story and photo by Mike Lee, Staff Writer

Stan Miller drove through the McDonald’s drive-thru a few months back near Bristow to order a coffee for himself and his wife.
“That will be 88 cents,” the young lady politely informed him.
“No, that’s not right,” Miller said. “It should be more.”
“Well, sir,” the young lady explained. “You do get your senior discount.”
“No, I’ll pay full price,” Miller said, handing the cashier $2 and driving on down the road.
Quite simply, Miller refuses to age. And while the years may be adding up the affable Miller still looks, sounds and feels like a much younger man.
“I can’t believe I’m 60,” says Miller, who can be seen each weekday morning co-hosting News9 This Morning with the much younger Bobbie Miller. “I still feel and I’m as fit as I was at 40. Unless someone brings it up it just doesn’t register with me.”
A quarter of century in California may have something to do with that. While on the coast, Miller ran marathons and half marathons in and around the San Diego area.
He embraced the California diet and lifestyle and spent most of his time outdoors.
It wasn’t always that way. Ask him what’s brought him to this point and there’s twists and turns and one major high.
“Well, God,” Miller answered. “I became a Christian at 21 years old.”
Miller admits a life of dysfunction before he was saved, following his mother through multiple divorces and hurt feelings.
From a motel room by a church in Del City, Miller started doing odd jobs and began building a solid work ethic.
He started working for a local sporting goods store and quickly worked his way up to general manager.
But he wondered if there was more in store for him than working in a store.
“Just out of the blue I decided to see if I could get a scholarship to Central State University,” Miller said. “I walked in off the street at 24 years old and asked if they had any grant money and they gave me a full ride.”
From there an internship at KOCO followed. He was granted a second internship based on his age.
“Basically what I did was every waking hour I wasn’t in school I was there learning the business,” Miller said. “They started using me as a reporter and photographer.”
He co-hosted a show with Karen Carney for a while in the 1980s before heading off to bigger markets.
San Diego would be where Miller would spend the next 25 years and raise his three children.
When he came back from the West Coast he had a rude awakening.
“It was culture shock,” Miller said. “Massive.”
But one thing that remained the same was the Oklahoma welcome.
“People in San Diego, they care but they don’t show it,” Miller said about the general reaction to his profession. “Oklahomans are passionate about their news people. You have to run the gauntlet to make it here. When people found out I was an Okie it wasn’t as hard for me.”
“I pity people who come in and try to anchor the news from outside the market. Oklahomans are fiercely loyal.”
Miller joined News 9 in June 2010.
He readily admits that he’s been somewhat of a news nomad.
Previously in his career, Miller anchored at KUSI-TV and KFMB-TV in San Diego as well as in Cleveland, Ohio, Dallas, Texas, Miami Florida, and Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Miller began his broadcast career in Oklahoma City in 1980 working as a disc jockey for KJIL Radio and then served as News Director at KKLR.
When he’s not on air, you can find Miller stumping for one of his causes.
Miller has served on the board of directors of several organizations including the San Diego Chapter of the American Liver Foundation; Camp Hope, a summer camp for severely abused children; and Care House, a support group for at risk teens.
Miller received an Emmy Award in San Diego for “Getting Out the Vote.” His other honors include the Hero Award from the San Diego Child Abuse Prevention Foundation, Volunteer of the Year from the San Diego Make-A-Wish Foundation and the San Diego Christian Media Leadership Award.
One of his favorites is Stan’s Ride.
What started as a ride in San Diego to benefit a child abuse prevention foundation has followed him back to Oklahoma.
When he returned he asked Griffin Communications owners David and Kirsten Griffin if he could continue his outreach through News9.
“Little did I know that Kirsten was involved with children’s charities all over the state,” Miller said. “They both went nuts over the deal and have underwritten it for five years. We’ve raised over $400,000.
You might also catch the ordained Baptist minister preaching on Sundays through his On Call ministry which provides fill-in services for pastors who are unable to preach for whatever reason.
He says all of it goes to helping keep him young.
That’s why “I’m never taking the McDonald’s discount,” Miller said. “Never.”

Caption: Stan Miller, 60, (right) is still going strong with his News9 morning show co-hosts (left
to right) Jed Castles, Bobbie Miller and Lacey Swope.

