am and free, no worries.
It is going absolutely wonderful, Gray.
We have had adventure upon adventure.
Bob and I took a trip and then.
We were, uh, then my hubby here just three weeks ago had an open heart surgery.
So we are, like I said, adventure, adventure.
the meantime, that has long gone fantastic.
But we've also got a whole bunch of house moms trained and we are still looking for too far.
We need, actually we need 16 more hours of coverage and we will be able to take on residents.
So we are still hiring and looking for some ladies to come forward that have a heart for the Lord and that, but we are.
tentatively going to, we're shooting for a date here at the end of August and hoping they'll all fall into place.
We are excited.
Well, first and foremost, they need a lady that would like to apply for a house mom has to have that heart for ladies that are in crisis and care about, you know.
sharing the Lord with them, being able to have that Christian love and care in their hearts to be able to...
just minister to the women that we're hoping to be able to serve.
So that's number one.
And then two, like I said, a cure for the ministry with regard to knowing that we can make some changes in some ladies' lives and perhaps in some children's lives.
And of course, we're not a high-pink outfit.
We're paying between 12 and 14 an hour, depending on experience, but...
What I am looking for right now is all day shift kind of stuff, not night shift.
Believe it or not, we have three wonderful ladies who have taken on night shift.
And we are just blessed by that.
So that's wonderful.
All right.
Well, that is incredible to hear.
And I'm glad to hear that we're ever closer, but still something to do.
And hey, Tammy, if somebody feels like that you're talking about them, you know, if that description, if they feel like they fit the bill, what's the best way for them to get in contact or put it in application or whatever the case may be?
Oh, you bet.
Well, they can apply.
They can contact me by email nwlivinghope at yahoo.com or they can call the phone number 715-339-2130.
And I can get out applications to them and job descriptions and those types of things right away as far as that purpose.
Oh, go
Oh.
Oh, no problem.
Obviously, our big news coming up is the fact that we also have our ladies royalty is going to be on September 24th, so I don't want to forget to talk about that.
It's time for people who are interested in attending that, the ladies.
It's $25 a person.
If a person wants to sponsor a table, they can do that for $200.
And if they would like to decorate in place at their own table, it's $175 for a table.
And so a table of eight.
But yes, it's a wonderful dress-up affair that night if they would like to and be a daughter of a king and come and enjoy silent auction.
We're going to have a guest speaker, Laura Brown from down in Southern Wisconsin, and she's going to be coming.
I
So we have a wonderful meal of going to be prepared and all those different things.
And so we're excited.
That's going to be at the Armory or the Phillips Municipal Center, depending on how old you are like me, that I still call it the Armory.
And that will be on Thursday.
And we expect to have things get started.
And that's going to just be a wonderful event that we're pretty excited about.
So I encourage people to, for the ladies to come
coming out.
And of course we're going to have a lot of gentlemen that step up and they're going to be all suited up in their white shirts and black bow ties and help escort ladies to the tables and all those types of things and spoil us a bit.
So that's going to be a lot of fun.
We did lose a couple pieces of that, but I can fill in for you here that that's Thursday, September 24th.
That Royal T that you can find on Facebook, by the way, Northwoods Living Hope is what you can search on Facebook.
You'll find a nice, active and frequently updated Facebook page, which in in 2026 makes all the difference.
But you guys will still answer the phone that old school way, right, Tammy?
You got 339 203 or 2130.
Yep.
And then they can even individuals could register.
You don't have to necessarily be part of a big table.
You know what I mean, unless you're coming with a friend.
Um, but individuals could sign up and you can also just mail a check to post office box 207 for the $25 for the cost of the meal.
And that's Phillip.
Only the fact that I just asked people to really be in prayer for us because we're getting terribly excited about the fact that we've got programming classes that we're getting lined up and everything and we're just
oh the five gals that we've already hired for house moms just fantastic women just be in prayer for them as they're willing to tackle on this mission and then of course to be in prayer about where we can get the remaining staff so that we can get started here we've been so anxious to start and we're being very patient with God's timing instead of what would be my timing which is now so definitely we ask for people's prayers on that without a doubt and think of
Thank you everybody for the support.
We have just had wonderful volunteers and everything.
Absolutely and on a personal note, Tammy, I'll take the liberty of throwing your name in the ring there.
You and your husband, of course, after that surgery as you guys drive down to continue tying up loose ends there.
I hope people keep you in their thoughts and prayers too, as you guys mean so much to the organization.
And Tammy, thank you so much for being back on.
I look forward to talking to you again soon with more updates from Northwoods Living Hope here on 98Q.
And we're back to Reality Radio Proper.
Our second and final guest today is none other than Scott Schultz from the Flambeau River YMCA.
Good morning, sir.
Good morning,
always.
would expect nothing else.
the the kids are feeling that that that angst that ready to get back to school.
