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Hal L. did an awesome job leading us in song, whose birthday the prior day was subsequently acknowledged by President Katie. Candi Musse, our Exchange Student, joined us for lunch and told us a little about what she has been doing since we last heard from her. She loves the winter and snow and has now experienced ice fishing (she was the only Exchange Student to catch a fish) and snowboarding. Members were reminded to fill out the club survey that was sent out if they have not yet done so. We are going to have a club social on February 19th, taking in some basketball at M State. Right now, the plan is to encourage members to take in part of the meet and greet with booster club and players (which starts at 4:30 p.m.), head over to the bowling alley for something to eat (around 5:15?) and then return to campus for what is left of the women's game (which starts at 5:30) and then the men's game, which starts at 7:30. Can we find one or more members to design and create walking billboards that would cover our torsos with each one having on the front a letter of "ROTARY" and the back saying "Service Above Self." If that happens, then we need at least six Rotarians to show up for the game and wear one. If we can't get someone to make them, maybe we will try to find six male Rotarians to paint their chests and backs with the lettering and go shirtless at the game. If we can get this done, then all that is left is to make sure we take our seats in the right order! This writer introduced our Student Guests from M state, Carson Bevill and Hunter Holtti, both in their second years and playing baseball. Hunter is from New York Mills, a lefthanded pitcher and hopes to ultimately become a real estate agent. Carson is from Fargo, is a right-handed pitcher and also plays shortstop. He simply stated that his ultimate goal is to be a good person. Both intend to continue their baseball exploits at a four-year school.  We had a Rotary Minute Plus Quiz based on the February Rotary magazine and learned that Rotarians recently served as election observers in Nigeria because its citizens trust Rotary; that the first peace conference at The Hague was held in the 1890's (1899) and that his Memorial in Washington D.C. has inscribed on it the words of its subject, President Abraham Lincoln: "With malice toward none, with charity for all ... let us strive on to finish the work we are in." The table that fielded the question for the last answer listed was the only one that managed to answer correctly. Zack S. was looking forward to seeing his daughter perform the part of Ariel in the middle school's production of The Little Mermaid the next day and also contributed a dollar for having to leave the meeting early. Wally C. also commented on the upcoming performance of his granddaughter and told us that he watched a grandson in a play the prior Saturday in St. Cloud. Deb M. bragged about our wonderful community and how many people and businesses reached out to assist OLV after its fire, specifically referencing Nazarene and Victor Lundeen Co. Keith O., attending virtually paid both a brag and a fine for telling us that he was in Arizona watching our meeting from afar. Our program was Lyubov ("Luba") Slashcheva from Apple Tree Dental. She came equipped with slides and video and gave us an informative view of the services offered by the organization. What she wrote to describe her presentation aptly summarizes it: Apple Tree Dental is a non-profit dental organization that is in its 40th year of overcoming barriers to oral health by inspiring partnerships that foster healthy communities. Its ten Centers for Dental Health and over 200 community partner sites provide oral health services through telehealth, sedation, and mobile dental outreach to patients and communities that struggle to access care in the traditional private dental practice settings. Beyond a clinical focus, Apple Tree's six Innovation Teams promote education, research, clinical innovation, policy, and other advancements in oral and overall health. The Fergus Falls Center for Dental Health was launched in 2009 and moved into a state-of-the-art facility in 2020, now offering a regional access point for sedation dentistry and a dental home for patients regardless of age, ability, or dental insurance coverage. About 85% of Apple Tree's patients are publicly insured and there are currently 2,209 individuals on the waitlist to become new patients at the Fergus Falls Center, demonstrating the unmet oral health needs in our region. Included in several initiatives that are being worked upon is to recruit rural dental providers, made possible through a two-year grant from the Vedin Trust. |
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