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It was a beautiful, albeit a little windy, day at Broadway Park, with ten Rotarians present in person and five joining via Zoom. After reciting the Pledge of Allegiance and The Four Way Test, Kathy Austvold gave the invocation. The Duck Derby was promoted and thanks were expressed to Zach Stach, Wally Cole, Hal Leland and Dave Johnson for volunteering at our Summerfest set-up, where 50 duck raffle tickets were sold and $23 in donations toward the Splash Pad were received. President Anthony led off the brags and fines, noting the birth of his and Elysia's third child, Hannah Jael Nordan (see Judges 4, v. 17). Mary Pettit recalled her father and long-time Rotarian Paul Beithon's 90th birthday would have been on Flag Day, which later prompted Keith Olson to note his sister Nancy's birthday was also on Flag Day. Keith also referenced his and Kim's wedding anniversary the preceding day, while Wally Cole commemorated his and Marci's 56th wedding anniversary. This writer checked off three marks on his brag and fine card, principally to thank Brian and the others for their efforts at Summerfest. Kathy Austvold, back from a river cruise (Memphis to New Orleans), enjoyed the experience and noted it was hotter in Fergus Falls than in New Orleans the day she was visiting the latter. Mary Pettit introduced Denise DeMartalaere, who agreed to miss her Sertoma meeting to talk to us about Productive Alternatives. Denise is the Director of Financial Services, or CFO, at this 501(c)(3) organization, dedicated to providing diverse service options to promote the quality of life and personal growth amongst those they serve. She provided us with a handout listing all the different services Productive Alternatives provides to the approximately 1000 persons it serves daily, employing over 350 staff. The budget for 2020 was originally set at $17 million but because of the pandemic it came in around $12 million; 75% of the current operating budget is tied directly to state legislative appropriations, through state and county service contracts and grants. While they no longer pay the people they serve to make products anymore (they make a lot of ice fishing equipment and a very popular rain gauge, utilized by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration which can measure up to 13 inches of rain within 1/100th of an inch), Productive Alternatives provides a wide variety of employment options for persons with disabilities, including job readiness training, skills training and job placement services. Local employers utilizing their trained workers include the Fabled Farmer, YMCA, Fleet Farm and Walmart. People now hired to produce their products are those who have trouble getting a job, such as those with a felony record. With locations in not only Fergus Falls (main office) but also Moorhead, Perham, Alexandria, Brainerd, Little Falls and Hoffman, at five of those sites the organization meets the day-programming needs of persons with developmental disabilities, with or without a vocational emphasis. It currently operated 38 wheelchair accessible buses to provide public transit services in Otter Tail, Clay, Crow Wing and Wilkin Counties, delivering over 13,500 rides each month; in addition, Productive Alternatives manages and operates the Volunteer Driver Services Program for Otter Tail County. It purchases about 100,000 gallons of gas a year. A four bed, short-term, 24-7 facility in Fergus Falls is maintained to provide stabilization services for adults experiencing a mental health crisis, as an alternative to hospitalization. Although it also is currently offering adult day care services, that program will be discontinued by the end of the year. I had no idea as to the breadth of the organization's activities or the number of people it serves and employs and really appreciated the presentation. Thank you to Mary for arranging it! |
