Franie Garcia
Blog #1

Hello everyone,

My name is Franie Garcia, after high school I plan on goin to Jacksonville University to study fashion. I plan on becoming a supermodel, and meeting Tyra Bank! I am originally from Lubbock Texas, but I currently live in Wilson Texas, I'm 16 yrs old. In the Ogallala Internship I will be learning more about the history of Wilson, fashion and designing exhibits for a community celebration. This is going to help me find out what the fashion industry may be like. I'm super excited to begin this internship, this summer will be a fabulous one, and I hope it will be for you all too.

Michelle Wait Blog #5 - Final Blog

The above pics are of a few of my students presenting the research they found about famous entrepreneurs - the curriculum I worked on is being tested out!!

Much of the work we will be doing in class this fall comes from ideas in this book which I found through the AIM Institute - http://www.aiminstitute.org

I hope that my internship for Ogallala Commons will be the first of many for teachers in summers to come. The main focus of my teacher internship was to develop an entrepreneurship curriculum for high school students in southeast Colorado. I also got to work with a couple of the student interns on planning a Youth Leadership Camp, planning a Youth Engagement Day for the students in Baca County this fall, and planning the Youth Entrepreneurship Fair for Baca County next spring.

At first developing a curriculum was a daunting task. I started by meeting with my supervisor, Nikki Johnson, the Campo School superintendent, and we tried to contact the instructors at Lamar Community College who had taught entrepreneurship, but these people were unavailable for most of the summer. Daryll Birkenfeld helped me out by sending me some materials he had, so I started going through these books. In addition, I started researching on the internet. After many hours, I came upon a group called the AIM Institute in Nebraska. The AIM Institute is a not-for-profit membership organization that provides information technology leadership to Nebraska and the surrounding region. The institute helps business, educational, and community partners to focus and coordinate their IT resources. Its goal is to help initiate the changes and improvements necessary to meet emerging information technology needs, build a strong workforce, and expand economic growth in our communities. This site was a valuable resource for my curriculum and many lesson plans, as was the gentleman who I contacted through this site, Dave Coover. I am using a book that he wrote for my curriculum this fall, Entrepreneurship & Marketing in the 21st Century. While taking this course, students will have the opportunity to learn about entrepreneurship, business plans, buying and selling on eBay, and develop their own business. The students will not only operate their own business within their classroom, but they will be required to create a business plan of their own to enter in the Youth Entrepreneurship Fair sponsored by the Baca County Economic Development Corporation in the spring. We will also be fitting in field trips to local businesses as the schedule permits. It is my hope that we will have time to take a trip to Mosquero, NM and Booker, TX to learn about the business the students are running in their schools.

One of the other projects that I worked on this summer was the Youth Entrepreneurship Fair which is sponsored by the Baca County Economic Development Corporation. Some changes for the upcoming YEF include having two divisions; one for high school and another for middle school. The winner of the high school division will receive $500, 2nd - $400, and 3rd - $300. The winner of the middle school division will receive $300, 2nd - $200, and 3rd - $100. In addition, there will be a Big Idea Contest in which students will not have to complete a full blown business plan in order to compete in the YEF. The students will enter a business description of enter the Big Idea Contest, and the winner will receive $100. This year we will also try to recruit sponsorships from local businesses so that we can have $100 prizes for categories such as The Most Innovative Business Plan, The Best Ag-Related Business Plan, The Best Arts-Related Business Plan, and so on. We would like to see every student recognized in some way, if possible. I worked to create a rubric for the business plan that the students will turn in to be judged at the YEF. I think it is very important for the students to know exactly what is required of them and to know how they will be judged. This rubric will be very helpful for the students and their teachers, as well as for the judges during the fair.

During part of my internship, I had the opportunity to work with Megan England and Kerra Wait, two of the student interns this summer. These two girls planned a Youth Leadership Camp for the middle school students in Baca County where they helped the participants learn about leadership and entrepreneurship while learning about their communities. Another activity which I have had some input on and will help with this fall is the Youth Engagement Day which will take place this November for all interested Baca County high school students. This day will bring many business people and colleges to Campo to share valuable information with our students.
This internship has been a very educational and inspirational experience. I’m excited about getting my curriculum into the classroom this fall to see what works and what needs changed.

