photocredit: wisesnacks.com
BY: RACHEL SMITH
So… as I’m working on a fun story about the young generation growing up in Clear Lake and what the Winter Dance Party means to them, my mind began to wander.
SQUIRREL!!
Yes, just like that. Once upon a time, I had impeccable focus. Then I added more writing to my life and, honestly, it’s made my brain a bit foggy. Maybe it’s because it’s always so full of ideas? Maybe because there’s all these fictional characters prancing around, teasing me with story concepts for my next book? I don’t know. What I do know, is that I’ve had two Lake Leadership classes that I haven’t yet posted about.
Oops!
So here it goes!
First off, the December class was all about Health and Recreation. We started with a visit to Be Wellness. I’d never been in their new store across from City Park and it is gorgeous! If you are looking for organic food options, it’s definitely the place to go! Next, we stopped at the Autism Center which was an incredible, eye-opening experience. The fact that we have this wonderful facility right here in Clear Lake is such a blessing!
We then went to Oakwood Care Center for a short tour and a fabulous lunch prepared by their team of chefs. The day progressed with a visit to the Sanitary District which left me in complete awe. Not something you normally think about, but learning the travel path of the city’s water to get cleaned and then delivered back into nature is unreal. I bet you never knew there was such a science to getting clean water!
We ended the day with a tour of Lake Time Brewery, learning the beer-making process from start to finish. Again, you might think, “oh, they just make beer,” but the science behind each portion of the process is fascinating.
In January, we braved a very cold day of trolley rides and made our way to Alpha Media. Tim Flemming and Joe Malone filled us in on the evolution of the radio industry and how the radio process works. From there, we made our way to KIMT. It was cool to see the set and even test out the teleprompter. Again, we learned so many cool things about the news broadcast that you just don’t think about when you’re watching at home.
After another cold jaunt on the trolley, we ended up back in Clear Lake at Kingland Systems. I would have to admit, I had no clue what they did at Kingland. During another fabulous lunch (seriously… the lunches on these days are outstanding) we learned all about the history and mission of Kingland Systems. We then ventured just around the corner to Metal Fabricators. Knowing absolutely zero about metal, I think I said ‘wow’ in that place about five hundred times. There are so many things I don’t have a second thought about, like the frame for dressing rooms that they fabricate and ship to stores. It’s a true gem in our small town that I honestly think more people need to know about!
We ended the day at McKesson. I went in knowing they did something with pharmaceuticals. I wasn’t sure what, exactly, but just that it was a big place and they were relatively new to Clear Lake. I left there thinking, “of all the places they could’ve built this warehouse in the Midwest, they chose Clear Lake.” The design, the volume they ship out each day, even the plethora of Clear Lake history and photos on the walls. It was literally like nothing I’d ever seen before.
Not kidding.
And maybe I’m just sheltered in my little corner of the world, plugging away in my home office creating captivating words to garner people’s attention, but there are some seriously awesome businesses in this town.
So there you have it – two months’ worth of Lake Leadership info condensed into one (kinda long… sorry) blog post!
Now… back to working on that focus issue!
SQUIRREL!!