Jay KernerPublisher/Pea Picker Upper

Some readers may remember a piece in this space from 18 months back, where we talked about our then, new position south of town, and our new “horrible” boss.

We’re asked about the situation a fair bit, so we thought an update might be in order.

First, we’re still burning up 169 South. We know the curves in both directions.

We know how to adjust the sun-visors for the time of day and weather conditions.

We know who is growing what, who has what for sale along the road and where the school busses stop.

Our commute can take as little as 38 minutes if you hit everything just right, or as long as an hour and ten minutes when you don’t.

Once you get there, you have to assess the situation. First you peek to see if her door is open or closed. If it’s closed, BE QUIET! It’s always better when she determines the start of the business day instead of you or anyone else.

If the door is open, you know she is out already and on the prowl. Your senses on full alert, you hear the sound of children’s programing and follow it carefully. Early video can be a sign she woke up cranky.

She’ll be two next month and as a clear indication of how advanced she is in every way, my tiny boss started her terrible two’s early. Way early.

Child Psych people can give you chapter and verse on why the vast majority of babies go through this period of testing boundaries. But that is little consolation to the child care worker whose duties are not far removed from that of prison guards.

First their charges have to be contained and constrained for their own safety (and everyone else’s). Gates and locks on everything. Because they are NEVER, not thinking escape.

You have to monitor what goes in to them and what comes out. You regulate their exercise their sleep and their entertainment.

You have to be constantly on guard for contraband.They’ll hide anything in their mouth. Or other places! Despite all diligence, we’ve recovered coins, stamps, rocks and

sticks. All manner of small plastic detritus.She’ll dig a bottle or a sippy cup out of some secret stash, where the

contents have turned into a crude form of alcohol. Not alcohol anybody on the outside would drink, but she works with what she has and will eat or drink just about anything, and fight tooth and nail when you try to take it away.

She’ll palm cutlery of any kind.She can turn ordinary toys into weapons. That sounds funny to

anybody that hasn’t taken a roundhouse to the nose with a talking plastic teapot.

She throws food and her arm is getting better all the time.She always knows what she wants and she always wants it now. Then

she wants something else.Like videos. The parental units dole it out a little at a time, because

she’d sit in front of it mesmerized all day if you’d let her. Kid loves her shows.

But she wants the same one over and over. Till she finally demands

another from her short list of faves, which she then wants over and over.You try to distract her with other choices but she’s caught on to that

trick. She’ll ask for what she wants fairly pleasantly at first. Unless you say no or give any other answer than the one she demands. Then things escalate quickly.

Like she’s crazy for minions. You know the little yellow guys from the Despicable Me movies.

She’ll say, “Watch minions?”I’ll say how about some other title this time.Stare. “NO.” “Minions”.“But what about …”“NO!” “MINIONS!”The last one is often shouted while she grabs my chin whiskers like a

handle and pulls me to look in her eyes while she does it.She blames me for any gap in our communications, often frustrated

by my shortcomings in translating her unique vocal stylings.You might wonder why a right thinking person, such as oneself,

would put up with all this abuse.Simple. I’m a sucker for the snuggles and the hugs. And for listening while she reads me books. Sort of. Some real

words, some not. For the dancing and the wrestling.For the pure joy on her face when we first come in. (Most of the

time).And most of all, it’s for her heart-melting little “I love you, Jaybird!”

that gets me every time I hear it.

Horrible Boss II

Dear Joe,The Missouri Western State University Faculty Brass Quintet will be the

performers for the 17th season of the First Thursday Downtown Noon Concert Series on Thursday, September 3, at 12:10–12:50 p.m. in the Sanctuary of the church at 7th & Jules. The church sponsors the series in cooperation with the Missouri Western State University Department of Music. The audience is in-vited to bring lunch to eat during the performance. Beverages will be provided. There will be an opportunity to meet the musicians after the concert.

The members of the quintet are Steve Molloy and Jennifer Fox Oliverio, trumpets; Dr. Natalie Higgins, horn; Dr. Lee Harrelson, trombone & eupho-nium; and Dr. Nathan Gay, tuba.

