Well, we thought that was a good idea...

Currently, the Organization Committee is planning the Annual Banquet.  Last month as we were brainstorming ideas, a couple of us decided that instead of having invitations printed, we could MAKE them.  Keep in mind, we usually send out abou 300 invites.  As I offered up my Cricut Cutting Machine, we thought this was a great idea...
After purchasing different colored card stock, adhesives, and all of the other necessary materials; we still thought that this was a great idea...
Day one:  Deanna (Committee Chairman) and I excitedly got started.  Deanna understands my need for anything that is mailed out, to look good.  After a childhood of tri-folding, mailing, labeling, and creating mailings at my mother's standards; this is now my requirement as well.  Deanna and I put in a good three hours and then decided that was a great way to start off this project.  We thought that this was a great idea...

Day Two:  My eight year old son spent a couple hours with me in the Main Street office and began pasting pieces of the invitations together.  He quickly decided that he would not be back to my office until after this project was complete.

Day Three:  Invitation Making "Party"....well that is what we called it anyways.  Several more volunteers showed up on their lunch breaks to help us finish more invites. 

Day Four:  By this time, Deanna and I have spent about 8 hours creating these lovely invites.  We decided we needed new blood in the office helping us out.  My lovely sister spent her day off spending a couple hours in th Main Street office. 

Day Five:  Deanna and I are now tired of looking at card stock, adhesives, and that silly Cricut Cutting Machine.  We spent a final 4 hours making these dang invites....I am not quite sure this was a great idea!

The point of this story is that if you are one of the recipients of these, please do not discard it.  Respect the number of tedious hours that we spent on these because we thought this was going to be a good idea!

10 bread sacks = admission to the movies??!?

Well, Friday is here and I have decided that I am not a very good blogger.  While I have had much to write about, time is a problem.  On Tuesday I spoke to the class of 1945.  They meet monthly and had asked me to tell them about El Dorado Main Steet.  Not knowing what to expect from this group, I brought a wide variety of topics, pictures, and materials for this presentation.  After all was said and done, I probably gained more from them than they did from me.  I brought some pictures of what downtown El Dorado looked like in 1945.  That brought back so many memories from them and the proceeded to tell me stories about many of the buildings.  They told me that on Sundays if you brought 10 bread sacks to the theatre downtown, you were given free admission.  Because of this, they would always go and collect bread sacks from all of their neighbors every week so that that they could attend the show.  One of the men told me about the gypsies and that they would come into town and beg for food.  He said that one year, they were sneaky and had robbed his mother while she was getting food for them.  The very next year the same gypsies came back and asked for food.  He said while laughing, "that year she made them stand on the porch".  It dawned on me that even though they robbed her a year earlier, she still fed them when they came back through town.  When I looked at him baffeled at this, he said "well of course she fed them again." 
Ahhh the good ol' days!

A new spin on a downtown tour

Wine and coffee at Scooters

Last Thursday, a group of about 25 women were in town for a conference.  The group leader had approached me a few months back and had asked for ideas on how to entertain them the first evening of the conference.  She explained that they often eat dinner together and she wanted these women to get a feel for our great downtown. 

After thinking about it for a bit, I told her about an idea I have seen in other communities.  Downtowns will hold progressive dinners through the businesses of the downtown.  This ensures that the participants visit the businesses while also being fed.  We quickly got to work on this idea and it turned out great.  Eight downtown businesses participated in the evening and the women were able to see all areas of the downtown as well. 

A roast and veggies at Satchel Creek Steaks

This event was not intended to "ring the registers" throughout the evening, but to gain exposure for what our downtown offers and hopefully to bring them back to shop and dine.  The very next day, several of those businesses involved in the dinner reported that many of the women came back into their stores after the conference concluded and made purchases.  What a fun way to bring people into the local businesses!

Bear with me as I enter the blogging world...

The volunteers and myself at El Dorado Main Street have continued to look for new ways to communicate with the community, I have been told by several people to start a blog.  With the blog, we would be able to communicate with more information than what facebook allows but maybe not as formal as the weekly business column that I write.  This could be a fun new way to show what El Dorado Main Street is doing in the community on a more regular basis.  If you have any suggestions for this new endeavor, please let me know.  I am also looking for a catchy new "blog name"...  I am not the most creative when it comes to words, so I struggled to title it.  Give me your ideas!!