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CONTENTS

adahub COMMUNITY MAGAZINE

AUGUST 2019

FEATURES

Publisher Okie Icon Media

11

Managing Editor David Dinsmore Featured Writer Sunnie Dawn Smith

5 Abba’s Tables filling gap for

families struggling with food insecurity

Ad Sales Brad Carter Art Direction Fawn Wilson-Olivarez Photography Nicholas Geisler

6 Career Kick Start at Ada City

Schools to help students explore potential careers

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Comments or Suggestions? info@adahub.com • (580) 421-7874 A rticles and advertisements in the Ada Hub do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the magazine or Okie Icon Media. Okie Icon Media does not assume responsibility for statements made by advertisers or editorial contributors. The acceptance of advertising by Ada Hub does not constitute endorsement of the products, services or information. We do not knowingly present any product or service that is fraudulent or misleading in nature. Ada Hub assumes no responsibility for unsolicited materials.

A PUBLICATION OF OKIE ICON MEDIA © COPYRIGHT 2019

7

Area filmmaker turns love of creating into career

8

Step Out of the Darkness event highlights need for addiction awareness, prevention

11

Teacher revisits college project, publishes first children’s book

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Abba’s Tables filling gap for families struggling with food insecurity

By Sunnie Dawn Smith

W

hen Abba’s Tables – located at 113 S. Johnston St. – was founded in 2013, Edwina Lowry knew that there was no program in Ada to help feed the hungry.

While there are food pantries that have monthly disbursement, there was no place in Ada for people to get a hot meal for free. Not everyone has money for groceries nor do they necessarily have the means to cook the groceries that they receive.

Even after receiving food from the food pantries, it can be difficult to make those ingredients last throughout the month for some families.

According to data from Feeding America: Map the Meal Gap, 16.2% of Pontotoc County residents deal with “food insecurity.” This means that they worry they could run out of food before they would have enough money to buy more. This is one of the reasons where an organization like Abba’s Tables can fill some gaps in the Ada community.

After five years of planning, Lowry was finally able to open Abba’s Tables at the Olive Branch Fellowship. In 2015, they moved to their current location on Johnston St. For LeAnn Gourley, president of the organization’s executive board, it is a labor of love. Gourley along with the other board members all volunteer their time to make sure Abba’s Tables runs smoothly. Gourley shares the position of director of operations with Mary Huckeby, who is also the treasurer. Suzanne Morris is the vice president, and Lisa Shores and Matt Harp serve on the board as well. While no one on the board is paid a salary, they do have four paid part-time employees, including three managers and one that cleans for them.

“The service we provide is feeding the hungry,” Gourley said. “We ask no questions. If you come through our doors, you will get fed.”

They also take great care to provide security and safety as well. If someone causes problems, they get banned for 30 days. If the behavior is repeated, they will be banned permanently.

“We want to provide a safe and welcoming environment where people can come in

Abba’s Tables provides free hot meals for individuals and families at 5:30 p.m. Monday-Friday at 113 S. Johnston St. with help from four part-time employees and groups of volunteers. They will be hosting a flapjack fundraiser 8-10 a.m. on Sept. 14 at Applebee’s Grill + Bar at 1220 N. Mississippi Ave. PHOTO BY NICHOLAS GEISLER

and sit down to a very well-prepared and healthy meal,” Gourley said.

Volunteers start arriving at 2 p.m. to begin cooking before the doors open at 5:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. They serve food for an hour, clean up and are out by 7 p.m. on most nights. Though they are not a food pantry, they will give away the extra food as people leave after dinner. Most every night, people leave with extra food.

“It is very important for the community since there is a huge hunger problem in our area,” Gourley said. “We feed anywhere from 25-90 people per day, five days a week.”

While the experience of operating Abba’s Tables is very rewarding, there are also challenges. The biggest challenge that they face is getting enough volunteers. There are some days when they still struggle to stay open due to lack of volunteers.

“When you are feeding that many people it takes a lot of work to not only prepare that big of a meal in the three and a half hours we have, but then to help feed them, give out our extra food to take home and then bus all the tables, clean up the kitchen, put up all the food left over to be able to start all again the next day with a clean slate,” Gourley said. “It takes a village sometimes to get it all done on time.”

They would like to have four volunteers

in the kitchen in the afternoon to help cook and then 5-10 in the evening to help things run smoothly.

