose them because I know they care deeply about the communities they are in. We needed volunteers to help in Henderson, and I immediately thought of ONB! They immediately were excited to participate in a local wish. ONB is a pillar in our community and we are lucky to have them.” The call to help grant Jadie’s wish made it to the office of Lisa Leslie, Henderson’s Banking Center Manager, putting her in charge of planning an evening for her team to grant the wish. Make-A-Wish worked as the liaison between Old National and Jadie’s family. Once the equipment was delivered to the Smith’s home, they were able to schedule an evening for the reveal. Old National has been involved with other volunteer opportunities such as their recent National Volunteer Day at New Hope Animal Rescue, an annual yard sale benefiting Relay for Life and Rotary’s Trivia Night. This was their first time having the opportunity to serve with the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Old National Bank’s motto is “Better Together” and the opportunity they were given to help grant this family’s wish made their motto a true testimony. “Associates, spouses and some of the associates’ children went. It was sort of like team building for us, too,” expressed Lisa. There were about thirteen people total who helped volunteer that day. The Old National team planned an evening after work to go and showed up to the family’s home with drills and tools needed to put the playground equipment together.

REVEAL DAY

September 1, 2022 was the day everyone had been waiting for. Two weeks prior, Eric, Jadie’s stepdad, and some of his co-workers installed the fence in their backyard.

When the Old National volunteers arrived, they separated into groups. There were three different types of playground equipment—including a swing—which has been one of Jadie’s favorites. One group would lay instructions and sort pieces while another group started putting the equipment together. Lisa smiled as she recalled, “Once the first swing was up, Jadie sat in it and didn’t want to get up!” The interaction with Jadie and her family is what Lisa enjoyed most about this volunteer experience. “She was not at all shy. She is nonverbal but she loved seeing everyone.”

Once everything was built, Old National held a reveal party. They had

already blown up balloons and had them in trash bags before they left the bank.

Associates put balloons everywhere in the backyard and served cupcakes. Even though Jadie had been there while the equipment was being put together, it was a fun way to end the evening with the new playground equipment.

A PLACE OF HER OWN

Eric and Kristi are beyond grateful for their experience with Make-A-Wish and Old National Bank on behalf of Jadie.

Although Jadie loves being outside - there is something else she loves, too. Jadie is the proud aunt to two nieces and a nephew - ages 1, 3 and 4. “She absolutely loves her nieces and nephew.” Kristi said, “She puts them in her wheelchair and strollers and pushes them around.” They are also enjoying the playground equipment and playing outside with Jadie. What does their new backyard mean for Jadie now? “More freedom being outside and her being able to run. A place where she feels like she can go and do what she wants to do,” said her grateful mother. “She goes to the swing every time she gets out there. It is like a trampoline swing. She loves it!”

Jadie loved seeing everyone the day of the reveal. Eric chuckled and said, “She was getting on the equipment before they could get it anchored down.” This entire experience brought nothing but smiles to the family and the volunteers involved. Eric and Kristi grew up across the street from each other but never spoke to one another. After Eric got out of the Marine Corps, he reached out to Kristi and the rest was history. And in the seven years they have been together, this experience has been one of the most humbling for them and their family.

Kristi describes her daughter as being “full of life” and this wish is allowing her to live her best life being outside and having a space to call her own! HF

LYNDI MAUK, editor of Henderson Family Magazine, was born and raised in the Bluegrass State. She is grateful to be going through life alongside her husband and best friend, Brandon, and being a mother to their two kids.