Story and photo by Vickie Jenkins

Have you ever prayed for something, not sure if your prayer would be answered?  That is what Don Lowrey did 40 years ago.  Little did he know that his prayer in 1975 would be a lifetime blessing.
The weather was in the low 20’s on the morning of February 12, 1975 in Oklahoma City.  Working as an electrical apprentice, Lowrey had just gotten to work.  Still in the parking lot, his attention turned to a man tapping on his car window, asking for help with a flat tire.
Moments later, Lowrey was hit over the head and put in the trunk of his car by three men.  Driven to a wooded area, a gun was put to Lowey’s head.  The gun malfunctioned and didn’t fire.  Lowrey was then hit over the head and knocked out.
Driven to another site, Lowrey was dumped out of the car.  The three men hit Lowrey with pieces of concrete blocks to his face.  His body was scarred with boot marks.  His right hip was dislocated and his left knee was severely injured.  He was then dragged over rocks and broken glass to an outhouse, located behind an abandoned shack.  Propping Lowrey against the wall, a pistol was put to the back of his head as a bullet was fired into his skull.  Both eyes swollen, a broken nose, a broken left jaw, smashed right cheek and a .22 caliber bullet lodged in his head, teeth knocked out and a fractured skull, the three men assumed Lowrey was dead.  Hours later, barely able to move, Lowrey began crawling to the abandoned shack 50 feet away, leaving a trail of blood.
It was three days later; a passerby saw movement through a window in the small shack.  The police and FBI were called.  Left for dead, Lowrey was still alive!   Lowrey was taken to Midwest City Memorial Hospital but later moved to Deaconess for safety reasons due to Lowrey being the only witness to the three fugitives.
The following days consisted of multiply surgeries and over 500 stitches in his head.  Surgery to remove the bullet was too risky; the bullet still remains.  Lowrey is thankful for the many doctors, nurses and friends that worked with him, encouraging him along the way.
What had Lowrey prayed for?  He asked God to give him a testimony.  His prayer was answered.   Lowrey continues to share his testimony to others through his book, I Didn’t Have a Prayer, but that’s What Saved Me and Lowrey will be releasing another book, Officially Christian August 2015.  Lowrey is active as a speaker for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, churches, schools, civic organizations, prayer breakfasts,  book clubs, prisons and retirement centers.
Now, a retired electrician, Lowrey is a veteran basketball and football official with the Oklahoma Secondary Schools Athletic Association and a licensed minister.  His hobbies include golfing, writing books, poetry and songs.  A remarkable man, Lowrey has a miraculous story to share.  To order Lowrey’s book, call 405-816-8220 or email [email protected]

