As a candidate for the County Commission District 2 seat I would like to find out what everyone thinks about the spread in The News yesterday. I would like to hear all of your thoughts on the questions we were asked. In case you missed it you can go here http://www.hutchnews.com/elections/ to see how each candidate answered the questions. Since two seats are up for grabs this year this is a very important election. It will determine the direction Reno County goes in the next four years. Even though a lot of you may not be voting for a commissioner this election our commissioners make decisions that affect all of us. So your opinions on these topics are important. Just don't make fun of my goofy looking picture.

I figured this would be a good topic to get people talking! First off, I'll start by saying I'm not a NASCAR fan. I don't understand it. Everyone can only make their car so good, but can't improve it past some limits. Left turns for 4 hours. And what's with the teammate deal? I have never seen teammate associated with an individual accomplishment. It's like a baseball playing hitting a walk-off home run to win the world serious, and only he gets the trophy, but his teammates get recognized for helping keep the score close..... But I got to thinking, is it really a sport. I personally think a sport should require some kind of athletic ability. I don't think fishing/hunting or poker as sports, but they are also referred to as that. What makes NASCAR a sport and not just an event? What kind of athletic ability do you have to have to be a NASCAR driver? I'm interested to know what you think.

There has been some talk about getting families involved with YP. I think this is a great idea because most of us don’t get as much time as we would like with our children. This brings me to my current point… I, by the urging of a YPOD post, have started checking out www.codytalks.com . I am nominating Cody for the parent of the month award for his pride swallowing act of public humiliation (number one fear for most of us) to put a smile on his son’s face. Cody I commend you on a job wells done. You can put your name on the yellow dinosaur now. If anything it is a darn good laugh for the rest of us. Check out Cody’s blog and watch the video of him and his son in the school talent show. Here is the link: www.codytalks.com/2008/05/my-son-and-i-at-school-talent-show.html

There is a front page article in today's Wichita Eagle about YPs in that area. To read, click here.

To quote my second favorite Muppet, Kermit the Frog, “It ain’t easy being green.” At least that is what I used to think. But in honor of Earth Day I am here to rid you doubters of your non-green demons. As you know or as your calendar has hopefully has told you, today is Earth Day. According to Wikipedia.org, Earth Day was founded by U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin on April 22, 1970. The purpose of the day is to create awareness and promote ways for citizens to become more environmentally friendly. I used to call this “green guilt” and would not even acknowledge the day existed. Plus I was still in post-party mode from my birthday. I did not want my sugar-high, from cake, disrupted. But this year I have spent more time educating myself on simple ways to become a better steward of the earth. Here are some of my achievements: 1. I use canvas bags when I shop and have rid my house of all plastic bags. 2. I take my newspapers to The Hutchinson News to be recycled. I am trying to read more publications online but this will take some time. Plus I like working the Sudoku puzzle in the paper every morning. 3. At work I have cut scrap paper in half to use at notepads. 4. I drink my water from a reusable cup rather than from paper or Styrofoam. Yes, that means I need to wash my cup. But dishpan hands never hurt anyone. 5. I am learning how to compost at home so I can create natural fertilizer for the garden I hope to build this spring. I realize these achievements are not groundbreaking or will not reduce my carbon footprint by leaps and bounds. But if you knew my practices from a year ago, you would be very proud. So in honor of Earth Day, take some time to educate yourself about greener methods, start recycling at home or take some time to sing your favorite John Denver song. (For some reason I associate John Denver with the environment.) But we all want to become better citizens of the world and improving yourself environmentally is a great step in that direction.

I just received an e-mail announcing a public meeting this Saturday. After reading the announcement, I wondered what other young professionals think about the inclusion of government office space in downtown. You maybe asking why this is a question any YP would be interested in, but I spend a decent amount of time talking with my peers about downtown Hutchinson. Most of us seem to have an opinion. So what do you think about Hutchinson’s City Hall moving into the Wiley Building? Then I challenge any of us to attend this public meeting. I’m just glad that one of these meetings is being held when I’m not a work. Below is the announcement I received: The Wiley Building Task Force has scheduled a public meeting in Hutchinson City Chambers from 9:00 am to 11:00 am on Saturday April 19. The purpose of the meeting is to give members of the public an opportunity to inform the Task Force of questions they may have regarding the possibility of using the Wiley Building as Hutchinson’s City Hall. The Task Force is charged with the mission of looking at the use of the Wiley Building and reporting back to the City Council on July 1, 2008. Members of the Task Force want to try to find answers to any questions the public might have about this issue. Attendees will be a given a brief overview of the issues and then be invited to prepare written questions for the Task Force.