Thank you to Ogallala Commons for the opportunity to take on such a rewarding project!

Kristin Bingham, Blog 8

Onions I helped gather and cull from the
harvest with Dr. Peffley

As summer has wound to its close and I am preparing to begin my teaching position at South Plains College, I take a few moments to reflect on my internship this past summer. I helped create a new logo for Hi-Plains Apple Country Orchards that I personally think is pretty snazzy, and I sure hope they like it as well. I’ve also become quite adept at opening and maintaining Facebook pages thanks to the work I was able to do for the Apple Orchard as well as Paidom. The bulk of my summer internship was spent with Ellen Peffley and her business, From the Garden. Oh what a garden it is. Absolutely beautiful. I learned so much during my time with Dr. Peffley, and not only about growing good food, but about how to run a small business; how to keep up with paperwork, how to cater to individual preferences while still being equitable. One of the most important lessons from Dr. Peffley came through her relationship with her clients. Sometimes you have to make time to chat.  And that it what makes her business such a resounding success – her unquestionable knowledge of horticulture and her ability to relate with her customers and their lives.

My past internships with the Ogallala Commons have been rewarding, but were never quite the full “OC intern” experience. This summer, I feel like I have had the opportunity to make a difference and to learn about the things which are most important to me. I love local food production, not only for the wonderful high-quality products, but for the people behind those products – the ones who have put their hearts and souls and livelihoods out there. This summer reminded me that behind every successful product is an entrepreneur who pushed and pulled and advertised and got out there to make their products a success. It is the capitalist society at work, and at a time when “capitalist” is a bad word to some, I find that it does work, and works well in rural communities and in people who just want to make a better life for themselves and their families. I believe that by supporting entrepreneurship in youth and in community partners, the Ogallala Commons is helping support an economy on the rocks and showing people that there are many other ways to make it in this world if you can only dream it. I believe the entrepreneur is a vital component to our economy and I am happy to be involved in an organization so dedicated to supporting those individuals and helping them help the small towns where they live.

As the summer wraps up, I am not completely finished with my internship. I am currently working with Alan Birkenfeld of Paidom, a producer of “beyond organic” meats and grains, to create a new logo, amplify their Facebook presence and incorporate Twitter into their social media toolbox. Alan makes deliveries of his products all over the south plains and has a route which travels through Dallas and on down to Houston where the ability to “tweet” delivery schedule updates would be an immense benefit for his customers.

I am also still working with Darryl Birkenfeld, Julie Hodges, Brioney Hatchen, Cara Tam-Young, Karen Bone and Andrew Husband on a new venture called “Local Llano.” This is a development off of previous work done in the local foods arena by Ogallala Commons to help consumers connect with producers as well as reminding everyone that there’s still something going on here in local foods. After several very successful local foods conferences, tours and festivals, it has become ever so clear that there is a demand on the south plains for better food, and it is the hope of this Local Llano group to provide resources for finding certain products available, for producers to make sure their products are listed, and to showcase past and upcoming events centered around local foods in the different communities of the Llano Estacado. I see great potential for this new adventure, as do all of my colleagues who are helping develop this idea, and we hope to produce something worthwhile that will persist long after our time has finished as interns.

Come see me if your out at SPC!

This last Thursday, I met with Elaine Matthews of the North Carolina Rural Economic Development Center, Bobby Giersich of the OC Board, and Aleece Methrin, who is an intern as well, to talk about the Commons internship program and how it might be adapted to create a similar program in the North Carolina area. I will always consider myself an ambassador for this program and am happy to be able to tell others about the wonderful things going on in the South Plains and the great work being done by Ogallala Commons. This organization impacts so many people and plants the seeds of change in each of us. I am so proud to have been an intern this year, and grateful for the opportunities I have been given through the Ogallala Commons.  

Tara Fox, Blog #8

Wow! A lot has happened the past two weeks. This past weekend was the “Let it Shine” Plainview Car Club car show. We had a great turn out. Car clubs from the high and south plains area came to support. Amarillo, Lubbock, and Midland car clubs were the main clubs who came out this past Saturday; about fifty cars total were registered for the car show. There were several vendors who lined the streets of Broadway Park selling things like: snow cones, home made gorditas, fajita tacos, smoked sausage, smoked corn, brisket sandwiches, and fresh fruit. There was also a place for people to rent out spaces like garage sale stations. Some of the car clubs had DJ’s and Christian rappers who entertained the crowds. The flashy cars and the smell of food cooking brought a lot of people out of their homes on Saturday.

