CAR TALK with BPS Foundation

Good morning, good morning, good morning, and welcome, welcome, welcome.

It's Thursday.

The sun is shining, and oh the gleam flat, the beautiful Toyota is my goodness. So there must be time.

For our cars.

Little haze blowing through. Hopefully the front that comes through today will get.

That on out of here.

But I'm not sure where the fires are. Yeah, that time of year, the prescribed burns are happening, and it's not too windy this morning, so hopefully we're all safe.

And some folks are a little bit more in discriminate than others.

It's important that our ecosystem are out here to have that happen, and it helps the prairie, the grassland a lot to have the fire come through, and we're out that brush and we all need it so we don't have the raging fires. I have a great guest this morning, Blair. You aren't here to talk about wildfires.

I'm not here talking although they're interesting they are, Blair Alice from the Bartlesville Public School Foundation.

You finally got through the.

Big event last year.

Yes, so so inspirational.

I must say congratulations on another great Hall of Fame event. And you know those lifelong teachers. They impact all of us, we you know, and it kind of reminds me every year how many lives they touch.

Yes, we had Erylf Interest and Jane Sears, both I think had forty years each in education, most of that, if not all of it in Bartlesville. And then we had Cheryl Lanstone I think she was at like thirty three or thirty four years in education.

So so many.

People that were at that event last week actually had kids who'd had all three of those educators. And then we recognized Betty Jane Johnson who had passed away in twenty fourteen, but she was a lifelong educator also.

I know, great great stuff and you know stories like having pictures of every kid you ever taught and keeping a book of that living going forward now through their lives, and you know, you think about that and that's really special.

Yeah, it's definitely.

It's a great event too, because it really brings together the community and of the education community, the teachers and administrators and the public together to honor our teachers.

Yeah, I would say about seventy five percent of the people in the room or educators or former educators, So we bring back all of our former inductees, We invite retired teachers, our legislative sponsor a table for just retired educators, and then of course we have all of our teachers of the year and those sorts of.

Things and administrators in the rooms.

So all of our events we really try to balance kind of a fundraising aspect, which is important for the foundation and our sustainability, but also a community engagement event, so really trying to get the community involved and remind them of how amazing our schools are and what we're doing every day.

Right, really did a good job of that, well, thank you, thank you.

And it is all about raising money for the grants and projects and events that you have going on.

I know, and because you give out a lot of.

Money about three hundred thousand dollars a year between direct impacted teachers and then district initiatives that we that we support. All of that comes from our community, So from our sponsors and community partners and individual donors.

They're the ones making that's.

Everything from classroom supplies and activity ideas and things to help them engage their students to school safety.

Right Soros support. Yeah, our teacher grants have been long lasting. I mean that's been That's what the foundation started on an inteen eighty five was teacher grants. We still fund those, but yeah, since then added on bigger. You know, our school's needs change every year, and so we work with our district to make sure that we're funding their top priorities.

That's so awesome and it is uh, you know, it does a great job of building those those roads for our kids to go forward in their lives. And I know it is all about the end of the day, about our kids and schools. Is having great public schools here in barcelwol which we have such a great legacy.

Of Absolutely, and as we were talking, we want we want those students to to you know, go off to see other things, but then come back to Bartlesville and continue to improve our community. So we hope that we've given them a great foundation to do that.

Yeah, We've had lots of stuff going on with the dealership the last week or so, and lots of car business stuff.

Going on too.

The the uh, the tariffs have been big news. We've had had a lot of people interested in what's going on there.

And our head is still spending too.

With Toyota, you know, just like everybody else, doesn't know what's going to happen there. But they're a great company. They They've told us we're going to keep shipping all the cars. We're not going to raise our prices. Uh. At this point, at least, we don't really know what the long impact this is.

Uh.

They they are you know, it takes a time to move production of vehicle lines, and but they're going to keep making them available to us. They've got we've got great selection right now and of course no tariff markups or anything like that. So it's great time if you are looking for a vehicle. Don't let this scare you away. I know there's a lot of stuff we can't control, but we can control what goes on around here in Bartlesville. I been hearing a lot from customers about that.

I don't know.

It's a small family business thing that that we've got and that I think we hear from our customers all the time, uh, you know, because they'll come in and obviously and when we're being small, we don't have every car you can and nobody does really. I think if you looked at all the different Toyotas that are made and every different model, trim level options that you could get,

Serving the local community and really are not trying to be a big, you know, big deal and sell cars all over the world. It happens these days.