But also they're you know, they're they're getting ready for some sports here coming up too.
So we've
been
influx of teens coming in.
They've been utilizing that middle school membership that's been sponsored by Ford Bank and then Marshfield Clinic.
And so they've been coming in and utilizing that free membership from them.
and getting ready for their fall sports coming up here.
It's been pretty
You know, that's, I think the only opportunity I had as a kid to really learn what let's get this over with was about, you know, I didn't, you know, if you've got that set summer period, that last week of school though, and of course the school supply shopping thing can kind of create a bit of excitement there, but no, I don't think I understood let's get this over with, except in that context, like, all right, let's just go.
Let's dive in, let's start attending.
So awesome to hear that the area's youth are gearing up for those athletic opportunities.
And I can't wait to see what the the area kids can do
Another area where we've got a weird amount of talent and hardworking kids that are showing out, you know small towns forget it between the apprentice golf team and butternut girls basketball like there's just you look around and holy cow So you guys are part of a pretty awesome athletic picture here in the north woods
I agree and and I think that with with some of those programs for the middle school initiative and More and more high school students coming in and utilizing the facilities there
able to get some more opportunities for their sports to be able to grow within them
And of course, as you guys work to expand your programming and continue what you've already been doing, it's a perfect supplement many times except where practices at the same time and they can't quite make it work.
But I'm sure you guys have seen a lot of kids doing exactly that, like you mentioned, and I'm sure that number will only pick up.
But I also know you guys are probably looking to do a little bit more than you're doing because that's just who you are.
Do you want to touch on potential openings now?
Circle back how you want to do it?
Well, we've got
really cool programs coming up.
We can start with that I think.
Let's dive in.
Starting next week Friday already coming up.
If you remember back to last year we had the Cooking Made Easy program with Chef Laura Cronin.
It was a four-part series last year and this year we're going to be having it as a five-part series and essentially what we're looking at is making
different different programs for for families and teens with this one so whether you're a Teen that's learning to babysit for the first time we have a program our day that'll be specialized just for creating
Meals for say your baby sitter just out of basic staples that are in the home or like this one that's coming up here next Friday at 4 p.m.
That one is called fueling the fast break So what we're looking at is schools about to start and you're about to have all of these tournaments all of these late nights and weekends So how do you?
Bridge that that time commitment with continuing to eat healthy and eat as a family So instead of having to go and raid that concession stand over and over and over for a bag of chips and a hot dog
planning ahead with some cool meals that are both healthy, but then also fun for the kids and they'll feel the feel their tournament weekends.
Are you, are you, do you do a lot of cooking around the house?
I do.
I do most of the cooking.
My wife does all of the baking.
It's a little bit more shared evenly.
I do a little baking.
Rachel does most of it.
I do most of the cooking.
Rachel does a fair portion of it though.
But that said, I absolutely was that person who was, I can't cook, you know, and I actually believe that there was pretty low odds of that ever changing.
And then I realized like I think I know how to make this one thing and just like that it begins to snowball and I will never say that cooking is not difficult But it becomes so easy once you learn those basic rules
Oh,
absolutely that short list of no you can't you absolutely should not do these six things and like bananas don't go with chicken like there's some some basic rules to follow and then you're like playing
It's like you're bowling with the bumpers up.
Absolutely.
You just learn where the screw ups lie and don't go down that path and wow you end up in great territory and it's super satisfying.
It
is and what I've found with you know with cooking is you know you you start off with some of those basics like when I was you know in my early 20s you know I could barely you know heat up a hot dog in a microwave but then you start and you build up a little bit more and then all of a sudden you're like I'm gonna try and make this
favorite dinner that I like to, you know, go out to dinner for and, you know, spend $80 on for date night on, then you make it at home.
And it's like,
I can do that too.
Oh man.
I'd urge people to grab a, first of all, grab a bag of boneless, skinless chicken breasts from whatever supermarket is closest to you.
Also have a meat thermometer on hand because that's just not worth messing with.
But you know, it's, that was for me the kind of watershed moment where I was sitting there thinking, I'm pretty sure if I put one of those in a pan and just didn't Google anything, just threw what I put out, what I want to put on it, it would be a pretty solid result.
And when that, that, that kind of moment of jump
out of the nest is rewarded with a really good bite of chicken it's right oh man and suddenly it's fun it becomes fun the first time you succeed and it's like it's a little bit of instant gratification i know i don't like scratching that itch as often as i want to but when you're cooking and making good food it's hard to argue that it's a worthwhile activity
absolutely i still go back to uh when i was you know 18 or 19 years old and living with my my friend paul over in rice lake and my favorite uh meal to make was a chicken breast on the george foreman oh yeah
and make a couple of chicken breasts on the George Foreman, and all of a sudden it's chicken breast and ketchup.
what have you done?
