ABOUT THIS EPISODE
City Utilities isn't just committed to community service, but also setting a standard in the Springfield area. How exactly? CU's Communications & Community Relations Specialist, Whitney Mann, and United Way of the Ozarks Region President/CEO, Brandi VanAntwerp, explain. We do a deep dive into the various fundraising events that CU hosts each year, how much money the utility has raised, and the ways it goes back into the community. Plus, we return to the 3-Second Rule Game, United Way edition!
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SHOW NOTES 🔗
00:00:00Introduction: 'Tis the Season For...
00:01:27Big Fundraising Events & Guest Whitney Mann
00:06:52Our Community & United Way of the Ozarks CEO
00:16:36Game Time: 3 Second Rule, Community Edition
00:20:34Halloween Hustle & What's Next
TRANSCRIPT 🔗
WEBVTT
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Hello and welcome to the latest episode of That's
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Shocking, a City Utilities podcast. I'm Cara
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Erwin. Hey, and I'm Daniel. How's it going? Great.
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Cara, how are you today? I'm doing well. I have
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to ask, we are in the midst, literally start,
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I should say, of pumpkin spice season. We've
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made it, even though it's still really hot outside.
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Yes, yes. The commercials are airing. Yeah, it's
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all over the socials. How do you feel about pumpkin
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spice? I mean, look, to each his own. It's not
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my cup of tea. I like pumpkin flavoring. I don't
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love pumpkin spice flavoring. Overall, I'm more
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of like a peppermint wintry season kind of girl.
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So yeah, once we put the pumpkins away and pull
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out the Christmas decorations and the peppermint
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flavors, then I'm there. But isn't it funny how
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like you... almost don't like something that
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you adore during a certain season if the weather's
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wrong yeah so you know it's hot out do we really
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like pumpkin spice latte or you know we're just
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kind of forcing ourselves but it's interesting
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like i wouldn't like peppermint in july but you
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know Give me some cold weather and I'm there
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for it. When it gets to that season, you're ready
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for it. Yeah. There we go. All right. Well, speaking
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of hot weather, we have some guests that are
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ready to talk to us about some hot things going
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on at City Utilities. That was a terrible transition.
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Some hot events. No, I like it. Yeah. Okay. We've
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got a lot that's been happening for about two
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weeks, three weeks now. That's right. And we
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still have, well, we're toward the end of it,
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but we still have a full week and a half or so
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to go. But we've got Whitney Mann here. who's
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going to be able to set the record straight.
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Yeah, that's right. Works here at City Utilities
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with us. So Whitney is our communications and
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community relations specialist. So she focuses
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on... connecting city utilities quite literally
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to our community and ensuring that the the spirit
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that our city utilities employees show every
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day makes its way to the community through events
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and fundraising and and other um really cool
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things so can you talk a little bit about what
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you do and and some of the events that you're
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working on yeah so as you said i kind of handle
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community relations for the utility and that
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is doing a lot of things at once and like you
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said we do a lot of events we do a lot of fundraising
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to give back to our community and that's really
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the crux of all the work I do and especially
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this time of year we're very very busy yeah this
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is your pumpkin spice latte season right yeah
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this is your season yes um which I am Pro PSL,
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by the way. Okay, good, good. All about it. Have
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you had yours today, Whitney? Not today, but
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I have had a few this week. Woo! Woo! But I would
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say for what we do, we do a lot of community
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projects that I think... a lot of folks might
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not be aware of if they're not in the middle
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of it, in the thick of it with us. So we actually
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have a pretty robust CU Cares program. And so
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this is just the way we give back to our community
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through fundraising events. You know, right now
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we're gearing up for the Halloween Hustle, which
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is a race that we do to support Harmony House.
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We're really proud of that. It's the longest
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running 5K in Springfield, believe it or not,
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hosted by City Utilities. raised $29 ,000 for
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Harmony House last year. So we're getting ready
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to work, raise funds for them this year. We're
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also right in the middle of United Way season.
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So our employees lead the largest employee driven
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campaign for United Way. We're really proud of
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that. But it takes a lot of work to host events
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here in the utility to get employees engaged
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and giving and really just working with all of
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that while also managing our employee charity.
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of the year and supporting Project Share and
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other initiatives that we focus on every year.
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What is Project Share for those people who don't
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know? So Project Share is a fund that exists
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within OCAC here in our community and it is something
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that anyone in Springfield who is a City Utilities
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customer can apply for if they receive LIHEAP
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and additional funding. This is just an extra
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pot of money if they need support on their utility
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bill. Typically in the winter months when those
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bills are the highest from heating their home
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they can apply and just have a little extra support
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for them as they make it through those months
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yeah and our employees have actually selected
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project share as the employee charity of the
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year so we are doing a lot of donating of our
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own within city utilities but this is also a
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project that our customers can get involved with
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you can just simply round up your bill you can
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make a one -time donation you can make a recurring
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donation and And all of the money stays local
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and helps City Utilities customers who are struggling
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to pay their electric bills. So thank you for
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that. Of course. It's a great, great initiative.
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And I think it's really special that it's specifically
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for CU customers. Yeah. Well, it's one of those
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that I'm questioning. Whitney, are you ever sleeping,
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especially these days, because of how much is
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going on? I prioritize my sleep because it's
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important for me to be energized and bring all
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of the fun that we expect for this time of year.
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A few weeks ago, I celebrated United Way by throwing
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confetti in the air. And that's kind of how I
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try to bring. That's the energy I want to bring
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to everything that we do for United Way, for
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Harmony House, and for all the programs that
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we support in the community. So yes, I need my
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sleep so that I can be tip -top shape. And she
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needs her Amazon subscribe and save to confetti.
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Yeah, you bring the energy, that's for sure.
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So that's always appreciated. The other thing
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that's super appreciated is the fact that it
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really is CU's commitment to the community. And
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that, to me, is just... A real standout. It's
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really nice to know that we work somewhere that
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has values that so much. Yeah. And, you know,
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Daniel, you and I are both relatively new to
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the utility. Me three years and you a little
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over a year. OK. And I know that we've talked
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about how one of the things that drew us here
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was that very obvious commitment. to the community,
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not just through providing excellent utility
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services, but in other ways as well. Yeah. And
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it's just something to hear all of those options,
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things that are happening either now or in the
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near future. And it's just throughout the entire
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year. It doesn't just stop in this pumpkin spice
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season, but it continues well beyond that. Talking
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about continuing throughout the entire year,
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we do have another guest that's joining us right
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now, Brainy Van Antwerp from United Way of the
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Ozarks. region special guest yes president ceo
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so brainy thanks for joining us thank you guys
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for having me this is fun so before we get started
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are you a pumpkin spice latte fan no i am not
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oh two two out of two yeah okay so is it one
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of those that you just won't try it at all or
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it's fine it's too i don't love syrupy sweet
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stuff okay i'm more of like a cortado or an americano
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or just a black coffee um if i do something i'll
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do a chai tea but I don't love the like the sweet
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end of things as much Well, I think we have the
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same taste in coffee. And dark chocolate. Yes,
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absolutely. All right. Well, we brought you here
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today because we are in the midst of our United
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Way campaign season, led, as we mentioned, by
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Whitney Mann and other employees as well that
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we'll talk about here in a second. But can you
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first talk to us a little bit about United Way?
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What is its impact on the community? And then
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how does CU help in achieving those goals? Yeah.
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So United Way was started over 95 years ago in
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our community. And we started out as the community
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chest, which always gives me a chuckle. It's
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like a Monopoly game board. But we literally
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were founded to serve the needs and identify
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barriers and reduce barriers for our community
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and our neighbors. And we continue to do that.
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We have two focus areas, championing children
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and providing pathways out of poverty. And we've
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worked with city utilities for a number of years
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to base. bring about the impact on our community.
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So United Way over our 95 year history has brought
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about $128 million back into our community to
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support our neighbors. And City Utilities has
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been a really big part of that. Like Whitney
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said, you all are the largest employee contributed
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campaign that we have. And it's an enormous help
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for us in what we're doing to then gift those
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dollars back out to the community through nonprofit
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organizations. We appreciate CU's partnership.
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I would add to that, you mentioned $128 million
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over your 95 years. Just in the last five years
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alone, City Utilities has actually been a part
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of raising a million dollars for United Way.
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And so we're really proud of that. And we know
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that we kind of lead that charge, but we hope
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that we're encouraging others in our efforts
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to give in that same way. Yes, that's awesome.
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You guys are, you do a lot. And you're the campaign
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that when I'm out talking to other workplaces,
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I'm like, they have their own. marketing calendar.
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Like they create a calendar of events for what
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they're doing to raise for United Way. And just,
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you have so much energy and passion with what
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you're doing. So it's great. I love that we can
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have this partnership and also be able to kind
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of showcase it to others so they can see some
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really great things they could do too. So what
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I'm hearing is that we're a favorite then. Yes.
