Dutton Customer Appreciation Day – September 30, 2011

Branson, MO…The Dutton Family is holding a Customer Appreciation Day on Friday, September 30th to celebrate their fans as part of their 20th Anniversary Show celebration.

According to marketing manager Judith Dutton, “This is much more than the typical appreciation show! Festivities begin in front of the theater at 6:30 PM with refreshments at our “Dutton Party in the Parking Lot”. The Dutton’s 20th Anniversary Show at 8 PM, complete with door prizes that include vacation packages for the Dutton Inn, gift certificates for Abby’s Tourist Trap, tickets for The Duttons and George Dyer shows, and much more.”

Over the past 20 years, the Dutton fame has spread across the world and the family has built an entertainment complex in Branson with their Dutton Family Theater, the Dutton Inn, and Abby’s Tourist Trap. Additionally, the Dutton Family Theater #2 was opened this past year in Mesa, Arizona for winter performances. In 2007, the Duttons gained even greater national acclaim as they made it into the Top 10 finalists on America’s Got Talent.

In 1999 Boxcar Willie offered his theater for their show, which was renamed to the Dutton Family Theater in 2000 and purchased by the family in 2001. Since then the theater has been modernized with a renovated lobby, state of the art digital sound system, significantly upgraded heating and ventilation, and new stage flooring. Additionally, the family operates the Dutton Inn directly behind the theater and Abby’s Tourist Trap next to the theater on Highway 76.

To celebrate two decades as professional entertainers, all of the Duttons wanted to create a very special, high-energy anniversary show for their fans by bringing back the crowd favorites from over the past 20 years. From bluegrass to classical, country to rock ‘n roll, clogging to comedy, the show has been receiving rave reviews as one of the highest energy shows in Branson. The singing and dancing is literally non-stop in this highly choreographed extravaganza with a liberal sprinkling of humor. Look for such favorites as Splish-Splash, Mr. Sandman, Rocky Top, Cotton-Eyed Joe, This Little Light of Mine, Dueling Banjos, Vivaldi, I Saw the Light, a Beach Boys medley including Fun, Fun, Fun, Til Her Daddy Takes the T-Bird Away, Blue Moon, and much, much more.

Last year Ben Dutton created a comic sensation with his identical twin cousin from Spain, Julio. This year Julio auditions for a part in the show by bringing the missing musical ingredient to the stage – horns. But in this case, he doesn’t blow the horns, he wears them and fires up the audience with a unique rendition of the Julio Iglesias (his namesake) song “To All the Girls I’ve Loved Before”.

This year, as part of the celebration, The Duttons have taken their show to several communities around the country in Texas, Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Utah, and Arizona among others. Most recently, they packed up the show and put it on board a Holland America cruise to Alaska. “Alaska was the last state in our country that we hadn’t performed in,” said Sheila Dutton. “What a great time for us to go there as part of our 20 years in entertainment!”

In honor of their 20th Anniversary show, the Duttons are offering tickets for this special show for a special box office rate of $20 + tax. For reservations and additional information, contact the Dutton Family Theater at (417) 332-2772 or (888) 388-8661, or visit www.TheDuttons.com.

Perfect Storm Hits Christian Action Ministries (CAM)

September 20, 2011… When all of the forces of nature come together to wreak havoc in New England, they call it a “perfect storm”. Today in Taney County, Christian Action Ministries is wrestling with the forces of economics and scarcity in the distribution of food through their two pantries and mobile outreach.

CAM relies on several factors to keep the food shelves stocked.

• The federal commodity program is a monthly delivery from Ozarks Food Harvest of specific items generated through federal programs. These normally include about 8 to 9 different items such as frozen meat, canned vegetables and fruit, 32- ounce cans of fruit juice, peanut butter, and more.
• Purchasing of food that has been collected by Ozarks Food Harvest at a very nominal cost per pound, generally ranging from 14 to 24 cents per pound. From cereal to canned meats and meals, this accounts for a significant amount of the food distributed within Taney County.
• Purchasing of food from local grocery stores at a quantity discount to supplement the food supply.
• Food donated through local food drives.
• Local cash donations enabling CAM to purchase food and cover operational overhead.

The current problems impacting CAM include reduced receipt of federal commodities, reduced availability of food to purchase through Ozarks Food Harvest, and decreased cash contributions. Compounding all of this is dramatically increased demand for CAM’s services as executive director Pat Davis explained, “We haven’t been able to catch our breath before the winter demand this year. Over 1,400 hundred families requested help in August and that’s about 1,000 more than normal.”

