The Thompson Family Short List of Topeka Favorites

I received a wonderful surprise in my mailbox on Friday when I got home from work.  I received a letter from  Fred and Sherry Thompson, whom I had the opportunity to meet and visit with at last weekends TransformTopeka potluck dinner/gathering.  They said that over the years they have found many wonderful things in Topeka.  Along with a letter, Sherry sent me a list of their favorite things in Topeka and I want to take a moment to share those with everyone (these are in no particular order). Read the rest of this entry »

What I did last night, and what they did right

Okay, so last night, I went to see a show at the Sprint Center in Kansas City.  I have been there only one other time before (1 year ago) to see the same show.  I went and saw So You Think You Can Dance Live.  You must be asking yourself this questions… What does this have to do with TransformTopeka?  TransformTopeka has always been one to point out good things when we see them and share these ideas with others.  I have been to two shows recently in Topeka, one at TPAC and one at the Expocentre.  There was something different, and more personal that was done by the Sprint Center that I wanted to share with everyone.  Read the rest of this entry »

A Potluck Success!

Thanks to everyone that attended our first potluck gathering tonight at Synder’s Cabin in Gage Park! We hope you all had as great of time as we did. It was fantastic to be in a room with a group of people that all have similar thoughts and dreams for Topeka and understand that the power of positive thinking is the first place to start.

Here’s a couple of photos that we took at the event. Enjoy!

A Night of Laughter

Thursday evening, my husband Brandon and I attended the Last Comic Standing Tour at Topeka Performing Arts Center. It was great!

We had a very enjoyable evening watching the top four contestants and the host of this year’s Last Comic Standing season perform 25-minute sets each. The comedians were hilarious, and I really appreciated the way they all made certain to include the making fun of the Phelps clan in each of their acts. It really proved that visitors to Topeka do realize that the Phelps and their backwards thinking are not characteristic of the rest of us.

Reminder - TransformTopeka Gathering October 12

Hello everyone!  I just wanted to take a moment to remind everyone that our gathering will be at Snyder Cabin in Gage Park from 6pm to 8pm on Sunday October 12.  We will have some Green and Yellow balloons marking the cabin.  It is a potluck dinner so please bring a dish.  TransformTopeka will provide plates, utensils, napkins, water, and tea.  We look forward to meeting all of you!

Transparceny in Government = Trust in Government

It floored me today when I heard that Councilman Jeff Preisner was proposing to discontinue televising city council meetings as a money saving measure.  I think most Topekans would agree that we have a major trust issue with the leadership in the community and things like this only add to it.  We need more transparency not less. We need transparency in all areas, city council, city budget, city departments, etc.  These are our elected officials and tax dollars and we deserve to know how descisions are made and how our money is spent.  With so much distrust, it is particularly important that the city government be as transparent as possible moving forward if they want to regain trust.  Not televising cit council meetings is definitely moving in the wrong direction from where our city government needs to go.

Heartland Visioning - Quality of Life

The Quality of Life section of the Heartland Visioning draft plan starts with the following vision:
Shawnee County will be a safe and caring community with vibrant arts, cultural entertainment and recreational activity and caring for all.
Who can argue with that? I mean, I think it’s safe to say that everyone wants to raise their family in a safe, caring community that has access to entertainment and recreational activities of all types. It provides options for a wide range of experiences without having to travel out of town, and allows opportunities to get involved in teams/clubs/groups that support these activities.

Read the rest of this entry »

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