Girl Time!

July 31, 2012 ~ This is my good friend Shelly DeVore.... I love spending time with her as I feel that we were separated at birth somehow. (We both share the same "real" name of Michele with one "L", we can just about finish each others sentence, we are always up to no good... and have fun at it, etc.)

So today she treated me to a little "girl time" and we got our nails done! I needed to get mine done in a bad way (last place didn't do so good) and she was getting ready to go on a trip to Canada! She made an appointment for us and we had the staff laughing at our craziness! It was so much fun getting to spend time with her and then she even bought my lunch AND a Baskin Robbins milkshake.... LUCKY GIRL AM I!

Then tonight we meet up at a Chamber of Commerce ROI (Return on Investment) Mixer. I was one of the prizes (Spry-ize) along with Anne Williams for a lunch date and who do you think won??? Rusty Strodtman and Shelly DeVore! Awesome!!! So the idea for this little Spry-ize and Anne Williams is to take Rusty and Shelly out to eat and learn a little more about them and them about us! So we thought it would be awesome to coordinate with the other winners (6 of us were the "prize" and 6 winners) to all go out together so we have even better conversation! Brilliant! You know me.... I don't ever shut up long enough to let anyone else talk but I promise to be on my best-est behavior..... and find something new about each person!  Now that's gonna be a miracle unless I duct tape my mouth shut....... Ha!

2011-2012 Ambassador Chair Photo Book

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July 31, 2012 ~ I added the last pictures to my Ambassador Chair Book and ordered it! The 2011-2012 year was truly amazing and I am so proud of not only our Chamber for having such a vibrant organization but proud of all of the Chamber Ambassadors! They volunteer so much time and energy to making the ribbon cuttings in Columbia, MO so successful. Without each of the Ambassadors we wouldn't be possible. If you want to see my book click up above and see how much fun we had over the past year! Enjoy!

"You are my sunshine"

July 30, 2012 ~ I had an awesome lunch with Heather Stewart and her adorable little blonde girls today! I love my friends and I love when my friends make me something from the heart rather than buying some random gift. Heather made the "You are my sunshine" (which is now hanging on my wall next to my desk so I can see it everyday) and her daughter Megan made me the baseball / Cardinals tile! Yep she hand-painted it just for me! I love it! Of course you all know I love my St. Louis Cardinals and giving me a David Freese bobble-head was like totally awesome but honestly I just enjoy spending time with my people! Friendships are golden to me and this friendship is special! Thank you for my birthday gifts but most of all thank you for just being you! Love you Stewart girls! :)

Tiger Ambassadors ~ Welcome to the SEC!

July 27, 2012 ~ Can you believe we are officially 43 days away from our very first SEC home game for the Missouri Tigers? Ahhhh.... MIZ-SEC! I am very much a Missouri Tigers fan and I was asked many months ago by Greg Steinhoff to spearhead a group similar to the Ambassadors for Tiger Town. I am so passionate about my Chamber Ambassadors that I quickly said yes! Not even thinking about how much work this would be to create something from the ground up but ya know.... I like a good challenge! I put together a great core team and together we have started putting the piece together to make this division of the Tiger Town a reality! We are very lucky to have such dedicated people to help pull this event together. We really want to get excited about this new opportunity and showcase what Columbia, MO has to offer.... from the University of Missouri campus to our thriving downtown district to all the businesses in our community. (Just remember.... all those people that are traveling from outside our town will be spending money at our shops, restaurants, gas stations, grocery stores, dealerships and more so we've gotta show them what the Missouri Tigers are all about!)

So we recently got our logo (special thanks to Mike Vangel and his awesome team) and working on details for the website ( www.TigerTownMissouri.com ) which will be the most up-to-date information on everything Tiger Town and Tiger Ambassadors. We are hoping to roll this out and start recruiting Ambassadors the first full week of August! It's exciting and nerve-wracking all in one. I want it to be successful and want everything to flow smoothly during the 2 of the 4 SEC home games. So if you come experience Tiger Town on September 8th (Georgia) & October 13th (Alabama) watch for the Tiger Ambassadors! Interested in becoming a Tiger Ambassador.... visit our website or ask me! M-I-Z.....

Girl Time ~ Painting!

July 25, 2012 ~ I had tried to plan a date with my bestie, Misty McKee (in black on left) for some time but with her family schedule and my crazy schedule we just couldn't make it work until tonight! I talked her into going to The Canvas on Broadway which is a fun little shop that picks a painting and teaches you step-by-step how to paint it! In exchange she wanted to go to Booche's to get a burger first!