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Everyone has to have a favorite. Don't tell my
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other kids, though. That's right. That's right.
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Your secret's safe with us. So, you know, one
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of the things we talk about and we like to brag
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about, and we kind of laugh about it, but it's
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fun, is, you know, we get competitive. And one
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of the things, as I mentioned, we brag about
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is that we're the leading employee -led campaign.
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Yes. Why is that? sort of extra special of course
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i'm biased but well so the the impact of united
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way giving is that every person can collectively
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create impact so if a person can afford to be
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to contribute five dollars a pay period or if
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a person can afford to contribute eighty dollars
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a pay period we're all doing it together and
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that's what makes it so important and when it's
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coming from employees and not necessarily a corporate
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gift we know that you all are engaging your team
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in um finding their passion for the programs
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that we support. And so that makes it really
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special. Not that a corporate gift isn't special,
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but when we know how many faces and hearts are
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behind the gifts, that's what makes it really
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important. That's great. Well, so also talking
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about that as well, there are the different ways
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of giving back. Obviously, you have that of donating
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the money per paycheck or lump sum. And then
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there's also the... Obviously, volunteering and
00:11:13.009 --> 00:11:15.629
giving back that way. So with your time, it's
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one of those that there are many different options
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and ways to give back. And whenever there's a
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place like City Utilities here where we have
00:11:22.789 --> 00:11:25.789
so many different. fundraising events that's
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not just here in this current season of ours,
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but then beyond that, you know, throughout the
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year, such as the donation of your money through
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your paycheck. What other things would you recommend,
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especially for those that are, say, a business
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and you're not involved right now, but you're
00:11:42.690 --> 00:11:44.809
like, hey, this is a way that I would suggest,
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you know, you don't have to come out with like
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you have your entire marketing calendar creative,
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but where do you start in that way? Yeah, so
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a lot of places that we speak with, the entry
00:11:55.259 --> 00:11:57.799
-level way to get in with United Way and find
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your commitment, it could be through maybe a
00:12:01.299 --> 00:12:03.600
volunteer project and connecting with us to find
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out where you could volunteer for a day. Working
00:12:06.220 --> 00:12:08.580
with us on Day of Caring, you know, coming out
00:12:08.580 --> 00:12:11.080
in June of every year to participate in Day of
00:12:11.080 --> 00:12:14.340
Caring. It's always a big, fun splash of a day.
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And this last year, we had over 1 ,200 volunteers
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in one single day, over 133. thousand dollars
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of in -kind contribution of their time given
00:12:25.159 --> 00:12:28.179
to non -profits so we were working with non -profits
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not only in Springfield but in Stratford and
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in Branson and we were spreading out and we're
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working to continue to do that so that's a great
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way to do it I would say you know we have board
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service as well that we're always looking for
00:12:40.019 --> 00:12:44.240
folks to participate with us and even doing a
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some of our not smaller non -profits have found
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success in doing a one man's junk is another
00:12:51.210 --> 00:12:53.769
man's treasure kind of auction with one another
00:12:53.769 --> 00:12:57.289
or you know doing a small everybody put in a
00:12:57.289 --> 00:13:00.149
couple of dollars to x y and z whether it's wear
00:13:00.149 --> 00:13:03.429
jeans to work or do do different things so i
00:13:03.429 --> 00:13:06.009
think there's a level for everyone to participate
00:13:06.009 --> 00:13:08.909
and to be a part of united way and it doesn't
00:13:08.909 --> 00:13:13.490
require a large grand um amount of time if you
00:13:13.490 --> 00:13:15.710
can't well that that you just brought something
00:13:15.710 --> 00:13:18.669
up brandy in terms of the jeans where whitney
00:13:18.669 --> 00:13:21.029
we've got that here at city utilities where it's
00:13:21.029 --> 00:13:24.389
every month it's 20 bucks right so you donate
00:13:24.389 --> 00:13:27.470
and then you can wear jeans is it every day or
00:13:27.470 --> 00:13:30.909
jeans every day and we do um the same months
00:13:30.909 --> 00:13:33.330
that coincide with our united way campaign so
00:13:33.330 --> 00:13:36.809
typically july august september time frame those
00:13:36.809 --> 00:13:39.440
twenty dollars that our employees are paying
00:13:39.440 --> 00:13:41.419
go toward our bucket of funds that we give to
00:13:41.419 --> 00:13:43.960
United Way. Lots of different ways to help. So
00:13:43.960 --> 00:13:46.519
speaking of helping now, can we want to know
00:13:46.519 --> 00:13:48.679
how we're helping? So can you talk a little bit
00:13:48.679 --> 00:13:51.139
about the nonprofits and maybe some of the specific
00:13:51.139 --> 00:13:54.279
projects that funds like ours have helped go
00:13:54.279 --> 00:13:57.120
to? Absolutely. So this funding cycle, we're
00:13:57.120 --> 00:14:00.159
working with 19 projects and that's through 14
00:14:00.159 --> 00:14:02.039
different nonprofits. So a few of them have a
00:14:02.039 --> 00:14:04.379
couple of projects that we're funding. We have
00:14:04.379 --> 00:14:06.220
what's called a community investment fund. So
00:14:06.220 --> 00:14:09.480
if individuals give They can give. restricted
00:14:09.480 --> 00:14:12.340
to a nonprofit that they really care about. If
00:14:12.340 --> 00:14:15.259
they wanted to make that impact spread, they
00:14:15.259 --> 00:14:17.620
can give to the general fund. And we have a group
00:14:17.620 --> 00:14:19.879
of donor volunteers who read through applications
00:14:19.879 --> 00:14:22.480
and help us make funding decisions that then
00:14:22.480 --> 00:14:24.480
goes to our board and our board approves before
00:14:24.480 --> 00:14:27.220
that it happens. But we work with organizations
00:14:27.220 --> 00:14:31.279
like Harmony House, for example. We work with
00:14:31.279 --> 00:14:35.120
CASA, as you all may have heard before, because
00:14:35.120 --> 00:14:37.700
it's a really big deal. CASA has the new clubhouse
00:14:37.700 --> 00:14:39.350
that's been around for about three years now.
00:14:39.450 --> 00:14:41.629
And that's a project that we fund. And it is
00:14:41.629 --> 00:14:44.470
so cool that they are starting to replicate it
00:14:44.470 --> 00:14:46.509
throughout the United States. And so we were
00:14:46.509 --> 00:14:48.850
the first in Springfield. Started here. Yes,
00:14:48.850 --> 00:14:51.429
it did. And so the Casa Clubhouse is a program
00:14:51.429 --> 00:14:54.350
that we fund. We do fund two programs with the
00:14:54.350 --> 00:14:57.669
Child Advocacy Center for their forensic interviews
00:14:57.669 --> 00:14:59.970
and for their education program that goes out
00:14:59.970 --> 00:15:03.529
into the public schools. So we work with a large
00:15:03.529 --> 00:15:07.190
number of organizations and really are passionate
00:15:07.190 --> 00:15:09.649
about helping the folks within our community
00:15:09.649 --> 00:15:11.610
through those nonprofit partners that we have.
00:15:11.730 --> 00:15:14.009
That's great. And Whitney, how do you keep CU
00:15:14.009 --> 00:15:16.990
employees engaged and coming back year after
00:15:16.990 --> 00:15:19.409
year after year? You know, it's I think telling
00:15:19.409 --> 00:15:22.710
those stories. So Brandy and her team do a really
00:15:22.710 --> 00:15:25.090
good job collecting the stories, talking about
00:15:25.090 --> 00:15:29.110
the impact of the dollar that our employees are
00:15:29.110 --> 00:15:31.529
giving. And so I think that that's really important
00:15:31.529 --> 00:15:34.090
just like so we understand that there is real
00:15:34.090 --> 00:15:37.559
true need here in our community. it helps drive
00:15:37.559 --> 00:15:41.779
us to support that change. We have a lot of energy.
00:15:42.080 --> 00:15:46.200
We have a committee of incredible employees that
00:15:46.200 --> 00:15:48.980
represent all the locations we have across city
00:15:48.980 --> 00:15:51.100
utilities, and they really drive us forward.
00:15:51.539 --> 00:15:53.720
They tell us what's working. They tell us things
00:15:53.720 --> 00:15:55.799
that they want to do new, and I think that that
00:15:55.799 --> 00:15:58.700
energy replicates to the teams that they're part
00:15:58.700 --> 00:16:00.980
of, and then that helps drive some giving as
00:16:00.980 --> 00:16:03.879
well. And then also, I just think that here at
00:16:03.879 --> 00:16:06.919
CU, our employees, I say this All the time, they're
00:16:06.919 --> 00:16:09.320
so philanthropic. They just really care about
00:16:09.320 --> 00:16:11.860
giving back, and I think that's really cool and
00:16:11.860 --> 00:16:14.940
unique as people who work in the public sector.
