Battle of the Bands - quarter-finals - The Whims

Didn't make it to see The Whims perform last night? That is really a shame - they Rocked Columbia Street West! This was only their second public performance ever, if you can believe that!

They are setting the world on fire with their awesome sound - these kids have it together and are great musically too! After listening to a couple of the other bands last night, there was no doubt in my mind that they would be advancing - and they are! They have officially advanced to the Semi-finals of the Battle of the Bands this year. As soon as I have particulars on when, I will post that so we can get an even larger local group there to support them.

Will Gerber, keyboardist, was happy to show off his new keytar - sounded awesome! Check out the video.

Great Job - THE WHIMS!!!!!

WCLA

The deadline is almost here for the Wells County Leadership Academy - have you applied yet? Still not convinced that this is worth your time and money? Let me give you a few more reasons.

In addition to the community trainers that are on the slate for this year, we have some special presentations that will be made. Two of those are:

Kirk Nevins, retired VP of Sales at Franklin Electric. Kirk will be delivering his riveting "Listening" presentation. Come and learn from the master on how to advance yourself and your career through better-developed listening skills.

Roger Frick, President of Indiana Association of United Ways. Roger will give a presentation on how non-profits operate and what is expected from non-profit board members. Roger draws upon his vast career of working with many non-profits.

These "bonus" presentations will help the WCLA participants become better leaders in our community.

For additional information and an application click here. Hope to see your application soon - deadline is July 31.

The Whims

Are you looking for something to do this Thursday night? Do you like to support local people? Well, I have the perfect activity!

The Whims are a band that has local members in it. They have made it to the quarter-finals of the Battle of the Bands in Fort Wayne. And they are playing this Thursday night - July 30 - at 9:00 pm. They will be playing at Columbia Street West ($4 cover). These kids are great and have a bright future and I know that I plan to have been there with them at the beginning.

The Whims are sure to give us all a musical treat - come and support them (part of the judging is crowd participation and voting). You will not be sorry that you did.

Hope to see you there.

Do you need another reason?

Are you still looking for more reasons to apply to the Wells County Leadership Academy? Previous posts have shown what a couple of former participants have said about the benefits. But let me tell you now about some of the classes and instructors.

First of all, this curriculum was written by Dr. Tim Elmore of the Growing Leaders organization. He did this for Huntington University's Center for Leadership Studies in partnership with the Wells County Leadership Academy. This curriculum follows along with the Habitudes theme. Each lesson is presented with a graphical depiction to help cement the concept in your mind.

Second of all, we use local community leaders. This is a great opportunity for participants to get to know some of the local leaders. Trainers include names like Mayor Ted Ellis, John Whicker (Bi-County Services), Mike Row (Wells County Economic Development), Tamra Boucher (Bluffton Regional Medical Center), Leon Gerber (Christian Care Retirement Center), Tony Garton (retired BHS), Judi Merkel (retired Purdue Extension), Roger Sherer (Purdue Extension), Mark Miller (News-Banner Publications), Jim Schwartzkopf (retired SWS), Pamela Beckford (United Way) and State Senator Travis Holdman.

These trainers bring leadership concepts and principles to life through the use of interactive discussions and multi-media presentations.

Classes will meet on the second Wednesday of each month, beginning on September 9 from 8:00 to noon. You can download an application. Class size is limited and applications are due by July 31. For questions, please call Pamela at 824-5589.

Wells County Leadership Academy

Chuck King, in sales at the News Banner and one of the leadership academy past participants, talks about his experience last year.

Wells County Leadership Academy is now accepting applications for the new year of classes beginning in September. You can download an application here.

One of the best things about the WCLA is that the lessons and principles are presented by local community leaders. This allows the participants a chance to get to know some of the leaders in our community.

But, hey, don't take it from me - listen to what Chuck has to say or Karen Everett (from last week's blog). These are the real experts.

Another local treasure

Wells County has been blessed with another local treasure - The Whims.

This is a local band comprised of two local couples - Trent and Jena Hirschy (Trent on electric guitar, bass guitar and vocals and Jena on vocals) and Will and Heather Gerber (Will on keyboard, accordion and vocals and Heather on vocals). There were chosen to participate in the What's Up Battle of the Bands in Fort Wayne.

During Round One they performed at Columbia Street West in June. Then they received the word that they had advanced to Round Two.

The Whims call their music electronica/fusion/progressive - I call it great! Catch some of their music on their myspace page

Round Two will again be at Columbia Street West at 9:00 pm on Thursday, July 30. There is a $4 cover charge. Part of the voting comes from audience participation and voting. Join me and support a local group that is making big music.

Wells County Leadership Academy

The Wells County Leadership Academy is now taking applications for the new year of classes which will begin in September.

The Leadership Academy is all about personal skill development and learning and putting into practice essential leadership principles. Dr. Tim Elmore developed the curriculum that is used for the Academy - the lessons are based on the Habitudes that Dr. Elmore has written.

Classes meet once a month from 8:00 am to noon and class size is limited. You can download an application here. Application deadline is July 31. If you have any questions, please call Pamela at United Way of Wells County at 260-824-5589.

Here is a video from one of last year's participants, Karen Everett, talking about what this program has done to enhance her life. Karen is the office administrator at Honegger Ringger Co.

Good food right here in Bluffton

I have been told that I am not blogging enough - and I sure can't argue with that - I just don't always feel like I have anything to say. But, I just want to report that Bluffton is not only a great place to live and raise a family - but there are some wonderful places to eat here as well.

There is really no need to drive to another town for good food. We have a new restaurant, Market Street Steakhouse, that is reasonably priced and has very good food. We have Tyeger's Pizza on Market Street - great pizza! We have El Camino (my personal fav) for good mexican food. Can't forget CoCo China for awesome chinese buffet. For a town our size, there are lots of choices.

Tonight I went to Billy Ann's - good nachos. But the best part was the Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake. Now, I'm not much of a chocolate person so I was a little bit leery of getting this. However, it was a chocolate crust with plain cheesecake with raspberries in it and then topped with chocolate icing and raspberries. It was delicious. And they make it in house so it is fresh - I can't wait to go back - next time, I'm skipping my meal and going straight to dessert.

Bottom line - Bluffton has a lot to offer all of us without a drive. Stay in town - support your local businesses (if we support them, they will be around for us too!).