In addition to volunteers, the thing that Abba’s Tables could use most is monetary donations, though they don’t really need the money for food. Grocery stores in town provide them with generous donations of food. However, they still need to pay the mortgage on the building and utilities as well as their four part-time employees.

One way that people can donate is by buying tickets for their flapjack fundraiser happening 8-10 a.m. Sept. 14 at Applebee’s Grill + Bar at 1220 N. Mississippi Ave. The cost for tickets is $8. People can buy tickets from board members, or they can call Abba’s Tables at (580) 279-6886.

If people want to buy tickets to support the organization but can’t make it to the breakfast event, then Abba’s Tables will give those tickets to their dinner guests so they can get a nice breakfast as an extra treat.

In order to donate money or sign up as a volunteer, call Abba’s Tables. Their website, abbastables.org, has more information as well as a link so people can sign up to volunteer. Visit facebook.com/groups/ abbastables for other information and updates. www.adahub.com • 5

Career Kick Start at Ada City Schools to help students explore potential careers

By Sunnie Dawn Smith

I

n today’s changing world and economy, the Oklahoma State Department of Education and local school systems are constantly trying to find new ways to make school as valuable to students as possible to help ensure they stay in school and are fully prepared for life after high school.

While the OSDE has recently implemented new guidelines to make this happen, Ada City Schools has taken it a step further, leading the way in their quest for excellence.

A new mandate from the OSDE requires that all students starting in ninth grade develop an Individual Career Academic Plan. According to ODSE information, “an ICAP is a multi-year process that guides students as they explore career, academic and postsecondary opportunities.”

While much of the implementation is left to individual school districts, ODSE does want students to complete career and college interest surveys, written postsecondary and workforce goals, assessments, experience in service learning and/or work environments and an intentional sequence of courses that reflects progress toward their postsecondary goals.

Even though the state wants students to begin their ICAP in the ninth grade, Ada City Schools actually begins the whole process in elementary school with career awareness. They have partnerships with organizations such as Mercy, the Oka’ Institute, EAA aviation organization and the Oklahoma Energy Resources Board to bring leaders in their field into the classroom and STEM labs to educate young students on possible career paths.

In eighth grade, students have a career day where they really start thinking about what they want to do with their lives. In ninth grade, they can begin to focus more on their specific goals and developing a plan to achieve them.

“The students will do career planning that they keep in a portfolio, will participate in the Pontotoc County Career Discovery program, visit possible job and career sites and hear from community business and industry leaders in their classroom,” said Paula Kedy, executive 6 • www.adahub.com

Ashley McCortney will begin the Career Kick Start Program for Ada City Schools, which will focus on helping prepare high school juniors and seniors for local internships to explore possible career interests.

PHOTO BY NICHOLAS GEISLER

director of academics and instruction with Ada City Schools.

One way that Ada City Schools is taking it even further is by hiring Ashley McCortney for the new position of career pathways coordinator and as the director of the Career Kick Start Program.

“Career Kick Start is an opportunity for juniors and seniors in high school to spend an hour a day in a local business as an intern, learning what they do and earning elective credit toward graduation,” McCortney said.

One of the biggest challenges that they face is the fact that this is a relatively new concept in Oklahoma, so there aren’t really other models to draw from. The few programs that do exist are in larger cities and most focus on a single business or industry.

With the great community involvement and the diversity of local businesses and industries, the Career Kick Start program in Ada will be able to give students a wide variety of possibilities for internship.

Ada City Schools Superintendent Mike Anderson is especially excited about these new opportunities for the students.

“The Ada city school district is working to build strong post-secondary pathways

for students, and we are extremely pleased that Ashley McCortney will be joining us to spearhead our new Career Kick Start program,” Anderson said. “The Career Kick Start program will allow Ada High School students the opportunity to receive course credit for completing internships in job positions throughout our community.

“Already, we have received a positive response from business and industry leaders who have demonstrated their willingness to allow our students to complete internships in their places of business. As always, we appreciate the support of the members of this community who are more than willing to work with us to ensure that our students succeed.”

McCortney said the program could play an important role in the choices made by students in the future.

“This program is important because it opens kids’ eyes to opportunities that they may not have known were out there,” McCortney said. “This gives them a chance to experiment with different career pathways.”

Leading up to an internship, McCortney will be helping students learn some of the “soft skills” that may be new to them.

She will be teaching them how to prepare for interviews, dress for interviews and business and how to answer the phone in a professional manner as well as many other skills that will be important once they move on in their careers.

