YLOK Class XIII Day 5: Now We Know What's In The Sausage

Tada!! Katie & LeeAnne bring you a warm welcome to Enid. It's a really great place, and we got to see that firsthand. Day 5 was a very busy day. We started in Stillwater, spent our morning in Enid, zipped down to Norman, headed back up to downtown Oklahoma City, and finished in Bricktown. We were nonstop, and we didn't bat an eyelash.

Our first stop in Enid was AdvancePierre Foods, an employer of over 3,200 people whose foods supply multiple food provider services that work with cafeterias, Sonic, and countless other places where you have probably consumed their delicious products. Photos were not allowed inside the private building, so I won't be showing any on here. Let's just say there was a lot of raw meat, huge industrial processing machines, and just as many finished products coming out the other end. It was rather encouraging to witness the absence of preservatives in the foods made here. Behind Vance Airforce Base, AdvancePierre is the second largest employer in Northwest Oklahoma.

Our next stop was the brand new (literally, it was opened the day before we arrived) Enid Events Center in downtown. WOW! Enid is a relatively large town for Oklahoma (52,000 people), but it is by no means a metropolitan area. Even so, this town has basically every amenity you could possibly want from a much larger place, and the quality of such venues is spectacular. The renaissance of the Enid downtown is a testament to the forward thinking of the citizens of this town. We were the first large tour group to see the new Events Center. There are 3,200 seats, all of which are retractable in order to make more floor space if needed. The Events Center is connected to a massive, completely renovated Enid Convention Center, steps from the all new Enid Ballpark, and will soon be directly connected to a Hilton Garden Inn with a large central park encompassing the whole complex. Is that not exciting? It's like a mini-MAPS, if you are familiar with the complete overhaul happening in downtown Oklahoma City. What's great is that this isn't just a downtown Enid project. It seemed that wherever we went in Enid, we were being shown something new. From the Cherokee Strip Museum, to the renovated shopping mall, to our beautiful lunch venue, the massively overhauled and immaculate Oakwood Country Club.

Enid proudly displays its pride on the Enid Convention Center

Inside the brand new Enid Events Center

Oh Leslie... one day I will finally get your name right, but this is not helping me.

After we saw downtown Enid, we went to Integris Bass Baptist hospital to learn about the medical field and do some practice surgery on fake patients. I think this was a highlight for many people. We seem to have several students who are very interested in the medical field, and they seemed to get their questions answered very well here.

Learning how minimally invasive surgery works. 

Making our own casts. 

Viewing bacteria in the microscope.

After the hospital experience, we headed to the Oakwood Country Club, where we were served fajitas that made my tastebuds sing. We were graciously hosted by about 10 of Enid's Leadership Oklahoma graduates. After lunch, former Chair of Youth for Leadership Oklahoma Brent Kisling welcomed us and had each LOK graduate introduce themselves as well. It was such a fantastic opportunity for the YLOK students to network with adults who are leaders in their own community and learn about their life paths.

Best quote of the day from our absolutely outstanding Enid Tour Guide, Marcy Jarrett, "Be a citizen. Not just a resident." That encompasses what we all learned during our day in Enid.

From Enid, we traveled to Norman and visited Sarkeys Energy Center at the University of Oklahoma. We learned about the importance of energy in Oklahoma, and how it impacts us every single day. We were given a wonderful presentation, as well as an in-depth tour of the facilities, including a $5,000,000 off-shore drilling simulator. OU is the only university to have this type of equipment (I love to brag about my university).

Next, we made our way back to Oklahoma City to the Oklahoma Blood Institute. We were given a couple of presentations about leadership as well as the impact of giving blood. It was incredibly inspiring, and several of the students had actually been involved with OBI through their student councils, either giving blood themselves or setting up blood drives. While the presentations were going on, people went to the back of the room to have their fingers pricked in order to determine their blood type. I was A+, which I hope is reflected in my GPA during my senior year of college ;)

For dinner, we went to LeeAnne's husband Renzi's public relations company, Saxum. We ate Big Truck Tacos together, then we had one more quick video presentation by Renzi himself, who was in Chicago attending a Cure Epilepsy convention. A few years ago, LeeAnne & Renzi lost their 11 month old son, Isaiah, from epilepsy. The lessons they learned, the way they have continued to move forward in life, and the way they draw positivity from such a difficult situation is moving beyond words. If you have the chance, I encourage you to read their story at LeeAnne & Renzi's blog: http://renziandleeannestone.blogspot.com . LeeAnne actually had Isaiah two days after the conclusion of my own year of YLOK, so I have been blessed to follow this incredibly strong family throughout the whole process.

And finally, we ended the night with a bang: an 80's dance at our hotel until midnight! We had a great time, even if our speaker system was a little quiet. These guys know how to make the best of any situation though, so we danced anyway, and we didn't stop until we had to.

Lovin' the mullet in the back

Two-steppin! 

We ended the night in the best way possible: a group hug!

I am so tired. I'm actually writing this while the class gets their questions answered by Rep. Joe Dorman in the House Chamber at the State Capitol. My eyelids are trying to shut and I'm occasionally physically holding them open with my fingers. But hey, this has been so worth it. I've loved every second of this trip, and I've loved every student, too. They are valuable people, and I hope that they can be assets to each other for a long time after YLOK is over. Today is our last afternoon together, and we will be debating a mock bill in the House of Representatives, and also having a graduation lunch at the Governor's Mansion. I don't want to see these guys go! I don't think they want it to be over either. All I know is that we have had the time of our lives. I hope you've enjoyed following our journey. Final post coming soon!

-Bryce Rowland