by Jason Chandler
Staff Writer

Rick and Denise Guttenberger help families who are faced with finding senior care options, navigate to find those options.
“It can be confusing and complex at times, so we help them do that at no cost to them,” Rick said.
The Guttenbergers are the owners of Senior Care Referral Services, a company based in Edmond and serving the greater metropolitan area of Oklahoma City. Their service area ranges from Edmond to Norman and from Mustang to Midwest City.
“We get to say, ‘We can help you,’” Denise said.
Whether seniors need independent living communities, assisted living, memory care or at home care, Senior Care Referral helps seniors find the resources they need.
“For the past couple of years, we have felt called to work with the senior community,” Denise said. “I can’t really explain it other than it was a calling and we needed to do something and we started looking at different options that might be available.”
Rick recalled the common conversations with his peers before they founded the company. Friends would say, “Gosh, I’ve got to do something with mom. She can’t live at home anymore.’”
He recognized a need for guidance to establish a place to start.
“We really felt there was a need locally for a trusted group that could provide that information for them,” Rick said.
They found their niche with Senior Care Referral Services. It is a wonderful way to walk with families, providing them ease of mind by simplifying their search for answers.
“What does it cost? What kind of care am I going to find? Does my insurance pay for it?” are typical questions posed by their clients.
Oftentimes when approached by a prospective client, the Guttenbergers will hear, “We don’t know what to do.’”
Helping seniors to navigate, making their life easier with a myriad of answers, brings joy to both the Guttenbergers and their clients.
When a client needs home health, then Senior Care Referral Services will provide referral services to companies they recognize as senior-friendly leaders in the field.
“We spent quite a few months visiting almost all the communities in the greater Oklahoma City area,” Denise said. “We took the tours.  We talked to the marketing people and the director, looked at reviews, so we could feel confident that any place we would take a family is a place we would take our own family.”
Primary caregivers can reach a point in their lives when there are more questions than solutions. Their own energy becomes spent in trying to do more than they can handle. Senior Care Referral Services allows the Guttenbergers to find solutions for seniors.
“Sometimes it’s just time. Sometimes it’s, ‘Gosh, I think mom would be safer if we helped mom find a community she could live in and where meals are prepared and the maintenance is done. She doesn’t have to get out on the roads to drive.’”
A fall or injury with a loved one may prompt a son or daughter to make a decision to enhance their parent’s quality of life for the better.
The first determination made by Senior Care Referral Services is to determine the level of care a client needs, Rick said. It could be independent living, providing meals and a safe environment.
Others may need assistance with daily living activities, he said, such as dressing, eating and medication management.
“The next thing is — do they have a geographical preference?” Rick continued. “Do they want to be in Norman. Do they want to be in Midwest City or northwest Oklahoma City?”
One’s budget is the third consideration, because prices vary significantly, Rick said. There are average prices for certain levels of care, so Senior Care Referral Services helps clients to understand what services can fit their budgets.
“The fourth thing is timing,” Rick said. “When someone is coming out of skilled nursing Tuesday, and they need a place Tuesday because they can’t go back home — that may limit their options with the availability in different communities.”
All of these considerations are fine-tuned into an understanding of choices that are best suited for the individual clients’ needs. Services provided by Senior Care Referral Services are free to the clients. Service providers in the community pay for the cost.
“We can help narrow their option choices pretty quickly,” Rick said. “What might take them months to figure out on their own, we can help them figure that out in a 20-minute phone call.”
Sometimes, Rick and Denise will work with the seniors themselves, who have become isolated. Churches have asked them to help some of their members.
“We’ll go and get them and help them go on tours, and find their new home,” Denise said.

by Mike Lee, Staff Writer

Jodi Riddle, RN, has worked at Norman Regional for 19 years and served as a nurse for 22.
But it’s something she’s done for slightly more than a year that really has the 61-year-old veteran nurse excited.
In November 2013, Riddle turned 60. She picked up running as a post-midlife crisis.
“When you have a major birthday, when you leave your teens and turn 20 or turn 40 I think milestone birthdays are different for different people,” she said. “Sixty is a pretty big milestone birthday for most people.”
Riddle now has eight races under her belt. Every time she stands at the start line she wonders if this is going to be the race she doesn’t finish.
“Starting something and finishing it is a really good feeling especially if it’s something outside of your comfort zone,” she said. “For me that’s something physical like running because it’s something I’m not used to doing.”
Don’t call her a distance runner. Riddle even shies away from being called a runner at all.
It’s a distance for me,” Riddle said. “Real runners wouldn’t call it a distance. I’ve never run a marathon or anything like that but I started running 5Ks last year. That’s a distance for me.”
Nearing 60 was something new for Riddle so she decided to do something she had never done.
Riddle’s supervisor, LeAnn Richardson, RN, had just spent an entire year working herself into shape through Crossfit.
“It made such a difference in her and her life and how she felt,” Riddle said. “I was approaching this milestone birthday and I had always been a person with my nose in a book. I had never been athletic or done any kind of sports or anything.
“I wanted to be strong and healthy going into this next decade in life.”
Riddle started the month of her 60th birthday doing Crossfit. Several people in the department also started on a weight-loss journey.
A few months later a charity walk was embarked on.
“We did the fun walk and like an idiot I ran it and I lived,” she giggled. “I thought I could run. This was interesting.”
A couple weeks later she was approached by a coworker who told her about an upcoming race in Moore. The race was to be run in dedication of the Oklahoma spirit and what that community had just gone through with the tornado.
“I was at Moore when the tornado took the hospital out,” Riddle said. “I thought I was going to do that. I didn’t know if I could run the whole way but I knew I would start and hopefully finished.”
Not only did Riddle start, she finished and won first-place in her age division.
“Mainly it makes me feel strong,” she said. “It’s always a good feeling when you accomplish something you’re not quite sure whether you can or not.”
With runners never being satisfied, the natural progression for Riddle would be longer distances.
She runs in the morning 3-4 miles most days.
“My husband says if you’re getting up at 4:30 so you can run before you go to work then you’re a runner,” Riddle said. “So I’m trying to keep that mindset. I’m not looking at a half marathon but I’m thinking my next challenge might be a 10K. I’m thinking about it and that’s the first step.
During her nursing career, Riddle has worked in the flex pool, which is basically a per diem nurse position that took her all over the hospital.
And Riddle has never been one to shy away from a challenge, volunteering to tackle the hospital’s move to electronic medical records.
Knee deep in technology she struggled to understand, Riddle remembers wondering what she had gotten herself in to.
“Unfortunately, during my career I’ve frequently thought that when I’ve been changing positions,” she said with a laugh. “Getting out of your comfort zone can sometimes be a little frightening.”
Physically, Riddle says running has helped her in so many ways.
“I always looked at people doing sports and thought that was a huge amount of effort,” Riddle said. “The surprising thing to me was after that first run I wasn’t wiped out and could still function. I had scheduled nothing for the rest of the day because I thought I would be in bed.
“I just feel like I have more stamina. I feel like my day starts better when I run in the morning.”
When she’s not running she’s chasing seven grandchildren courtesy of her three daughters and one son.
Riddle is planning on running with one of her daughters in the near future.
There’s a plan for her daughter to run the OKC Memorial Marathon and for Riddle to do the 5K. Prior to that Riddle will run the Health Dash 5K in March.
And she has no idea what she plans on taking on at age 70.