You're missing out.
lost the memo but it is still it you know it's summer it's spring you know it's summer so you know you gotta you gotta you gotta clear the closet out with the nice spring
might just might not see the
G well just talking they're hearing about Scott here at the YMC we got a big event coming up don't we Scott
Next weekend.
Yes, next weekend.
Week next weekend.
Senior citizen celebration, car show and breakfast.
All right.
Right out there in the front yard at the YMCA.
please.
Saturday, August 22nd from 8 a.m.
until 2 p.m.
And it's gonna be pretty cool.
Big G you'll be having all of the cars right out in front of the Y. So where you usually see grass, it's gonna be filled with some really awesome classic cars.
That's gonna be a really good spot for that kind of display, though, as you're driving through town right in the
part of the, you know, you get into the block, the block system begins there really.
And so bam, all of a sudden when you see house and house and house and yes, municipal building, wow, row of gorgeous cars.
That's going to be really cool,
Big G. Yeah.
you, are you, you're going to be broadcasting live there?
Yeah, we'll be live broadcast, brought to you by Johns Auto Works, sponsoring our broadcast this year down in Fifefield.
All right.
And, uh, car show goes from nine to 130.
We actually got trophies for, uh, several, uh, four categories.
So come on.
or the breakfast is starting at eight o'clock, I believe?
All right, and it
was at eight o'clock ten three
We'll also have north town jubilee performing music from the 50s 60s and 70s as well for that day
senior
will have the
car over there.
Yes.
I love that car reminds me of our car club members will be there from north west classes car club Excellent came off our big car show of flamborama.
So is there still room
example?
Yep, not my super room come on in the day of the show They're doing
They're doing a donation for the entry fee.
And let's see what else we got.
We got some vendors there also, I guess.
Looks like.
Vendors
there, and then we'll have
two paint parties from Miss Ruby.
And so there'll be a $10 donation for the registration of the painting program.
The paint party will go from 9.30 until 11.30, and then 12.30 until 2.00.
And then for that one, we're asking folks that are interested in the paint party aspects.
to register before August 17th.
You can go online to our Facebook page to follow the link or give us a call at the Y 715-650-9622.
And that, of course, is the number I'll find if I just put the Flammer River Y into my Google machine.
Correct.
It's pretty easy now that Google knows exactly where you are at all times, and it wants the closest at hand options for you, for your best interest.
It has your best interest at heart, right?
Easiest way to remember the last four digits is on your pin pad.
It's YMCA.
The moment you said pin pad, I thought, oh, man, I should have seen this one coming.
I remember you've mentioned
that before,
Well, this week, as everybody knows, is the last week of the summer camp over at the Schwanmegen Elementary, Schwanmegen School District, for summer camp.
And so we do have discovery days coming up for the last two weeks of summer.
So if parents are looking for care for their children, school-aged children from 8 a.m.
until 4 p.m., we do have that program that'll be available Monday through Friday for the next two weeks, the 17th through 21st, and then 24th through the 20th.
What kind of things do the kids get up to at discovery days?
It's very similar to what the school does for camp with lunch and snack that we have provided, but they do a ton of games throughout the day.
They kind of bebop between the gathering place, the child watch room, and then the mind, body, spirit studio.
So depending on the age, they might get broken up.
If you get some older kids, they may go and play some dodgeball or floor hockey, things like that.
And then some of the younger kids, there's always a ton of
enrichment opportunities with painting and...
different crafts and all of those different fun programs that they get to do throughout each day and throughout the week.
to four p.m.
period what many of us would call the whole day really.
Right.
The real difference is in the is the difference maker in the question is the day worth it was there any fun is what you have planned and whether you have plans in the first place honestly when it comes to those dog days of summer right before school starts if you have no plans boy is it a whole lot better to have anything at all in shape and you guys have
a bevy of opportunities and activities to to enrich and finish strong during the summer days here.
So what are the date?
What's the date range on that one again?
We have to the next two weeks.
So the 17th through 21st and then 24th through the 28th.
Okay.
The last two weeks right before school gets started.
And if they're not there already, I know we'll get that on our own event calendar and people can find you guys on Facebook too.
Frankly, if you don't know on the internet where to look, well, I don't know if I can help you anymore.
We're getting, we're getting to that point.
You know, it's just like, Hey, throw it into Google, put why.
MCA in there, put discovery days in there.
What else is in the list though?
I see back to school things, we've talked cooking, nothing's off limits at the Flammer River, why?
Well, the next one is the last one actually, the last major one here is the, if you remember last year, we had the back to school rally that was sponsored by about a dozen different businesses throughout the city of Park Falls and Fightfield and Butternut.
terrific program.
We had over 400 kids and families that attended last year, and we're hoping to beat that number this year.
