TEG
FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2016
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PULITZER PRIZE-WINNING
FAMILY OWNED SINCE 1895
MORE THAN
A GAME
Life lessons learned at Kansas Shrine Bowl Hospital Experience
By Mary Ann Redeker
Elliot Huels
of Overland
Park,
demonstrates
his ability
to play the
guitar with
his disability.
Huels said
Shriners
Hospitals
helped him
learn how to
adapt and be
successful.
He played
a song from
Metallica for
the audience.
[email protected]
Friendships and special bonds
were formed Thursday during the
Kansas Shrine Bowl Hospital Experience.
The event was held at the Memorial Union on the campus of
Emporia State University as part
of Kansas Shrine Bowl weekend in
Emporia.
The Kansas Shrine Bowl is a
non-profit charity raising funds and
awareness for the Shriners Hospitals for Children.
Sarah Van Petten, executive director of the Kansas Shrine Bowl,
said the experience was a good one
for all those involved in the event.
“This year we were able to bring
20 hospital patient ambassadors to
Emporia to enjoy this experience,”
she said. “We invite the band,
cheerleaders and football players and coaches who participate
in the football game to this event.
The ambassadors get to share their
stories with the participants. It’s
a pretty unique experience for all
those involved.”
Different stations were set up
throughout the Memorial Union
where the patient ambassadors
had an opportunity to share their
stories. In turn, the football players, cheerleaders and band members had the experience of learning
what the ambassadors go through
each day.
“We had eight stations set up
where the ambassadors got to talk
about what the Shriners Hospital
has done for them,” Van Petten
said. “Not just on the medical side,
but how the hospital helps them
speak about the condition they
have.
“Some of these kids were born
without an arm or without a leg.
Some may have had a spinal cord
injury or spinal bifida. There are
so many kids in here with different, unique stories. They probably
wouldn’t have been able to receive
treatment if they had not found
Shriners. Shriners treats all kids,
regardless of their ability to pay, so
everyone can be treated at a Shriners Hospital.”
Rylie McFadden, a cheerleader
from Hutchinson, said she was excited to be a part of Shrine Bowl
activities this weekend.
“It’s exciting to be able to come
MARY ANN REDEKER/GAZETTE
MARY ANN REDEKER/GAZETTE
A patient ambassador from Shriners Hospital shares her story
Thursday at the Kansas Shrine Bowl Hospital Experience. The
event was held in the Memorial Union at Emporia State University
as part of Shrine Bowl weekend activities.
to the Shrine Bowl and get to
cheer,” she said. “It’s even more
exciting because of the cause and
how we get to help out for Shriners
Hospital. It’s awesome to be able to
raise money for the kids. It’s a great
feeling.”
McFadden had the opportunity
to wear simulator boots and experi-
ence what it would be like to walk
with prosthetics.
“It feels like you are on a trampoline, sort of,” she said. “It feels like
a trampoline under your feet. It’s
hard to explain. You can’t feel what
you’re stepping on and have to abPlease see Shriners, Page 3
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WWW.EMPORIAGAZETTE.COM
CELEBRATES 25 YEARS
By John Robinson
[email protected]
Emporia Main Street is set
to close one door and open another as the organization celebrated 25 years of operation
at the Emporia Arts Council
Thursday night.
Casey Woods, executive
director of
Emporia Main
Street , announced the
Homegrown
Capital Campaign at the
celebration
Thursday. The
plan will move Woods
Emporia Main
Street to 727
Commercial St. The location
will also be a permeant home
for Dirty Kanza Promotions and
an incubation space for new
businesses.
“People have been talking
about the need for an incubator and accelerator space in
Emporia for over 30 years now,”
Woods said. “Emporia Main
Street has been around for only
25 and it’s time to make this
happen. We talk about creating
a better economy and creating
more jobs and creating more
wealth and fighting vacancies
in commercial properties.
“The way you do that is
through entrepreneurship, and
a lot of our entrepreneurs need
a little help getting started —
both logistical and educational
help. They need a place where
they can grow while keeping
their overhead low and then
shift into a permanent location.”
The campaign has already
raised more than $425,000 of its
$750,000 goal during the “quiet” portion of fundraising. Emporia Mayor Rob Gilligan said
the new location will benefit
the city and spoke about what
Emporia Main Street did for the
city.
“I hope the community can
truly see the success this organization has had,” Gilligan said.
“Helping to encourage business
growth, building redevelop ment, design redevelopment.
It’s a huge partnership between
the city, the county and com-
Award winners:
ADVOCATE OF THE YEAR:
IM Design Group
VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR:
Staci Hamman
BUSINESS OF THE YEAR:
Radius Brewing Company
J. WARREN BRINKMAN AWARD:
Yvonne Pool
STEVE HANSCHU EXCELLENCE IN
DESIGN AWARD:
Evergreen Design Build
munity business owners ...
with USA Today naming us the
Best Main Street in America,
it’s truly fitting with the work
which has been done this last
25 years.”
According to Woods, the
past 25 years of work by Emporia Main Street have included
decreasing vacancy rates downtown to less than 8 percent, to
increasing the pull factor of Emporia.
“It’s great to look at how
far we’ve come,” Woods said.
“From 40 percent vacancy rates
... and a fairly flat pull factor to
$86 million worth of reinvestment and all the jobs and development and businesses created
during that time period.”
Moving forward, Woods said
the