At Saturday's legislative forum, Rep. Bethel stated that he did not believe in global warming, but rather believes we're going through a cyclical weather cycle. I was surprised to hear this, but it made me wonder - how do you feel about global warming? And more importantly, do you feel any need or responsibility to find ways to reduce your carbon footprint? Please weigh in!

Thank you to everyone who took some of their precious time and took the YP survey. The preliminary results are in! Thank you to the 525 Reno County residents who completed the survey. We’ve just had a little peek at the results and I can tell you that the VOICE committee is pretty excited about what we saw. In some general terms, I can tell you we – we being young professionals - are a smart, interesting, and active bunch. I know that sounds vague, but we want to keep you in suspense. Not really. We are waiting for the analysis that will give us some “real” meaning to the raw numbers. The data analysis is on its way. Our prediction is that the details in the report are compelling and will be quite the conversation piece. I just wanted to share some of the VOICE committee’s excitement about the early results we saw and to whet your appetite for all the good information to be coming soon!

What an experience! Making the trip to Topeka with my knees up to my chest on a school bus was well worth it. I was told the Reno County group was the largest one there. The Governor and Lt. Governor gave great speeches and really got the crowd fired up. Jade and I had a chance to speak with Rep. Mark Treaster and I would like to extend a huge thank you to him. He has stood his ground against bill 327 and chose to listen to his morals instead of doing the popular thing in Topeka and following the crowd. He said he had received only one call to change his position. That's not because the lobbyists aren't trying hard. It's because he has a reputation of doing what is right for the people of Kansas and they know they can't change him. Overall, I feel that the day was a huge success. Our voices were heard let's just hope that our legislators listen. If you saw todays newspaper you noticed the the YP members were front and center. Fortunately, they had Jade in the picture to offset my ugly mug.

Greetings all! On March 11th, 6:30 p.m. at Metropolitan Coffee, the inaugural meeting of The Jane Austen Book Club will commence. I am a bit ashamed to say this, but I got this idea from a movie. That says something about my obsessive movie watching. But anywho there the idea is. For those of you who may not know, Jane Austen published six books (Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Sense and Sensibility, Northanger Abbey, Mansfield Park and Persuasion) in the early 1800s, which today have become favorite reading for many people, I included. And the best part of the books is that many movie versions have been created from them. Yes, there are movie versions of Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility but did you know the movie Clueless is based on Austen’s book Emma? Or that the male lead in the Bridget Jones’ Diary is from Pride and Prejudice? Again as you can tell I am full of useless knowledge. The purpose of this club is to read and discuss a book each month and then eventually watch the movies. And you are in luck because I own most of the movies. As you can tell I am an Austen freak. So please rsvp to me if you are interested in coming on the 11th. The first meeting will be to go over the schedule and see which book to read first. It will be good relaxed fun.

I didn’t know if I could do it. And I kept telling all of my family and friends that I never would. But a few things – my heart, my feet, and that little voice in my head – kept pushing me to go through with it.

It was on a beautiful run in early June, while visiting my aunt who lived outside of Washington, D.C, that I made the declaration: I was going to train for and run a marathon. I knew I didn’t want to do a fancy one, nor did I really want to spend every waking hour training for the thing. No, I simply wanted to conquer a feat that only a small percentage of us in the running world will ever face. It was a feat that I swore – and I have it in writing – that I never would do after crossing the finish lines of a few half-marathons in the previous year.

So much for promises.

My marathon training started as soon as I came home from my brief D.C. trip. It lasted the next four months, going into the heat of August and September, and the chilly mornings of October. More than 400 miles later, my husband, Jack, and I laced up our Asics on Oct. 21, 2007, and ran the Wichita Marathon. Our adventure started in Derby and we winded our way through McConnell Air Force Base and other Wichita parks before ending in Old Town – 26.2 miles later.

That adventure was one I’ll never forget, nor will I do again in the near future. Tears came to my eyes as I eyed the finish line just yards away, and the thrilling rush of adrenaline and pure joy came to me as the announcer called my name and I went under that yellow Finish banner.