Proceeds from the entry fee and vender fee’s all went to the Individual Development Accounts (IDA). I am unsure as to how much money was raised but I am sure that the amount will be a great start for the matched savings accounts.

                             Story about IDA and Car Club

 

This past week I also had the opportunity to have my harvest ceremony. Cody, Primo, Eric, Kay and myself were able to come together for some photo opportunities but also as a way to celebrate this project coming together. It’s great to see different people from different walks of life being able to come together for a mutual purpose especially when that purpose has the potential to benefit so many different individuals and families.

The 8 key experiences have been very present even in the last few weeks.

Finding your Voice: Researching, writing and creating this curriculum has forced me to be more assertive in time constraints. Writing a blog as allowed me to share in my experiences and I’ve enjoyed getting to interact with the business world more and know that I can hang with them.

Learning and Sharing Stories: Anytime you are dealing with people you need to understand that people like to talk about their life and their personal experiences. Hearing other peoples experiences can help you understand how to better assist them in a need as well as give you the opportunity to learn from their experiences.

Stewarding Natural Resources: The water project that I was able to be apart of was definitely one of the coolest things I’ve ever gotten to do. I believe that thinking about the future and water availability is very important and this drought has made that very clear.

Revitalizing the Community: Our community isn’t going anywhere and everyone can’t just get up and move to a bigger metropolis. We have to start where we are and work to make it better for everyone not just ourselves. The IDA project and banking and financial curriculum is revitalizing the community of Plainview.

Being a Community Volunteer: I really enjoyed volunteering again. I really believe in what Compassionate Care Pregnancy Center does and their mission is so important. I loved being able to give back and expect nothing in return. I understand why this key concept is so important in building character.

Fostering a Sense of Place: Seeing everyone come out and pitch in at the car show really made it come alive for me that we all need to work together. When we come together for a project and stop worrying about what we’re getting out of it we can make amazing things happen. Being proud of where you’re from to the point where you want to improve it and make it better is part of discovering your place in the world.

Designing your Career Path: My career path is far from being written but I have definitely enjoyed getting to branch out and escape my comfort zones. I think that keeping an open mind to opportunities is a huge part of designing your career path. Life changes and you never know where you might end up. Having different experiences under your belt can really be a blessing.

I didn’t experience “Supporting Local Food Production” in my internship unless you count buying food from the vendors at the car show!

This summer has been insanely busy. Even though the internship is coming to a close my job in seeing this IDA project get started is not. The opportunities that this internship has provided for me are priceless. I have been able to network with different people in the Plainview community as well as begin a project that could really benefit our community as a whole.  I just want to thank Ogallala Commons, The city of Plainview, Eric Turner, Plainview Car Club and Kay Harris for making this internship possible.

A few pictures from the Let it Shine car show!

Michelle Wait - Blog #4

Megan England & Kerra Wait with a jar of hot sauce!

The owner of Tascosa Hot Sauce telling us about her business.

At the end of July, I had the opportunity to attend the OC Retreat in Amarillo, TX – what a wonderful event! We had a delicious dinner at the Ambassador Hotel created from ingredients provided by local people and prepared by a local restaurant owner. We got to hear from several of the interns about how their projects were progressing – it sounds like everyone is having a great summer!

The best part of the trip, however, was visiting the business incubator, WTAMU Enterprise Center. We got to visit several businesses which are getting help from experts at the center to get their businesses off and running. These businesses included Tascosa Hot Sauce and Animal Innovators. These businesses pay $250 per month to work with certified coaches that each have a specialty in a different area of business. This visit was such an inspiration to those of us attending from Baca County, Colorado!

Something like this business incubator could be extremely invaluable to the people in southeast Colorado who are interested in starting their own business. Many people have great ideas, but just don’t have the resources or don’t know where to go to get the help needed to get their ideas off the ground. With a little help, we might be able to help some entrepreneurs and the economy here in Baca County if we could get something like this Enterprise Center started.

