Oklahoma Sports
oklahomasports.net

Alabama Sports
alabamasports.net

Arizona Sports
arizonasports.net

Arkansas Sports
arkansassports.net

Bryan County Patriot
bryancountypatriot.com

Colorado Sports
coloradosports.net

Emerald Quest Media Care
emeraldquestmedia.net

Georgia Sports
georgiasports.net

Iowa Sports
iowasports.net

Kansas Sports News
kansassports.net

Kentucky Sports
kentuckysports.net

Maryland Sports
marylandsports.net

Midwest Sports
midwestsports.net

Mississippi Sports
mississippisports.net

Missouri Sports
missourisports.net

Nebraska Sports
nebraskasports.net

New Mexico Sports
newmexicosports.net

North Carolina
northcarolinasports.net

Northeast Sports
northeastsports.net

North Dakota Sports
northdakotasports.net

Pennsylvania Sports
pennsylvaniasports.net

SE Sports
sesports.net

South Carolina Sports
southcarolinasports.net

Tennessee Sports
tennesseesports.net

Texas Sports
texassports.net

The Honey Comb Gift
thehoneycombgift.com

What's My Story
whatsmystory.net

Wisconsin Sports
wisconsinsports.net

Alabama Sports
alabamasports.net

Arizona Sports
arizonasports.net

Arkansas Sports
arkansassports.net

Bryan County Patriot
bryancountypatriot.com

Colorado Sports
coloradosports.net

Emerald Quest Media Care
emeraldquestmedia.net

Georgia Sports
georgiasports.net

Iowa Sports
iowasports.net

Kansas Sports News
kansassports.net

Kentucky Sports
kentuckysports.net

Maryland Sports
marylandsports.net

Midwest Sports
midwestsports.net

Mississippi Sports
mississippisports.net

Missouri Sports
missourisports.net

Nebraska Sports
nebraskasports.net

New Mexico Sports
newmexicosports.net

North Carolina
northcarolinasports.net

Northeast Sports
northeastsports.net

North Dakota Sports
northdakotasports.net

Pennsylvania Sports
pennsylvaniasports.net

SE Sports
sesports.net

South Carolina Sports
southcarolinasports.net

Tennessee Sports
tennesseesports.net

Texas Sports
texassports.net

The Honey Comb Gift
thehoneycombgift.com

What's My Story
whatsmystory.net

Wisconsin Sports
wisconsinsports.net

Alabama Sports
alabamasports.net

Arizona Sports
arizonasports.net

Arkansas Sports
arkansassports.net

Bryan County Patriot
bryancountypatriot.com

Colorado Sports
coloradosports.net

Emerald Quest Media Care
emeraldquestmedia.net

Georgia Sports
georgiasports.net

Iowa Sports
iowasports.net

Kansas Sports News
kansassports.net

Kentucky Sports
kentuckysports.net

Maryland Sports
marylandsports.net

Midwest Sports
midwestsports.net

Mississippi Sports
mississippisports.net

Missouri Sports
missourisports.net

Nebraska Sports
nebraskasports.net

New Mexico Sports
newmexicosports.net

North Carolina
northcarolinasports.net

Northeast Sports
northeastsports.net

North Dakota Sports
northdakotasports.net

Pennsylvania Sports
pennsylvaniasports.net

SE Sports
sesports.net

South Carolina Sports
southcarolinasports.net

Tennessee Sports
tennesseesports.net

Texas Sports
texassports.net

The Honey Comb Gift
thehoneycombgift.com

What's My Story
whatsmystory.net

Wisconsin Sports
wisconsinsports.net

Alabama Sports
alabamasports.net

Arizona Sports
arizonasports.net

Arkansas Sports
arkansassports.net

Bryan County Patriot
bryancountypatriot.com

Colorado Sports
coloradosports.net

Emerald Quest Media Care
emeraldquestmedia.net

Georgia Sports
georgiasports.net

Iowa Sports
iowasports.net

Kansas Sports News
kansassports.net

Kentucky Sports
kentuckysports.net

Maryland Sports
marylandsports.net

Midwest Sports
midwestsports.net

Mississippi Sports
mississippisports.net

Missouri Sports
missourisports.net

Nebraska Sports
nebraskasports.net

New Mexico Sports
newmexicosports.net

North Carolina
northcarolinasports.net

Northeast Sports
northeastsports.net

North Dakota Sports
northdakotasports.net

Pennsylvania Sports
pennsylvaniasports.net

SE Sports
sesports.net

South Carolina Sports
southcarolinasports.net

Tennessee Sports
tennesseesports.net

Texas Sports
texassports.net

The Honey Comb Gift