The internship aspect is the last step in the program where the students get to physically be part of a program that fits their interest. McCortney said one of the great things about this is that while it will give some students a jumpstart on their careers and education, it may allow other students to realize that this is not the path they want to take, which is a lesson many people learn much later in their life.

“I am looking forward to working with the kids and seeing them realize their opportunities and what they want to do with their lives,” McCortney said. “It will be exciting to see what doors these internships open for these kids and what they choose to do with it."

Area filmmaker turns love of creating into career

By Sunnie Dawn Smith

A

dam Hampton, by his own estimation, has always had a bit of a “hyperactive imagination.” He would “direct” plays in the third grade and play Dungeons and Dragons-type role-playing games with his friends as he grew up.

All of this was rooted in his own young creative vision, and it is what led him to become a writer. Being a writer is what led him to become an award-winning filmmaker and actor.

Writing was therapeutic for Hampton during junior high.

“With all the angst of figuring out your place and developing your identity, writing became a big release for me in those tough junior high days,” Hampton said.

He went to East Central University on a full-ride writing scholarship because he loved telling stories and getting everything out that was hidden deep inside him. It wasn’t until he picked up some mass communications classes that he wrote his first script.

He was in love. It just so happened that Jason Alexander, his best friend and roommate who was basically a brother to him, was also going through an artistic transformation. He had a background and interest in photography, and their interests collided.

“It’s cool, having been friends for so long, to discover this in each other at about the same time,” Hampton said.

Hampton ended up writing a script for Alexander’s capstone course and re-enrolled in ECU so he could direct it. That was their first feature, “Looking for Hope.”

Hampton began acting because of the filmmaking. Independent filmmaking is done with no budget and no hope of a profit. It is done out of love for the craft. He started acting because he knew he would show up, and he knew he would know the lines. He has now been in two movies that can be found on Amazon Prime for rent or purchase, “The Jurassic Games,” where he plays a wrongly convicted man forced to enter a virtual reality world to win his freedom, and “Gremlin,” a movie about a man who receives a mysterious box containing a murderous creature that will kill his family if he doesn’t pass it along to someone else.

His latest turn as an actor, though, recently premiered at Dances with Films in Los Angeles to excellent response. In “90 Feet From Home,” Hampton plays a former Major League Baseball player who returns home to confront his abusive stepfather.

He had the opportunity to work with WWE legend Shawn Michaels, who played his father, and Dean Cain of Superman fame.

It was a dream role for Hampton.

“I’m really proud of the film, and I was happy to do what I could to bring the character to life,” Hampton said. “I hope people respond to it.”

Hampton is constantly working on at least one project – sometimes multiple projects – at the same time. He is a member of Outsiders Productions along with Alexander, Kenny Pitts and Chad Matthews. He and his production members and friends recently won a Heartland Emmy for their work on “Play it Loud,” where they meet with Oklahoma musicians and interview them.

Hampton interviews them and writes the narration, Pitts and

Adam Hampton has channeled the creativity he developed as a child into a career in independent filmmaking and acting, winning awards and getting unique opportunities along the way.

PHOTO BY NICHOLAS GEISLER

Matthews produces and Alexander shoots and edits.

Hampton’s full body of work, awards and festivals can be seen on his IMDb page. There will also be an opportunity to see his work alongside the work of other talented Oklahoma filmmakers at the film festival portion of Ada Fest, being held in Estep Auditorium in the University Center on Friday Aug. 23. The festival will begin at 5 p.m. with stop motion animated shorts from Kyle Roberts and DreamWorks called “Trolls.” At 5:20 p.m., people can catch Season 1, Episode 4 of “Play it Loud,” the episode for which Hampton and his cohorts won a Heartland Emmy. At 6 p.m., “Lazy Circles: Welcome to Goshe” plays, which is an awardwinning comedy pilot from Marcus and Lucas Ross. At 6:45 p.m. is “The Grave,” a short film by Kyle Roberts that features Hampton as the bad guy. At 7:15 p.m., it is “Prone to Violence” by Kyle Kauwika Harris, where Hampton will play the good guy. The 7:30 showing brings “Arrows of Outrageous Fortune” by Mickey Reece, and finishing the evening is “The Unusual (Calling of ) Charlie Christmas” that Hampton wrote and directed.

In addition to seeing Hampton’s work at the film festival and on Amazon Prime, all of the seasons of the award-winning “Play it Loud” can be found online at playitloudshow.com, and Hampton hopes to release another one of Outsiders Productions’ awardwinning narrative series, “Rough Cut,” online later in the year.