Dear Joe,Please help me get the word out about the Sertoma Clubs of St. Joseph, 13th Annual Sporting Clays Event. On Sunday, September 20th

from 11-3pm. I’d like this to be on every calendar, date book and in the publics eye. Any assistance would be greatly appreciate. Come join the fun and help us send children between the ages 7-14 to our Children’s Deaf Camp. This is a bring your own gun and shells event. Come with a awesome BBQ meal. For only $35 a person. email Janice.collisionspecialists@gmail.com or call Janice at 816 232-5886.

The Regular Joephone 816-617-5850

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The St. Joseph Music Foundation, The Missouri Music Hall of Fame, and 99.3 FM are presenting JoeStock6 this Labor Day weekend, September 4, 5 and 6.

This free festival focusing on local and regional live music is held at Cole-man Hawkins Park, located at Felix Street Square. This year, the festival is being produced with the participation of The City of Saint Joseph, The Downtown Association, O’Malley Bever-age, Coleman Hawkins Jazz Society and Action Electric Co.

The Focus of JoeStock remains live local music. The weekend will include 30 Musical performances over the 3-day Labor Day Weekend. It is refreshing each year during sign-up to see the amount of local talent we have willing to serve the community and the new talent that is grow-ing. Almost like a garden being cultivated.

JoeStock has always been about community! This year sees this side of the festival growing. Several other events are scheduled which will give participants great opportunities to learn more about the community of Saint Joseph and how well we work together.

Vendors this year are Big Daddy’s BBQ, Spazz Designs and Barbie’s Beautiful Rings. The SJMF will be selling pop, water, adult bev-erage and tee-shirts for fundraising.

It is our hope that you enjoy our public services. We need your help in continuing quality programs and events. The St. Joseph Music Foundation is a 501(c)(3) corporation in the state of Missouri. We are fully-funded by membership dues and donations.

Bring the whole family to Coleman Hawkins Park and end your summer with great music and great times with your family, neighbors and friends. It’s FREE and YOU ARE INVITED!

Thank you from all of us at The St. Joseph Music Foundation, The Missouri Music Hall of Fame, JoeStock and 99.3 FM for your sup-port in keeping Live Entertainment alive in our community.

DAY 1, FRIDAY, September 4th, 2015Grounds OPEN at 02:30 PM 03:00 - 03:30 Tony Hernandez - original traditional blues acoustic03:45 - 04:30 Joe’s Garage - covers and original Neil Young’esk 04:45 - 05:30 The Center State - folk music05:45 - 06:30 Foxlin - indie folk alternative original06:45 - 07:30 The Coterie - original rock07:45 - 08:30 Benton Rolling Alumni Band - nuff said08:45 - 09:45 The Re Agents - Americana / Jam band10:00 - 11:00 Jamazon Cloud - originals

DAY 2, SATURDAY, September 5th, 2015Grounds OPEN at 10:30 AM 11:00 - 11:45 Lanhams Band Camp (2 bands)12:00 - 12:45 Aleah Ekoniak Sings... 16 year old singer / songwriter.01:00 - 01:45 Brent Isom - original, cover / acoustic pop & jazz02:00 - 02:45 Daniel “Berg” Bergonzoni - original hard rock, metal03:00 - 03:45 David Burns - Psychedelic acoustic. 04:00 - 04:45 Robo Hops - covers and original bedazzlement. 05:00 - 05:45 Sick B Twisted - hard rock06:00 - 06:45 Black Lotus - bluesy doom

07:00 - 07:45 Carbon - metal origi-nal, cover

08:00 - 08:45 The Devil & The Southern Fellowship - original,

cover, hard, grunge, southern rock09:00 - 09:45 BELLOQ - hard

rock covers10:00 - 11:00 Scruffy & The Jani-

tors - garage rock

DAY 3, SUNDAY, September 6th, 2015Grounds OPEN at 10:30 AM11:00 - 11:45 Jerry Rodriguez - acoustic covers all genres and decades12:00 - 12:45 The Iris Project - fusion01:00 - 01:45 Tad Hopkins & Ronnie Weir - originals, acoustic gui tars, folk ballads / country folk02:00 - 02:45 BEACONS - original, cover melodic rock heavy & light, vocal harmony03:00 - 03:45 Embers - rock covers, family group father and daughters 04:00 - 04:45 Phil Jackson group - originals and covers05:00 - 05:45 2 Miles Deep - cover rock, blues & soul06:00 - 06:45 Stephanie Gummelt - acoustic originals07:00 - 07:45 Sweet Dreamer - rock original and cover 08:00 - 09:00 A Light Within - original alternative rock