by Mike Lee,
Staff Writer

Statistically, one in six Oklahoma seniors is hungry in our state.
It’s a tragedy that can be avoided, according to Angie Doss, director of marketing and communications for the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma,
“It’s a huge problem,” Doss says of hunger in Oklahoma. “A lot of seniors are on a very tight and limited income. They may receive $600 per month. By the time you take out housing, utilities and transportation there’s not a lot left for food or medicine.
“A lot of our senior clients have faced the choice whether to pay for medicine or food.”
Oklahoma continues to rank among the top 10 states in the nation for food insecurity among seniors.
This spring, Oklahomans can double the impact of their gifts to help feed even more seniors struggling with hunger.
Through April 30, the Charles and Cassandra Bowen Charitable Foundation and the Anderson Charitable Foundation have teamed up to match donations to the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma to fight senior hunger – up to $130,000.
Donations will help provide food for seniors in central and western Oklahoma.
“After a lifetime of work, many seniors are living on fixed incomes and may not have enough money to purchase food at the end of the month,” said Rodney Bivens, executive director of the Regional Food Bank. “About 700,000 seniors, age 60-plus, live in Oklahoma and one in six face hunger every day.”
In a recent study by Feeding America, 27 percent of seniors in the Regional Food Bank’s service area have had to choose between buying food and buying medicine. Limited mobility and dependence on outside assistance makes seniors particularly vulnerable to hunger. In Oklahoma, seniors are 25 percent more likely to be have inconsistent access to food than the national average.
Seniors facing hunger are also forced to choose between buying food and paying for utilities. Additionally, they are more likely to have lower intakes of food and major vitamins; be in poor to fair health; have limitations in activities of daily living and have increased risk of stroke.
“At the end of the month, most seniors are out of money and depend on the Regional Food Bank,” shared one senior client. “If they did not come, many seniors would be without food at the end of the month and it would affect them all. We’re just so awfully grateful for what we get.”
The Regional Food Bank serves seniors through food pantries, emergency shelters, soup kitchens, and senior nutrition programs. Additionally, the nonprofit’s Senior Feeding program fights senior hunger through Senior Mobile Pantries, Senior Home Delivery, and Senior Mobile Markets.
Through the Senior Mobile Pantry program, the Regional Food Bank provides food each month to seniors living in nine Oklahoma City Housing Authority sites and one Norman Housing Authority site. Approximately 850 senior residents receive a sack of nonperishable food items along with produce, refrigerated items, meat, and bread.
The mobile pantry is set up as a “client choice” program, where seniors choose which items they need.
The Senior Home Delivery Program is at 32 sites in the Regional Food Bank’s 53-county service area. Seniors who, receive home delivery sacks, receive a nutritional supplement at the end of the month. These sites serve an average of 1,000 seniors a month.
The Senior Mobile Markets provide a monthly distribution of food that is set up farmer’s market style, where participants select the food they want. A typical mobile market provides a bag of non-perishable foods like fruits and vegetables, cereal, shelf stable milk, and other easy to prepare foods. Items also include protein, fresh produce and bread.
The program currently has 18 locations in the Oklahoma City metro and serves over 1,100 seniors a month.
“Sadly, many older Oklahomans have outlived their families, outlived their income or have simply been forgotten,” said Charlie Bowen with the Charles and Cassandra Bowen Charitable Foundation. “That is why this match is so important.”
Traditionally, the Regional Food Bank provides five meals for every dollar donated; however, thanks to this generous match, a dollar donation will provide the equivalent of 10 meals to seniors facing hunger.
The Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma is the state’s largest private hunger relief organization.  The nonprofit provides enough food to feed more than 110,000 hungry Oklahomans each week through a network of nearly 1,200 schools and charitable feeding programs in 53 central and western Oklahoma counties. Since its inception in 1980, the Regional Food Bank has distributed more than 538 million pounds of food to feed Oklahoma’s hungry.
For more information you can contact the Regional Food Bank at 405-600-3136 or online at www.www.regionalfoodbank.org.