It doesn’t take a marathon, though, to get in shape – or feel that adrenaline rush of living a healthy lifestyle. It can be a simple 30-minute walk…or restocking your pantry with healthy items instead of the same-old processed snacks. It’s a New Year, and many of us made resolutions to hit the gym, eat better, and simply live healthier in 2008. Make the resolution actually stick this year – and act on those goals you have written down on paper. A resolution shouldn’t be the reason you want to live healthy – YOU should be the reason!

This month, rather than “Lunch and Learn”ing it, Young Professionals are going to “Lunch and Burn” it. Our Young Professionals Lunch’n Burn meeting will take place on Wednesday, January 16^th. The session will feature Karin Neal, a local personal trainer, and a nutritionist from Prairie Star. It also will include information on what YP is doing to help you reach your healthy lifestyle goals (such as joining athletic teams and competing in Rec sports leagues). Oh, and let’s not forget fuel – our lunch will be a fresh and healthy one. RSVP for the "Lunch and Burn" here!

We’re young, and we should be active. It’s the time in our life that we should be full of energy and life – a healthy life.

Amy Conkling is the marketing/special events director at Hutchinson Recreation Commission. Though she’s not training for a marathon, she still enjoys her daily morning exercise routine of running, cross training, weights, and, of course, playing basketball with her dad.

     On October 24, 2007, I set out on my very first American Red Cross National Disaster that took me to San Bernardino, CA for 12 days. Our job, once we arrived, was to drive an ERV (Emergency Response Vehicle) into the San Bernardino Mountains (Lake Arrowhead, Big Bear, etc) to deliver food and supplies to the victims of the Grass Valley and Slide Wildfires. We encountered numerous people who continually expressed their appreciation to us (as American Red Cross volunteers) for being there to help with their recovery effort. Several people were amazed to learn that Fred (my ERV buddy) and I drove all the way out to California just to help them during their disaster. We gave a lot of hugs in addition to handing out bulk items. We saw complete destruction of several homes, some with only a few windows blown out of them, and some that were completely untouched by the fire. Regardless of the level of loss each person had, they all were grieving as a community as their neighbors were all part of their "family".

Someone asked us "How is it that we are able to just take off and respond to these disasters?" We both agree that the only way we're able to do this is because we have great families and support systems at home. The families of ALL the Red Cross volunteers need to be thanked as they are OUR heroes at home that take care of things on the home front in order for volunteers, like Fred and I, to go out and do what we have trained to do. Without them, none of us would be here.

The one thing that had me most excited while on the trip was people who were victims of the fire (or just living within the community) asking me “How do I become a disaster volunteer?” because they feel it’s time for them to give back to those who have helped them. THEN—I get home from my adventure and I have friends asking me the same questions! I LOVE IT! The answer is to contact your local American Red Cross chapter and tell them you want to become a disaster services volunteer and they will guide you from there on which classes you need to take.

I would encourage each of you to check into social service groups to see what you can do to help out humanity. Whether it’s volunteering locally with a group you feel most passionate about, or going beyond your own backyard—someone somewhere will appreciate what you’ve done for them.

• Get involved in local National Family Week activities.
• Meet and get to know your neighbors.
• Plan a neighborhood supper.
• Select an issue that can improve your community. Work with local officials to affect change.
• Organize or participate in a school meeting about improving your child's education.
• Write a thank-you note to someone who helps your family.
• Encourage employers to consider family-friendly work options such as flexible hours and time off to attend school functions.
• Volunteer with a nonprofit organization on projects that benefit your community.

So, don’t get so excited for the “Christmas Season” that you miss a great opportunity to spend time with family and an opportunity to get involved in your community.

If you have other great Family Week ideas let me hear them.

I can clearly remember a time when I was around 15 telling my mother I would never move back to a small town.  I meant that wholeheartedly.  I was going to go away to college (far, far away) and never look back.  Fast-forward 15 years and here I am living in a small town.  Smaller than the one where I grew up! 

In July of this year we packed up our things in a U-Haul and made the 25-mile journey to Haven, KS.  We had been living on the southwest side of Wichita in a brand new home surrounded by more brand new homes and lots of neighbors who were pretty much just like us.  We all went to work in the morning and in the evening pulled into our garage, shut the door and never looked back.  In the three years we lived in Wichita I met the people that lived next door to us once. 