We've got you know, and with computers and people searching for rare cars go find them and come pluck them out. But we do our best to have them here for our local people. So if you do have a need for a Toyota, we've got great selection right now, you know, particularly on the Tundra and Tacoma, which are some of our best vehicles.

And it may not look like it, but RAB four, you know, and we never seem.

To have them on the ground, but we've already sold I think four this month and they just don't last long.

So you've got it.

We got to get in front of that. If that's the vehicle you're after, We're all excited. I learned just yesterday Toyota is going to have a special event in Dallas next month, I think on the twentieth of May, where they're going to unveil the new RAB four, the all new model, which will be out either probably the very end of this year early next year, and.

It's a it's a whole new redesign.

And of course from the last year we've had things like Grand Highlander and the Crown insignia and the redesigned four Runner that just came out, and that's that's doing great that's another one that is going to be more and more available. But if you're after it now, you really need to let us know and we can kind of look up upstream and see what's coming and be able to get that great vehicle for you.

It is April, so.

We've got great anniversary month deals, even though it's not our anniversary anymore. It used to be for the Ford Store, but now it's in Decembers, but we still got to celebrate a little bit in April, and so we've got customer appreciation stuff going on and great deals on all our new un used vehicles. So it is a good time to buy. And if we can help you with that, be sure to let us know. We do try to make it simple and make you happy, fast, transparent and feel good as the theme this year.

Well, speaking of the Toyota Tacomas, Chad bought one from you.

My husband bought one from you. I don't know how many years ago, maybe posted eight or nine. They keep going.

Now my fifteen year olds about to get behind the wheel for better or worse, and so I think we're gonna give that to him and that's going to be his car of voice.

But that's a good cho Yeah. They are very safe, and that's that's one thing.

Yeah, No, I think with the Toyota vehicle, you know you can you can find some that are fancier, some that have more sparkle and whiz bang maybe, but better made.

I don't know. That might be difficult to find.

And and they're well designed, they're super safe, They've got great technology in them. And yeah, I agree, they're great for kids. All our kids have driven Toyotas and and moved on up there. But that Tacoma is one of our best selling vehicles. And hopefully Chatt'll come. I want to come take a look at a new one. Yeah.

Yeah.

Last night I saw a lot of people out at the Barsbell Sports Foundation Master's party. My ears are still ringing a lick a little bit from Chris Batchel there.

Those of you who've been to the football game spoken, yes, well you haven't been to this event.

It's a it's there's a walks around with a headset on and microphone and in the at the country club and it's in the ballroom there. The speakers are very loud and anyway, hopefully Chris is listening.

And it was a great event. Hopefully they raised a lot of money.

And it always looks like.

It is, let's uh bring Blair back in.

I know we just finished this.

Grade of Hall of Fame event and that there's more stuff coming up at the end of school and all that, So what else do we have on stone?

I know the end of school is going to be here before you know, but we're trying to slow that down.

Last year, I think it.

Was freezing cold, the north wind coming in and drizzles, but it patter. It was still packed. People just brought blankets and sweatshirts. But it's really the district's opportunity to celebrate all of our current teachers. We name the district Teacher of the Year, which that person goes on to compete at the state level for Teacher of the Year. We name our Rising Star, which is kind of a teacher who's been in the classroom for less than three years.

Those substitutes are of them, so.

We'll have a Substitute of the Year, and then we'll celebrate service pin. So I think those are five all the way up to forty year services. We've got two teachers getting forty year service pins. But it's great fun that she ar the palm. I think bruis or the Bruin is going to come out. Chris batcheld Or will be in the press box announcing all the teachers as they get on the field, and then Michael Cole will we will control the volume. Trey Stump's gonna help us

Do to entertained and they're already ready to go.

So hoping for nice weather. But Patriot and our Best co sponsor that event. And so we've got free hot dogs for the first I think three hundred people that come in.

We always run out. We always run out of hot dogs, popcorn.

Our Best will be there with popcorn, so I think Connico Phillips is bringing some snacks. So it's just really it's free, it's family friendly.

It's just a fun night.

This a week from today, so that April the seventeenth again, gates open at.

Five and the program starts five thirty. But it's a great fun.

Time, So everybody come on out there and celebrate this year's special honorees for all those awards, and it's a great time to honor everybody who's involved in our public education. And as we gear up for the rest of the school year and getting ready for baseball and everything coming up. We have local tryouts for American Legion teams and such. We're excited for that coming up, and so much other stuff that starts to happen this time of year as

You know, and how do they you know beyond you know, going to your.

Events and side I Attending events is obviously the easy way because at those events we talk about what we're doing and you might find something, Oh, I'm really interested in this.