I met Vonna Hudson (in blue on the right) when her husband passed away in a shop fire at their home. She is a super nice lady and we helped her to rebuild a shop earlier this year. She commented on a facebook post and I invited her for some "girl time" and she said yes! (Boy was she in for a treat!)

One of my other great friends, Shelly DeVore (back row between Vonna and I) had been with me before to paint and we both enjoy it that I wanted her to come too! I always have such a great time when I am with her and orginally met her when I was going through Leadership Columbia in 2010.... Her real name is Michele (yep with one "L" too) since then we are like sister's seperated at birth!

I wanted Shelly to meet Misty as both of these gals are pretty special to me! We had so much fun painting and I think Vonna had a blast too! She is such a neat lady who likes to laugh and have fun.... believe me there was lots of that going on! (Misty.... "Michele's not listening"..... "Michele why aren't you using the brush they told you to use?" .... hmmm..... Michele isn't a good listener sometimes!) Thank you ladies for making my night perfect.... because I got to spend it with you all!

I think we all did a pretty darn good job.... funny how one painting can be created in so many different styles! I love them all.... and the paintings too!

Spc. Sterling Wyatt

July 21, 2012 ~ I had the honor to be a part of the "red wall" yesterday to honor Spc. Sterling Wyatt who was from Columbia, MO and was killed in the line of duty on July 11, 2012. It was truly amazing to see a community come together, wearing red shirts to show our support and condolences to his family. Many people were not able to attend but were there in spirit and commenting that they were wearing red to honor Sterling. I did not know this young man or his family but prior to this day he served us and I felt it was the least I could do to help serve him and his family by being apart of this day. (pictured with the DeVore, Spry & Crews family)

Pictures, posts, and pictures can't express this day. It was emotional, heart-wrenching and sad but it was also a great feeling that we helped make a day that was so hard for this family just a little easier knowing we wrapped our hearts around them. Family, friends, strangers.... all races, all political views, all religions came together when it was needed most. It made me proud to be from a community like Columbia, MO. Sterling's mother and younger brother came outside to thank everyone for their support on this day. She was such a strong woman to come out and speak to us but she knew we were there to pay our respects to her son.

During the funeral services, First Baptist Church in downtown Columbia was surrounded by a "sea of red". Just before the funeral ended we were asked to spread out to create a "red" path from the church to the burial site. I took a video (uploaded on YouTube) from where we were standing on the Business Loop less than a mile from Memorial Park Cemetery. On the way from the church it was a great feeling to see so many people lined up everywhere on this path with American flags and their red shirts. I hope that Spc. Sterling Wyatt knows that his community is proud of him for serving our country.

Jaxon!

July 20, 2012 ~ I got to spend the day with Jaxon today! The hand, foot and mouth virus was going around at daycare and after being at home all week he got to spend the day with Aunt Shell! The little stinker loves to be in the bathroom and loves looking at himself... not sure at 17 months old that he understands it's his reflection or if he does he likes himself!

He loves listening to Jewel's children's CD. His favorite song is "Sammy the Spider"and it's so cute how he dances around. He's so much fun! "Hey Aunt Shell... let me play you a song!"

After I fixed him a grilled cheese sandwich he could hardly hold his eyes open! I put him down on the couch and within 2 minutes he was out. I love watching him sleep and can't believe how big he's gotten! I sure love this little guy!

Ambassador Century Club Dinner!

July 19, 2012 ~ Tonight was the final piece to being chair of the Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors. We had the 5th annual Century Club Dinner at the University Club. (When an Ambassador reaches 100 points during the current year they are invited to a special dinner with the current chair... this year we had 45 Ambassadors reach this milestone!) It was an awesome night and as an "out-going" gift they gave me one of the best presents ever.... they know I have a love for the St. Louis Cardinals and baseball.... so they gave me a official baseball bat that was stamped with the St. Louis Cardinals logo and 2011 World Series Champions along with "Congrats! A Record Year! Michele Spry 2011-2012 Chamber Ambassadors" and most of the Ambassadors signed it. It truly was the best gift anyone could give me as I cherish each one of their friendships! It really was a great year ending with a grand total of 182 ribbon cuttings! I also dedicated my 1,000 point Ambassador tree during my term which was really special as I dedicated it on the same day as Dan Scotten (founder of our Ambassadors) marking our 35th Anniversary of the Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors!

I have truly enjoyed working along side these amazing people and look forward to another great year under Tom Trabue's leadership!