thehoneycombgift.com

What's My Story
whatsmystory.net

Wisconsin Sports
wisconsinsports.net

Alabama Sports
alabamasports.net

Arizona Sports
arizonasports.net

Arkansas Sports
arkansassports.net

Bryan County Patriot
bryancountypatriot.com

Colorado Sports
coloradosports.net

Emerald Quest Media Care
emeraldquestmedia.net

Georgia Sports
georgiasports.net

Iowa Sports
iowasports.net

Kansas Sports News
kansassports.net

Kentucky Sports
kentuckysports.net

Maryland Sports
marylandsports.net

Midwest Sports
midwestsports.net

Mississippi Sports
mississippisports.net

Missouri Sports
missourisports.net

Nebraska Sports
nebraskasports.net

New Mexico Sports
newmexicosports.net

North Carolina
northcarolinasports.net

Northeast Sports
northeastsports.net

North Dakota Sports
northdakotasports.net

Pennsylvania Sports
pennsylvaniasports.net

SE Sports
sesports.net

South Carolina Sports
southcarolinasports.net

Tennessee Sports
tennesseesports.net

Texas Sports
texassports.net

The Honey Comb Gift
thehoneycombgift.com

What's My Story
whatsmystory.net

Wisconsin Sports
wisconsinsports.net

Tulsa Personal Injury Lawyer
Truskett Law

Bible Blast
Kid's Bible Curriculum

Stu B Que
Tulsa BBQ and Catering

On The Rock Roofing
Owasso Roofer and Roofing Contractor

Oklahoma Dental Office Transitions
Jaquay Enterprise

Oklahoma City Business Lawyer
Bruner Law Firm

Tulsa Dental Crowns
Dental Studio of South Tulsa

McAlester Lawyers
Wagner & Lynch Law

Tulsa Architect
Property Arts

Female Dentist Tulsa
Magnolia Family Dental Care

Tulsa Pediatric Dentist
Children's Dental Health Center

Tulsa Ozone Therapy
Longevity Effect

Broken Arrow Home Health Care
Bright Home Health

Huntsville Personal Injury Lawyer
The Lackey Law Firm

Broken Arrow Pest Control
Bed Bug Heat Treatment

Jenks Dentist
Hopper Dental

Macon Dermatologist Skin Care Physicians of Georgia

Broken Arrow Roof Repair Ark Roofing & Construction

India Missions HBI Global Partners

Tulsa Surveillance Technologies
Tulsa Video Surveillance
Accel Polymers
HIPS Plastic Recycling Business

Insurance Agency in Tulsa AAA Insurance Tulsa

Tulsa Ozone TreatmentDr. Sara Washatka

Tulsa Bathtub ResurfacingBear & Bison Resurfacing Specialists, LLC

Broken Arrow FaceTiteDr. Lee Bottem

Huntsville Web Design
McWilliams Marketing

South Tulsa Counseling
Evolution Mental Health Services

Tulsa General Contractor
Ascend Construction Services

Tulsa IT Support
CamTech

Wholesale Alarm Monitoring
Monitoring America Alarm Co-op

Tulsa Telecommunication Company
Adept Patriot Services

Tulsa Business Coach
Business Acceleration Team

McAlester Criminal Attorney
Foundation Law Firm

Cape Girardeau Palliative Care
Crown Hospice MO

Springfield End of Life Care
Seasons Hospice MO

Victoria TX Palliative Care
Crown Hospice TX

Tulsa End of Life Care
Seasons Hospice OK

Tulsa Business Consulting
Welltide Inc

Broken Arrow Dentist
Dentistry For You Broken Arrow

Sand Springs Dentist Near Me
Dentistry For You Sand Springs

Tulsa Midtown Dentist
Dentistry For You Tulsa

Huntsville Wellness
Synergy Wellness

Tulsa Dentistry Near Me
McDougall DDS

Tulsa Emergency Veterinarian
STATVet Animal Urgent Care

Oklahoma City Dental Practice
Dentistry For You OKC

FMS Aerospace
Aircraft Equipment Racks

The Poop Fairy
Tulsa Pooper Scooper

IV Effect
IV Nutrition

Ashes Away Chimney Sweep Company
Tulsa Chimney Repair

Wagner & Lynch
Eastern Oklahoma Criminal Defense Lawyer

Rivercross Healthcare
Oklahoma & Kansas Hospice Healthcare

Crown Hospice Saint Louis
Saint Louis Hospice Care

Cold Creek Solutions
Cold Storage Houston

The Office Tulsa
Tulsa Co-working Space

Domesticaide
Tulsa Residential Cleaning Companye

Via Sophia Bookkeeping
Virtual Bookkeeper Tulsa

Inaugural Magnolia Christmas Fest to benefit Jon Hazell Scholarship

Winners of the first Jon Hazell Magnolia Festival Scholarship: (L-R) Daurah Amos, Lily Culver, Kylee Schreier and Adrian Tucker. Photo courtesy Durant Area Chamber of Commerce.

