My Friend Brady

In December, I was glad to meet my new friend, Brady Duros, who is a student and Residence Advisor at Central Washington University, here in Ellensburg.

When Brady first came to Central, his mom Mary heard one of my radio ads, and ever since, has been teasing him about me: "Did you see Ellen today? What is Ellen up to?"

Finally, we connected, and now Brady can say, "Yes, Mom, Ellen and I had coffee!" Brady and I got together in the SUB-REC building for an espresso and a photo by the Christmas tree, which he framed for his mom.

Mary has obviously done a great job of parenting, as Brady is such a wonderful gentleman: smart, gallant and fun. He is an asset to the University and to our community.

After Christmas, I got a darling card from Brady's mom, inviting me to have lunch at her Firestation Deli, in Mill Creek, whenever I next get a chance to visit the West Side of the state.

Truly one of the best things about being Ellen is meeting cool people, like Brady!

Wow, My Own Blog!

Hello!

I'm so excited to be able to connect with folks who know me, folks who have seen me on TV, and those who wonder, "Who the heck is Ellen from Ellensburg?"

I have had the honor of representing our cool, little town for just over six years now. In September of 2001, "Ellen" was born, with some primping, and an eight-hour photo shoot detailing Ellen enjoying all the great things our town has to offer.

I traveled to Spokane, WA that fall to shoot our first commercial, which can be viewed on the Ellen website. It shows Ellen exhaustively carting in all the equipment one might need to have fun in and around Ellensburg, then letting people know that "we're on the way to anywhere!". This is a reference to our town being located almost in the exact geographic center of Washington State, at the intersection of two major interstate highways. That "fast-motion" 30-second commercial actually took six hours of walking VERY slowly (but naturally!) back and forth with each item...which was complicated halfway through when the skis fell over!

The highlight of that day was experiencing airbrush make-up (I felt like a fender in the body shop!) and the incredible vision of seeing my teeth electronically whitened in post production.

In 2002, Ellen got some big exposure in the media when the Seattle Times travel editor came to "The Burg" to spend a day with me, and wrote about our ad campaign that involves a real-life person. He mentioned that Ellensburg would have an "Ellen" float in Seattle's famed Seafair Torchlight Parade. When our parade application was rejected, the Times was outraged, and, it being a slow media day, the story somehow became national news, with a front-page blurb in USA Today. I spent the day doing phone interviews with many radio and print outlets, and was thrilled when a representative from "The Daily Show" called from New York!

Regrettably, knowing how the "fake news" I love so much can make small-town folk look foolish, we declined.

Since then, I have had the opportunity to meet lots of people around our state, as I made appearances at various venues and trade shows. One year, we set up a booth at a nearby highway rest area, and while Seattle-area folk were headed to an Eagles concert at the Gorge Amphitheater, I handed out cold drinks and signed people up to win a float trip on the Yakima River with Ellen.

The float trip was wonderful experience, with 10 guests, and my husband, John, and my good friend Zane as boat captains and river guides. We swam, had water fights, raced and picnicked in the beautiful upper end of the Yakima River, between the Teanaway and Thorp.

In 2006, I was invited to be an ambassador for our Spirit of the West Cowboy Gathering, which features cowboy music, poetry, dutch oven cooking, mounted shooting and many more activities throughout the weekend. I had the opportunity to meet Baxter Black, my favorite all-time cowboy poet (often featured on National Public Radio) and to hear artists like Wylie Gustafson. Check out the Ellen website, as this year's gathering takes place next weekend...you can still get tickets!

Three weeks ago, I worked at our Chamber of Commerce booth at the Puyallup NW Sportsmen's Show, held at the Puyallup Fairgrounds. It was a great time! I started out by shopping for cool new camouflage pants, and ended buying a beautiful, custom-made duck call for my brother-in-law, who is recently returned from serving in Iraq. In between, I met so many nice folks, those who had seen our commercials and wanted an autograph, and those who wanted to know more about Ellensburg, and the fun to be had here.

We are planning a new commercial soon, so stay tuned, as I will keep you posted on Ellen's activities and outlook on life in Ellensburg...