-written by Mayor Jenni White
In exciting news for our town, it appears the new Luther Parks Commission initiative, #lutherlocal Christmas (2017) helped result in a 45% growth in December sales tax revenue for our town over December 2016!
Begun November 24th and ending December 16th, #lutherlocal Christmas was created to entice Lutherites to shop – and eat – locally over the Christmas holiday. Nine Luther businesses – Urban 66, Rustic Farm, Luther Hardware and Lumber, The Boundary, Luther Mill & Farm Supply, Chicken Shack, Sonic, Farmstead 116, Jarvis Liquor Well and Josephine’s Café – as well as First Bank and Trust, Edmond Fire Door, Thermal Kat, and Allan K. Booher CPA, each provided $50.00 toward a pot of $700.00 which was to be raffled off to one lucky person on the 16th.
From the 24th to the 16th, shoppers and diners earned one raffle ticket for every $10 they spent in food or merchandise at participating Luther businesses and restaurants. December 16th, Josephine’s Café opened at 7:00pm for the drawing which was conducted by Luther Parks Commissioners Kasey Wood and Ashlee Webster on Facebook Live.
During that broadcast, the name of local business owner Ktara Brinkley (of Revitalize Life Counseling on Main Street) was drawn, making Ktara the first lucky #lutherlocal Christmas winner. That night, live on Facebook, Ktara was counted out her $700.00 in Christmas cash!
The Parks Commission hopes to add several other raffle opportunities to the 2018 #lutherlocal Christmas which will run from November 23rd to December 15th when winners will be announced at Luther’s first annual Town Christmas Party at the Broken Horn Ranch.
This year, the Luther Parks Commission will be coordinating Luther’s participation as a host town for the Oklahoma Free Wheel Cycling event, Tuesday June 12th to Wednesday June 13th. On October 27th, the LPC will oversee the second annual Pumpkin Passport Trunk or Treat event. In addition, LPC will also continue working toward developing grant opportunities to improve Luther’s parks for the enjoyment of all ages.
If you are interested in helping with any of these activities, or being involved with the Parks Commission at any level, please contact Kasey Wood, Chairman.