00:16:14.980 --> 00:16:18.340
We are giving back to our community through the
00:16:18.340 --> 00:16:20.840
work and the service that we provide, but then
00:16:20.840 --> 00:16:23.679
also... Everyone just really has a heart for
00:16:23.679 --> 00:16:25.759
making sure that this is a great place to live.
00:16:25.919 --> 00:16:28.639
And they live here too. So they want to support
00:16:28.639 --> 00:16:30.440
that. Love it. Well said. Thank you. Thanks.
00:16:30.500 --> 00:16:34.000
Well, we're going to transition now to some more
00:16:34.000 --> 00:16:36.960
fun. Oh, yes. Daniel has a setup. We're going
00:16:36.960 --> 00:16:40.379
to get into our game time portion of the podcast.
00:16:45.480 --> 00:16:47.700
Brainy, have you heard of the three second rule
00:16:47.700 --> 00:16:52.519
game? No. Are you a game girl? I mean, I do enjoy
00:16:52.519 --> 00:16:55.159
Wheel of Fortune and it's on my bucket list to
00:16:55.159 --> 00:16:57.980
go on it someday. So this is a board game and
00:16:57.980 --> 00:17:01.059
you have to basically answer a question within
00:17:01.059 --> 00:17:03.179
three seconds. Okay. Sounds straightforward,
00:17:03.360 --> 00:17:07.220
but it's tough. Fast. Do we like have a buzzer
00:17:07.220 --> 00:17:09.140
or are we just like, is that what that is? I'm
00:17:09.140 --> 00:17:12.920
sorry. We're here. Don't get ahead of us. So
00:17:12.920 --> 00:17:20.779
I'm going to play this sound. It is a coffee
00:17:20.779 --> 00:17:23.839
maker where you're brewing it. Okay, here we
00:17:23.839 --> 00:17:27.039
go. Number one. Name three non -profit partners
00:17:27.039 --> 00:17:30.740
of United Way of the Ozarks region. Child Advocacy
00:17:30.740 --> 00:17:33.779
Center, Casa, Harmy House. Woohoo! Good job.
00:17:34.299 --> 00:17:38.519
So good. Let me turn down the Mr. Coffee machine
00:17:38.519 --> 00:17:41.400
that's about to explode. Okay. What are at least
00:17:41.400 --> 00:17:43.900
three of the major events hosted by United Way
00:17:43.900 --> 00:17:47.180
of the Ozarks? Okay, so Day of Caring, our campaign
00:17:47.180 --> 00:17:48.940
kickoff, and our cornhole tournament. Oh, you
00:17:48.940 --> 00:17:51.859
got us! All right. And the last one we have is
00:17:51.859 --> 00:17:54.000
United for Greatness? Yes, we do have United
00:17:54.000 --> 00:17:55.880
for Greatness every other year with our nonprofit
00:17:55.880 --> 00:17:59.559
partners. Okay, is this, or I guess... This year
00:17:59.559 --> 00:18:02.660
or 2027? Will that be the year of United for
00:18:02.660 --> 00:18:05.640
Greatness? It'd be 27 again. Seven, okay. Yeah.
00:18:05.980 --> 00:18:08.160
And do you know the date of the Cornhole Tournament?
00:18:08.680 --> 00:18:11.019
It's coming up here in a few weeks. October 14th,
00:18:11.059 --> 00:18:15.140
2026. Yes, at Drury in the Finley Student Center.
00:18:15.539 --> 00:18:19.480
Yeah, 5 o 'clock, doors open. We have a little
00:18:19.480 --> 00:18:21.519
bit of time for additional registration and gaining
00:18:21.519 --> 00:18:24.720
all of your info. And then 6, 630 is our start
00:18:24.720 --> 00:18:28.519
time for actual cornhole. You say the 14th? Yes,
00:18:28.519 --> 00:18:31.099
October 14th. You all should be there. That'll
00:18:31.099 --> 00:18:35.700
be a good midweek. what are at least three united
00:18:35.700 --> 00:18:39.640
way fundraising events hosted by cu this year
00:18:39.640 --> 00:18:43.910
okay ready Yes. Is it going? No, it's loading.
00:18:44.130 --> 00:18:47.369
Oh, so you got extra time. Okay. Taste of CU,
00:18:47.609 --> 00:18:50.509
the chicken wing competition, and the trivia
00:18:50.509 --> 00:18:52.869
tournament. Trivia event. All right. There you
00:18:52.869 --> 00:18:55.890
go. You guys, I'm such type A that I'm stressing
00:18:55.890 --> 00:18:59.910
out. So we've got an ice cream kickoff, a rubber
00:18:59.910 --> 00:19:02.029
duck race, which I talked about on the last podcast
00:19:02.029 --> 00:19:04.490
that I was a first loser. Parking space auction.
00:19:04.609 --> 00:19:08.170
I was also a big loser, by the way. Poker run.
00:19:08.689 --> 00:19:11.210
Also a big loser. There's a theme here. Actually,
00:19:11.250 --> 00:19:13.450
I join you with that, Kara. I lost on all of
00:19:13.450 --> 00:19:15.269
those as well. Yeah, this is getting more depressing
00:19:15.269 --> 00:19:18.230
as we go down the list. Wing cook -off and hot
00:19:18.230 --> 00:19:20.750
ones, burrito breakfast, lunch trivia. I will
00:19:20.750 --> 00:19:22.890
win that. And then the paper airplane contest.
00:19:24.349 --> 00:19:27.109
All right, next one. Ready? Okay. All right.
00:19:28.399 --> 00:19:32.220
She's still sweating. All right. Name at least...
00:19:32.220 --> 00:19:34.160
Oh, this is a good one. I forgot about this one.
00:19:34.220 --> 00:19:36.940
Name at least three main ingredients for pumpkin
00:19:36.940 --> 00:19:41.180
spice lattes. Pumpkin, sugar, and coffee. Okay,
00:19:41.180 --> 00:19:43.880
very good. We'll give it to you. Technically,
00:19:43.880 --> 00:19:45.660
it's espresso, but we'll give it to you. That's
00:19:45.660 --> 00:19:48.720
good. For a non -pumpkin spice lover, you got
00:19:48.720 --> 00:19:51.339
it. Yeah. Okay, this is a gimme, so we're not
00:19:51.339 --> 00:19:54.559
going to time you on this one. But our last question
00:19:54.559 --> 00:19:56.859
is, list three reasons why listeners should donate
00:19:56.859 --> 00:20:00.730
to United Way. Oh, wow. Okay. So last year, we
00:20:00.730 --> 00:20:04.509
were able to support 41 ,000 individuals through
00:20:04.509 --> 00:20:06.369
the dollars that we've contributed back into
00:20:06.369 --> 00:20:09.869
our community. Day of Caring is an incredible
00:20:09.869 --> 00:20:11.589
event that I think folks should get involved
00:20:11.589 --> 00:20:17.609
in. And our AFL -CIO relations really does great
00:20:17.609 --> 00:20:19.269
work within our community through Missouri Works
00:20:19.269 --> 00:20:22.309
Initiative that works on a pre -apprenticeship
00:20:22.309 --> 00:20:24.539
program helping folks get employed. That's great.
00:20:24.619 --> 00:20:26.640
Thank you so much for being here and for sharing
00:20:26.640 --> 00:20:29.180
that information and for sharing your energy
00:20:29.180 --> 00:20:32.140
and passion with us as well. Thanks. I hope I
00:20:32.140 --> 00:20:34.819
passed the test. You did. You did. Whitney, before
00:20:34.819 --> 00:20:37.480
we let you go, we want to give you an opportunity
00:20:37.480 --> 00:20:39.579
to tell us a little bit more about Halloween
00:20:39.579 --> 00:20:41.579
Hustle and how people can get involved in that.
00:20:41.779 --> 00:20:44.619
Yes. So Halloween Hustle is coming up actually
00:20:44.619 --> 00:20:49.359
this year on Halloween. So on October 31st here
00:20:49.359 --> 00:20:53.140
at City Utilities 301 East Central at 9 a .m.