Federal Commodities

No one at CAM is aware of the specific reasons, but the monthly federal commodity delivery has been reduced to just three items for the last two months. Board treasurer Dave Hoy said, “This month we’re only receiving frozen chicken, pasta, and pasta sauce. So in order to provide balanced nutrition we are forced to purchase canned vegetables and fruit to help supplement our inventory. And since supplies are low at Ozarks Food Harvest, we’ve had to purchase these items from local retailers at a higher cost. This is becoming extremely costly for CAM.”

The Food Bank

Ozarks Food Harvest, the regional food bank, is normally the primary resource for CAM’s purchases with warehouses full of food. Due to the demand of this year’s disasters and reduced donations from national sources, their shelves are pretty bare.
When CAM needed vegetables this past week, the food bank didn’t have any on hand. As a result CAM spent $649 to buy a pallet of 1,100 cans of vegetables from a local grocer. If it had been available through Ozarks Food Harvest, those vegetables would have only cost about $200.

The problem becomes even greater when you look at CAM’s purchase credits at the food bank. Board chairman Jack Burke explains, “We knew that demand was going up and donations were going down, so we were extremely excited at a grant opportunity that enabled us to double our money. Every dollar committed to Ozarks Food Harvest was doubled through this opportunity. As a result, we now have over $20,000 in food credits at the bank, but their supplies are so low we can’t really utilize this credit. Plus by committing those donations to the program, we have limited the money available to make purchases from outside retailers.”

Donations

Burke also said that cash donations for the year are down about 25% from last year with the biggest drop being in donations from businesses due to the sluggish economy.

According to Davis, “At this point in time we desperately need cash donations to enable us to continue purchasing food and we’re spending about five time the normal amount each month. But we also need more food drives, which will help decrease the amount of food we need to purchase. Hopefully the businesses that have had to cut back on their cash donations might be able to spearhead more food drives instead. We have faith that our community will rally to provide the support we need to balance our inventory and cover our overhead in God’s name.”

Christian Action Ministries operates food pantries in Branson and Forsyth, as well as a monthly mobile outreach to eastern Taney County communities. Year to date through August, CAM has already distributed nearly 160 tons of food to Taney County residents. Anyone wishing to organize a food drive, donate cash, food, or time, can call Pat Davis at 334-1157 or visit the CAM website at www.christianactionministries.org.

“Dies Vivendum Est” On Display At Boger Gallery

By: Austin Plummer

The Boger Gallery at College of the Ozarks currently is displaying the exhibition “dies vivendum est.” The exhibit runs through October 11 in the Boger Gallery, located on the ground floor of the Jones Learning Center.

“Dies vivendum est” is an exhibit of the Racela collection of 19th century photography, which ranges primarily from the 1840s to the 1880s. This collection is made up of many forms of early photography including daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, and tintypes, along with paper albumen prints.

Some of the most powerful photographs in the collection are those from the Civil War. These incredible photographs give us a small view into the lives of the people during this difficult time. Every photograph in the collection is unique and has its own story to tell.

This Boger Gallery event is sponsored by the College of the Ozarks Art Department, and financial assistance is provided by the Missouri Arts Council. Boger Gallery hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays and 1-5 p.m. weekends. For more information contact Richard Cummings, Boger Gallery Director, at 417-690-2268 or e-mail [email protected].

Ex-Communist Dr. Marvin Olasky To Speak At Jones Auditorium

By: Matt Farmer

Students at College of the Ozarks will have the opportunity to hear the story of ex-communist Dr. Marvin Olasky on September 27, at 7 p.m. in Jones Auditorium.

Olasky is the editor-in-chief of “WORLD” magazine and author of more than 20 books, including The Tragedy of American Compassion. President George W. Bush has called him “compassionate conservatism’s leading thinker.” He is a widely-recognized conservative pundit, journalist and historian.

Born in Boston to a Jewish family, Olasky became an atheist and Marxist when he entered high school. He then joined the Communist Party in 1972. His beliefs made a complete reversal after a spiritual awakening at the University of Michigan when he read the New Testament in Russian. Olasky became a passionate supporter of the Christian Conservative movement. In 1992, he helped found the Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Austin, Texas.

Olasky was provost of The King’s College in New York City from 2007 to 2011, prior to which he was a professor at the University of Texas at Austin journalism department from 2003-2007. He joined “WORLD” magazine in 1990 and became its editor-in-chief in 2001. He recently has been appointed as Professor of Journalism, and the inaugural holder of Patrick Henry College’s Distinguished Chair in Journalism and Public Policy.

In 1995, Olasky became an occasional advisor to Texas gubernatorial candidate George W. Bush. Bush made faith-based programs a major component of his 2000 presidential campaign, and Olasky’s academic work helped form the basis for Bush’s “compassionate conservatism.”

Students will receive priority seating for the event; remaining seats will be available to the public free of charge. For more information, please contact Christian Ministries at 417-690-3446.