Chris Hahn

Original article published in the Mower County Independent, Thursday, December 7, 2023.   Reprinted with permission and gratitude.

By Gretchen Mensink Lovejoy

 

The Key to being a good community member is being involved in volunteering.

A good singing voice is a plus, but not required.

“We did a car wash at Sunshine Foods which was very successful. We had a blood drive at the school that wasn’t as successful because they had just had another blood drive, so people who wanted to donate couldn’t because they hadn’t gotten up to the right number of days after they donated. We did ditch cleanup in October; we helped with Kiwanis rose sales, helped with Halloween games at the Kiwanis Halloween party. We’re doing Christmas in Fillmore County – where you buy presents for kids who are less fortunate, and each one of us is assigned a kid to shop for. We’re helping with the KSP carnival, and we will help with Salvation Army bell ringing,” stated a board member of the Kingsland Key Club, speaking to the Spring Valley Kiwanis Club during the lunch hour meeting held at the Spring Valley Community Center last Wednesday, Nov. 22, outlining for their mentors what has kept the chapter of high school volunteers busy throughout the beginning of the school year.

Kingsland’s Key Club board members were the guest speakers of the day, outlining what they have learned about volunteerism through actual efforts to improve their community and the world around them after having enjoyed good food and the “song of the day” alongside the Kiwanians. They are, according to the Key Club website, part of a century-old history that began with high school boys being given a chance to lend a hand wherever needed. “The first Key Club formed in 1925 in Sacramento, California, with 11 charter members. Key Club was the idea of two Sacramento Kiwanis Club members, Albert C. Olney and Frank C. Vincent, who were also high school administrators. They approached their Kiwanis club with the idea of starting a junior service club in the high school. It would resemble Kiwanis, have its own classifications based on school interests, and hold luncheon meetings. The club was comprised of the key boys in the school, willing to serve the school in any way possible and to create better school spirit. Thus, the club was dubbed ‘Key Club.’ Soon, the club that started out as a vocational guidance program expanded to become a complete service organization for the whole school. It also offered a social aspect to balance its service activities. Today, Key Club is the oldest and largest service program for high school students in the world.”

The site elaborated, “We provide our members with opportunities to serve, build character, and develop leadership. Key Club members around the world are learning how to lead and stand for what’s right through service and volunteerism. In partnership with their local Kiwanis club, high school student are making a positive impact as they serve others in their schools and communities…high school student members of Key Club perform acts of service in their communities, such as cleaning up parks, collecting clothing and organizing food drives. They also learn leadership skills by running meetings, planning projects and holding elected leadership positions at the club, district and international levels. [The club’s] core values are leadership…character-building, and caring…compassion for others is a cornerstone of the Key Club experience, inspiring action and service to one’s community. Inclusiveness…we welcome people of all backgrounds and ethnicities to join in serving and making a positive difference in our world.”

The objectives of Key Club International were included, as “Key Club aims to cooperate with school principals and teachers to provide high school students with invaluable experience in living and working together and to prepare them for useful citizenship. Our members develop initiative and leadership skills by serving their schools and communities. In doing so, we hope to promote and accept the following ideals: To give primacy to the human and spiritual, rather than to the material values of life; to encourage the daily living of the Golden Rule in all human relationships; to promote the adoption and application of higher standards in scholarship, sportsmanship and social contacts; to develop, by precept and example, a more intelligent, aggressive and serviceable citizens to provide a practical means to form enduring friendships, to render unselfish service and to build better communities; to cooperate in creating and maintaining that sound public opinion and high idealism which makes possible the increase of righteousness, justice, patriotism and goodwill.”

The club’s current membership includes Kayla Lund, Kaleb Rainey, Mylah Montgomery, Jill Moore, Chole Drury-Deboer, Brooke Lawson, Gretchen Hubka, Malorey Fay, Kaelynn Howard, Jacie Berken, Hailee Warren, Caisa Kolling, Macy Runck, Jaelee Hagstrom, Lydia Redman, Kaylie Betts, Haleigh Hyde, Paisley Robinson, Alexis Klomps, Macie Rasmussen, Vaira Merkel, Chantle Reiland, Marek Boysen, Olivia Kappers, Kaylin Mensink, Ashlyn Harwood, Morgan Phillips, Dylan Schultz and Connor Tangen. Kingsland teacher Aaron Thauwald is the school Key Club advisor.

