Listening to KVOE yesterday and hearing Jim Cummins and the DK-200 people discuss the past weekend the point that kept coming up was yes, the race is unique, the Flint Hills are breath-taking and the weather is always unpredictable, but the feature that sets the event apart from many others – now including the famous Tour de France – are the people of Emporia.
Face it folks – our town is cool because we support things like the DK and the Glass Blown Open and lots of other lesser known events in a manner that sets us apart.
This got me thinking so I made a list – a partial list for sure – of neat things that happen in our town about which we should be proud. Not all towns do what we do when we:
Raise over $600,000 for the United Way!
Hold a record setting Technical School Auction;
Support ESU’s Now and Forever campaign;
Support literacy education through the Jones Foundation and the Mason’s of Kansas and EmporiaState;
Blow the lid off the record for the Community Foundation’s Match Day;
The ESU Athletic Auction and Golf Tournament set a new record for success to benefit all sports and summer school in particular;
Emporia supports the W. A. White home called Red Rocks;
S.O.S. is a community treasure and Emporia steps up in support;
Back to ESU – Welch Stadium has a state of the art scoreboard, new turf and soon a brand new track;
How about LyonCounty and the City of Emporia becoming major supporters of scholarships at the university?
After some tough times Camp Alexander is back!
Phil Taunton and his What’s in Outdoors is a blessing for kids and old folks too!
Denim and Diamonds helps Newman Regional Health with a cool auction;
The Chamber of Commerce and Main Street make a really powerful community team;
No one matches our Art Council’s facility or programs!
The Granada Theater is a blessing with amazing activity;
Add in great schools, churches, parks, ESU, Flint Hills Tech and nice people and we’ve got a winner!
Good place this town we call Emporia.
Let me use some advice from an old farmer to close.
Your fences need to be horse-high, pig-tight and bull-strong. Keep skunks and bankers at a distance. Life is simpler when you plow around the stump. Words that soak into your ears are whispered… not yelled. Meanness doesn’t just happen overnight. And, Forgive your enemies; it messes up their heads.