00:20:53.480 --> 00:20:56.579
going to have a 5 and 10k race as well as a one
00:20:56.579 --> 00:21:00.579
mile candy dash everyone is invited bring your
00:21:00.579 --> 00:21:02.700
friends bring your family bring your pets come
00:21:02.700 --> 00:21:04.920
out in costume because it's a really good time
00:21:04.920 --> 00:21:08.019
and if you would like to register for the race
00:21:08.019 --> 00:21:11.720
you can go find us on facebook at the halloween
00:21:11.720 --> 00:21:14.799
hustle our theme this year is scooby -doo so
00:21:14.799 --> 00:21:16.940
you will see scooby -doo graphics on facebook
00:21:16.940 --> 00:21:19.180
and there's a link there that'll take you to
00:21:19.180 --> 00:21:22.900
register with our timing company with our timing
00:21:22.900 --> 00:21:27.740
company act now um we uh are taking registrations
00:21:27.740 --> 00:21:30.420
all the way up until race day so you have time
00:21:30.420 --> 00:21:33.240
to think about it and show up and we'll get you
00:21:33.240 --> 00:21:35.359
we'll get you what you need to compete in the
00:21:35.359 --> 00:21:37.519
race and the weather it will be perfect yes it
00:21:37.519 --> 00:21:41.559
will be beautiful that's right thank you so much
00:21:41.559 --> 00:21:44.549
for being here yes Well, thank you both again,
00:21:44.690 --> 00:21:47.630
Brandy and Whitney. Two quick plugs as well,
00:21:47.670 --> 00:21:50.150
where you can find more information out about
00:21:50.150 --> 00:21:53.569
CU's community outreach, you can go to cityutilities
00:21:53.569 --> 00:21:57.230
.net. And then from there, once you're on the
00:21:57.230 --> 00:22:00.069
main page, on the top banner, there's Inside
00:22:00.069 --> 00:22:02.640
CU. Click on that, and then there is a community
00:22:02.640 --> 00:22:04.779
outreach button that will take you to find out
00:22:04.779 --> 00:22:07.039
more information about what all we do. Yeah,
00:22:07.039 --> 00:22:08.619
it talks about United Way, it talks about Halloween
00:22:08.619 --> 00:22:10.720
Hustle, and also about how customers can get
00:22:10.720 --> 00:22:13.480
involved with Project Share. Yes, yes. And then
00:22:13.480 --> 00:22:15.779
there's also United Way, the Ozarks website,
00:22:15.960 --> 00:22:20.339
which is uwozarks .org. And that way you'd be
00:22:20.339 --> 00:22:22.339
able to find specific information about what's
00:22:22.339 --> 00:22:25.380
happening here. in the Ozarks and the Ozarks
00:22:25.380 --> 00:22:28.819
region. That's right. And then, as always, we
00:22:28.819 --> 00:22:30.819
would love for you to engage with us here at
00:22:30.819 --> 00:22:33.519
That's Shocking. You can send any questions or
00:22:33.519 --> 00:22:36.579
ideas for upcoming episodes to social at cityutilities
00:22:36.579 --> 00:22:40.559
.net. And as Kara, you were saying with socials,
00:22:40.559 --> 00:22:43.859
we're on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, where we've
00:22:43.859 --> 00:22:47.240
got two different pages. There's at City Utilities.
00:22:47.440 --> 00:22:50.720
And then we've also got the That's Shocking pod
00:22:50.720 --> 00:22:54.119
TikTok page where we got our alter egos twigs
00:22:54.119 --> 00:22:57.099
and watson stay caught up with twigs and watson
00:22:57.099 --> 00:22:59.460
so new episodes are released every first and
00:22:59.460 --> 00:23:02.940
third wednesdays of the month at 8 a .m the next
00:23:02.940 --> 00:23:05.119
episode will be um talking with krista shirts
00:23:05.119 --> 00:23:07.059
about some efforts that we have coming up uh
00:23:07.059 --> 00:23:09.619
to help improve water quality in our area so
00:23:09.619 --> 00:23:12.880
we're excited to talk with her and um we've got
00:23:12.880 --> 00:23:14.579
to go off the grid for now but thanks for plugging
00:23:14.579 --> 00:23:16.940
in and allowing us to brighten up your day stay
00:23:16.940 --> 00:23:18.079
energized springfield
00:00:07.759 --> 00:00:11.439
Hello and welcome to the latest episode of That's
00:00:11.439 --> 00:00:14.099
Shocking, a City Utilities podcast. I'm Cara
00:00:14.099 --> 00:00:17.219
Erwin. Hey, and I'm Daniel. How's it going? Great.
00:00:17.280 --> 00:00:20.800
Cara, how are you today? I'm doing well. I have
00:00:20.800 --> 00:00:24.100
to ask, we are in the midst, literally start,
00:00:24.300 --> 00:00:29.170
I should say, of pumpkin spice season. We've
00:00:29.170 --> 00:00:31.870
made it, even though it's still really hot outside.
00:00:32.229 --> 00:00:36.070
Yes, yes. The commercials are airing. Yeah, it's
00:00:36.070 --> 00:00:39.229
all over the socials. How do you feel about pumpkin
00:00:39.229 --> 00:00:42.270
spice? I mean, look, to each his own. It's not
00:00:42.270 --> 00:00:49.969
my cup of tea. I like pumpkin flavoring. I don't
00:00:49.969 --> 00:00:52.750
love pumpkin spice flavoring. Overall, I'm more
00:00:52.750 --> 00:00:56.429
of like a peppermint wintry season kind of girl.
00:00:56.670 --> 00:01:00.090
So yeah, once we put the pumpkins away and pull
00:01:00.090 --> 00:01:03.530
out the Christmas decorations and the peppermint
00:01:03.530 --> 00:01:06.849
flavors, then I'm there. But isn't it funny how
00:01:06.849 --> 00:01:10.849
like you... almost don't like something that
00:01:10.849 --> 00:01:13.569
you adore during a certain season if the weather's
00:01:13.569 --> 00:01:16.609
wrong yeah so you know it's hot out do we really
00:01:16.609 --> 00:01:19.290
like pumpkin spice latte or you know we're just
00:01:19.290 --> 00:01:20.969
kind of forcing ourselves but it's interesting
00:01:20.969 --> 00:01:23.510
like i wouldn't like peppermint in july but you
00:01:23.510 --> 00:01:25.349
know Give me some cold weather and I'm there
00:01:25.349 --> 00:01:27.150
for it. When it gets to that season, you're ready
00:01:27.150 --> 00:01:29.209
for it. Yeah. There we go. All right. Well, speaking
00:01:29.209 --> 00:01:32.349
of hot weather, we have some guests that are
00:01:32.349 --> 00:01:35.209
ready to talk to us about some hot things going
00:01:35.209 --> 00:01:37.489
on at City Utilities. That was a terrible transition.
00:01:37.629 --> 00:01:40.650
Some hot events. No, I like it. Yeah. Okay. We've
00:01:40.650 --> 00:01:43.409
got a lot that's been happening for about two
00:01:43.409 --> 00:01:45.650
weeks, three weeks now. That's right. And we
00:01:45.650 --> 00:01:48.129
still have, well, we're toward the end of it,
00:01:48.170 --> 00:01:50.629
but we still have a full week and a half or so
00:01:50.629 --> 00:01:53.750
to go. But we've got Whitney Mann here. who's
00:01:53.750 --> 00:01:55.609
going to be able to set the record straight.
00:01:55.790 --> 00:01:58.810
Yeah, that's right. Works here at City Utilities
00:01:58.810 --> 00:02:01.250
with us. So Whitney is our communications and
00:02:01.250 --> 00:02:03.870
community relations specialist. So she focuses
00:02:03.870 --> 00:02:07.189
on... connecting city utilities quite literally
00:02:07.189 --> 00:02:10.509
to our community and ensuring that the the spirit
00:02:10.509 --> 00:02:14.050
that our city utilities employees show every
00:02:14.050 --> 00:02:16.949
day makes its way to the community through events
00:02:16.949 --> 00:02:19.930
and fundraising and and other um really cool
00:02:19.930 --> 00:02:22.270
things so can you talk a little bit about what
00:02:22.270 --> 00:02:24.270
you do and and some of the events that you're
00:02:24.270 --> 00:02:27.770
working on yeah so as you said i kind of handle
00:02:27.770 --> 00:02:30.969
community relations for the utility and that
00:02:30.969 --> 00:02:34.150
is doing a lot of things at once and like you
00:02:34.150 --> 00:02:37.259
said we do a lot of events we do a lot of fundraising
00:02:37.259 --> 00:02:40.139
to give back to our community and that's really
00:02:40.139 --> 00:02:42.819
the crux of all the work I do and especially
00:02:42.819 --> 00:02:45.259
this time of year we're very very busy yeah this
00:02:45.259 --> 00:02:48.780
is your pumpkin spice latte season right yeah
00:02:48.780 --> 00:02:52.599
this is your season yes um which I am Pro PSL,
00:02:52.620 --> 00:02:54.219
by the way. Okay, good, good. All about it. Have
00:02:54.219 --> 00:02:56.159
you had yours today, Whitney? Not today, but
00:02:56.159 --> 00:03:00.919
I have had a few this week. Woo! Woo! But I would
00:03:00.919 --> 00:03:04.879
say for what we do, we do a lot of community
00:03:04.879 --> 00:03:07.110
projects that I think... a lot of folks might
00:03:07.110 --> 00:03:09.509
not be aware of if they're not in the middle
00:03:09.509 --> 00:03:12.750
of it, in the thick of it with us. So we actually
00:03:12.750 --> 00:03:16.389
have a pretty robust CU Cares program. And so
00:03:16.389 --> 00:03:18.530
this is just the way we give back to our community
00:03:18.530 --> 00:03:22.050
through fundraising events. You know, right now
00:03:22.050 --> 00:03:24.729
we're gearing up for the Halloween Hustle, which
00:03:24.729 --> 00:03:27.430
is a race that we do to support Harmony House.