This year, the back to school rally, celebrating the start of a school year, the next opportunity for all of these kids and educators to come together.
Friday, September 11th from 5.30 until 9 p.m.
at the Y. Dodgeball, again, with the police department and fire department, I know Officer Coler's already been warming up his shoulder, and my 12-year-old son has already made that challenge to him, so I'm sure
that they won't be after each other at all.
Face painting, bounce house, marshmallow wars, a really fun obstacle course that we're starting to put together already with goodie bags and games.
And it's going to be a lot of fun.
And we're really, really looking forward to it this year and hoping to beat our 400 number from last year.
You know, I have to
in their full giddy
last year minus the belt.
the the police department was uh sweating as much as they possibly could after that one and you know I think the fire department got off a little bit easy they got to play tug of war with the kids outside yeah but
oh absolutely you absolutely got a hold on they got off easy they got to go
aside with airflow.
Oh man,
Just standing a gentle breeze and it does a whole different thing for you.
Well that's, I won't talk about the lopsided battle going on there, but I will hopefully be there to cheer on the, well the team of my choice.
We'll see in my team, team of, team police, team fire department.
Can you be both?
I think that's the right answer, but face painting, you guys are going to have obstacle courses and looks like some food on site as well.
Absolutely.
Last year we did hot dogs.
This year they're still working out the details, but I believe that they're doing
a some type of
pulled pork and mac and cheese thing going on which sounds awesome can't miss Yeah, we're that one is being sponsored by up north builders.
So they're putting together a really cool dinner for the kids and then the Parish in Glidden last year had supported the Ice cream I think six gallons of ice cream Or no, no, sorry.
I'm I'm apologies 10 gallons of ice cream last year and 400 hot dogs from super one foods
They all they they cruise through it last year.
So I think that the kids will take it as a challenge to beat that this
year Yeah, no, I buy my ice cream in pints and sometimes it may not feel like enough but ten gallons I think a little bit overkill for that But it's still it's just fun to talk about sweet treats in that kind of bulk So if you'd like your part in that we're talking about the back-to-school rally Friday September 11th at the Y 5 30 until 9 p.m Free for everybody
free for everybody be mere a member or a non-member doesn't matter and there's no registration ahead of time so
Show up there.
It'll be pretty much street parking around the Y because we're we're planning a kind of a cool Teen night for the same that same evening So something special for the teens that night and we're kind of working towards potentially a three-on-three basketball
thing going on in the parking lot so that'll be blocked off so.
summer
Right now we do have one opening and it is in housekeeping.
That's the big one that we have housekeeping that's open for about eight to twelve hours a week and we're looking for primarily daytime but flexible on the hours.
week you can plug and play that in if you're looking for a little extra change or maybe if you know somebody who needs a good summer kind of
Transition into fall sort of job.
It's one of those things that you can you can pick up a little bit I think so get in contact with the why getting contact with Scott or get down there Anyway, because it's a great place to be Scott.
I look forward to having you back here again But we've reached the end of reality radio.
Thank you so much.
Thank you, sir That is unless big G has more for us today.
What do you have to do this week big G?
Oh boy, you know, there's always big events coming up especially in the summer This Friday, I'll be a Dean detailer not old or celebrate
I know customer appreciation day.
Come on out for some great food and great prizes.
The 9 day Q Country Prize.
We all be broadcasting live from 11 to 2.
And of course next week and of course we have the YMCA Senior Citizen Celebration Car Show live broadcast there.
But also Dead Squirrel Bar is having its first year anniversary.
Anniversary celebration there as Dave was on the bar now for a year and big things going on there on August 22nd and sorry from 1 to 8 p.m.
All right.
Well, you can eat wings Excellent one to eight They had dollar off drinks and DJ Kramer's gonna be there.
She's having a big celebration there and I'll be popping in live during the brewers to Do some updates right from the dead squirrel bar
That's go about first anniversary.
That's going to be something
We haven't done that often if if many times at all before those live updates in between the the action of a brewers game.
So a rare double double dip opportunity there on 98 Q country that day.
And then I think the following weekend we're already staring down the barrel of Labor Day.
So we're we're at the beginning of school at that point.
And hopefully you've already got plans for that back to school rally.
All of these events that Big G and Scott and myself have touched on you'll find on our event schedule 98 Q country dot com.
or look at the groups associated, check out the Flammable River YMCA's own Facebook page.
They do it just as well as I do.
I'm not going to pretend you need to see it twice.
So, hey, follow them on Facebook, follow us on Facebook, but don't spend too much time on Facebook, right?
All right, it's past 10 o'clock.
It's 10.05.
If you want to look at official updates on everything from elections to how the brewers did yesterday or listen to them, I should say, all you got to do is stay tuned to 98Q Country.