By the first of August we had people stopping by to introduce themselves and I had been invited to everything you could possibly do in Haven in your spare time.  In one month’s time I met more people living in this small town than I ever knew living in Wichita.  There is a group of women that play volleyball at the high school, a group of mom’s who get together on Tuesday mornings, a women’s bible study on Monday evenings and on Friday the library has story hour for the kids.  Who knew! 

There are some drawbacks to small town living.  For instance, there is not a car wash within the city limits unless you count your driveway and a garden hose.  Plus, if you want the paper (we still subscribe to the Eagle) you get the “early” edition and the Target add isn’t included!  I’ve been seriously tempted to cancel it due to that one omission but my husband can consume an entire Sunday afternoon reading the Sports page so I just suffer. 

I have decided that small town life isn’t so bad.  I am sure there are others out there who made the same decree I did when I was 15.  Looking back I don’t know what I was thinking.  My childhood was pretty carefree.  Much more so than some of my cousins who grew up in the city.  In the end we went back to our roots.  We are small town kids at heart.  I like knowing everyone in town and even if they do know all of your business at least they know you.  That one fact, I have learned, really makes a difference. 

So I encourage all of you Reno County “lifers” to find ways to be more involved in your community and invite the people who are new to the area to become involved.   Whether it be Haven, Hutch, Buhler, Partridge or any place in between the relationships you make with others who work and live with you make up what we call “life.”  In the end, it isn’t about the place it is about the people. 

green: adjective, -er, -est, noun, verb

Environmentally sound or beneficial. To restore the vitality of.

In preparation for our first Lunch N Learn, "Green Day", here's a quiz about recycling! (www.getcaughtrecycling.org) Take it now and see how much you already know about livin' the green life. You can still attend the Lunch N Learn.  Click here for more information.

1. Recycling just one plastic bottle can save the amount of energy needed to power a 60-watt light bulb for:

a. 10 minutes

b. 1 hour

c. 6 hours

2. Each Kansas produces an average of more than _____ of trash each year.

a. ½ ton

b. ¾ ton

c. 1 ton

3. In Kansas we recycle ___% of our waste.

a. 20%

b. 30%

c. 40%

4. The average office worker uses ____ sheets of paper each year.

a. 2,000

b. 5,000

c. 10,000

5. By recycling 1 ton of paper you save:

a. 500 lbs. of air pollution

b. 17 trees

c. 400 gallons of oil

d. 7,000 gallons of water

6. How long does it take for a Styrofoam cup to decompose?

a. 100 years

b. 1,000 years

c. Forever

Answers: 1. C, 2. B, 3. A, 4. C, 5. All, 6. C

Recycling is not a new concept but why don’t we see more blue bags on the curb?  Last week, I noticed our house was one of only five on our block that had any blue bags waiting for Stutzman’s.  I’ll admit living green hasn’t been a passion of mine and I’m writing this knowing my household didn’t start really recycling until this year.  I don’t know why it took so long—but we started and that’s what’s important, right?  Some people have been doing this for years—which is great—but it’s apparent that not everyone in Hutch takes advantage of the program.  According to KDHE, every year, each Kansan produces an average of more than 3/4 of a ton of trash. Yet we recycle only about 20% of this waste. This compares to a national average of 28%.  I wonder what Reno County’s average is?

Since I started recycling more, I’ve noticed that I’m constantly thinking about what I buy and how I use certain products…asking, “Can I recycle this?” or “Is there a more ‘green’ product I can buy?”  It’s a little addictive and I do feel better about my very small effort.  I don’t drive a hybrid or have solar panels on my house but maybe I don’t use so much bleach or print out that 20-page document at work.  Again, a lot of people think this way already but many others don’t and it’s been interesting to see my thought process change. 

We’ve seen an increase in attention to environmental issues nationally as global warming is a “hot” topic this election (no pun intended) and even locally…check out Dave Stephen’s “Ask Dave” column in the Hutch News today.  There, he answers a reader’s questions about recycling in Hutch; read the full article here.  And recently, Jessica Miller, a fellow YPer, also wrote in the News as a community columnist about the importance of recycling; check out her column here.

Young Professionals of Reno County wants to continue the conversation of reducing, reusing and recycling.  Our first Lunch and Learn is November 14^th at Dillon Nature Center and we would love to have you join us!  Check out more details and RSVP information here. 