00:03:27.949 --> 00:03:30.169
We're really proud of that. It's the longest
00:03:30.169 --> 00:03:32.729
running 5K in Springfield, believe it or not,
00:03:32.810 --> 00:03:37.840
hosted by City Utilities. raised $29 ,000 for
00:03:37.840 --> 00:03:39.939
Harmony House last year. So we're getting ready
00:03:39.939 --> 00:03:43.259
to work, raise funds for them this year. We're
00:03:43.259 --> 00:03:45.719
also right in the middle of United Way season.
00:03:45.860 --> 00:03:49.900
So our employees lead the largest employee driven
00:03:49.900 --> 00:03:52.099
campaign for United Way. We're really proud of
00:03:52.099 --> 00:03:55.360
that. But it takes a lot of work to host events
00:03:55.360 --> 00:03:58.280
here in the utility to get employees engaged
00:03:58.280 --> 00:04:01.520
and giving and really just working with all of
00:04:01.520 --> 00:04:04.680
that while also managing our employee charity.
00:04:04.780 --> 00:04:07.039
of the year and supporting Project Share and
00:04:07.039 --> 00:04:10.020
other initiatives that we focus on every year.
00:04:10.120 --> 00:04:12.080
What is Project Share for those people who don't
00:04:12.080 --> 00:04:15.680
know? So Project Share is a fund that exists
00:04:15.680 --> 00:04:19.819
within OCAC here in our community and it is something
00:04:19.819 --> 00:04:22.959
that anyone in Springfield who is a City Utilities
00:04:22.959 --> 00:04:26.839
customer can apply for if they receive LIHEAP
00:04:26.839 --> 00:04:29.899
and additional funding. This is just an extra
00:04:29.899 --> 00:04:32.139
pot of money if they need support on their utility
00:04:32.139 --> 00:04:35.259
bill. Typically in the winter months when those
00:04:35.259 --> 00:04:37.500
bills are the highest from heating their home
00:04:37.500 --> 00:04:40.139
they can apply and just have a little extra support
00:04:40.139 --> 00:04:43.120
for them as they make it through those months
00:04:43.120 --> 00:04:45.420
yeah and our employees have actually selected
00:04:45.420 --> 00:04:48.060
project share as the employee charity of the
00:04:48.060 --> 00:04:50.720
year so we are doing a lot of donating of our
00:04:50.720 --> 00:04:53.319
own within city utilities but this is also a
00:04:53.319 --> 00:04:55.379
project that our customers can get involved with
00:04:55.379 --> 00:04:59.740
you can just simply round up your bill you can
00:04:59.740 --> 00:05:01.819
make a one -time donation you can make a recurring
00:05:01.819 --> 00:05:04.850
donation and And all of the money stays local
00:05:04.850 --> 00:05:07.930
and helps City Utilities customers who are struggling
00:05:07.930 --> 00:05:11.889
to pay their electric bills. So thank you for
00:05:11.889 --> 00:05:14.170
that. Of course. It's a great, great initiative.
00:05:14.290 --> 00:05:16.389
And I think it's really special that it's specifically
00:05:16.389 --> 00:05:19.990
for CU customers. Yeah. Well, it's one of those
00:05:19.990 --> 00:05:22.569
that I'm questioning. Whitney, are you ever sleeping,
00:05:22.750 --> 00:05:24.970
especially these days, because of how much is
00:05:24.970 --> 00:05:29.279
going on? I prioritize my sleep because it's
00:05:29.279 --> 00:05:32.000
important for me to be energized and bring all
00:05:32.000 --> 00:05:35.920
of the fun that we expect for this time of year.
00:05:36.259 --> 00:05:39.759
A few weeks ago, I celebrated United Way by throwing
00:05:39.759 --> 00:05:42.420
confetti in the air. And that's kind of how I
00:05:42.420 --> 00:05:45.379
try to bring. That's the energy I want to bring
00:05:45.379 --> 00:05:47.920
to everything that we do for United Way, for
00:05:47.920 --> 00:05:50.519
Harmony House, and for all the programs that
00:05:50.519 --> 00:05:52.939
we support in the community. So yes, I need my
00:05:52.939 --> 00:05:55.879
sleep so that I can be tip -top shape. And she
00:05:55.879 --> 00:05:58.800
needs her Amazon subscribe and save to confetti.
00:05:58.860 --> 00:06:01.319
Yeah, you bring the energy, that's for sure.
00:06:01.459 --> 00:06:03.560
So that's always appreciated. The other thing
00:06:03.560 --> 00:06:05.980
that's super appreciated is the fact that it
00:06:05.980 --> 00:06:08.439
really is CU's commitment to the community. And
00:06:08.439 --> 00:06:11.569
that, to me, is just... A real standout. It's
00:06:11.569 --> 00:06:14.649
really nice to know that we work somewhere that
00:06:14.649 --> 00:06:17.790
has values that so much. Yeah. And, you know,
00:06:17.829 --> 00:06:20.170
Daniel, you and I are both relatively new to
00:06:20.170 --> 00:06:22.629
the utility. Me three years and you a little
00:06:22.629 --> 00:06:25.129
over a year. OK. And I know that we've talked
00:06:25.129 --> 00:06:27.209
about how one of the things that drew us here
00:06:27.209 --> 00:06:31.279
was that very obvious commitment. to the community,
00:06:31.480 --> 00:06:33.420
not just through providing excellent utility
00:06:33.420 --> 00:06:36.319
services, but in other ways as well. Yeah. And
00:06:36.319 --> 00:06:38.639
it's just something to hear all of those options,
00:06:38.720 --> 00:06:41.459
things that are happening either now or in the
00:06:41.459 --> 00:06:44.040
near future. And it's just throughout the entire
00:06:44.040 --> 00:06:46.879
year. It doesn't just stop in this pumpkin spice
00:06:46.879 --> 00:06:50.120
season, but it continues well beyond that. Talking
00:06:50.120 --> 00:06:52.259
about continuing throughout the entire year,
00:06:52.439 --> 00:06:55.779
we do have another guest that's joining us right
00:06:55.779 --> 00:06:58.879
now, Brainy Van Antwerp from United Way of the
00:06:58.879 --> 00:07:03.220
Ozarks. region special guest yes president ceo
00:07:03.220 --> 00:07:05.220
so brainy thanks for joining us thank you guys
00:07:05.220 --> 00:07:08.139
for having me this is fun so before we get started
00:07:08.139 --> 00:07:11.199
are you a pumpkin spice latte fan no i am not
00:07:11.199 --> 00:07:16.180
oh two two out of two yeah okay so is it one
00:07:16.180 --> 00:07:18.759
of those that you just won't try it at all or
00:07:18.759 --> 00:07:21.819
it's fine it's too i don't love syrupy sweet
00:07:21.819 --> 00:07:25.120
stuff okay i'm more of like a cortado or an americano
00:07:25.120 --> 00:07:28.040
or just a black coffee um if i do something i'll
00:07:28.040 --> 00:07:32.410
do a chai tea but I don't love the like the sweet
00:07:32.410 --> 00:07:34.879
end of things as much Well, I think we have the
00:07:34.879 --> 00:07:37.699
same taste in coffee. And dark chocolate. Yes,
00:07:37.839 --> 00:07:40.420
absolutely. All right. Well, we brought you here
00:07:40.420 --> 00:07:42.540
today because we are in the midst of our United
00:07:42.540 --> 00:07:45.639
Way campaign season, led, as we mentioned, by
00:07:45.639 --> 00:07:47.879
Whitney Mann and other employees as well that
00:07:47.879 --> 00:07:50.019
we'll talk about here in a second. But can you
00:07:50.019 --> 00:07:54.040
first talk to us a little bit about United Way?
00:07:54.319 --> 00:07:57.600
What is its impact on the community? And then
00:07:57.600 --> 00:08:00.259
how does CU help in achieving those goals? Yeah.
00:08:00.779 --> 00:08:04.019
So United Way was started over 95 years ago in
00:08:04.019 --> 00:08:07.759
our community. And we started out as the community
00:08:07.759 --> 00:08:10.199
chest, which always gives me a chuckle. It's
00:08:10.199 --> 00:08:12.560
like a Monopoly game board. But we literally
00:08:12.560 --> 00:08:15.560
were founded to serve the needs and identify
00:08:15.560 --> 00:08:17.819
barriers and reduce barriers for our community
00:08:17.819 --> 00:08:20.279
and our neighbors. And we continue to do that.