Kiwanian and co-advisor Pam Phillips lent her perspective on the Kingsland Key Club’s work as a collective of people who wish to make a difference for others, citing that the very-busy students – who are also individual participants in other activities such as basketball, golf, National Honor Society, band, choir, volleyball, football management, robotics, and hold jobs after school – are generous and willing to work together for betterment of the local and global good. Kiwanian and former Key Club co-advisor Jeff Thauwald had a question for the students: “What’s happening in 2024 for the remainder of the school year?”

The students responded, “More ditch cleanup, blood drives, the student service auction, Read Around the World,” and their school Key Club advisor, Aaron Thauwald, added that they plan to be part of the Kingsland penny wars as a fundraiser for a chosen cause, and that they may “hold a community dinner for peace in the Middle East.”

He concluded by suggesting that anyone who would like to follow the Key Club’s activities ought to “keep looking at our calendar” and support the club’s endeavors whenever possible. The elder Thauwald then asked the members what their favorite part of being in Key Club might be, to which they answered, “Getting out there and experiencing helping people.”

 

 

Courtesy of the Mower County Independent, 135 E Main St. LeRoy, MN 55951, (507)-324-5325

Original article published in the Mower County Independent, Thursday, December 7, 2023.   Reprinted with permission and gratitude.

By Gretchen Mensink Lovejoy

 

The Spring Valley Kiwanis Club has chosen Kaylin Mensink as its December Kiwanis Academic Student Award recipient. She is the daughter of Missi and Cody Koebke and Shane and Anna Mensink.

The Kingsland senior is active in a wide range of activities. “I currently participate in Volleyball as captain, Basketball as captain, Track and Field, FFA as secretary, National Honor Society as president, Key Club, and I am a senior class officer as representative. Basketball and Track and Field are my favorite extracurricular activities I am involved in. In the past, I have participated in Yearbook, Knowledge Bowl and Builders Club. My favorite subject in school is Composition – I love writing. My least favorite subject is definitely Physics.”

The 17-year-old is busy outside of school activities, as well. “I work at Chic by Chateau, the cutest little boutique located in downtown Spring Valley. I love my job because I enjoy fashion, interacting with people, and because my boss is so flexible with my crazy-busy schedule. I also work at my family’s business, Ody’s Country Meats. I enjoy working here because I love repping the family business. In my free time, I like to spend time with my family and friends, nap, working out, and going on walks or hikes. I come from a very big family – a seven-person family, to be exact.”

She continued by listing that “Tangled” is her favorite movie “because it’s just the best…I mean, how could it not be someone’s favorite movie?” She went on to cite that “I do not read books often, however, of the few I have read, ‘The Great Gatsby’ is definitely one of my favorites.” She enjoys a wide range of music, including worship, country, pop and rap, citing, “It’s all in my playlist.” Also, she loves a good bowl of macaroni. “One food I could definitely live off of is mac and cheese. It’s SO GOOD. Mushrooms, on the other hand, no thank you.”

Continuing, the senior stated, “My biggest pet peeve is when people make excuses,” and added, “If I could travel anywhere in the world, I would go to Italy. I love Italian food and their culture, and I think it would be so fun to experience all of Italy. If I could travel to any state, I’d go to Arizona because I visited Arizona once and absolutely loved it. I love the warmth, the beautiful scenery, and the outdoor opportunities available. I would totally go back to visit.”

Kaylin most admires her mother, her brother, and her grandmother. “My mother has never failed to lead me in the right direction in life and has always pushed me to be my best. I hope in the future, I can be as great of a mom and person as my mom is. I admire my older brother Kale. He is the hardest working person I know. He has endured so many challenges and always manages to face them with determination and reach success. I admire his work ethic and overall, his personality.” She added, “I admire my grandma, Robbyn Brody. Out of the hatred and violence in the world, she has a heart of gold. The kindness and generosity she radiates and shares with others is so inspiring and definitely felt.”

Kaylin related that she’d love to make the world a better place. “If I could do one thing to change the world, I would get rid of the mental health stigma. So many people suffer with mental health illnesses, and nobody wants to talk about it. I think it is important to talk about your struggles and feelings. Do not keep them locked up. Remember, you are not alone, and you are loved.”

She highlighted her postgraduation plans. “After I graduate, I plan to attend Bethel University, where I will major in Elementary Education and minor in Special Education. My whole life, I have been surrounded by younger children. I have four younger siblings, and for a long time, my mother ran a daycare, so for a long time, I have been helping out littles, whether it’s reaching the top shelf or helping them read. I love having that leadership role, knowing I can help others. As a little kid, I always wanted to be a doctor. Again, the idea of helping people always sounded intriguing.”