How do I get more involved?

Right?

And say the schools is a great opportunity for that in terms of just getting connected to our schools and knowing what programs we have, what sort of internships we offer. That's going to be August the sixth. It's always the Wednesday, the week before school starts. So that's a great just

I mean, just great for getting people connected to our schools.

But yeah, there's internships, there's volunteer opportunities the foundation.

Of course, we have a board.

We're always looking for board members as well as committee members with a lot of different committees that review our teacher grants, that help run our programs, all kinds of things. So a lot of opportunities. And then of course, you know, sponsorships and donations are really key for us because that's how we make the impact that we do.

And before we came on the air, we were talking a little bit about alumni and how you might be able to create some programs.

For right alumni.

So we've we've gosh, a couple of years ago we kind of took on the Alumni Association, So we know there's.

A great call High contingent.

Right, there's not as much organization or on the Sooner High as well as kind of all of Bertlesville and the Bartlesville High School.

Cry kind of goes through reunions and kind of becomes focused on that, right.

And so we're kind of taking on that.

We've got a large database trying to see out some informational things, trying to offer reunion support. And one thing we've we've kind of talked about if there was an interest from local businesses is like a job board that we could help post and share with our alumni local opportunities for our businesses to hire them. Because again, we all want Bartlesville grads to come back home.

Yeah, no, at least to bring back the stuff they learn out there in the big wide world and help us keep making bartles feel better.

That'd be awesome.

That's that's a great road, and we do want to find them to find their way back and not have it difficult to find those opportunities here in town because they do exist.

There's great opportunities for everybody.

I've been hiring looking for office manager slash, a controller type person at our dealership. It's it's it's amazing process to go through these days. I've talked to phone on the phone with probably fifty or sixty people and so many great local people out there right now. And you know, this is a position that's one of I think only six people.

Have had it since nineteen forty one.

It's a pretty rare transition and are right now Barber's going to retire and we're not looking forward to that, but I do need to find a replacement. So it's, you know, anyway that I really wanted to focus on the process and what great applicants we get that are really local people that.

Are growing up around here.

You know, it's many of I'm finding many with great experience, lots of experience running things and being involved in all kinds of industries and fields. And it's really reassuring. We know, I know the strength of our community and what's out there, and you know, there are a lot of great people here and it's you know, keeping the community strong and the employee base and education and the public school system

Of your program.

I know, you know, you do end up being able to give away You mentioned several.

Hundred thousand dollars.

Tell us a little bit about how that works and how teachers get to that money out.

Yeah.

Yeah, So we have several different grants. Again, they've been established since nineteen eighty five. We've peaked some things along the way, but we've got I think five different grants for teachers.

So we've got one that focuses on performing arts. We've got one that focus on.

Just classroom needs and different innovative projects for your classroom. We've got one that's one of my favorites is in experts in residents. We bring experts in from all over the country. We have brought people, I mean literally from all over the country to Bartlesville to visit our classrooms

Those mostly the teachers come up with an idea, Yes, they come.

Up with an idea.

Sometimes we'll vet it with them, and then our committee reviews that idea and then.

Decides whether or not to fund it based on some criteria.

Awesome, Yeah, pretty What size are the grants?

Typically they range and can They could be a couple hundred dollars.

Usually we try to direct those more to like a PSD PTO kind of support, but to several thousand dollars. I think we did a couple recently that were over five thousand dollars. So we've got about fifty five thousand dollars in that budget for the whole year just to fund teacher grants.

And you do some other unique things like childcare support for teachers.

That was something that was a really innovative benefit that our superintendent came up with partnering with Tri County Tech. Our best supports that for us, but we continue to need more funds to sup with that program. But basically it allows our teachers who have young children, preschool aged children to receive quality childcare Trycounty Tech for half.

The cost to the public.

So just a huge benefit and really really helping with teacher recruitment and retention.

And yeah, that's something we think about and deal with all the time too, and you know, we have had to build sometimes schedules around that in different parts of life.

And that's a world child care.

For two kids, it doesn't sometimes make sense to keep teaching in the classroom, and so we've had some teachers stay because of that benefit.

And I mentioned the the safety program, the school resource officers that you guys have helped fund.

Right, So now we have ten school resource officers, which is really amazing. And again what my kids goes to Kane and was talking about their school resource officer kind of took off his safety vest and his heavy best the other day. It was out there playing on the playground with them. And so they're definitely keeping our kids safe, but they are also really serving as mentors and interacting with our kids and giving them all a really positive experience with law enforcement.

And I mean the list goes on and on, things like the Dolly Parton Imagination Library way right, that's right, books.

