Archive for "Community"
10 Years as a Rotarian
Posted on April 21, 2024 by Ching under Community, Things to Do.
This year marks my 10th year as a Rotarian. I joined in 2014 when I was looking to be more involved in the community. At the time my office was located at Douglas and Broadway so I was originally looking at the Rotary Club of Wichita which meets on Mondays at Botanica. However, they already had 400 members (and a few from my company) so my joining wasn’t likely to make much of a difference.
Living in Southeast Wichita, I was close to the Andover branch of the Greater Wichita YMCA so I was working there as a group fitness instructor in my off time. I also had a coworker David Austin, who was a member of the Rotary Club of Andover, and he invited me to visit. It was a small club consisting of only twenty or so members. Anyway, I ended up joining the Andover club because I felt like I would make much more of an impact there.
For such a small club, the Andover Rotary does a lot. We’ve contributed to so many things in the Andover community and internationally. We’ve also partnered with other Rotary clubs in the Wichita area on several initiatives. You can find out more about our club’s current and past projects here
Last month we sponsored food packing at Christ Church – East in partnership with the Outreach Program. Club members, along with volunteers from the church, Boy Scouts of America, and National Honors Society, participated in this community service project. The boxes of food packaged were donated to the Andover Community Food Pantry, Butler Community College Food Pantry, and Christ Church’s own ministry with North High School.
Last week Rotary Club of Andover school mini grant recipients for the 2023-2024 school year (five teachers from the Andover school district along with their students) presented their community service projects to the club.
I am so grateful to be part of a club that makes an impact in our community both directly (through our own community service projects) and indirectly by supporting and funding the projects of others. The school mini grant program is particularly meaningful because it encourages our youth to get involved in their community.
If you would like to learn more about our club, and/or support our projects and initiatives, we have a fundraising event next month at Crestview Country Club. It’s our annual team pickleball tournament. Spectator tickets (which cover lunch and drinks) are available for purchase here. We will also be raffling off some awesome prizes at the event. I hope you can make it.
No Comments
Not Playing, Running Tournaments Instead
Posted on April 18, 2024 by Ching under Community, Pickleball.
I’ve been having all sorts of issues (pickleball elbow, yips, monovision issues, etc.) since the start of the year so I am kind of glad that I’m on a self-imposed break from tournaments. I can’t imagine how frustrated I would be if I were competing and had all the problems I’ve been having.
Anyway, I’m not playing as much because of (a) the issues I’ve been having with my arm and (b) I’m not really training for any upcoming tournaments (since I don’t have any this year) but I’m still around pickleball because I’m still organizing tournaments and facilitating events of iPickle Nation and the Pickle Club.
Here are a few pictures from the St. Patty’s Day team pickleball tournament we had at the Pickle Club last month…
We had six teams compete:
Wu-Tang Clan: Julie Pauly, Michelle Belew, Micah Jacques, and Matt Dutton
Kitchen Killers: Jonathan Thorne, David Thorne, Leila Loomis, and Isabela Bifano
Smarties: Amanda Ades, Jared Smart, Lyle Smart, and Kendra Wicks
The Young and the Ruthless: Derek Pruett, Janelle Lindeman, Susie Ternes, and Devon Fuller
Clover Gs: Brandon Tran, Bee Bandasack, Karen Fox, and Reiko Trigo
Better with Vetter: Steve Vetter, Jen Tiano, Monica McGehee, and Fin Tatum
The tournament was MLP-style with pool play consisting of matches against every other team followed by a single-elimination bracket. The winners ended up being:
1st Place: Wu-Tang Clan
2nd Place: Better with Vetter
3rd Place: The Young and the Ruthless
It was really fun to watch the matches. I’m grateful that even if I can’t play, I can still be around pickleball. Our community is the best!
No Comments
CNP Ambassadors Sip N Play
Posted on April 3, 2024 by Ching under Community, Pickleball.
Once a month, Chicken N Pickle reserves a couple of pickleball courts at local CNP locations all over the nation for CNP ambassadors to get together. Here are some pics from our “sip n play” event last month.
Donnie Lesperance and I wore our matching shirts that day!
Our next ambassador sip n play is on April 11. Feel free to swing by and say hello!
No Comments
Shock N’ Clause 2023
Posted on December 31, 2023 by Ching under Community.