00:08:20.439 --> 00:08:22.660
We have two focus areas, championing children
00:08:22.660 --> 00:08:25.819
and providing pathways out of poverty. And we've
00:08:25.819 --> 00:08:28.319
worked with city utilities for a number of years
00:08:28.319 --> 00:08:32.120
to base. bring about the impact on our community.
00:08:32.399 --> 00:08:35.919
So United Way over our 95 year history has brought
00:08:35.919 --> 00:08:39.120
about $128 million back into our community to
00:08:39.120 --> 00:08:41.440
support our neighbors. And City Utilities has
00:08:41.440 --> 00:08:44.019
been a really big part of that. Like Whitney
00:08:44.019 --> 00:08:47.639
said, you all are the largest employee contributed
00:08:47.639 --> 00:08:52.539
campaign that we have. And it's an enormous help
00:08:52.539 --> 00:08:55.440
for us in what we're doing to then gift those
00:08:55.440 --> 00:08:57.500
dollars back out to the community through nonprofit
00:08:57.500 --> 00:09:00.539
organizations. We appreciate CU's partnership.
00:09:01.740 --> 00:09:04.539
I would add to that, you mentioned $128 million
00:09:04.539 --> 00:09:08.320
over your 95 years. Just in the last five years
00:09:08.320 --> 00:09:11.019
alone, City Utilities has actually been a part
00:09:11.019 --> 00:09:13.539
of raising a million dollars for United Way.
00:09:13.620 --> 00:09:16.200
And so we're really proud of that. And we know
00:09:16.200 --> 00:09:19.240
that we kind of lead that charge, but we hope
00:09:19.240 --> 00:09:21.639
that we're encouraging others in our efforts
00:09:21.639 --> 00:09:24.500
to give in that same way. Yes, that's awesome.
00:09:24.600 --> 00:09:27.360
You guys are, you do a lot. And you're the campaign
00:09:27.360 --> 00:09:29.659
that when I'm out talking to other workplaces,
00:09:29.820 --> 00:09:31.779
I'm like, they have their own. marketing calendar.
00:09:31.940 --> 00:09:34.039
Like they create a calendar of events for what
00:09:34.039 --> 00:09:37.039
they're doing to raise for United Way. And just,
00:09:37.100 --> 00:09:39.399
you have so much energy and passion with what
00:09:39.399 --> 00:09:41.600
you're doing. So it's great. I love that we can
00:09:41.600 --> 00:09:44.879
have this partnership and also be able to kind
00:09:44.879 --> 00:09:47.620
of showcase it to others so they can see some
00:09:47.620 --> 00:09:49.620
really great things they could do too. So what
00:09:49.620 --> 00:09:51.960
I'm hearing is that we're a favorite then. Yes.
00:09:53.240 --> 00:09:57.820
Everyone has to have a favorite. Don't tell my
00:09:57.820 --> 00:09:59.960
other kids, though. That's right. That's right.
00:10:00.179 --> 00:10:02.659
Your secret's safe with us. So, you know, one
00:10:02.659 --> 00:10:04.200
of the things we talk about and we like to brag
00:10:04.200 --> 00:10:05.919
about, and we kind of laugh about it, but it's
00:10:05.919 --> 00:10:08.580
fun, is, you know, we get competitive. And one
00:10:08.580 --> 00:10:10.139
of the things, as I mentioned, we brag about
00:10:10.139 --> 00:10:13.320
is that we're the leading employee -led campaign.
00:10:13.700 --> 00:10:17.379
Yes. Why is that? sort of extra special of course
00:10:17.379 --> 00:10:21.980
i'm biased but well so the the impact of united
00:10:21.980 --> 00:10:24.720
way giving is that every person can collectively
00:10:24.720 --> 00:10:27.940
create impact so if a person can afford to be
00:10:27.940 --> 00:10:30.179
to contribute five dollars a pay period or if
00:10:30.179 --> 00:10:32.059
a person can afford to contribute eighty dollars
00:10:32.059 --> 00:10:34.960
a pay period we're all doing it together and
00:10:34.960 --> 00:10:37.120
that's what makes it so important and when it's
00:10:37.120 --> 00:10:39.679
coming from employees and not necessarily a corporate
00:10:39.679 --> 00:10:43.419
gift we know that you all are engaging your team
00:10:43.419 --> 00:10:46.919
in um finding their passion for the programs
00:10:46.919 --> 00:10:49.240
that we support. And so that makes it really
00:10:49.240 --> 00:10:52.039
special. Not that a corporate gift isn't special,
00:10:52.240 --> 00:10:55.279
but when we know how many faces and hearts are
00:10:55.279 --> 00:10:57.659
behind the gifts, that's what makes it really
00:10:57.659 --> 00:11:00.820
important. That's great. Well, so also talking
00:11:00.820 --> 00:11:03.139
about that as well, there are the different ways
00:11:03.139 --> 00:11:06.240
of giving back. Obviously, you have that of donating
00:11:06.240 --> 00:11:10.279
the money per paycheck or lump sum. And then
00:11:10.279 --> 00:11:13.009
there's also the... Obviously, volunteering and
00:11:13.009 --> 00:11:15.629
giving back that way. So with your time, it's
00:11:15.629 --> 00:11:17.429
one of those that there are many different options
00:11:17.429 --> 00:11:20.850
and ways to give back. And whenever there's a
00:11:20.850 --> 00:11:22.789
place like City Utilities here where we have
00:11:22.789 --> 00:11:25.789
so many different. fundraising events that's
00:11:25.789 --> 00:11:28.690
not just here in this current season of ours,
00:11:28.870 --> 00:11:30.889
but then beyond that, you know, throughout the
00:11:30.889 --> 00:11:34.509
year, such as the donation of your money through
00:11:34.509 --> 00:11:37.409
your paycheck. What other things would you recommend,
00:11:37.549 --> 00:11:40.610
especially for those that are, say, a business
00:11:40.610 --> 00:11:42.690
and you're not involved right now, but you're
00:11:42.690 --> 00:11:44.809
like, hey, this is a way that I would suggest,
00:11:45.129 --> 00:11:47.970
you know, you don't have to come out with like
00:11:47.970 --> 00:11:50.590
you have your entire marketing calendar creative,
00:11:50.690 --> 00:11:52.860
but where do you start in that way? Yeah, so
00:11:52.860 --> 00:11:55.259
a lot of places that we speak with, the entry
00:11:55.259 --> 00:11:57.799
-level way to get in with United Way and find
00:11:57.799 --> 00:12:01.299
your commitment, it could be through maybe a
00:12:01.299 --> 00:12:03.600
volunteer project and connecting with us to find
00:12:03.600 --> 00:12:06.220
out where you could volunteer for a day. Working
00:12:06.220 --> 00:12:08.580
with us on Day of Caring, you know, coming out
00:12:08.580 --> 00:12:11.080
in June of every year to participate in Day of
00:12:11.080 --> 00:12:14.340
Caring. It's always a big, fun splash of a day.
