Photo provided – Keynote speaker Aspen Sage and her service dog Takin It To The Streets at the conference photo booth 

Hi everyone, hoping you had a terrific weekend spending time with family and or friends celebrating either graduations or Mother’s Day.

Today was a day to celebrate the life of an amazing woman. Jina Tolle, and her family for that matter, are the epitome of what it means to be active in their faith, life and community. I am sending out my sincere condolences to the Tolle family and their extended family, and I hope Jina’s blog at Facebook at It is Well reminds her family that she will never forget you. What a joyous light, despite her battle of 7 years.

It’s graduation time, which blows my mind at how fast this year has gone so far. UCO graduated over 1,400 students last weekend, with local EPS High Schools scheduled to graduate this coming Friday night under their respective schools stadium lights. Congratulations to all for your accomplishments, and I hope you all have an amazing summer before moving on to new endeavors.

Summer Camps are being finalized around the Metro, and here in Edmond, as well. Check out the information for Oops I Arted, for Paper Arts, and for Millie’s Table summer camps!

Click here to register for Millie’s Table Camp!

Edmond AMBUCS Chapter Hosts Successful Regional Conference

The Edmond Chapter of AMBUCS recently hosted the annual Great Plains Regional Conference.  More than 150 attendees from Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Illinois attended the event, which was held at Hilton Garden Inn and Edmond Conference Center. The regional conference offered various speakers and workshops designed to provide ideas and projects that attendees could take back and implement in their communities.

“The key thing for planning our conference is to mix fun with education. The AMBUCS Great Plains Region Conference was an incredible opportunity to get members together for a weekend of fun and learning. The conference was a huge success in Edmond,” said Gordon Shaw, Great Plains Region AMBUCS Director.

Participants attended sessions about fundraising, leadership training, social activities and networking strategies. To begin the Saturday morning session, Edmond Mayor Darrell Davis welcomed the group and thanked them for their commitment to bringing adaptability and access to resident of Edmond and beyond.

On Friday evening, Major General Rita Aragon captivated the audience with her powerful keynote address and stayed to have a photo with all the Veteran members.

Another inspiring speaker was Aspen Sage, former Miss Wheelchair USA and digital infuencer who shared the story of how she became paralyzed after being overmedicated while hospitalized. The Edmond and OKC AMBUCS Chapters will be building a wheelchair ramp for her new home.

The group also spent time exploring Edmond and surrounding areas with trips to Golf Club of Edmond, Chicken & Pickle and Frenzy Brewing. Frenzy Brewing hosted opening night festivities with more than 50 attendees dining and shopping in downtown Edmond.  In addition to the classroom time and field trips, attendees joined forces to build a ramp for a homeowner in the Edmond area.

“I heard so many say how much they learned and couldn’t wait to take the information back to their chapter members”, said Terry Lanham, AMBUCS National Big Hat Secretary/Treasurer and Co-Chair for the conference.

AMBUCS chapters work to inspire mobility and independence for people with disabilities through partnerships with physical, occupational and speech therapists. In addition to providing scholarships, they build ramps for homes with no wheelchair access and provide specially built AMTRYKES for developmentally or physically challenged children and adults who would otherwise be unable to ride independently.

For more information, go to Great Plains Region Ambucs

Have a wonderful week and I am going to go Thunder Up for game 4 of the NBA Semifinals! Check back here on Thursday to see what is happening around Edmond this weekend.

Sherri