Archive for September, 2011

Walking, volunteering and helping to end Alzheimer’s

Wednesday, September 21st, 2011

Thunder staffers were in the mix as thousands gathered in the Bricktown area of Oklahoma City to take part in the Walk to End Alzheimer’s on Saturday, participating as walkers, as volunteers and as a part of the opening ceremony.

Formerly known as the Memory Walk, the Walk to End Alzheimer’s is a signature event for Alzheimer’s Association chapters throughout the nation. It’s a way to raise both funds and awareness, as well as to emphasize the magnitude of support the fight to end Alzheimer’s has.

Thunder Girls Bailee and Sheri helped kick off the event, taking part in the opening ceremonies and marking the start of the two-mile walk; Debbie, from our community relations department, coordinated their participation. Jody and Ashley in our Premium Services department volunteered on Saturday, helping with the event set-up. And Katy, our vice president of human resources, and I walked with our Rotary team.

It’s becoming almost more difficult to find someone whose life hasn’t been somehow touched by Alzheimer’s than someone whose life has. Right here in our office, several staffers have watched loved ones suffer from this disease – including some who took part on Saturday.

Jody, our premium services manager, shared that both her grandmother (Cleo East) and great-grandmother (Leora Smith) died from Alzheimer’s. And my grandfather struggled with this disease during the last few years of his life.

Even when we’re not doing something directly through the Thunder, our staff participates extensively in community programs and causes – whether or not they’ve been personally touched by a certain issue. For example, Katy walked to support her fellow Rotarians; Ashley participated in support of a friend who has a personal stake in the cause. If it affects our friends, our neighbors or this city, we know it affects all of us.

September is World Alzheimer’s Month, and today is Alzheimer’s Action Day. Take a look at what you can do to take part on the website for our local chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association.

- Karina Henderson

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The roof

Wednesday, September 21st, 2011

Hard hats, safety vests and no fear of heights are required for this job.

Crews today are painting the new Chesapeake Energy Arena logo on the facility’s rooftop, and it’s not a job for the faint of heart.

When a few staffers from the business office went up there to take some photos and video of the process, we were less stunned by the heights than we were by the spectacular city views the rooftop offers – not to mention the great overview of the arena renovations. (Of course, the members of our crew who do have problems with heights stayed far away from this assignment.)

Everywhere you go in and around the arena, more and more work is being done to meet the deadline for the reopening of the Chesapeake Energy Arena. With events scheduled starting in mid-October, the facility has to be ready within a few weeks to let the crowds back in and see the progress. Not everything will be complete by then, but there will still be some significant changes.

An important part of the process is rebranding the building to reflect its new name – and making sure there’s no doubt in anyone’s mind that they’re entering the Chesapeake Energy Arena.

That’s where the rooftop painting comes in. If you’re driving on the I-40 crosstown, you should be able to see the crews up there today adding the beautiful new logo to the top of the building. Even if you can’t see them, trust me, they can see you driving by.

The rooftop logos should be complete by the end of the week – watch here for more updates on the changes to the facility as the reopening nears.

- Karina Henderson

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Free books free children’s hopes

Wednesday, September 14th, 2011

Last week, we posted a video to our website about the Rolling Thunder Book Bus visit to Novo Ministries, an organization that strives to bring positive change to children in inner-city neighborhoods. After the first visit from Debbie, our Book Bus coordinator, and the bus, a representative from Novo Ministries wrote some pretty wonderful things about the impact of this program:

For many of the kids at our Novo Bible Clubs and after-school programs, however, taking ownership of a book of their very own is rare and exciting privilege. Many of the kids, even in higher grade levels, have had only minimal exposure to literature of any kind. Their school libraries may contain few interesting and challenging titles, and importance of their reading is often under-stressed [...]

With the simple gift of a free book, the Rolling Thunder Book Bus has become a catalyst in changing lives. For many of the kids who have participated, owning a book is both an avenue to a better education and a step toward a different future.

Many thanks to Matt and all of the Novo staff for the kind words and thoughtful sentiments. We all feel reinvigorated when we hear about the impact the Thunder can have on those who need it most.

