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We had many student guests at our meeting. Brad Hoganson introduced Daniel Isaac and Kendra Quam, both seniors at Hillcrest; Daniel is the son of former club member Missy Isaac and her husband Jeff, while Kendra is the daughter of Robert and Barbara. Daniel managed the Hillcrest basketball team and is going to be playing in the National Disabled Hockey Festival in a couple weeks; next year he plans to go to either SDSU or Grand Canyon University. Kendra is the Vice President of the student body at Hillcrest and her plans for next year are to go to Concordia in Moorhead. We also had Student Athletes from Hillcrest, Halli Hebl from Hillsboro, North Dakota, who was recognized for being a cheer captain; she plans to go to UND next year to study to become a civil engineer. Zach Zwiers is the son of John and Patty and this fall he was one of the football captains, played basketball during the winter and this spring is one of the track captains. He plans to attend SDSU to study electrical engineering. Lori Larson had two students from M State with her, both in their second year and Presidential Scholars. Morgan Lider grew up in Erhard and is the daughter of Terry and Jackie; she played volleyball at the school this year and plans to attend NDSU next year to study bioscience. Nathan Onstad is the son of Greg and Barb and grew up in Dalton; he is very involved in campus ministry. Next year he plans to go to NDSU as well, studying mechanical engineering. Since we are talking about M-State anyway, there was an announcement about the upcoming Fireside Chat at its Fireside Lounge on Wednesday, April 11, starting at 5:00 p.m.; Rotarians, spouses, and prospective Rotarians are all invited. Greg Darling paid for missing last week's meeting as he was working in Phoenix. Mary Pettit expressed her appreciation for the turnout of Rotarians at her father's memorial service the prior Saturday. Steve Andrews reported he was flying out the next day to be with his spouse in New York City, while Lori Larson is also going to be flying somewhere and missing next week's meeting. Bonnie Denzel talked about visiting one of the most exclusive places in the country, albeit without working showers and in a tent, but being able to still appreciate the grandeur of staying next to a creek at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. Keith Olson and his son went skiing in Montana, a 716 mile journey from the top of the lift to his front door. He also pointed out Dean Monke's stockings (see picture), which prompted Dean to report everyone was to wear novel socks at the school, in honor of an effort to show respect towards others on 3/21. Randy Kempfer put in for each student that said they plan to attend NDSU. Wally Cole reported on his trip to the state capital where he visited with eleven different legislators; Wally was also recognized for being a member of his professional group for 50 years and received a meritorious service award from it. Finally, John MacFarlane contributed for all the students going into engineering and none of them becoming lawyers and also to specially recognize the one student who plans to attend UND next year. Mary Pettit gave a very insightful and thought provoking presentation on aging and end-of-life planning, citing numerous examples of how her mother and father approached the process and involved all family members in it. Steps included updating their estate plan, downsizing their living space, moving into assisted living, putting health care directives and DNR orders in place, pre-paying for funeral expenses and planning for the memorial service, giving up driving an automobile, and creating a record of their memories and legacy. Paul wanted to provide for his wife Sue as her health deteriorated but came to realize that caring for a loved one often means taking care of one's self, giving up some of the caregiving responsibilities so he could once again be more of a spouse. Both Paul and Sue wrote an autobiography and Paul also recorded memories of his father, who was a physician as well. Stories of furniture items that were passed on to family members were also shared. Mary said both her parents were very good at accepting each stage along the way and by involving family members they provided a great education to them all. She encouraged us to ask questions of family members while we still have the chance and to create a record of those things that you want to become a part of one's legacy. Aging and death are not an option, but inevitable. Tim Hunt expressed the thoughts of, I believe, all of us, when he thanked Mary for her poignant insights at a time when the loss of her father was so recent. |