00:12:14.779 --> 00:12:17.860
And this last year, we had over 1 ,200 volunteers
00:12:17.860 --> 00:12:22.299
in one single day, over 133. thousand dollars
00:12:22.299 --> 00:12:25.159
of in -kind contribution of their time given
00:12:25.159 --> 00:12:28.179
to non -profits so we were working with non -profits
00:12:28.179 --> 00:12:30.940
not only in Springfield but in Stratford and
00:12:30.940 --> 00:12:32.879
in Branson and we were spreading out and we're
00:12:32.879 --> 00:12:34.700
working to continue to do that so that's a great
00:12:34.700 --> 00:12:37.919
way to do it I would say you know we have board
00:12:37.919 --> 00:12:40.019
service as well that we're always looking for
00:12:40.019 --> 00:12:44.240
folks to participate with us and even doing a
00:12:44.240 --> 00:12:46.759
some of our not smaller non -profits have found
00:12:46.759 --> 00:12:51.210
success in doing a one man's junk is another
00:12:51.210 --> 00:12:53.769
man's treasure kind of auction with one another
00:12:53.769 --> 00:12:57.289
or you know doing a small everybody put in a
00:12:57.289 --> 00:13:00.149
couple of dollars to x y and z whether it's wear
00:13:00.149 --> 00:13:03.429
jeans to work or do do different things so i
00:13:03.429 --> 00:13:06.009
think there's a level for everyone to participate
00:13:06.009 --> 00:13:08.909
and to be a part of united way and it doesn't
00:13:08.909 --> 00:13:13.490
require a large grand um amount of time if you
00:13:13.490 --> 00:13:15.710
can't well that that you just brought something
00:13:15.710 --> 00:13:18.669
up brandy in terms of the jeans where whitney
00:13:18.669 --> 00:13:21.029
we've got that here at city utilities where it's
00:13:21.029 --> 00:13:24.389
every month it's 20 bucks right so you donate
00:13:24.389 --> 00:13:27.470
and then you can wear jeans is it every day or
00:13:27.470 --> 00:13:30.909
jeans every day and we do um the same months
00:13:30.909 --> 00:13:33.330
that coincide with our united way campaign so
00:13:33.330 --> 00:13:36.809
typically july august september time frame those
00:13:36.809 --> 00:13:39.440
twenty dollars that our employees are paying
00:13:39.440 --> 00:13:41.419
go toward our bucket of funds that we give to
00:13:41.419 --> 00:13:43.960
United Way. Lots of different ways to help. So
00:13:43.960 --> 00:13:46.519
speaking of helping now, can we want to know
00:13:46.519 --> 00:13:48.679
how we're helping? So can you talk a little bit
00:13:48.679 --> 00:13:51.139
about the nonprofits and maybe some of the specific
00:13:51.139 --> 00:13:54.279
projects that funds like ours have helped go
00:13:54.279 --> 00:13:57.120
to? Absolutely. So this funding cycle, we're
00:13:57.120 --> 00:14:00.159
working with 19 projects and that's through 14
00:14:00.159 --> 00:14:02.039
different nonprofits. So a few of them have a
00:14:02.039 --> 00:14:04.379
couple of projects that we're funding. We have
00:14:04.379 --> 00:14:06.220
what's called a community investment fund. So
00:14:06.220 --> 00:14:09.480
if individuals give They can give. restricted
00:14:09.480 --> 00:14:12.340
to a nonprofit that they really care about. If
00:14:12.340 --> 00:14:15.259
they wanted to make that impact spread, they
00:14:15.259 --> 00:14:17.620
can give to the general fund. And we have a group
00:14:17.620 --> 00:14:19.879
of donor volunteers who read through applications
00:14:19.879 --> 00:14:22.480
and help us make funding decisions that then
00:14:22.480 --> 00:14:24.480
goes to our board and our board approves before
00:14:24.480 --> 00:14:27.220
that it happens. But we work with organizations
00:14:27.220 --> 00:14:31.279
like Harmony House, for example. We work with
00:14:31.279 --> 00:14:35.120
CASA, as you all may have heard before, because
00:14:35.120 --> 00:14:37.700
it's a really big deal. CASA has the new clubhouse
00:14:37.700 --> 00:14:39.350
that's been around for about three years now.
00:14:39.450 --> 00:14:41.629
And that's a project that we fund. And it is
00:14:41.629 --> 00:14:44.470
so cool that they are starting to replicate it
00:14:44.470 --> 00:14:46.509
throughout the United States. And so we were
00:14:46.509 --> 00:14:48.850
the first in Springfield. Started here. Yes,
00:14:48.850 --> 00:14:51.429
it did. And so the Casa Clubhouse is a program
00:14:51.429 --> 00:14:54.350
that we fund. We do fund two programs with the
00:14:54.350 --> 00:14:57.669
Child Advocacy Center for their forensic interviews
00:14:57.669 --> 00:14:59.970
and for their education program that goes out
00:14:59.970 --> 00:15:03.529
into the public schools. So we work with a large
00:15:03.529 --> 00:15:07.190
number of organizations and really are passionate
00:15:07.190 --> 00:15:09.649
about helping the folks within our community
00:15:09.649 --> 00:15:11.610
through those nonprofit partners that we have.
00:15:11.730 --> 00:15:14.009
That's great. And Whitney, how do you keep CU
00:15:14.009 --> 00:15:16.990
employees engaged and coming back year after
00:15:16.990 --> 00:15:19.409
year after year? You know, it's I think telling
00:15:19.409 --> 00:15:22.710
those stories. So Brandy and her team do a really
00:15:22.710 --> 00:15:25.090
good job collecting the stories, talking about
00:15:25.090 --> 00:15:29.110
the impact of the dollar that our employees are
00:15:29.110 --> 00:15:31.529
giving. And so I think that that's really important
00:15:31.529 --> 00:15:34.090
just like so we understand that there is real
00:15:34.090 --> 00:15:37.559
true need here in our community. it helps drive
00:15:37.559 --> 00:15:41.779
us to support that change. We have a lot of energy.
00:15:42.080 --> 00:15:46.200
We have a committee of incredible employees that
00:15:46.200 --> 00:15:48.980
represent all the locations we have across city
00:15:48.980 --> 00:15:51.100
utilities, and they really drive us forward.
00:15:51.539 --> 00:15:53.720
They tell us what's working. They tell us things
00:15:53.720 --> 00:15:55.799
that they want to do new, and I think that that
00:15:55.799 --> 00:15:58.700
energy replicates to the teams that they're part
00:15:58.700 --> 00:16:00.980
of, and then that helps drive some giving as
00:16:00.980 --> 00:16:03.879
well. And then also, I just think that here at
00:16:03.879 --> 00:16:06.919
CU, our employees, I say this All the time, they're
00:16:06.919 --> 00:16:09.320
so philanthropic. They just really care about
00:16:09.320 --> 00:16:11.860
giving back, and I think that's really cool and
00:16:11.860 --> 00:16:14.940
unique as people who work in the public sector.
00:16:14.980 --> 00:16:18.340
We are giving back to our community through the
00:16:18.340 --> 00:16:20.840
work and the service that we provide, but then
00:16:20.840 --> 00:16:23.679
also... Everyone just really has a heart for
00:16:23.679 --> 00:16:25.759
making sure that this is a great place to live.
00:16:25.919 --> 00:16:28.639
And they live here too. So they want to support
00:16:28.639 --> 00:16:30.440
that. Love it. Well said. Thank you. Thanks.
00:16:30.500 --> 00:16:34.000
Well, we're going to transition now to some more
00:16:34.000 --> 00:16:36.960
fun. Oh, yes. Daniel has a setup. We're going
00:16:36.960 --> 00:16:40.379
to get into our game time portion of the podcast.
00:16:45.480 --> 00:16:47.700
Brainy, have you heard of the three second rule
00:16:47.700 --> 00:16:52.519
game? No. Are you a game girl? I mean, I do enjoy
00:16:52.519 --> 00:16:55.159
Wheel of Fortune and it's on my bucket list to
00:16:55.159 --> 00:16:57.980
go on it someday. So this is a board game and
00:16:57.980 --> 00:17:01.059
you have to basically answer a question within
00:17:01.059 --> 00:17:03.179
three seconds. Okay. Sounds straightforward,
00:17:03.360 --> 00:17:07.220
but it's tough. Fast. Do we like have a buzzer
00:17:07.220 --> 00:17:09.140
or are we just like, is that what that is? I'm
00:17:09.140 --> 00:17:12.920
sorry. We're here. Don't get ahead of us. So
00:17:12.920 --> 00:17:20.779
I'm going to play this sound. It is a coffee
00:17:20.779 --> 00:17:23.839
maker where you're brewing it. Okay, here we
00:17:23.839 --> 00:17:27.039
go. Number one. Name three non -profit partners
00:17:27.039 --> 00:17:30.740
of United Way of the Ozarks region. Child Advocacy
00:17:30.740 --> 00:17:33.779
Center, Casa, Harmy House. Woohoo! Good job.
00:17:34.299 --> 00:17:38.519
So good. Let me turn down the Mr. Coffee machine
00:17:38.519 --> 00:17:41.400
that's about to explode. Okay. What are at least
00:17:41.400 --> 00:17:43.900
three of the major events hosted by United Way
00:17:43.900 --> 00:17:47.180
of the Ozarks? Okay, so Day of Caring, our campaign
00:17:47.180 --> 00:17:48.940
kickoff, and our cornhole tournament. Oh, you
00:17:48.940 --> 00:17:51.859
got us! All right. And the last one we have is
00:17:51.859 --> 00:17:54.000
United for Greatness? Yes, we do have United
00:17:54.000 --> 00:17:55.880
for Greatness every other year with our nonprofit
00:17:55.880 --> 00:17:59.559
partners. Okay, is this, or I guess... This year
00:17:59.559 --> 00:18:02.660
or 2027? Will that be the year of United for
00:18:02.660 --> 00:18:05.640
Greatness? It'd be 27 again. Seven, okay. Yeah.
00:18:05.980 --> 00:18:08.160
And do you know the date of the Cornhole Tournament?
