Good morning, good morning, good morning, and welcome, welcome, welcome. Next time now for part two of our community connection right here on K one to one drift, and we've got the ladies from the Blue Star Mothers Bartlefield returning. How are we doing today? All very very soft spoken but powerful bunch, I will tell you that much. We've got Christina, and we've got Carrie, and we have a money here with us today and morning.
It looks like we're getting ready to do some boxing right. Uh yeah, we we recently had a box packing for a hundred at the Elks Lodge and now we're getting ready for Christmas. Well yeah, little bit. We like to send Christmas gifts to our deployed and State side men and women, and that's a lot of I've forgotten how many boxes we sent last year, sixty sixty seventy Christmas. Oh yeah, well, so we start collecting now
now, Christina. These boxes are just like little kisses from home for these soldiers, sailors, Ammonds and Coast Guard and everyone else involved, isn't it they are? That's we love to send love from home to our deployed service members, and so we include snacks and sometimes games, fun things to do and just try to keep their spirits up while they're deployed. Money. What's the most requested thing that the soldiers. What do they say that they really
liked the most? Beef jerky? What else besides beef jerky? Whitey? Why? Yeah, Well, when you're deployed, do you never know where you're going to be. And we had one group one time and that's all they wanted. We sent boxes and boxes of baby wifes. Woo. Yeah, I remember when a lot we're employed to Iraq in that area because of the desert conditions, that sand will get anywhere and everywhere in your ears up he knows and every place. That's really what those things we're going for.
And uh, you know, when it comes to getting this all taken care of and getting done, it takes a great deal of teamwork. Sometimes it takes some resources and carry it. One of those things is just getting everybody together, isn't it. Yes, we just recently packed the hundred boxes for National Guard. Oh good, and we had the help of the Elks lodge let us use their huge is it the ball room? That room? Yeah, And not not only did they let us use that, but they came
out and helped us pack all those boxes. It was It was very quick and a couple of gentlemen from the Lions Club came to help, and some of our family members and just several people from the community came in. We had it done in no time. It's great to have nice neighbors, isn't it. Oh, it's great. And Christina, the folks at the Elk Lodge had just been invaluable, haven't tast Absolutely tell us a little bit about
that partnership. So they have given us a room in their building so that we have climate control for all of our supplies that we send everyone, and they give us donations. But again their volunteer work with us, like we've partnered well together and we're getting a job done really well. Now. It wasn't always the case, was it? As far as having a place to set up? Oh? No, that a premium right right? Yeah. We spent ten years in a garage basically with no heat, no air,
no bathroom, no water. But we were very blessed to have that donated by Tall Grass Motors. Indeed, get we If we hadn't had that, I don't know what we would have done. And they did donate it to us and let us use it for ten years. Well that was great. It's a great ten years well spent. And then they continue to support us by letting us have a We have a drop off there, so anyone that wants to make donations you can drop off at tall Grass Motors. They've been
very, very good to ask. And you know something that's great because when we have partners in the community that help out like this, it's really a blessing. And you know, we do have such a kind community, don't we absolutely finding that out every day, aren't you. It's great. Yeah, we recently had a Conico Phillips did a tailgate and donate for us, which they we have a through Amazon and then we have a QR code that you can donate through and so the employees went on our wish list and we
got cases and cases of different products that we're on our wish list. And then they had an event at their center there by the oh that pretty little center by the cafeteria and served us lunch and then they give us They gave us um mailing, posted postage, and then loads and loads of donations. Well, this is this is really outstanding. And when we talk about our donations and wish lists. So we ask everybody to kind of help out if they can, and carrying it pretty easy to do, isn't it. Yes,
it is. We were just discussing. I don't do not believe that our QR codes are up on Facebook. Not quite yet, but we will have that done. We have a QR code for a link to our Amazon wish list, oh good, and also a Walmart wish list. And you just follow the QR code. It's like a like a bridal registrate and find something you'd like to donate and it'll either come to my house or our po box and we can put that in our shot. Well and you made that
easy? Yes? Wow. Carries in charge of the shop. Uh, and she does such an outstanding job of shopping and inventuring and organizing and um because it it's a lot of a lot of work. That's the biggest job of of our organization is the shop and need at little quiet, calm as a cucumber. And I'm sitting there thinking, boy, if I had that
kind of logistics to worry about, I'd been losing my mind. Well, she's a teacher, so you have been battled tested, is what we're saying, and now Christina again getting people activated and really kind of gear it up
for an event like this. Is it is something that that the that you've been doing off and on here for the last wild guess last a couple of years, since you guys been coming in your riting regular It's getting to be an easier ask, isn't it. It is like we we when we get the community in and somebody that comes in new and just the excitement of being
involved in something like this, it's really nice. So, now, if there's someone who's listening to our program today and they haven't heard us before talking about the Blue Star Mother's a Bartlesville, how can they find out more and how can they be a part of your ranks. So we are on Facebook
Bluestar Mothers of Bartlesville, and we do have a phone number. Oh yes it is nine one eight three three seven two two one three, And yeah, we have our meetings the first Thursday of every month at the Elks Lodge in the dining room at six thirty. So you're welcome to come and join us there as well. Nowmonie, what's the requirement to be a Blue Star
Mom? Well, to be a Blue Star mother, you need a child or the step parent of a child that is in the military, or and if you have UM or a veteran or a veteran and uh, but you can also be an associate. If you do not have that, you can be an associate member. Okay, and so anybody can anybody can join okaineation there, that's that's great. Now we help out veterans too, correct with
our shop. We have a Veterans outreach program and sure the Majors is over that, yes, okay, and so in our asking for Christmas we do and we take care of all the veterans in the local nursing homes. Every month we take a treat to them and then at Christmas time we're very good to them and we have and Elks Lodge helps us with that at Christmas to fill our bags. But yes, every month, um, some a representative will be in a nursing home for taking something to the veterans and little snack
or something well deftly cool. You know. I was going to add, speaking of the community, these one hundred that are deployed with the National Guard, there's actually over a thousand statewide. And if anybody in the community community has a family member that's part of that group or knows of someone, they need to let us know because if we know a specific service member that's there,
then we can request that person to send stuff too. We have one already of that one hundred one is a young man that we that we know the mother personally. So if you have a child that is deployed or a family member that is deployed with the over a thousand National guardmen guardsmen, let us know by us on Facebook. These are the ones that were to play down to the border by Governor Stant. They're mostly in Africa. In Africa. I did not realize we were sitting our National Guard folks to Africa and
see I get I'm getting an education around yeah in that area. The more you know, see, you get an education when you listen to this, and also when you listen to the Blue Star Moms, because they know what's cooking around here. That's for sure. Well, you know, it's great that you're doing these things for our deployed and also for our veterans. And also it's also nice to know that you're rolling out the red carpet for everyone
to come in and help. I think some folks would would say that, you know, I'd like to do something good for our community or good for somebody else, and they're not necessarily sure where or how, but you've opened up the doors and that's really nice. And also, if we can back up a little bit, the last time we were a couple of times super here, we were promoting our membership drives and the Painted Horse donated a delicious meal for us, and then the Elk Lodge donated their banquet room and it
was just wonderful and we got several new members from that. Yeah, but we want anybody that has anyone in the military, just please contact us. We just talked, just talked to Mitch out there while Ago and his son had been in and I guess gotten out recently. We didn't know that and he apparently he didn't know about us. So just