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All over the globe, Sweet Adelines International choruses are joining togeth-er to teach the world to sing. Women singers of all ages are invited to join River-Song for a Global Open House every Thursday night in September from 6:45-8:00 PM at Wyatt Park Christian Church, 2623 Mitchell Ave., St. Joseph, MO.

RiverSong members share a love for music and are committed to celebrating and advancing

4 part a cappella harmony and the barbershop harmony art form through per-formance and education. You too can experience the exhilaration of performing and singing with award winning RiverSong. Every woman will find a part that fits her voice range with the help of chorus musical leaders and the director.

RiverSong performs regularly offer-ing its talent for entertainment ranging from civic events and charitable func-tions, to fully staged musical produc-tions, in addition to promoting harmony and friendship among women.

RiverSong has called St. Joseph home for over 55 years, having per-formed throughout the U.S. and Europe, and is a member of the St. Joseph Allied Arts Council, the Missouri Arts Council, and is listed in the prestigious Mis-souri Arts Council Touring Performers’ Directory that helps RiverSong to reach the underserved communities through-out Missouri.

Riversong Open Houses in September

Danny R. Phillips

Brian Shank, local drummer, sits down when he pees.

This is just one of the things I learned about Brian Shank, (photo by Karen Pruitt), a person I have called a good friend since he ar-rived in St. Joseph three years ago. Though I have known him for his entire stretch here in our fair city, I have not known the young Mr. Shank at all.

Although I am one for tattoos, punk rock and nearly everything left of center, my first impression of Brian was, most likely, the same one as nearly everyone he encounters in life. I saw a rockabilly drummer with greased up hair, arms covered in tattoos of every size of shape or subject matter, a leather jacket (that, it turns out was his mother’s in the 1970s) and rose-lensed Rayban glasses. Many people I am sure see Brian this way, a drummer cribbing his personal style from the gearheads and hot rodders of the 1950’s; but, if people on the street only go by first impres-sions and preconceived notions, then sadly they do not know the true Brian Shank.

One evening, Shank came to my downtown apartment and sat for an interview, a discussion on his life as a musician, barber, minister, seminary graduate and many other puzzles that make up the centered man that he is today. Over our two-hour discussion and many since, I have learned hand-fuls of things that have broadened my view of my friend, the Rockabilly Barber.

1. He sits when he pees, not out of laziness but out of a desire to not make a mess of his bathroom. Upon sharing this information one night at Magoon’s, Shank’s bandmate and St. Joseph music prodigy Colby Walter exclaimed, “Put a post script in there saying I sit down to pee, too. My brother isn’t alone on this one.”

2. In the eighth grade, Brian intentionally flunked regular classes and Special Education as, in his words, “It was an experiment, a way to protest standardized testing in public schools. Schools aren’t teaching for kids to learn, they are teaching so kids can do well on state tests to make the schools look good.” The school decided to combine the hours and move him to the next grade.

3. His most favorite song of all time is The Pixies’ “Where is my Mind?” His personal theme music however is the Ernest Tubb classic “Drivin’ Nails in My Coffin.”

4. Shank graduated Summa Cum Laude (the top of his graduating class) from Boyce College of Southern Baptist Seminary in Louisville with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Biblical and Theological Studies.

5. He was a cosmetologist in New York for five years.6. He ministered to kids and the homeless on the streets for eight

years.7. His personal drum hero, the first that made an impact on his style

of playing in the years that followed is the one and only Dave Grohl. His personal local drum god is the exceptional Jesse Boley.

8. His parents Bill and Bridgit Shank live in St. Joseph and have been married since 1992. Brian was unsure of the exact date when prompt-ed.