00:18:08.680 --> 00:18:11.019
It's coming up here in a few weeks. October 14th,
00:18:11.059 --> 00:18:15.140
2026. Yes, at Drury in the Finley Student Center.
00:18:15.539 --> 00:18:19.480
Yeah, 5 o 'clock, doors open. We have a little
00:18:19.480 --> 00:18:21.519
bit of time for additional registration and gaining
00:18:21.519 --> 00:18:24.720
all of your info. And then 6, 630 is our start
00:18:24.720 --> 00:18:28.519
time for actual cornhole. You say the 14th? Yes,
00:18:28.519 --> 00:18:31.099
October 14th. You all should be there. That'll
00:18:31.099 --> 00:18:35.700
be a good midweek. what are at least three united
00:18:35.700 --> 00:18:39.640
way fundraising events hosted by cu this year
00:18:39.640 --> 00:18:43.910
okay ready Yes. Is it going? No, it's loading.
00:18:44.130 --> 00:18:47.369
Oh, so you got extra time. Okay. Taste of CU,
00:18:47.609 --> 00:18:50.509
the chicken wing competition, and the trivia
00:18:50.509 --> 00:18:52.869
tournament. Trivia event. All right. There you
00:18:52.869 --> 00:18:55.890
go. You guys, I'm such type A that I'm stressing
00:18:55.890 --> 00:18:59.910
out. So we've got an ice cream kickoff, a rubber
00:18:59.910 --> 00:19:02.029
duck race, which I talked about on the last podcast
00:19:02.029 --> 00:19:04.490
that I was a first loser. Parking space auction.
00:19:04.609 --> 00:19:08.170
I was also a big loser, by the way. Poker run.
00:19:08.689 --> 00:19:11.210
Also a big loser. There's a theme here. Actually,
00:19:11.250 --> 00:19:13.450
I join you with that, Kara. I lost on all of
00:19:13.450 --> 00:19:15.269
those as well. Yeah, this is getting more depressing
00:19:15.269 --> 00:19:18.230
as we go down the list. Wing cook -off and hot
00:19:18.230 --> 00:19:20.750
ones, burrito breakfast, lunch trivia. I will
00:19:20.750 --> 00:19:22.890
win that. And then the paper airplane contest.
00:19:24.349 --> 00:19:27.109
All right, next one. Ready? Okay. All right.
00:19:28.399 --> 00:19:32.220
She's still sweating. All right. Name at least...
00:19:32.220 --> 00:19:34.160
Oh, this is a good one. I forgot about this one.
00:19:34.220 --> 00:19:36.940
Name at least three main ingredients for pumpkin
00:19:36.940 --> 00:19:41.180
spice lattes. Pumpkin, sugar, and coffee. Okay,
00:19:41.180 --> 00:19:43.880
very good. We'll give it to you. Technically,
00:19:43.880 --> 00:19:45.660
it's espresso, but we'll give it to you. That's
00:19:45.660 --> 00:19:48.720
good. For a non -pumpkin spice lover, you got
00:19:48.720 --> 00:19:51.339
it. Yeah. Okay, this is a gimme, so we're not
00:19:51.339 --> 00:19:54.559
going to time you on this one. But our last question
00:19:54.559 --> 00:19:56.859
is, list three reasons why listeners should donate
00:19:56.859 --> 00:20:00.730
to United Way. Oh, wow. Okay. So last year, we
00:20:00.730 --> 00:20:04.509
were able to support 41 ,000 individuals through
00:20:04.509 --> 00:20:06.369
the dollars that we've contributed back into
00:20:06.369 --> 00:20:09.869
our community. Day of Caring is an incredible
00:20:09.869 --> 00:20:11.589
event that I think folks should get involved
00:20:11.589 --> 00:20:17.609
in. And our AFL -CIO relations really does great
00:20:17.609 --> 00:20:19.269
work within our community through Missouri Works
00:20:19.269 --> 00:20:22.309
Initiative that works on a pre -apprenticeship
00:20:22.309 --> 00:20:24.539
program helping folks get employed. That's great.
00:20:24.619 --> 00:20:26.640
Thank you so much for being here and for sharing
00:20:26.640 --> 00:20:29.180
that information and for sharing your energy
00:20:29.180 --> 00:20:32.140
and passion with us as well. Thanks. I hope I
00:20:32.140 --> 00:20:34.819
passed the test. You did. You did. Whitney, before
00:20:34.819 --> 00:20:37.480
we let you go, we want to give you an opportunity
00:20:37.480 --> 00:20:39.579
to tell us a little bit more about Halloween
00:20:39.579 --> 00:20:41.579
Hustle and how people can get involved in that.
00:20:41.779 --> 00:20:44.619
Yes. So Halloween Hustle is coming up actually
00:20:44.619 --> 00:20:49.359
this year on Halloween. So on October 31st here
00:20:49.359 --> 00:20:53.140
at City Utilities 301 East Central at 9 a .m.
00:20:53.480 --> 00:20:56.579
going to have a 5 and 10k race as well as a one
00:20:56.579 --> 00:21:00.579
mile candy dash everyone is invited bring your
00:21:00.579 --> 00:21:02.700
friends bring your family bring your pets come
00:21:02.700 --> 00:21:04.920
out in costume because it's a really good time
00:21:04.920 --> 00:21:08.019
and if you would like to register for the race
00:21:08.019 --> 00:21:11.720
you can go find us on facebook at the halloween
00:21:11.720 --> 00:21:14.799
hustle our theme this year is scooby -doo so
00:21:14.799 --> 00:21:16.940
you will see scooby -doo graphics on facebook
00:21:16.940 --> 00:21:19.180
and there's a link there that'll take you to
00:21:19.180 --> 00:21:22.900
register with our timing company with our timing
00:21:22.900 --> 00:21:27.740
company act now um we uh are taking registrations
00:21:27.740 --> 00:21:30.420
all the way up until race day so you have time
00:21:30.420 --> 00:21:33.240
to think about it and show up and we'll get you
00:21:33.240 --> 00:21:35.359
we'll get you what you need to compete in the
00:21:35.359 --> 00:21:37.519
race and the weather it will be perfect yes it
00:21:37.519 --> 00:21:41.559
will be beautiful that's right thank you so much
00:21:41.559 --> 00:21:44.549
for being here yes Well, thank you both again,
00:21:44.690 --> 00:21:47.630
Brandy and Whitney. Two quick plugs as well,
00:21:47.670 --> 00:21:50.150
where you can find more information out about
00:21:50.150 --> 00:21:53.569
CU's community outreach, you can go to cityutilities
00:21:53.569 --> 00:21:57.230
.net. And then from there, once you're on the
00:21:57.230 --> 00:22:00.069
main page, on the top banner, there's Inside
00:22:00.069 --> 00:22:02.640
CU. Click on that, and then there is a community
00:22:02.640 --> 00:22:04.779
outreach button that will take you to find out
00:22:04.779 --> 00:22:07.039
more information about what all we do. Yeah,
00:22:07.039 --> 00:22:08.619
it talks about United Way, it talks about Halloween
00:22:08.619 --> 00:22:10.720
Hustle, and also about how customers can get
00:22:10.720 --> 00:22:13.480
involved with Project Share. Yes, yes. And then
00:22:13.480 --> 00:22:15.779
there's also United Way, the Ozarks website,
00:22:15.960 --> 00:22:20.339
which is uwozarks .org. And that way you'd be
00:22:20.339 --> 00:22:22.339
able to find specific information about what's
00:22:22.339 --> 00:22:25.380
happening here. in the Ozarks and the Ozarks
00:22:25.380 --> 00:22:28.819
region. That's right. And then, as always, we
00:22:28.819 --> 00:22:30.819
would love for you to engage with us here at
00:22:30.819 --> 00:22:33.519
That's Shocking. You can send any questions or
00:22:33.519 --> 00:22:36.579
ideas for upcoming episodes to social at cityutilities
00:22:36.579 --> 00:22:40.559
.net. And as Kara, you were saying with socials,
00:22:40.559 --> 00:22:43.859
we're on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, where we've
00:22:43.859 --> 00:22:47.240
got two different pages. There's at City Utilities.
00:22:47.440 --> 00:22:50.720
And then we've also got the That's Shocking pod
00:22:50.720 --> 00:22:54.119
TikTok page where we got our alter egos twigs
00:22:54.119 --> 00:22:57.099
and watson stay caught up with twigs and watson
00:22:57.099 --> 00:22:59.460
so new episodes are released every first and
00:22:59.460 --> 00:23:02.940
third wednesdays of the month at 8 a .m the next
00:23:02.940 --> 00:23:05.119
episode will be um talking with krista shirts
00:23:05.119 --> 00:23:07.059
about some efforts that we have coming up uh
00:23:07.059 --> 00:23:09.619
to help improve water quality in our area so
00:23:09.619 --> 00:23:12.880
we're excited to talk with her and um we've got
00:23:12.880 --> 00:23:14.579
to go off the grid for now but thanks for plugging
00:23:14.579 --> 00:23:16.940
in and allowing us to brighten up your day stay
00:23:16.940 --> 00:23:18.079
energized springfield
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