For Books for Kids, zerote a five and there's an applicator. There's a form on our website. You can look that up on bpsfoundation dot org. But if you have a kid at home under five years old, you can register for that.

There is no catch.

We completely fund that program for you, so it's free and they get a book every single month delivered to their doorsteps.

So just phenomenal program.

Yeah, it's a it's a global program, but we have provided the support through some donations.

We've made some access to that. Yeah, it definitely is a big program and it's over twenty five thousand books in Washington County.

So it's not a small thing.

That's right now.

I mean, I think we looked one time and we're serving about forty five percent of our eligible kids, So that's a pretty amazing.

Another one I've always liked to us the Bruins on the Run program and it's it's all you know, now, it's a good time to start training for next fall racey, that's right, and.

Wollarock will be here before we know it.

And well, and last year we started our Bruin ak so our own race because we had a conflict with the date of the wool Rocky AKA and everyone just loved it. We everybody ran through the big Brewin tunnel and it was really focused on our kids.

You have a separate event, yeah, year.

We want to support Run the Streets. It's a great program.

We're going to encourage all of our runners to participate in that race also, but doing our own thing.

Really it was really pretty spectacular last year.

So I think that's good to have.

Multiple events and keep people out there being active, and that's a great thing and you get a lot of them involved, and your partnership with the Run the Streets has been really helping, really great, and I think they both have grown so much that there's plenty of runners I'm.

Sure to go around right well.

And it helps our cross country program. We have a lot of kids that do Bruins on the Run in fifth grade and then go right into cross country in sixth grade.

So and another program people are familiar with that have been around a while, your Junior Achievement.

You guys help access to Junior Achievement down.

To do for our fifth graders to go to Bistown, which I don't know if you've been to do that, but there's a it's a great opportunity for our fifth graders to get to go out and try several different careers like radio or you know anything.

Incredible resource for our community and it just kind of.

There and it does.

We're trying not to hide so much and make sure people know what we do, so we appreciate getting to be on shows like well, thank.

You for your leadership with the program, and I know it's you know, you've certainly done a great job since you've.

Been there, and you've got a great board.

Yeah, you do.

Have a shout out to all of them, and there are other sponsors. I know you have many great.

Sponsors and they're loyal and they come back a year after year and they're really making making a difference in our schools.

Well, thank you to all of those sponsors. And if this is interesting to people, I know they've learned a lot, hopefully about the Barsville School Foundation.

If you want to know more, what should they do?

What's they can follow us on Facebook, they can go to our website, or they can out.

To me at the Education Service Center.

And the next event is a week from tomorrow night or tonight a week from tonight at five pm now at Dungeons Stadium and should be a lot of fun. Thank you, and we'll be out there at the dealership later today too. It has been kind of busy in service the last few days, but I'm not sure what's up with that. The good weather probably helping that is people get out and around and after all the rain last week, it's nice to have some sunshine and stuff

If you like to have a newer vehicle every few years.

It's a way to make sure you don't have any in patients from that. And there's great payments things like the Tacoma at two sixty nine a month, so tell chat about that. So grab for at three thirty nine, Corolla two thirty nine, so great payments, that's you know cash do it. Signing on all those was around four thousand dollars, but you know our a team can help

You want to consider.

It's got all the the rebates and interest rate specials that are out there.

You know where you can play with that and see what the best deal is for you.

And that's right at your fingertips on our website. It done just Toyota dot com and there's lots of other information there. You can schedule your service appointment and get all kinds of information. Just ask questions about what's coming. A lot of our inventory I mentioned isn't on the lot so much, but if they're within about a month of arrival, they'll be on the website.

There's a few weeks more that we get that we can.

See that are coming that just haven't gotten vends yet, so we don't know exactly what the details on that car are. And then every couple of weeks we get allocated more vehicles.

We'll have another one of those late next week.

So that you just want to stay in touch with the sales associate and they can help you connect you up with that perfect Toyota. And I guess I've exhausted pretty much all the car talk I need to do.

Do you have anything else you want to say?

No, I appreciate being on here.

I always love coming on Car Talk and learning about cars as well as getting to promote the foundation. And again we just hope to see everybody at our free family event friendly event next Thursday, April seventeenth at Dungeess Stadium.

Thank you Blair.

All right, folks, you've been watching and listening to our Car Talk program with Dungeons, Toyo, Brad Dungeons and of course with Blair Ellis here today and folks we've got our news and what they're coming up in just a moment.

Thanks for listening to one on one with a professional, a paid presentation at fourteen hundred K one