Grapevine Texas:  Festivals All Year Long

Photography and Text by Terry “Travels with Terry” Zinn  [email protected]

In late fall of last year, I had a delightful and fun filled December weekend in Grapevine, Texas, during their Christmas Celebration.  You know Grapevine is the Christmas Capitol of Texas, and everything seems to be bigger in Texas?  Between sips of wine, main street shopping and a couple of theatrical presentations, I discovered that Grapevine  is filled with festivals and celebrations through the year. Now is a good time to schedule your favorite Grapevine event.  With the listings below you can see how Grapevine is officially recognized as a World Festival & Events City by the International Festival & Events Association. Grapevine welcomed more than one and a half million visitors to the city’s festivals and special events in 2014.
Some of Grapevine offerings are:
• 12th Annual Day Out with Thomas™, April 10, 11, 12, 17, 18 and 19: Take a journey with Thomas the Tank Engine™ at the 12th Annual Day Out With Thomas on the Grapevine Vintage Railroad.   The train ride is approximately 25 minutes. www.GrapevineTexasUSA.com/Thomas.
• 11th Annual ChocolateFest, April 24 and 25: Sweeten up your weekend at the 11th Annual ChocolateFest, benefiting Travelers Aid D/FW. On Friday, April 24, delicious delights await at An Evening of Chocolate and Wine at the all new location of Austin Ranch, 2009 Anderson Gibson Rd. (located near Grapevine Mills), 7 p.m. Guests must be 21 and above. On Saturday, April 25, sample an array of chocolate treats paired with beautiful works of art at A Day of Chocolate & Art at Austin Ranch from 10:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. www.ChocolateFestGrapevine.org.
• Grapevine Farmers Market and Grapevine Market, April 9 – October 17: Experience shopping at the festive open-air European-style Grapevine Market for an eclectic array of items including handmade jewelry, distinctive home décor, quality antiques and locally-grown produce and other products at The Grapevine Farmers Market. Located behind the Town Square Gazebo, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. www.FarmersMarketofGrapevine.com or www.GrapevineTexasUSA.com.
• 23rd Annual Blessing of the Vines and New Vintage Wine & Gallery Trail, April 11: For centuries, Old World grape growers marked the beginning of the growing season with the ceremonial Blessing of the Vines and this tradition continues in Grapevine. After the Blessing of the Vines, enjoy the New Vintage Wine & Gallery Trail, featuring tastings at each participating winery, food samplings and beautiful works of art at all of Grapevine’s art galleries. www.GrapevineTexasUSA.com/NewVintage.
• 14th Annual Spring Into Nash, April 18: Celebrate life on the farm like Grapevine’s earliest settlers. Held at Grapevine’s historic Nash Farm, the event features heritage toys, kitchen gardening, cotton planting, authentic heritage animal breeds, tractor-drawn wagon rides, field cultivation, wood carving demonstrations, jump rope making, cooking demonstrations on a wood burning stove and blacksmith demonstrations. 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. www.NashFarm.org.
• 31st Annual Main Street Fest, May 15, 16 and 17: Tap into three full days of festival fun at Grapevine’s Main Street Fest – A Craft Brew Experience. Events include craft brew tastings, pre-festival craft brew and dining experiences, live entertainment, KidCave, Carnival and Midway, Texas Wine Terrace, artisans and vendors, festival food and much more. www.GrapevineTexasUSA.com/MainStreetFest.
• 7th Annual SummerBlast, May 22 – September 4: Blast off with family-friendly summer fun in Grapevine, the perfect destination for  all ages. Some of the exciting activities include Summer Bash at Gaylord Texan Resort, Friday Night Fireworks Over Lake Grapevine, perfect poolside relaxation, shopping, wineries, dining and much more. Fireworks happen every Friday night at 9:30 p.m. over Lake Grapevine. And don’t miss the special 33rd Annual Fireworks Show on July 4th. www.GrapevineTexasUSA.com/Summer.
• 29th Annual GrapeFest®, September 17, 18, 19 and 20: GrapeFest, the largest wine festival in the Southwest United States, celebrates the best of Texas wines, West Coast varietals and International offerings. This four-day family-friendly festival also features events such as the People’s Choice Wine Tasting Classic, GrapeStomp, the Texas Wine Tribute, pre-event wine and food pairing dinners, the Champagne Terrace, KidsWorld, GrapeFest Golf Classic, GrapeFest Tennis Classic, ItalianCarFest, five stages of live entertainment and much more!
www.GrapevineTexasUSA.com/GrapeFest.