9. Shank has a 6-year-old daughter in New York he rarely sees.

“I’ve collected all my recordings, fliers, stories, anything I could for my daughter so when she’s old enough to ask, she’ll know who I am through my story.”

10. He laments the end of St. Joseph band The Souveneers. “We had high hopes for that band, we were touring, doing well, making a bit of money then it all just fell apart. It’s sad but it happens unfortunately”

11. He is a huge fan of rockabilly legends Charlie Feathers, Gene Vincent, Eddie Cochran, and Wanda Jackson. He likes hardcore punk (the Misfits being his favorite). He loves the Misfits so much in fact, that he has lyrics from the band tattooed across his chest that “I’m The American Nightmare” and he threatens to steal my Danzig concert shirt every time he sees it. Danzig was the original lead singer of The Misfits. Therefore, by default, he must have said shirt.

12. I once gave him a button I purchased at Sun Records in Memphis. He nearly cried, hugged me and wears it in a place of honor. He says, to this day, it is one of his most prized possessions. If you do not know the significance of Sun Records, then you need to get out more.

I would love to share more of the gems I learned about my friend, but spacial concerns and common decency have given me restraint. This is something I can say: If you ever see Brian walking down the street in his Roy Orbison eyeglasses, black pants and black t-shirt, stop and say hello, spark up a discussion and see what you could learn from the centered, enigmatic Mr. Brian Shank. Maybe you will learn something. That is never a bad thing, right?

Author’s Note:People You Should Know is a column I’ve decided to do from time to

time in The Regular Joe as a way for people that may not be “in the know” to get the great business owners, musicians, artists and anyone else that pops in my mind. There are wonderful, intelligent people with much to offer in this town and as the great Husker Du frontman Bob Mould once sang, “It’s time to shine a little light.”

Brian Shank, Rockabilly Barber

The downtown Arts and Entertainment District is progressing with high quality art and entertainment options. The Allied Arts Council kicked off year two of the sculpture walk downtown with an impressive seventeen statues located throughout the district. The walk is fun to take with family or friends. Pick up a brochure and vote for your favorite piece of artwork. One of the pieces will be selected for purchase next year. The Allied Arts Council is also going to commission another traffic box to be turned into a piece of art. Due to funding cuts from the State of Missouri, the St. Joseph Downtown Community Improvement District has agreed to provide the funding for this project. This will be the fourth traffic box that the Allied Arts Council has commissioned to be painted. The traffic box selected to be the next work of art is the one at 6th and Edmond (next to the Ground Round).

Four more murals have been commissioned to be painted downtown. The murals being painted on the buildings ad colorful creativity to the downtown district. The first one to be painted was part of the project by Mosaic Life Care to build a concession stand and outdoor seating area at the corner of 7th and Felix Street. The mural was painted on the wall of the building housing the Rendezvous Bar at 619 Felix St. The mural depicts a music theme to go along with the entertainment that takes place at Coleman Hawkins Park at Felix Street Square across the street.

Another mural in the process of being painted is a civil war theme on the west side of the Ballinger Building at 620 Edmond Street. This mural was originally to be part of the Westward Migration Mural that was paint-ed last year on the backs of the buildings between 5th and 6th Street and facing Edmond St. however, it didn’t work out with the existing building elements so the decision was made to move it to another wall.

The third in this series of murals will be painted on the east wall of 518 Felix Street. The property owner commissioned this mural to be of a Sac and Fox tribesman. Sam Welty is the artist on these three murals.

The St. Joseph Downtown Partnership commissioned mural artist, Grace McCammond from St. Louis and local artist Daniel Ramming to create a paint-by-number mural to be painted by the Griffon Edge students from Missouri Western State University on August 29th. The mural will painted on the wall surrounding the parking lot at the Joyce Raye Pat-terson Center and depict a day in the park. Griffon Edge is a community service day for incoming freshmen students at the University to get better acquainted with the community and to give back to the community by doing various service projects. The St. Joseph Downtown Community Improvement District provided the funding for the artist. Other partners to make this and other downtown projects viable include Missouri Western State University, City of St. Joseph, Habitat for Humanity, JoAnne Grey, Royce Balak and Greg Bigham. Volunteers from Leadership St. Joseph, Junior League, the Downtown Association and the St. Joseph Downtown Community Improvement District will lend their assistance the day of the event for the downtown projects.

