“I don’t know a damn thing about Shakespeare, but Roger Rees does.”
– Actress Kirstie Alley’s introduction of Roger Rees, who played her love interest on “Cheers,” before his Wednesday one-man show at WSU where he explored all things Shakespeare
“I was a bit faint in the wings.”
— Rees on how he felt about Alley’s introduction, in which she referred to him as “my sweet baby”
“I think stupid is a better term than greed.”
— BB&T chairman John Allison, speaking at Wichita State University’s economic outlook conference Thursday, on the banking crisis
WICHITA — Tonya Harge says she’s giddy about opening an online business next month, though it has its roots in something sad.
Harge previously worked in senior and child care, but then she lost her grandmother and mother in a short period of time.
“You really can’t care for others if you don’t take care of yourself first,” Harge says.
So she took time off and traveled abroad.
Her travels gave Harge the idea for Chapter 34, an online boutique for designer products.
“It’s the new chapter in my life,” Harge says. “I’m creating a one-stop shop for designer goods.”
WICHITA — The long-vacant building at 2020 E. 21st near Wichita State University has seen some activity this week, but it’s not from a new tenant.
The windows at the former Burger King space have been boarded due to vandalism.
But Grant Glasgow, a broker with Grubb & Ellis/Martens Commercial Group, says there could be some news at the property coming soon.
“We have had some interest lately.”
When someone approaches Wichita State University’s Barth Hague about using the school’s logo in conjunction with something they’re producing, like a T-shirt, the associate vice president for university relations has a hard time responding.
“Well, I don’t know,” he’s been known to say. “We don’t really have any rules.”
But the university recognizes the need to establish some guidelines and rules for using the school’s name and logo. Wichita’s Gardner Design was selected to create a comprehensive visual identity system after a request for proposals. The firm will be paid $50,000.
There were 27 responses to the RFP nationally, and Hague says a lot of the proposals were great. He says WSU wanted to hire a firm that best fit its needs, so it wasn’t necessarily intent on hiring a local firm.
“But that’s what we ended up doing,” Hague says. “The fact that they’re local is great.”
WSU’s branding won’t change, but how other organizations use it will.
“Most organizations have fairly comprehensive rules that corporate communications can follow,” Hague says. “These are the rules of the road.”
He expects the new guidelines to be in place by the end of the summer.
“It feels good to be loved.”
– WuShock, Wichita State University’s mascot, on getting his 5,000th Facebook friend (Maize High School freshman Gabby White)
Brothers Kenny and Brent Fields are expanding their BK Tennis Academy and moving it from near Kellogg and Tyler to the Maize area. They expect to sign a deal for new space Thursday and will share more details then.
They’re also going to change the name of the academy, which they opened in 1992, to Wichita Tennis and Fitness.
“We just want to try to get back to what we used to do,” Kenny Fields says of training kids early to be tennis stars later.
“To do that, we just need to grow and get bigger,” he says.
Fields and his brother started playing tennis at about age 5 and went on to play at Wichita State University.
He says tennis players in surrounding states “are really beating us on a beginner level and getting their kids started earlier.”
The new facility will have six or possibly eight indoor courts and at least six outdoor ones. There also will be fitness equipment for students to use. It will also be available for parents who are waiting on their children during lessons.