Brian and I participated in our friends’ annual Shock N’ Clause breakfast. It’s basically a breakfast where each participant brings $50 in cash. We pool all the money together and, after paying for the group’s meal, everything else goes to the server. It’s something that our travel group started in 2019 and has become an annual tradition around the holidays. Brian and I don’t always get to attend but we are always glad when we do.
Our friend Marc Shook organizes the event and this year he chose Doo-Dah Diner. Naturally, I had to take a pic with their iconic Wichita flag mural.
We usually shoot for about 20 people but we ended up with 17 total on this most recent one. Because of the size of our group, it took a while to be seated. They had to wait for enough people to leave from the same part of the restaurant so we could all sit together. Brian and I knew most of the people but we had never met some of them. We had a nice time visiting in the waiting area while we waited.
They ended up seating us at three different tables in the section in front of the bar and kitchen area. Here are pics of our three tables:
There are no assigned seats so you just pretty much find a vacant seat and sit there. Couples usually try to sit together, though. It’s easier that way when it’s time to pay. I ended up sitting next to Justin and Tina Huntington. I love these two and I hardly got to see them at all the last couple of years so it was perfect.
Here’s a picture of our group with the beneficiary (in black, between Alicia and Kirk Short) and her mom (next to Kirk in the red shirt).
Normally, we would tell the restaurant what we are doing and then the owner selects an employee who is most in need of the financial blessing and our group gets put in that server’s section so they end up getting the large cash tip. It’s a complete surprise and the employee has no idea what is going on. This year proved a little tricky. The restaurant owner Timerie had chosen Autumn Armendariz, a deserving employee who has been through a lot this year, to be our beneficiary but, because of Timerie’s husband’s illness and a staffing shortage, Autumn had to work the kitchen line calling tickets that day. It is a lead position that not just anyone can do. Timerie said Autumn is so good at it that she is even better than her husband at performing this role. The downside for Autumn is that she wouldn’t make as much as she would serving tables, specially on a holiday weekend. But, there is no one else who can do the job better. Autumn was obviously not thrilled about this turn of events but was taking one for the team because she knows the success of the entire day depends on her stepping onto the line.
Timerie ended up assigning Autumn’s mom, who is a tenured employee at Doo-Dah, to serve our group that day and she agreed to give all the tips from our group to Autumn because of everything that Autumn has been through and everyone agreed she is most deserving of the financial blessing.
I think, after Marc calculated everything, our group gave about $800 to Autumn. Brian and I ended up giving $20 separately to Autumn’s mom because she’s the one who actually served our table and she was excellent. I think Marc gave her $25 and I think Summer gave her $20 also. That was just at out table. I think if others did the same, I’m guessing Autumn’s mom maybe could have earned $200 or so in tips from our group. It was a win-win all around.
Here’s a photo of our three separate tables which, although separate, we still felt kind of together because people were able to be up and about and visit. Here’s a highlight video I made of our this year’s Shock N’ Clause breakfast:
I am really glad that Marc choose Doo-Dah because, not only is it owned and ran by good people, their food is excellent. Here are some pictures of our food:
I didn’t get pictures of everything because some people had already started eating before I could get to them, specially the folks at the first/far table. Also, ironically, I remembered to take pictures of everyone’s plate but mine. I had the pork belly and grits special which was amazing. Everything looked delicious and, if the other dishes were anything like mine, they probably tasted even better than they looked.
I was glad Brian and I could be part of another successful Shock N’ Clause. Not only does it give us opportunity to spend time with friends who we don’t always get to see but it is a truly heartwarming and rewarding experience for all involved. Can’t wait to do it all again next year!
No Comments
Busy Christmas Party Weekend
Posted on December 18, 2023 by Ching under Community, Events.
Kicked off the weekend with Cindy Egan’s annual Christmas party and gift exchange for the pickleball ladies. She is an amazing host and always comes up with the most fun games!
Here are some snaps from that night…
The next night, Brian and I went Chad and Laura Smith’s annual beer and wine gift exchange. I think we decided this was the eighth one.
Here are some snaps from that event…
Brian and I always love going because then we get to try new beers that we’d never even heard of before, and we ultimately find new favorites. For instance, I had no idea that there was such a thing as slushie beers and they are yummy!
Finally, Sunday night (last night) was Katelyn and Susie’s game night at Grant and Susie’s house. I played a couple of games I’d never played before and it was so fun!
No Comments