What began as a passion and friendly collaboration in college has turned into so much more for Hampton and for all of his friends. None of it could be possible, however, without the support and encouragement from his family, especially his wife Angelina. www.adahub.com • 7

Step Out of the Darkness event highlights need for addiction awareness, prevention

By Sunnie Dawn Smith

I

n 2010, East Central University President Emeritus John Hargrave was on a flight with his friend, Reggie Whitten.

During their conversation, they ended up sketching out a plan to help college students suffering from addiction. What began as notes on a cocktail napkin at 30,000 feet soon became something so much more – the Brandon Whitten Institute for Addiction and Recovery.

Brandon Whitten was Reggie Whitten’s son. He died in a motorcycle accident in 2002, but the real cause of his death was his addiction to prescription drugs and 8 • www.adahub.com

alcohol. He had sustained a football injury in college that led to a prescription for pain pills. Unfortunately, as in many cases, what began as medicine soon transformed into addiction. Grieving for his son, Reggie Whitten needed to do something to honor his son’s memory, help raise awareness to a growing problem and perhaps stop other families from losing their sons and daughters.

In 2011, current director Holli Witherington came on board. Witherington had a background as a licensed professional counselor and a licensed alcohol and drug

abuse counselor. She had even worked as a probation officer at one point in her life but was drawn more to the counseling aspect of it than the law enforcement aspect. Under Witherington’s leadership, the institute has grown tremendously in scope and purpose during the past eight years.

While the Institute was created primarily as an addiction and recovery resource center, they have expanded with four different grants. While they do have the Drug Free Community Grant and the Drug Free Communities Rx Grant – which deals specifically with prescription drugs – they also

have two others that go beyond the scope of addiction and recovery: the Mental Health Awareness Training Grant and the ECU Campus Suicide Prevention Grant.

They expanded their scope and focus because addiction and mental health go hand-in-hand in many cases. Sometimes, mental health issues lead to addiction while other times addiction leads to mental health issues.

One of the misconceptions about the institute is that they are a treatment center.

They are not a treatment center; they are a prevention and referral center. They do trainings for the campus and community, outreach, activities, events and are a referral center for students, faculty and staff who are in need of outpatient substance abuse treatment. While their referrals are limited to campus, they can also help noncampus community members navigate the addiction and recovery systems in place, helping them figure out what they need to do and where they need to go to get help.

The big event that the institute hosts every year in conjunction with the Pontotoc County Drug Free Coalition is called Step Out of the Darkness. This will be their ninth year hosting this event, and it has grown every year.

In the beginning they had around 450 attendees, but it is not uncommon for them to have up to 600 participants.

“The purpose of the event is to celebrate recovery and make people more aware of the resources in the community,” Witherington said.

The event begins at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 7 with the Pontotoc County Prayer March. Participants register at the Pontotoc County Courthouse Plaza at 120 W. 13th St. and receive their free T-shirt as well as register for drawings for cash and prizes. They then march to the Centennial Plaza at ECU and continue to the Prevention and Recovery Rally at the Kerr Activity Center. In order to make things easier for participants, Witherington requests that people park initially at Kerr Activities Center or Norris Field. They can then take a bus to the courthouse. That way when

The Brandon Whitten Institute for Addiction and Recovery and the Pontotoc County Drug Free Coalition will host Step Out of the Darkness to provide awareness of the problems of addiction as well as celebrate those who are recovering and changing their lives and the lives of those around them. The free event will start at 10:30 a.m. on Sept. 7 at the Pontotoc County Courthouse Plaza near 120 W. 13th St. and will end at the Kerr Activity Center at East Central University with food and activities.

PHOTO SUBMITTED.

they are done, they will be near their car.

During the initial march, there will be three representatives from local churches leading prayer. One at the beginning, one along the way and one at Centennial Plaza.

This year, the prayer leaders for the event are from H2O Church, The Refuge and Crosscut Cowboy Church.

Once the march moves to the rally at Kerr, there will be guest speakers. After the speakers, booths from local organizations will open up along with food options.

Everything at this event is free to the public. There is no registration fee. Hot

dogs and bottles of water are provided courtesy of Citizens Bank, Landmark Bank and H2O Church.

Some of the participating booths will have games for kids. In the past, there has been face painting, rock painting, ring toss, selfie stations and popcorn. For entertainment, organizers are having a talent show showcasing local acts. Audience members will have a chance to vote for their favorite, and cash prizes will be provided. Drawings for prizes will be held during the talent show as well.

