I believe that volunteering pays. Volunteering makes your circle of influence larger, brings you in contact with people you never would have met, sharpens your skills and creates new ones and makes you a more rounded person. You could choose to sit on the couch and watch tv or you could take one day or one hour and get involved in your community. This year I’ve volunteered with the Hampton Area Chamber of Commerce. I’ve used my camera, writing skills, social media and marketing tools for the following events:
- Simon Estes In Residency — two day event with Simon Estes, international opera superstar
- Tuesday on the Town – Four Tuesdays in June live entertainment
- Our Town – Live Play in the Windsor Theatre and a month long drama camp for young kids
- Band Shell Playathon — Feather in the cap live performance at Band Shell Park – we raised $108,000 in six weeks in a grassroots movement
- Summerfest – 2 day weekend filled with entertainment and fun for all ages
- 1:1 Initiative – getting laptops into high school students hands
- Water on the Brain — collection of 41,000 bottles of water for local students to use while taking tests
- Bring Oprah to Hampton – ongoing campaign to bring Oprah to town, have received national attention
- Holly Dazzle – 12 Days of Christmas Celebration around Town includes re-opening of Highway 65, Lighted Parade, Live Production of a Radio Broadcast of It’s a Wonderful Life, Santa and much more
Let’s not forget:
- Four quarterly coffees,
- Spring, Fall and Holiday Open Houses
- Excel of Iowa Camping Club
- After 5 events at Hardees, Willies,First National Bank, Country Club, Franklin County Arts Council, Windsor Theatre, Pit Row Pub
- Spruce Up Day
- Tourism Day at the Franklin County Fair
- Hampton Area Chamber of Commerce Golf Open
- marketing meetings that help determine the direction we are going and in preparation for Great Places ..
and we’ve begun the Great Places Program preparation and the Eradicate Malaria Campaign with Simon Estes. There are many ideas being discussed and flushed out for quite a few more projects.
What Have You Been Up To This Year?