- Karina Henderson

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Our State Fair

Wednesday, September 14th, 2011

The Oklahoma State Fair starts on Thursday, Sept. 15, and (of course) the Thunder will be there. We’re bringing out lots of family fun, from the pop-a-shot to the prize wheel, to our outdoor tent. You’ll even be able to catch some of your favorite Thunder entertainers throughout the Fair.

You can find the Thunder booth in the 14 Flags Plaza, next to the Oklahoma Expo Hall and near the Wichita Fountain. (Take a look on this map – the 14 Flags Plaza is in near the top-center of the map.) Here’s when to stop by to find the Thunder Drummers, the Thunder Girls and Rumble:

Saturday, Sept. 17
2-3 p.m. – Thunder Drummers
3-4 p.m. – Thunder Girls
4-5 p.m. – Rumble the Bison
5-6 p.m. – Thunder Girls

Sunday, Sept. 18
2-3 p.m. – Thunder Drummers
3-5 p.m. – Thunder Girls
5-6 p.m. – Rumble the Bison

Saturday, Sept. 24
2-3 p.m. – Thunder Drummers
3-5 p.m. – Thunder Girls
5-6 p.m. – Rumble the Bison

Sunday, Sept. 25
2-3 p.m. – Thunder Drummers
3-4 p.m. – Thunder Girls
4-5 p.m. – Rumble the Bison
5-6 p.m. – Thunder Girls

The schedule is, of course, subject to change, but keep checking the 411 blog for major updates. And watch for our Thunder broadcasters to stop by the booth, as well – including Grant Long, Kelly Crull and Matt Pinto.

For any info you need about the Oklahoma State Fair, check out their website at okstatefair.com.

- Karina Henderson

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“Thunder” is 11 points

Friday, September 9th, 2011

When you put most members of our staff into a win-or-lose situation, you tend to awaken the spirit of competition within us pretty easily. And as about a dozen of us proved last night, that’s true of everything from basketball to board games.

Six Thunder teams took part in the annual Scrabble Showdown, benefiting the Oklahoma City Metro Literacy Coalition. The double-elimination tournament pitted teams of two against each other in timed Scrabble challenges until a victor emerged.

Though our results were mixed, it seems that practice really does make perfect when it comes to this manner of wordsmithing. Our highest-finishing team, taking fourth place, consisted of Ashley and Sarah from our accounting department. The pair had been spotted going head-to-head in Scrabble matches over lunch leading up to the tournament; they even showed they meant business at the event, dressing in T-shirts from our last big office competition, the Corporate Challenge.

Regardless of the results (and that’s tough to say, given that I’m just as competitive as the next person around here), the Thunder’s participation helped raise funds for an organization that’s committed to addressing a broad range of literacy issues and working to raise the bar of functional literacy for more Oklahomans.

Now, if only my teammate and I hadn’t left that one triple-word score wide open …

- Karina Henderson

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Reading with the Thunder Girls

Friday, September 9th, 2011

Since our first season, one of the Thunder’s main community-outreach efforts has been promoting literacy. From the Book Bus to the Summer Reading Challenge, we take on a number of initiatives each year that encourage children to engage in reading.

For one of our school-year projects called Read to Achieve, we send representatives from our team into schools hold a “reading time-out,” when they talk about the importance of reading and read a book aloud to schoolchildren. Yesterday, Lateshia and Riane – two veteran Thunder Girls – went to Broadmoore Elementary in Moore and read to four classes of third-graders.

The more than 80 students paid close attention as the ladies read “J is for Jump Shot,” listening to the book about basketball all the way from A (which is for “air”) to Z (for “zone”). They raised their hands when Lateshia asked whether they like to read, and they piped in with all sorts of answers when Riane asked what their favorite part of the book was.

These “reading time-out” events are such a simple concept – take a few people from the Thunder organization, and have them read a book aloud to children – but yesterday’s event made it clear that these simple events have a powerful impact. Just reading to a child, setting the example that reading is important, can encourage them to stick with reading long after the book is finished.

As with every school year, we’ll be doing many more of these events throughout the metro and keeping up our other ongoing efforts to promote a proficiency in and a love for reading.

- Karina Henderson

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