May Fete is a Monken Family Tradition

Guest Blogger - Jan Monken Monken Automotive and the Monken family  have been involved with the Centralia Balloon Fest since its inception over 25 years ago. The Balloon Fest, held every year in August, has become a huge event since the first one that was held at Kaskaskia College.  Balloon Fest later moved to Foundation Park, east of Centralia, where it is still held today.  The Balloon Fest offers entertainment for all ages with the balloon glow and balloon races as the biggest events. Originally, the balloons only glowed Saturday evening, but now following the Friday night balloon race, the pilots will come back into the park and glow around the pond. We have always sponsored a balloon, and as sponsors for the Balloon Fest, we get the opportunity to crew at each event.  Crewing a balloon can be hard work.  We recruit family, friends and employees to be our crew members/chase team.  Our crew members help set up the balloon for the race, chase the ballon, and help with the landing and packing it up.  Glowing is also hard work as the crew members hold on to ropes to help keep the balloon from going  up into the air. Our first grandchildren to crew were Megan and Andrea, Kim( Monken) McMillan's girls. I remember the first time they were old enough to fly with our pilot. The girls had so much fun the first time they rode in a hot air balloon, we could see their happy faces as they flew up over the fields and trees. Then our grandchildren,  Katie Hartmann, Jalyn and Addison Monken became part of the Monken Chase Team.  They loved to get up at 5:00am to meet at the Bell Tower Inn for the pilot meeting. This is when the pilots are informed if the balloons will fly and where they will depart. The girls have all had the opportunity to fly up in a hot air balloon and loved every minute. This year, Megan and her family will be crewing. We are now starting the next generation to crew and fly! In the past, Monken's have also sponsored the pilot dinner.  One year Monken Automotive hosted the Friday evening dinner for all pilots, crew members, and sponsors.  Wearing his cowboy hat, Harold Monken, directed traffic on his horse. Some of the pilots remember that event well. I also remember on one of the windiest evening while we were trying to hold onto the balloon during Balloon Glow, a large gust of wind came up.  We yelled for help and here came the “cowboy,” Harold, to help.  Well, Harold always thought ballooning was a piece of cake, but he found out real quick that it wasn’t as he was flipped on his back side real quick! We have had the pleasure of having the balloonist, Bob Boswell, for many years. Bob was a paratrooper before he began ballooning. He has quit coming to our event, but he still has a balloon repair shop. Our next pilot Ken was a Fed Ex pilot, and flew balloons as a hobby. For the past 4 years our pilot has been Jared Miller. Jared is a nurse anesthetist. We enjoy meeting and getting to know our pilots and their families. Thanks to everyone that puts this event on every year. Happy ballooning to everyone!

Blog by Kim McMillan I was asked to be involved with the very first Marion County Relay for Life event and continued to served as a team recruitment chair for several years.  My mother, Jan Monken, and I served as co-chairs for the event for 3 years. Our family (like everyone) has been hit hard by cancer. The hardest was the loss of my cousin, Troy Crocker, who died in 1999 at the age of 29, leaving behind two small children. That is when the Monken family vowed to fight hard to help eradicate cancer. The Marion County Relay for Life will be on Friday, June 17, 2016 at Fairview Park in Centralia.   We will have our annual  Monken Mega Nacho booth at the event from 4:00-10:00pm.  At this time, we have 16 members on Team Monken. The Monken Family and Monken Dealerships support the Marion County Relay for Life 100%. We hope to see you there!

5 Questions To Ask Yourself Before Buying A Car Buying a car is a really big decision and can be really stressful. It’s typically a decision you never want to rush into. It’s worth taking some time to work through a few questions before investing in a big purchase like a car. We know buying a car is not something you do frequently, so we want to help ensure customers feel comfortable and confident in their new investment. In order to help, we’ve compiled a list of the top five questions to ask yourself before buying a car. Should I buy new or used? This is probably the top question you should ask because it could be the difference of a few thousand dollars in your final total. Did you know there’s a $15,000 average price difference between a new and used car. If you are on a tight budget, used is the way to go because it will likely still have a full warranty and probably everything you need minus the new car scent. If you have no budget and are planning for your dream car, then buying new is probably for you. How are you going to use it? If you have a large family, then you’ll want several seats, extra space, and maybe even built in dvd players. If you need to tow a trailer every week then you’re going to need to find a vehicle with a tow rating and payload best for whatever you plan to haul. These little factors are going to determine a lot with what vehicles you should even consider. Ask yourself what life changes are you or your family likely to see soon? We won’t tell you to avoid the two-seat sports cars, but you might meet someone in a year and have a child in 4 years, lots can happen in 10 plus years. (a common lifespan of a car) Also something to keep in mind with children is how big they will be near the end of the lifespan of your car, this is often forgotten and later regretted. What are the operating costs? Many people love big SUVs or sports cars, which might be within your car buying budget, but when you discover you need to gas your car every other day, your budget might implode. If you already budget a certain amount of gas each month, then buying a car that will use a similar amount is your best option. Another option is always spending more on an economical car, because long term it will likely increase your budget. What do you like or dislike about your current car? This is a great question to ask yourself, especially since you’ve probably had your current car for a while. What made you buy the car in the first place? Do you like or dislike how it handles, safety features, gas mileage, repair costs, etc.? You know what you like and don’t like about your car, so make a list. When you decide to start the buying process bring the list with you, so we can help too! 5. Do you really need to buy a new car? People often get caught up in the idea of new, shiny things, especially cars. Look at your expenses. Are you paying more per year for car upkeep than car payments? Is your car hurting your budget? Maybe your family has outgrown the car or are you just planning ahead? Asking yourself these questions and making sure a car payment truly fits into your budget is really important. You want to be ready and prepared for a big purchase.