As far as entertainment options downtown, Coleman Hawkins Park at Felix Street Square will be alive with great events in September. Joestock, a three day music festival featuring thirty local bands will take place over Labor Day Weekend, September 4th through the 6th. On September 11th and 12th it’s the Coleman Hawkins Blues Festival; September 19th is Irishfest and September 25th and 26th is the Bluegrass Battles Hunger Festival.

New Businesses DowntownVisit one of these new businesses downtown!Just Desserts by Mom will be opening September 1st at 505 Felix

Street. They will be open Tuesday – Friday from 7 am to 2 pm and Satur-day from 8 am – 2 pm serving your favorite desserts and lunch items. To order a special dessert call 344-0969.

Fry’s Corner is a new full service restaurant located inside the Holiday Inn Riverfront Hotel at 102 S. 3rd St. Open daily from 6 am to 10 pm.

Pink Salt features a new American Bistro menu. They are now open at 614 Francis St. They are open Monday-Friday from 11 am to 2 pm and Friday and Saturday nights at 5 for dinner. Reservations are required for dinner. The number for the restaurant is 259-5098.

The Tiger’s Den is a used book store and cocktail lounge located at 517 Felix St. Hours for the business are Tuesday – Wednesday from 11 am to 11 pm and Thursday – Saturday from 11 am to 1 am.

Nesting Goods is a retail store that sells unique and hand-crafted home goods. They are open Monday – Saturday from 10 am to 6 pm at 817 Francis St.

Skateboard Everything features handcrafted items, many made from skateboards! They are open Thursday – Saturday at 124 N. 8th St.

Downtown Arts and Entertainment District

The Performing Arts Association presents the top vocal group of the 1950’s THE FOUR FRESHMEN at the Historic Missouri Theatre on Sat-urday, September 12 at 7:30 PM. Tickets are now on sale at the Perform-ing Arts Association, 816-279-1225.THE FOUR FRESHMEN formed a bridge between harmony based rock & roll and the ensembles of the 40’s. The group hit the charts early in the 50’s with “It’s a Blue World” and “Day by Day.” All the original mem-bers have since passed on but todays current members have continued to perform with the same artistic sound and have earned awards as the Best Vocal Group of the Year by Down Beat Magazine. The Four Freshmen remain the Acclaimed Masters of Harmony headlining concerts around the globe. As the Wall Street Journal proclaims, “Long live The Four Fresh-men, may they never graduate.”This year The Four Freshmen announced a new addition to America’s most enduring vocal harmony group. Continuing their staggering 67 year legacy, TOMMY BOYNTON recently joined as lead singer and bassist. STEIN MALVEY sings the 2nd tenor and plays guitar, CURTIS CALDERON sings baritone and plays trumpet/flugelhorn, and BOB FERREIRA sings bass and plays the drums. Tickets for the performance may be purchased by phone at the Perform-ing Arts Association, 816-279-1225 or at the office, 719 Edmond Street or online: saintjosephperformingarts.org.

Four Freshmen at Missouri TheatreSept 12th

Amnesia TooSt. Joseph AvenueLive Music most weekends!

Cafe’ Acoustic 2605 FrederickALL SHOWS 9:30pm unless noted

Sept 5 Blues Rock featuring Rocky Ford & Cover Boy @10pmsept 9 Open Mic hosted by Andrea & John Mi-ester*sept 10 The Empty Pockets & SexwolphSept 11 Steve’s Birthday Bash featuring live music from Fires of Eden @10pm*Sept 12 DREK & DIRTSept 16 Open Mic hosted by Andrea & John Miester feature artist Ben KuzaySept 18 Leisure Boys & Scruffy and the Janotors @10pm*sept 19 Irish Rockers: Chance the Arm @10pmSept 23 Open Mic hosted by Andrea & John MiesterSept 25 Public DisturbanceSept 26 Michael Carlson, Pillbox & Third Wounded Man

The Lucky Tiger718 FrancisFirst Saturday with live music all afternoon.