You tell me--can we make every day a Green Day?

First of all I'd like to thank everyone that came to the first-ever YPO Halloween Spooktacular. One and all seemed to have a great time including myself. From the Dead Prom Queen to the Pumpkins-in-Tights, the costumes were fantastic. On that note, I would like to thank Dr. Evil for helping us out with the costume contest and all that participated - and just in case your mom never told you, we are all winners. Please leave comments on what you liked, what you didn't like and what we can do next year to make the Spooktacular better. Thanks again to everyone that was involved. YPOut!

The Connections Action Team has a really cool Lunch and Learn planned for Nov 14th at Dillon Nature Center. Check out details here. It's $7.00 for Lunch and the Presentation, that's tough to beat. PLEASE RSVP on the details page!! Thanks and see ya there.

Check out these cute couples!

Thanks for all the photo submissions...

Have you ever said to someone, “Hey, we should get together sometime.”  And then a few months later, you run into them again and you still haven’t gotten together.  Why do you say something and not do it?  I’ve done this a lot and not just with hanging out with people, but with other things, too. My personal “to do list” has recently included working out more, reading more, and getting involved….but a few months go by and maybe I went to Genesis a few times, but that wasn’t the level of commitment I was envisioning a few months before.  Try again, I guess. 

I’ve lived in Hutch for six years and have always wanted to get more involved but have found some excuse not to, I guess.  Mostly, I wasn’t interested enough to join a group or didn’t know enough to be interested.  But, when I heard about YP Reno County in the Hutch News, I was interested.  And instead of wondering again why I didn’t do anything, this time I did.  I went to the kick off event and met a ton a fun people and then joined the Connections Committee.  I’ve met more interesting people with similar interests or backgrounds in these six weeks than I’ve met in six year. 

And YP takes away the planning of the get together—YP plans for you!!  You don’t have to clean your house or prepare a meal, just tell your friends to meet up at the monthly YP Mingles and other events.  Last Thursday, after a long day at work, it was nice to head up to Dannyboy’s and “get together.” 

My friend gave me the book, “Eat, Pray, Love” as a thank-you for watching her kids so in two months I can mark that off my “to-do” list too.  As for working out, I’ll get there.

Here's a few pics from the Kickoff event.

Amazingly the captions came with them!!!

The Pulse Action Team and everyone else did a great job of preparing a classy event.



All comments to this post should include a possible caption to this picture guessing what Cris Corey said right before the picture was shot.


And then you have Nathan making sure he has the beer distributors phone number on his Alltel my circle.







All jokes aside it was a great event. If you happened to video tape Cris Corey's Karaoke show please send it to photos@yprenocounty.com.

YP Reno County has a lot of stuff in the works.
Here a few you should check out:

1. Just checking us out for the first time click here and get your name on the list. No Commitments and your privacy will be protected.

2. Nathan's first blog post is here. Post was pretty boring but out of the kindness of their hearts a few folks put up some good comments.

3. Spooktacular is coming. Don't get all "Too cool for school" and think you can't come to a costume party. It will be fun and I believe I heard a rumor about an open bar. (Beer and Wine) Here is a pdf flyer for the event. You can downloaded and email or print and send to your friends.

If you have an idea for a blog post or pictures/video that you think should go in our media gallery from an event, send them to photos@yprenocounty.com and we will check them out and maybe post them. Media is coming soon!!!!!

On a serious note, I really feel like this organization is going to tackle problems and issues head-on and do our best to make change. That being said, if you are in our demographic you no longer have the right to just sit at home and complain about anything in Hutchinson or Reno County. It is now your responsibility to send us an email and we will take a look at your issue and see if we can help or suggest something or get the right people involved to make it better. No guarantees but this organization has been built for exactly that reason and if you don't voice your opinion it is now your fault that things don't change.

Here's a video for the pre-kickoff event. Not that eventful except you can watch David Neal remembering his glory days on the HHS basketball team as he "Shuffles" out of the picture and if you watch real close you can see Nathan Meyer touch David Neal's chest!!!!


Let the comments roll!!!!!!

1. What makes up a “youth movement”?
2. What are the potential effects of said movement for Reno County?

Please share your thoughts, comments, opinions, gentle criticisms, funny limericks, you name it!  It is our intention to start a new thread on a weekly basis so check back and prepare to share often!