Catherine Jenkinson-Final Post

Since the day I started this internship, the summer has become quite a whirlwind because I have been so busy and excited. As I stepped into Rita Williams' office (my supervisor) I was nervous for what my new job would entail. I had no idea what a learning experience it would be.

The beginning of my internship was filled with planning. Planning my work schedule, planning Wallace County Foundation events and trips, and planning for the foundation's various projects. As work days went by, I became more comfortable and confident in the office. Later, I put together a fundraising letter with 1800 recipients, I created a fair booth about the foundation, I bound a business directory, I worked on an oral history project, and did various other work. I worked Monday through Thursday from eight-to-twelve and one-to-five, except for the occasional busy day where I worked through lunch. Throughout the internship, I have shared snippets about each project I have worked on. Now, I would like to share with everyone how I encountered the 8 key topics of the internship. I believe that I encountered all but one.

Finding Your Voice-

One of the requirements of my internship has been to attend all Wallace County Foundation meetings. There are eight board members and me, the intern. At the first meeting, I was very intimidated. How could I, a high school student, have anything important or useful to say in these meetings? As my internship developed, so did I into a more mature person. I became more confident in addressing the adults in these meetings and even felt comfortable speaking-up if I had a different idea. I even felt that some of my suggestions were quite helpful.

Stewarding Natural Resources-

No, I wasn't involved in conservation of the precious Ogallala Aquifer, but I was involved in stewarding a different type of natural resource---people and their stories. As I was interviewing a couple in their late eighties about their experiences with coyote hunting, something suddenly occurred to me. If these people die, without anyone having recorded their history, their stories will die with them. I began to become much more intrigued by the stories people told me and began to feel that it is the duty of those of us who are able, to record the history of our greatest natural resource---our people. This oral history project has inspired me to work on a short documentary called "Wallace County Characters", which would video-tape the delightful stories of older generations.

Revitalizing Your Community-

The Wallace County Foundation has done a tremendous job of community revitalization. They headed-up the project to have a home-owned theatre several years ago, they sponsor a splendid Community Christmas party each year, they provide help to children in need, and they handle several local scholarships. I have had the honor to help them with these projects this summer and have taken an active part in several of their projects including the Community Christmas Party, Christmas Bus trip, and the Fundraising letter which seeks to provide funds for the foundation's various endeavors. All of these projects are actively revitalizing this community.

Being a Community Volunteer-

This internship has required me to do ten hours of community service. Through this program, I have become more self-motivated to help the community and more aware of where help is needed. Not only is community service a large part of Ogallala Commons, it is a tremendous aspect of the Wallace County Foundation. Every member of the Wallace County Foundation volunteers hundreds of hours each year to many different causes and organizations. The foundation meetings usually last several hours, and the time given by these professionals is quite a gift. Not only do they contribute their time, though. They also contribute their talents, their money, and their expertise. Being a community intern has most definitely inspired me to be like the Wallace County Foundation members who are truly the definition of volunteers. I now see even more the importance of volunteerism and the benefits that it has.

Learning and Sharing Stories-

During my time interviewing various Wallace County citizens, I have become a better, more concise story teller. I have become more of a listener and less of a chatterbox. I've learned to allow people time to speak and I have seen that when people are given time and are listened to, they share the best stories of all. As I said earlier, the coyote hunting oral history project has inspired me to work on a small documentary film.

Designing Your Career Path-

This internship has allowed me the luxury of trying new things, searching for what I'm passionate about. While planning the Christmas bus trip, I began to feel that I might like to become an event planner. Through the coyote hunting oral history project, I began to fall in love with sharing people's stories either through print or film. I have also learned, that I need to move around, that I am more productive when I am up and active than when sitting still. I'm not sure what path I will take, but this internship has helped me to start realizing what I would be best at and would like the most.

Discovering Your Place-

In my community, I have learned, it takes everyone. Much like the saying "It takes a village to raise a child", it takes everyone to create a thriving community. I've always known this in some way, but this concept has become much more tangible, if you will, through this internship. Everyone has to do their share or things won't get done. The best example of how this has become apparent to me this summer is the Foundation itself. If every board member didn't deliver, didn't do his share by calling prospective members or taking time to look at scholarship applications in depth, the Foundation would not be able to help people in the community as well. Every citizen has a "place" in helping his community.

