Thirty you know our thirty mile prior winds, snow blowing around, and so it would.
It was a delight to be up.
Yeah, I'm served people would have flocked to the ice rink. So with that, we were open one hundred and sixty six public hours to the public. We did like twenty three private parties on the days that we aren't open when kids are in school. That those first three weeks Monday through thursdays, it's not that busy and so I don't know. A few years back we started doing private parties on those nights and that's worked out really well.
We had some really big private parties and it's just fun for companies individuals to be able to do that. So anyway, it hosted twenty three of those. We had hockey on Saturday mornings with kids. Just it was a really good season. And that can only say it is because of our sponsors, and I don't have time to go through all of them, but I do want to give a shout out to our four lead ones because it would not happen without some serious lead sponsors, and
that would be perspective advisors. Shlley Coster, the Coster team from Keller Williams Reality and RSU and ABB Wow. So those four companies really make it happen and we really really appreciate them.
So now, we had a lot of people at that opening night and I noticed because I was down there watching the kids sing the carols and watching the big count down to the light end of the tree.
We had a lot of people.
Maria with Visit Bartlesville has the little geo tracker, you know, placer whatever it's called, and she I know, it's like, ooh, how that work. It's beyond my pay grade. Anyhow, there was over two thousand people downtown and that's just during that three hour period. So and of those, fourteen hundred of them were from outside of ten mile radius. So that was exciting. So we're excited about that because we
send school flyers. We print about fifteen thousand, five hundred school flyers that go in kids' backpacks, not just in Bartlesville, but regional I mean south of US Collinsville, Skiatook, you know, obviously Southeast Kansas because we love our Kansas folks. And so anyhow, it advertised the whole festival, but it promoted opening night as well, and so it's just fun to have a good turnout like that.
Mike Goodness. It showed too that folks were just so ready for that.
Well it's fun. This was the first year. We were nervous. We weren't sure, but our ice rint guys always said that we miss out and not being open Thanksgiving, so we decided to try it, and we opened Saturday after Thanksgiving, which usually we opened like a week later, and so it definitely we were up like over sixty percent on
opening night from previous years, so it definitely proved. You know, while we did lose some because some people are still out of town visiting families, we also had families that were in town visiting people here, so I don't know, we came out ahead, so we were excited about that. This is always a nursing tidbit. I mean, our concessions was hopping. They did over over two hot chocolates per minute I saw. I mean they just throw four people in that little trailer and one was doing nothing but
string hot chocolate just the entire night. That's all they did. I mean, just all four were just solid standing there, not I mean just doing one was just doing popcorn all night.
I mean, so it was.
It was just an interesting tidbit. But two hot chocolates permnt a little over too hot chocolates per minute, so.
That's an interesting statu it was.
This is kind of one of those bizarre little factoids. It's kind of fun to hear. But anyhow, So anyhow, it's behind us until next season and we'll hopefully get some dates and all that nailed down. We plan to do the same basic schedule as this year and just looking forward to the new season.
All right, speaking of the new season, let's take a quick break. Can't get to the new season right here at GAT one?
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Welcome back to our community connection we have sure we will with us and she's with a greater Bartlefield Chamber of Commerce. We wrapped up Christmas in the Ville and what a big success that was. We've got a big successful year ahead of us. We do. We got a big Monday too, No February short. There's a lot of action.
There is a lot of things going on in February. I just left a training that we have going on right now with Ironwod Business Consulting and it was lonely at the top talking about you know, leadership and that, and so we had a crowd for that and it's a free event for our members to take advantage of. That's one of our mission that has been able to provide things for business, business owners your employees and training
is one of them. And so anyhow that that is happening as we speak, had about out early for that one, but the next Thursday is our we'll be back on. We've missed December obviously, we don't do it in December, and then January we didn't have one because of the timing. But it's Business after hours and it's going to be at O Sage Casino and hotel, the new one just whatever direction, just a little bit to the west of town.
To the west of the airport.