The Spring Valley Kiwanis Club will honor Kaylin and her parents during the club’s regular noon meeting Dec. 13 at the Spring Valley Community Center.

 

Courtesy of the Mower County Independent, 135 E Main St. LeRoy, MN 55951, (507)-324-5325

Original article published in the Mower County Independent, Thursday, December 7, 2023.   Reprinted with permission and gratitude.

By Gretchen Mensink Lovejoy

Bare your sole in the woods.

Bare your soul in the woods. Don’t make things weird— bare just your soul and sole— and may the forest be with you.

“There’s a practice called ‘grounding,’ and it’s just taking your shoes off so your feet can touch grass and dirt, and when you do, you can have reduced pain and inflammation,” said naturalist Sara Holger, standing at the front of Log Lodge at Good Earth Village (GEV) in mid-November, continuing, “Forest therapy…or Shinzinyoku, is immersion in nature.”

Holger, guest speaker at the November GEV Lunch and Learn event, told about how the advent of forest therapy, or taking time to rest and practice mindfulness outdoors, is becoming a method of helping people whose lives are too hectic or are in upheaval reconnect with their emotions, their own bodies and the planet that they call home. She shared about how actual forest therapy medical prescriptions are now being written for patients who need to find better health, both mental and physical, can try venturing outside and participating in “forest bathing,” or going on organized hikes that aren’t really hikes at all – they’re gentle strolls through a chosen place in the woods or a park, during which observation of one’s surroundings is the focus and point. “Doctors are starting to talk about this, even at the Mayo Clinic…about forest bathing.”

The concept sometimes involves what’s known as “sitspotting,” or choosing a place to spend half an hour just sitting and taking in what’s in the trees overhead or watching the dandelions bloom as hard as they can. Holger quipped that she has hosted some forest therapy sessions at which participants have shown up fully geared for a heavy-lifting hike through the woods, and she has to break the news to them that they’re not walking any farther than 200 yards, if that, because simply being outdoors “lowers blood pressure and cortisol levels…a ten-minute walk through trees and near water helps enhance our vision, helps eye development…and there are phytoncides…when we smell trees, the phytoncides we ingest changes our NK cells, or the white blood cells” for the better, giving humans more efficient defense mechanisms. “Every immune function is better when you connect with nature,” she stated, going on, “Emotionally, there’s attention restoration theory, that the two sides of the brain…one side is tasked with checklisting, and the other side is sensory. The critical side fires down and the sensory side fires up, and after the brain has had just ten minutes outdoors, you can go back to work and fire up the critical thinking side.”

Holger outlined that various groups of individuals benefit from exposure to the elements, relating that “girls who have a view of trees or have access to trees have higher self-esteem…and time in nature strengthens family bonds…cities where there are more trees have lower rates of robbery.” As founder of Project Get Outdoors, a program for low income children, she has long championed taking children into the woods, as she was inspired by the book “Last Child in the Woods,” which elaborates on what happens to children and society in general when people fail to take time to experience nature, learn how it is a place to have fun and how important environmental stewardship is to the survival of the planet’s millions of species. She added that even doctors could use some time under the canopy, as they don’t leave their offices often enough to take care of their own health so that they can continue helping their patients. “Southeast Minnesota Park Rx was started in 2019 and works with Mayo…providing action-track chairs for the trail (for disabled individuals), and we actually take the doctors for walks so they can be healthy because doctors don’t get outside.”

Holger listed the various opportunities that await anyone who has any kind of mobility, including forest bathing, sit-spotting, hiking, just going outside for a few minutes to take a break from work and enjoy the view, keeping a nature journal, gardening, walking, becoming a volunteer naturalist through the Minnesota Master Naturalist program, taking advantage of the quarterly Minnesota state park free admission days and more. She pointed people who have questions about Minnesota’s natural recreational resources to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) website at www.dnr.state.mn.us, and concluded by offering, “May the forest be with you.”

GEV will host a special December Lunch and Learn event on Tuesday, Dec. 12 from 11 a.m. to approximately 1:30 p.m. as Richard Bruxvoort Colligan, a well-known Lutheran songwriter, will lead attendees in singing some original Christmas songs and Christmas favorites during the GEV Christmas Sing-Along Extravaganza. For more information, log onto the GEV website at www.goodearthvillage.org or call 507-346-2494.

 

Courtesy of the Mower County Independent, 135 E Main St. LeRoy, MN 55951, (507)-324-5325

Courtesy of the Fillmore County Journal published Monday, November 20, 2023