Step Out of the Darkness allows the Brandon Whitten Institute and the Pontotoc County Drug Free Coalition to come together with the community and provide awareness of the problems of addiction as well as celebrate those who are recovering and changing their lives and the lives of those around them.

As the institute’s slogan states, Step Out of the Darkness: Addiction Affects Us All. www.adahub.com • 9

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Teacher revisits college project, publishes first children’s book

By Sunnie Dawn Smith

T

rey Hays wrote his first story in the seventh grade. It was about a turkey that didn’t want to be eaten on Thanksgiving. It tried to get away many times. It succeeded, though Hays forgets some of the details.

What he remembers most about that story, though, is the way his teacher made him feel about it. She loved it, and she encouraged him to write more. It was then that he was reborn as a writer, not knowing what his life would have in store for him as a result.

Hays continued writing throughout school. He graduated from Tishomingo High School in 1994, started at Murray State College and ended up at East Central University graduating with a degree in elementary education. He had begun his college career as a drama major before switching to speech and drama teaching. His wife had a child, and he knew he would need a job with security and availability. A professor suggested he switch to elementary education.

It was a reluctant change on Hays’ part, but he did it.

It turned out to be one of the best choices he ever made. Because of his elementary education degree and a background in theater and musical theater, he was able to get hired at his alma mater and has been teaching music and art to kids in pre-k through fourth grade at Tishomingo for 17 years. Where his teacher changed his life with their encouragement so many years ago, now Hays can do the same thing with his students, encouraging their creativity and showing them what is possible.

Hays’ life took yet another turn in October 2018 when his first book, “Little Loksi,” was published by the Chickasaw Press.

It had begun as a writing assignment for a children’s literature class in college, and Hays held onto it. Years later, he returned to it, adding more characters and expanding on the story. The illustrator, Eli Corbin, was an old family friend of Hays and one of his former students. In fact, when Hays originally wrote the first draft in college, Corbin as a sixth grader at the time did illustrations for it. When Hays decided to transform “Little Loksi” into a larger project, he returned to Corbin to ask him to illustrate it.

Corbin ended up using the book as his final

Trey Hays worked in elementary education for 17 years before looking back at a college writing project he eventually turned into “Little Loksi,” a children’s book published by Chickasaw Press in October 2018.

PHOTO BY NICHOLAS GEISLER

project for a graphic design certification in 2017. A year later, Corbin was a finalist for the Oklahoma Book Awards for his fantastic illustrations.

Though “Little Loksi” is a children’s book, it is enjoyable for adults as well. Hays weaves a story about the plight of a young turtle and how everyone can work together using their individual and distinct talents to solve a problem and help each other. These are lessons that are important for kids to learn but also for adults to remember. The message is twofold: it is important to work together, and everyone has something unique about them that can be of use.

For example, the turtle title character has been turned onto his back by a wave in the beginning of the book. While the other turtles cannot help him, they stay with him while asking their friends and those who come by for help. Everyone they encounter tries to help in their own way. Chukfi the hare tells Loksi a story to keep his mind off of his plight. Nashoba the wolf travels the countryside trying to find other creatures who can help. Koni the skunk is enlisted to guard Loksi from predators using his “powerful smell.” Haknip Hishi’ Haloppa’ the porcupine is tasked with further protecting the Loksi family if predators get past Koni.

Eventually, the teamwork of Cholhkun the

spider and Osi the eagle pull Loksi back onto his feet and all the animals celebrate.

Hays shows that even things that might not be seen as favorable, such as Koni’s smell or Haknip Hishi’ Haloppa’s spines, can still be of use when the heart is in the right place.

While Hays is not technically and officially a Chickasaw Nation member, he considers himself culturally Chickasaw. He has a great love and appreciation for the Chickasaw culture, and that is shown in his book. He uses the Chickasaw names for the animals and includes a glossary of terms and pronunciations in the back of the book.

One of the surprising things that came out of his book was the creation of a new word in Chickasaw, which is now officially in the language. Because porcupines are not native to Southern Oklahoma, the Chickasaw language had no word for it.

However, Hays wanted the porcupine in his book but also wanted all the animals to have Chickasaw names. So now the porcupine has a name in Chickasaw – Haknip Hishi’ Haloppa’.

He also continually advocates for cultural diversity, and on Sept. 20 he will be presenting at the Oklahoma Regents for Higher Education Conference about cultural diversity in literature. www.adahub.com • 11

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