I apologize for being so broad as I try to explain how I have encountered seven of the eight key topics. As you can see, the one topic I did not feel that I had encountered was supporting local food production. I have greatly appreciated the opportunity to have this summer internship, and I will take the new skills I have learned with me for a long while. Thank you again, Ogallala Commons and especially thank you to Rita Williams, my supervisor, and the Wallace County Foundation.

Samantha Carter, Blog #8

Harvest Ceremony 8/2/2011

This summer has been a new start for me. I got to be challenged, recognized, appreciated, and probably one of the most important aspects of my summer was getting to gain a few surrogate family members. It has been an absolute pleasure of mine being able to work with Joy and Linda at the museum. Since day one, Linda, Joy and myself hit it off like we’ve known each other for years, just like family. Over the weeks and all that has happened in my life since my first day both of the ladies at the museum have been very supportive of me and always helped me with advice when I needed it. This summer has been a struggle at times but somehow everything always works itself out.

I started this intern the week after quitting a long two year sentence in a situation where I wouldn’t put an enemy. So right away I was starting anew and I wasn’t going let my past ruin anything I could gain in my future. This intern came to me at a perfect moment in my life. After living here for 2 years, honestly a downright horrible experience with only one good outcome from it all, I was not looking forward to having to stay here because of financial reasons. I just quit my job and if I didn’t find something soon I would have to take my sister up on her offer to have me go home to Ohio.

Luckily, I was offered this job. I was living on a friends couch for the majority of the summer trying to find a place that was affordable and was able to house me and my two babies, my pit-bull and my lab-mix. They were my world and I wouldn’t have made it through my last year and a half here without them. So finding a place for the 3 of us was vital for me. Weeks passed and I wasn’t able to find anywhere I knew I would be able to afford. So the problem became would I want to live in a house with my dogs not being able to afford running water, food, etc. or would I rather find a good home for my babies and be able to live on my own. I fought and fought trying to find a place and nothing ever came up. I even took on another job so I was working about 50 hours a week. Then I felt bad about never being home with them so it would be fairer to find them a better home then what I could offer at this point in time with my life. As much as it hurt and as sad as I knew I would be I decided to find them a home, and luckily I found a family in Santa Fe that would take both of them for me. I was supposed to take them up to Santa Fe on the Sunday, 10^th of July. The Friday before, the 8^th, I came home to find my pit-bull had choked himself to death. That was the hardest moment in my life that I’ve had since 2002 when my Grandpa died. Waffle was my baby and now there is a huge gaping hole in my heart for him.

Linda and Joy were understanding of my absence the day after Waffle had died. I called the family to see if they could take Pivo, my lab-mix a day early and they said they would. The last thing I wanted to do was come home to another dead dog for some odd reason or have my baby dug up in the yard. After that I came across an apartment that was perfect for me since I was alone now and it was affordable.

Over the time that I was moving in Linda and Joy helped me to find items I needed for my apartment which really helped me out a lot. Like I said, they are basically my Grandmothers here in Tucumcari 2,000 miles away from home.

The third board meeting I attended was used as my Harvest Ceremony in which I discussed all the progress I made this summer. The THRI board was only expecting me to accomplish a portion of a single room so when I told them that I almost completed two entire rooms, totaling over 1.100 items in 9 weeks they were astounded! My supervisors were all there and they all had kind things to say about me and my work that I’ve done. They even said they were actively looking for a grant that would help pay for me to stay at the museum.

A few of the projects that I have worked on while at the museum are:

· Rattler Reunion Booth

· Legends of the West Event

· Designing a new Rack Card

· Coming up with a “Tour Guide” for the museum, a booklet of info for customers

· Creating a Facebook Page for the museum (Still working on adding some photos)

· Beginners Guide for anyone else who comes in to catalog for the museum, it is instructions on how to complete every step in the cataloging process from start to finish

· Placing a Geocaching item at the museum with hopes of new customers

· Centennial Event

· Informational Committee for the different groups within Tucumcari

· Helping a group of people wanting to start a museum in Illinois

· Coming up with cheaper ways to print, laminate, doing a computer back up, and preserving the materials needed to catalog