We're just facility, a beautiful, beautiful and so anyhow, this after ours will be there. That is a free event for our members. It's a great way to just connect meet some new folks. It's just this is fun event. It's from Florida about five five thirty. It's casino. You may want to day later, but anyhow, they had to a man, they did a beautiful spread last year. They really showcase their their catering side of things, and it's
just it's a fun evening. So that is next Thursday, February sixth, and then February eighteenth, or to get back into we were doing this on a monthly basis, even there's a couple of months where we did it twice. But pastries and perks and that is our pastries are from the eatery, thank you Annie Salzman, and nothing else. You'll get a good pastry. But it's it's basically just
going through I always say it's fifty slides. I don't know if it's fifty, but it's very quick, but just benefits of chamber membership, things you can take advantage of. I mean, there's some things that are obvious people know, but there's a lot of slides in there that people like, oh I didn't know that, okay, well, and so many of them are free. They may be minor, simple things, but they're just things that businesses can take advantage of.
And so we encourage obviously new members. Anyone that's even thinking remotely, you know, maybe joining the chamber or what the heck is a chamber, please come, we invite you. You don't have to be a member in fact, it's really designed well, it's designed for both. It's designed for people who have been members for a long time, maybe
leadership's changed or you know whatever. And so that is a free event again for our members or like I said, non members too, but just gives a good overview of the chamber and are a lot of perks that you can take advantage of as a Chamber member to help out your business. So that is coming up on February
the eighteenth. The next day, February nineteenth, is our Women in Business Luncheon series and it's on strategies for explosive no no, no. This one is on how to grow your business without losing your mind.
That's always a good thing.
So and I live into business. This year has really been great. Attendance has been hovering around one hundred, anywhere between ninety and one hundred, and so it's been it's been fun. The ladies like it. It's a great way to connect, a great way to meet new people. It's once a month. It's at hillcrist Country Club, and we do need reservations for that because obviously it involves lunch. It's twenty five dollars. But it's just a great way
to connect. It's a great way to hear some professional development. You know, sometimes you just walk out you're remotivated. But anyhow, that is coming up on February nineteenth, so and then February twenty six will end in the month with Hot Topics, which is going on right now, like I said, the Chamber, and this one is on strategies for explosive growth. So I mean, we had some tips strategies ways to grow your business.
Very good.
So lot's going on, I would shame, and then I'll be March, and then it'll be spring and we done with this cold weather and hope we'll have an ice rink out of our parking lot by thee hopefully this next week it'll be gone. But yeah, it's like I can't believe it. I mean, like I said, I can't believe it's almost February. So but lot's going on. Back
to all our regular programming. We will be sending out late February, will be starting to seek nominations for annual awards in Gala, which will be May fifteenth, and we do community awards there and so we'll be seeking nominations for that, so be looking for that information also in February, I should say this, Actually it started this week. The legislature obviously starts meeting first Monday in February, which I think this year's February third. We will start sending out
our legislative updates to our members. And it is just a really easy to read newsletter. Very it's put down in simple terms, and it just bills that we're tracking and watching that pertain the business. I always tell people we don't really track the social issues because people are all over the map on those, but when it comes to business issues, most businesses are on the same page.
And so we watched last year, we tracked over about two hundred bills and just kind of followed and watched them, and it's just an update of where they're at, what's going on, you know this this week the House bills are you know, are in House committee and just explains the process too to members because a lot of people don't really understand the whole process. And then just a status of itment passed out a committee, it'll be going over to the Senate committee next week or you know whatever.
You know, the timing of what's happening. We get a lot of real positive feedback on the newsletter, so that will be going on. It goes out through February through the last Friday in May. So that's another a nice benefit for our members, just be able to keep track what's going on kind of in a nutshell.
So very good. Yeah, you know the traffic pattern there in Oklahoma City, it's it's a wild one, but it is a process.
It is a process, and.
It's a flow chart, and you can get tied knuts. But I'm glad that you guys simplified it.
We do.
I mean you do. I mean I've seen the newsletters before you and it's it's really easy, matter of fact. And you know, there's there's no.
Well you're not reading, you know, pages for the bill. It's just in a nutshell, here's what it is, here's what's going on summary, and some you know, some like industries aren't maybe it's not your specific industry. But let's take healthcare for example. If something's going down in healthcare, more than likely somehow that is going to lead out and affect your business, you know, depends, you know, whether
it's your employees, your whatever. But so I can't say that every single bill where tracking is going to affect your particular business, but overall it's their industries bills that have to do with you know, the business industry. So anyhow, we're just back at it and just love the community and love our members for being with absolutely we appreciate you all, Thank you so much