Coleman Hawkins Park 8th & FelixJoeStock VI Labor Day Weekend, September 4th through the 6th. September 11th and 12th it’s the Coleman Hawkins Blues Festival; September 19th is Irishfest September 25th and 26th is the Bluegrass Battles Hunger Festival.

Eagles Lodge N. BeltSat 9/12 RangerSat 9/26 Dixie Cadillac

Magoon’s Deli 8th & LocustMagoonstock Sept 26thTracy HuffmanZale BledsoeRick SheaThe MotorsJamizon CloudMissouri Homegrown9pm Steamboat BanditsTIE-DYE GROUP PHOTO 4PM

Live Music Hi-Lites

Rolling Hills Auto Plaza is excited to announce Rolling Hills Bluegrass Battles Hunger 2015, a 2-day concert event to support Second Harvest Community Food Bank. The event will be held Fri-day, September 25 and Saturday, September 26, 2015, in Coleman Hawkins Park at Felix Street Square in downtown St. Joseph. The event is being sponsored by several business organizations in the St. Joseph community, including the event’s Presenting Sponsor, Rolling Hills Auto Plaza.

The event is free and open to the public. Patrons are encouraged to bring non-perishable food items and cash donations for Second Harvest Community Food Bank, which supports hunger relief agen-cies in Northwest Missouri and Northeast Kansas. The food bank, a member of Feeding America, is the area’s link between an abundant food supply and people in need.

This is the sixth year for the event. Last year’s event raised over $2,500 and 655 pounds of food in support of the food bank’s efforts.

Food and concessions will be available to patrons of the event. More information can be found at Rolling Hills Bluegrass Battles Hunger’s website, www.bluegrassbattleshunger.com. Mark your calendars now for what is sure to be a tremendous concert, all for a great cause.

On Friday, Jed Zeplin, Knobtown Skiffle Band, and Mandolin Orange will take the stage. On Saturday, The Matchsellers, Deep Fried Squirrel, Signal Ridge, Kasey Rausch & Friends, and Konza Swamp Band will perform.

Our headliner Mandolin Orange comes to St. Joseph on their national headlining tour for the release of their new album “Such Jubilee.” WNYC described them as “laced with bluegrass, country and folk...often wistful and contemplative without being somber, and always firmly grounded in the south.” Mandolin Orange has shared the stage with Rosanne Cash, Willie Watson, and The Wood Brothers.

Bluegrass Battles Hunger Sept. 25th & 26th

I’ve never seen anything quite like it in my 20 years of service in the natural products industry. Essential oils, the distilled liquid essences of plants, comprise the fastest growing area of interest and it shows no signs of slowing down. Driving the fascination with essential oils is a desire to use the natural substances of nature to address health challenges in an era of skyrocketing healthcare costs and dealing with frustrating medical bureaucracies. Also, two multi-level marketing essential oils companies based in Utah have recruited thousands of people, mainly women, to use their products and encourage others to do the same. But the bottom line, is, that for many, pure essential oils seem to be effective in addressing a plethora of conditions--everything from emotional imbalance to immunity, and generally without the side effects so common with both prescription and over-the-counter medications. Essential oils have been used for millennia. In fact, they are men-tioned many times in the Bible, but the modern interest in their use prob-ably began with a French chemist in the early part of the 20th Century who burned his hand badly one day while performing an experiment. He so happened to have a bottle of lavender oil on his bench and instinctively poured it over the burn, experiencing near instant relief. Lavender, in fact, is to this day regarded as the queen of essential oils. It is said not only to soothe burns of all kinds, but also to promote a feeling of tranquility and induce restful sleep at night. Other popular oils include peppermint for digestion and stimulation; lemon for cleaning purposes; eucalyptus for relieving nasal and bron-chial congestion; and oregano for fighting viruses. Because it takes so much plant material to distill essential oils, applications just take a few drops and the oils are said to be up to 75 times as effective as herbs. According to Simplers Botanicals Aro-matherapy Guide to Essential Oils, the molecules in oils are so small they can vaporize and enter the body through the nose, thus gaining immedi-ate access to the limbic system of the brain which controls emotion and memory. The oils can also be