18th Annual Butterfly Flutterby, October 17: Flap your wings with the southern migration of the Monarch butterfly at the Grapevine Botanical Gardens. Guests help release more than 600 tagged butterflies during three scheduled releases throughout the event. Children and pets are invited to participate in the colorful Butterfly Parade and in the costume contest. Free admission. Activities also include plant sales, arts and crafts and more. www.GrapevineTexasUSA.com/Butterfly.

Hallo-Wine Trail, October 24 and 25: Scare up some fun along Grapevine’s Hallo-Wine Trail! This spooktacular event features three tastings and food samplings at each participating Grapevine winery tasting room, a souvenir wine glass and a bottle of premium Grapevine wine. www.GrapevineWineryTrail.com

And of course don’t miss out on the over the top Holiday celebration of the:
Christmas Capital of Texas®, November 2015 – January 2016: Unwrap the magic of the season in Grapevine, the Christmas Capital of Texas! Grapevine celebrates Christmas with more 1,400 events in 40-plus days and is the perfect place to celebrate with your family and friends this year. Millions of magical lights, enormous decorations, Christmas events and more perfectly capture the spirit of Christmas in Grapevine. Events include North Pole Express® November 27, 28 and 29; December 4, 5, 6, 11, 12, 13, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 and 23) ICE! and Lone Star Christmas at Gaylord Texan Resort (November – January), Bass Pro Shop’s Santa’s Wonderland, Light Show Spectacular, Carol of Lights (November 23), Parade of Lights (December 3), Snowland at the Great Wolf Lodge, Main Street LIVE’s Christmas Shows and classic Christmas movies at the Historic Palace Theatre, Christmas Wine Trains (December 10 and 17), after Christmas train rides and much more. www.GrapevineTexasUSA.com/Christmas.

Many of Grapevine’s hotels offer special rates and packages during annual festival and events. For hotel information, tickets or more information regarding Grapevine’s festivals and events, you may contact the Grapevine Convention & Visitors Bureau at 800-457-6338 or 817-410-3185 or visit www.GrapevineTexasUSA.com

I can personally attest that Grapevine, Texas offers big city events with small town hospitality!