Good Morning Lebanon: August 21, 2026

Friday morning brought another round of coffee, community updates, local guests, trivia and just enough chaos to keep things interesting on Good Morning Lebanon.

Ashley Mahan, executive director of the Lebanon Area Chamber of Commerce, and Brian Hash of Boat Town Brewing kicked off the show from the Ozark Fiber Studios with an important request for viewers: interact with the show for a chance to win a prize pack from White River Marine Group.

Of course, Brian added his own requirement.

Apparently, telling him he looked pretty was strongly encouraged.

The prize pack included a cooler, tumbler, camo hat and gift card, giving viewers plenty of reason to jump into the comments while Ashley and Brian worked their way through another Friday morning.

Chamber News and Christmas Already?

The Chamber spotlight this week featured Vision Source and Dr. Michael Montgomery, which quickly turned into a discussion about eyesight, overdue appointments and whether Ashley should start wearing glasses simply because she thinks she would look good in them.

The Chamber also reminded everyone about Friday’s Business Builders Luncheon at Ozark Tech and an upcoming American Legion ribbon cutting on September 11.

Then came the sentence nobody is quite ready to hear in August:

It’s almost Christmas parade time.

Registration for the Lebanon Christmas Parade opens September 1, and this year’s parade will have an especially fitting Route 66 connection. With the highway’s 100th anniversary approaching, the parade route is changing to travel straight down Route 66.

Good Morning Lebanon will once again be part of the parade coverage, which means Brian and Ryan are already figuring out exactly where they’re going to set up.

Brian even put out an early request to any Ozark Fiber customers located along the new parade route.

He’s not desperate yet.

He’s just planning ahead.

Lebanon Now Classifieds Are Open

The show also highlighted one of the newest additions to LebanonMoNow.com, the Lebanon Now classifieds.

Local residents can submit items they have for sale, and each listing goes through a human approval process before appearing on the website.

The classifieds are also being opened to local creators and people operating small home-based businesses who want another place to showcase handmade items and other products.

The goal right now is simple: get people using it, get listings online and build another useful local resource.

And according to the morning demonstration, creating a listing takes just a couple of minutes.

Visitors can also find local news, events and previous episodes of Good Morning Lebanon and other Lebanon Now shows while they’re there.

Supporting Teachers at Tan-A-Rama

The first guest of the morning was Sierra from Tan-A-Rama, who stopped by with a special offer aimed at local teachers and school employees.

From August 21 through September 15, qualifying school employees can sign up for a Tan-A-Rama membership for $50 per month instead of the regular $70, and that rate remains locked in as long as they continue the membership.

Membership includes 24-hour access, allowing teachers to stop in before school, after work or whenever their schedule allows.

Tan-A-Rama offers tanning, red light therapy, sauna options and other services.

Sierra said the promotion came from seeing how much teachers pour into their classrooms and students, especially at the beginning of the school year.

She’s taking that appreciation one step further with a giveaway.

Tan-A-Rama plans to give one local teacher a full year of free tanning, with community members invited to nominate teachers who have made a difference in the lives of their students.

The nominations should also provide a pretty encouraging comment section for teachers heading into another school year.

LADD’s New Greenhouse Has Much Bigger Goals Than Growing Plants

Nicki from LADD joined the show following the organization’s ribbon cutting for its new greenhouse.

LADD has served individuals with developmental disabilities in the Lebanon community for decades, helping participants build life skills, maintain academic skills and take part in meaningful daily activities.

The new greenhouse adds another opportunity.

Participants will learn basic gardening skills while growing vegetables that can later be used during LADD’s Friday cooking groups. That means they will get to plant, grow, harvest and eventually eat some of what they’ve produced themselves.

But the greenhouse won’t stop with traditional vegetables.

LADD also plans to grow rare and exotic flowers that community members can receive in exchange for donations to the nonprofit.

Nicki said one plant she hopes to grow is the shampoo ginger plant, traditionally associated with Hawaii. The unique plant produces a liquid that has been used as a natural shampoo.

More importantly, LADD participants will be directly involved in growing the plants and interacting with visitors who come to see them.

That community interaction is one of the biggest goals of the project.

Anyone interested in LADD’s programs, touring the facility or learning more about services can contact the center at 417-588-1577.

Events Coming Up Around Lebanon

The show also ran through several upcoming community events.

The Life Food Pantry Golf Tournament was scheduled for Friday at GreatLife Golf & Fitness, with sign-in beginning at 8 a.m. and golf starting at 9.

On Saturday, August 22, Fat Fest returns with live music, a silent auction, raffle and more to benefit Wonderland Camp.

Bingo for Books will be held Tuesday, August 25, at the Laclede County Library from 5 to 7 p.m.

The Route 66 Cruise-In Battle of the Bands takes over Lebanon I-44 Speedway on Saturday, August 29, with music, cars, children’s activities and racing.

August 31 is the deadline for organizations to submit applications for the 2027 Community Cares grant.

The Optimist Club’s annual mum sale returns September 11 and 12, while Northridge Place will host its ’80s Mall Murder Madness dinner on September 28.

Stillwaters Farm is also booking its fall 2026 pumpkin patch field trips.

And Then Came the Helmet

No episode of Good Morning Lebanon would be complete without trivia and some completely unnecessary consequences.

Friday’s trivia celebrated National Senior Citizens Day with questions about presidential history, classic television, Barbie, fast food and 1313 Mockingbird Lane.

Ashley ultimately came away with the win.

Brian did not.

Unfortunately for Brian, the punishment involved putting on a very real, very heavy metal helmet that Ryan had picked up from EZ Pawn.

The helmet had already fascinated Brian earlier in the week, but wearing it on television was apparently the natural next step.

He quickly discovered that it requires significantly more neck strength than expected.

This naturally led to discussion about axes, medieval warfare and whether Ashley should eventually be forced to wear it too.

Thankfully, no axes were thrown.

This time.

Good Morning Lebanon returns with more community updates, local guests and whatever else happens once the cameras turn on.Full Show Here:

Good Morning Lebanon is produced by Lebanon Now, Connecting Our Community, in partnership with the Lebanon Area Chamber of Commerce.