applied topically either “neat” or diluted with a carrier oil such as almond, and some of them, but certainly not all, can be ingested internally for their beneficial properties. For those who are interested in the science behind essential oils, Aromaweb.com is a good beginning resource. At A-Z we feature a high quality line of pure essential and carrier oils at reasonable prices. We also have accessories such as roller and spray bottles plus inhalers and diffus-ers. In addition we stock alphabetized guides to essential oils as well as complimentary usage cards. Finally, we have testers for almost all of the essential oils and you are welcome to come in and take a whiff! You might just find that essential oils are essential, indeed, for your DIY natural medicine cabinet.

Fragrantly yours,

James FlyCertified Health Coach (Institute for Integrative Nutrition)

Essential Oils Explosion12 Joe Health

Nearly 2,000 people living in Kansas City commute two or more hours every day to work in St. Joseph, Mo. That’s a lot of commuting up and down I-29 every work day. Not to mention, a lot of gasoline and time away from family. Frequent, long commutes also take a toll on commuters’ health. The St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce would like these commuters to cut their daily commutes and make St. Joseph their home. The Chamber is taking this message directly to Kansas City commuters as they drive home every evening after a long day at work. The Chamber’s new bright orange billboard boldly says, “Commuters: if you lived in St. Joseph, you’d be home by now.” The billboard faces north on the east side of I-29 and is easily seen by commuters as they make their daily trek to and from work. “We want people who work in St. Joseph to live here, too,” said R. Patt Lilly, president and CEO of the St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce. Lilly also noted that not only would commuters have more time with their families, but they’d also save a lot of money on gasoline, and could potentially reduce the health risks associated with long commutes. “St. Joseph has a lot to offer residents,” said Lilly. “We have a vibrant downtown; a 26-mile Parkway; unique, locally-owned retailers

and restaurants; new schools; a university; countless family-friendly festivals and events; and affordable homes. There is really no reason to waste precious time away from family when you can live and work in St. Joseph.” In addition to losing valuable time away from family, consider:• Commuters with lengthy commutes are more likely to feel tired and experience less enjoyment.• A California State University Long Beach and the University of California Los Angeles study revealed the number of miles a worker commutes had a stronger correlation with obesity than any other factor studied.• Social geographer Erika Sandow discovered there is a 40 percent greater chance a marriage will end in divorce when one partner in the marriage commutes longer than 45 minutes a day.• According to a study from Thomas James Christian of Brown University, every minute a person spends commuting decreases the time they spend taking part in healthy activities, like sleeping, preparing meals and exercising.• A Gallup Poll found that workers who commute more than 90 minutes are at an increased risk for chronic back or neck problems.For more information on St. Joseph, visit www.choosestjoseph.com.

Cut the Commute: Chamber’s Bold Billboard Message Targets Kansas City CommutersSubmitted by the St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce

The St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce encour-ages you to visit its website designed to help small business owners. The Small Business Re-source Center, www.stjosephsmallbusiness.com, provides a wealth of information about a variety of subjects that affect your small business. This can range from financing and planning to sales, marketing and insurance. Whether you’re just starting a business or you’ve been in business for a while, there are lots of decisions to make. With the Small Business Resource Center, you will have combined years of experience, proven strategies, and knowledge for success at your fingertips. The site is presented by American Family Insurance. Please check it out today for articles like:

The Benefits of Shopping LocalMake Your Best ImpressionDelegate NowSmall Business Technology Tools You Must Have for SuccessSocial Media Shake-UpThe Art of Appreciation: How to Keep it Alive in the WorkplaceSpeed Dating Comes to the Business World

And see profiles on Chamber members:

B.J. Office ProductsSt.Joe WebSusan J. Campbell Copywriting SolutionsApple Market

stjosephsmallbusiness.com

3003 Frederick Ave.St. Joseph, MO 64506(816) 232-4461

saintjoseph.comchoosestjoseph.com

stjosephsmallbusiness.com

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