By Joey McWilliams

BRYAN COUNTY – Magnolia Festival is going to have a spin-off in 2017, with the second big event to take place in the late fall.

The inaugural Magnolia Christmas Fest is set for Nov. 17-18 and will be held at the Choctaw Event Center.

Janet Reed, Executive Director of the Durant Area Chamber of Commerce, said the idea is something that has been talked about for a while.

“As you know, the Magnolia Festival is always the full weekend following Memorial Day,” Reed said. “And we always go back and do an analysis of what we could have done better, what we want to improve and how we want to move forward.

“James (Dry, DACC President) had actually been talking to me for the last three years about how we wish we could do something around the Christmas holiday. The Event Center is out here. We have such a great place to have this. It would be great to showcase our merchants in the downtown area, the different things that we have.”

But in 2017, something different came down the path that would bring more purpose to such an event. At this summer’s Magnolia Fest, scholarships were given for students going into the field of education.

“Jon Hazell was actually instrumental in giving us the $5,000 (used for the scholarships), which was awarded to him through the Masonic Lodge, because he is the Teacher of the Year for Oklahoma,” Reed said. “Jon and I spent a lot of time working on what the scholarship would do, what he wanted to see from it and how we could grow it.

“There is a committee that is working on this. We have four people that are working to set criteria and they will be the ones that select from the applications. But the ultimate goal is to be able to endow the scholarship and to finance someone who will be in education and that agrees to stay in the area and teach in Oklahoma for four years.

“Of course, Jon’s goal is to try to improve education in the state of Oklahoma, and we’re losing great teachers, as everyone knows.”

Four scholarships in the amount of $1,250 each were given. The initial recipients of the Jon Hazell Magnolia Festival Scholarship were Daurah Amos, Lily Culver, Kylee Schreier and Adrain Tucker.

The ultimate goal is to have $24,000-$36,000 in the endowment fund to ensure the people selected for that scholarship will be able to have their entire tuition paid.

“I said, ‘James, we need to do something,’” Reed said. “And he said we’re going to do it and this is what we’re going to do.”

It was decided there would be a second Festival, which would have as a primary purpose to raise money for Jon Hazell Magnolia Festival Scholarship fund.

Reed said the Choctaw Senior Citizens would be a co-sponsor for the event and would take care of the concession area as a fundraiser for them. The larger portion of the monies that raised from booth space will be put back into the scholarship fund.

“Of course, the girls here (Katie Quinn, Chamber Manager and Jennifer Brewer, Administrative Assistant) worked diligently to move it all forward – they’re always one step ahead of me, I promise. But they were visiting with all the vendors at the Magnolia Festival and basically explaining to them that we were thinking about doing this and asked if they would come back.

“Everyone was excited about the possibility of being able to do it inside, where we’re not going to have to worry about whether it’s raining or snowing, it’s going to be nice and cozy inside that building. That was basically how we began to roll this out.”

Dry addressed the idea that there are more than 1,000 emergency certifications in Oklahoma for teachers.

“That’s how short we are for teachers in Oklahoma,” Dry said. “What better way for Jon Hazell to promote and encourage students to become teachers and to stay here. That’s why he’s Teacher of the Year.

“If we can help pay for their college tuition, so they don’t have debt to go into that profession, because it’s a profession they’re not going to get rich off of, that would be great because it’s so rewarding to educate our youth.

“It’s a great scholarship and something that we want to grow. And we couldn’t think of a better way to do it than to do an event in the fall pre-Christmas event. It’s another way to promote our downtown businesses as well, that are Chamber members and to get them to set up the booths out there and to promote their businesses. It’s all about the community and educating our youth.”

Reed said also that a requisite for the scholarship is that it is to be used at Southeastern Oklahoma State University.

All four recipients of this year’s scholarships were incoming freshmen to SOSU and the committee will try to give four scholarships each year until the scholarship fund is endowed.

“We are in hopes that once the scholarship fund is endowed, which it will have to be $15,000 before it can be endowed, that as we continue to grow that we will be able to do at least two a year and cover all the tuition. With tuition where it is right now, that would be about $48,000. So we have a way to go.”

Applicants for the scholarship do not necessarily have to be high school seniors. Anyone can apply.

Dry said there was one big issue the committee determined before going further with the process.

“It was important to the committee that we put together to do this, and they’ve done a great job, was that it should be named for Jon Hazell,” Dry said.

The Durant Area Chamber of Commerce is encouraging people to save the dates and make plans to attend the first Magnolia Christmas Fest and Reed said she believes there will be many vendors there.

“With the schedule that we have, it’s very enticing for our vendors from the downtown area to come in and show what they’re going to have to showcase for Christmas,” Reed said. “And we’re going to give a very good discount for those who are members of the Chamber and of Main Street both.”

Vendors who would like to be involved should contact the Chamber at (580) 924-0848.

Comments are closed.