Rotary Rounds April 26, 2017

Our invocation was offered by John MacFarlane and Mary Pettit led us in song, "challenging us" to coordinate our physical responses to and while singing If You Are Happy and You Know It.  Dave Johnson reported on a successful ditch cleaning last week, assisted by Stan Carignan, Steve Leitte and John MacFarlane, finishing just before the rain started.  President Katie followed up with the good news that our requests for grant funds from The Rotary Foundation had been tentatively approved by the District's Grant Committee for both the library and community garden project.

 

It was decided our next Fireside chat for newer members and spouses to learn more about Rotary in a social setting, will be held on May 10th from 5:15 to 6:15 at Bob Russell and Lois Josefson Russell's residence at 506 So. Union.

 

There were many brags and fines, with Mary Pettit paying for our problems with the aforementioned song (it was not her issue, however), bragging about her son's master level base performance in Tempe, Arizona, and being grateful for her father Paul being in attendance.  Buzz Lundeen donated Jamie Larson's scooter buck and congratulated President Katie on Lake Region Healthcare's successful "Walk to the Moon," with community members walking over 238,900 miles to reach the goal.  Ben Durbin contributed for missing meetings during Lent and also bragged about Ruth and him expecting their second child, a baby girl, on July 4.  Laurie Larson said she attended the Friends of the Prairie Wetland dinner with her son Logan at the Bigwood Event Center and he did a wonderful job going up front and making some spontaneous remarks to the audience.  Mark Bring contributed for not being able to perform his assigned duties at a prior meeting.  Wally Cole contributed a scooter buck.  Finally, Randy Kempfer donated to indicate why he was wearing blue jeans to the meeting, indicating that it was International Denim Day to raise awareness of sexual assault and that the money they are raising locally will go to Someplace Safe.

 

Peter Wasberg introduced our program, Kendra Lund, Program Manager for the Minnesota-North Dakota Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association.  Alzheimer's is the most common form of dementia; by definition, dementia involves a loss of memory and other intellectual abilities serious enough to interfere with daily life.  There is estimated to be 5.4 million Americans living with Alzheimer's, affecting one out of ten age 65 or older and one out of three age 85 or older.  It is the sixth leading cause of death in America but, of the six, the only one that is not decreasing in incidence.  It is further estimated that 15 million Americans provide unpaid care for people with dementia and that in 2016 they provided an estimated $230 billion in care services.  It is expected that costs associated with caring for people with Alzheimer's will increase to $1.1 trillion annually by 2050.  Every 66 seconds someone develops Alzheimer's.  Kara went through the warning signs which are: 1) memory loss that disrupts daily life; 2) challenges in planning or solving problems; 3) difficulty completing familiar tasks; 4) confusion with time or place; 5) trouble understanding visual images and spatial relationships; 6) new problems with words in speaking or writing; 7) misplacing things and losing the ability to retrace steps; 8) decreased or poor judgment; 9) withdrawal from work or social activities; 10) changes in mood and personality.  If you or someone you know are experiencing any of these warning signs it is recommended that a doctor visit be scheduled as soon as possible.  Although there is no cure for Alzheimer's there are ways to try to delay the onslaught of symptoms and it is possible that the symptoms reflect another condition that can actually be treated.  Through the Alzheimer's Association, care consultations are provided free of charge to help both those afflicted with memory loss and their families to deal with the situation.   

 

June 21st is "The Longest Day," intended to be a recognition of caregivers, and on September 9, 2017, there will be "Walks to End Alzheimer's" in various communities, including Willmar and Bemidji.  If you want more information from Kendra, she can be reached at klund@alz.org and her phone number is 218-998-3603.