After visiting with the Senior Citizens this week it got me thinking about all of the organizations that we have in Frederick. They all have their special projects that they work on throughout the year but most of all they are big on volunteering of their time and talents. So each week I will have a Feature Story about one of the groups. If you have a group you would like to see here let me know at dsumption@gmail.com
I recently emailed a person who was previously active in the community Horizons program that I hadn’t seen in a while. I told her we missed her and hoped all was well. She indicated she had been quite ill and also busy. but the additional information she provided generated an “Ah-ha” moment that made the light bulb go off for me. Her comment was about a recent meeting for the Community Store in Frederick and the only notification she had received was in her mailbox the day of the meeting. She indicated that she is a planner and if someone wants her participation she needs more notification then a day or two. It occurred to me that I didn’t know any of the needs of the volunteers I was working with nor did they know mine. We took inventory of the talents and skills we have in our community, but we didn’t take inventory of their needs as a volunteer. We didn’t ask if there are circumstances or conditions that they work best under. These are extremely important bits of information to know and review every now and again. While we may not be able to accommodate all of the needs of all of the volunteers, we can at least make more of an effort to be aware of those needs.
I know I’ve sent out email reminders to people about a meeting that was either the next day or maybe even that day. For those that knew about the meeting previously, this is a good thing and probably helpful, but for those that didn’t know the date in the first place, they have little time to make arrangements to fit this into their schedule. In the case of the Community Store meeting, shareholders were aware of the meeting because they were mailed a notice a week or two ago, but those that are not shareholders would have only known about the meeting via the www.fredericksd.com website or maybe a poster in the store. I know I’ll try to be more aware of not just this volunteer’s needs, but others as well.
Today I had the pleasant honor to visit with several of our community Senior Citizens. My interest was to get an understanding of the Senior Meals that they were enjoying. Like any other group of people they all wanted to tell me about it (all at the same time) only because they really enjoy the good food and also the fellowship with each other. They average about 8-9 seniors that come to the Senior Center daily (Mon-Fri) and they deliver 3-4 meals daily to those who are unable to get out of their home. The community of Frederick currently doesn’t have a cafe for them to get the meals so they are now working with the Area IV Senior Nutrition out of Hecla, SD. Every weekday, either Edgar or Johnny drive to Hecla, they leave about 10:45 am to pick up the meals and bring them back to the Community Center for the Senior Citizens to enjoy. They eat at noon but stick around to visit till about 1:00 pm They sign-up ahead of time to ensure that they have enough food for everyone. There is no set charge for the meals however they are encouraged to donate what they can afford. The drivers do get reimbursed for their mileage to and from Hecla from the Area IV Senior Nutrition Program. Everyone agreed that the need for the meals is one thing but the fellowship and always knowing you will be checked up on if you fail to show up are added benefits. Edgar said ” some wouldn’t leave the house otherwise if it wasn’t for the meals & fellowship”. Some of the local Senior Citizens are members of the RSVP (Retired Senior Volunteer Program) and are able to log in volunteer hours by helping with set up / clean up and delivering the meals. Contributions to the Senior Meals Program are tax deductible, If you want more info you can visit with Rick Pesek, Project Director at 605-229-4741 or 1-800-876-4741 or visit www.members.nvc.net/seniorareaiv
I am so impressed with our monthly meetings, we have had excellent turnouts for them and many new and exciting ideas are still popping up. Mainly we are focusing on our strategic plan and the committees are keeping everyone updated on their progress. Each committee is contacting the community members that signed up to help in our earlier meeting. It is nice to see that the “want to help” is still there. It sounds like the Secret Garden is moving right along, They are getting some media info together to get the word out about their expected costs and design plans. The Marketing committee is putting together a brochure to highlight the communities great features, such as hunting, fishing, historical driving tours, Inflatable Movie Theater and more. We are also going to invite a guest speaker to our next meeting to help with our Economic Development, We have not given up on the need to have a gas station in our town, so many people have had to drive 12-30 miles just to fill up and that is just taking income away from our community and putting a financial strain on us, especially with the price of gas these days, and if they go out of town for gas they will more than likely shop out of town also. St Paul’s Lutheran WELCA has established an account to help families in the community, they knew that it was a project that Horizons II group was working on and as soon as that is up and running they will transfer their funds over to the Frederick Forward. Thanks ST Paul’s Lutheran Women. The people in Frederick have helped so many families over the past years and not just financially, If someone needs there lawn mowed, driveways cleaned, rides to Drs. appt. field work or their car jumped, someone is always there to help. I know that having a committee to oversee these needs will make it so much easier for everyone. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK.
Tonight at 8:00 pm is the premier of Oprah’s Big Give and I must say I am pretty excited. I don’t know how it will work exactly, but as I understand it, this “game” is all about giving, not receiving. Giving is supposed to be all about the how much can be given to the people receiving, but I think many times, the giver receives as much if not more than the receiver. I don’t know how many times I’ve watched Oprah and “My Favorite Things” or “Extreme Home Makeover” and thought how cool it would be to be able to have the capacity to give on the scale.
I’ve also thought how awesome it would be to make millions (winning it would be cool too). I’ve made the list of things I could do with the money. Along with a great trip, maybe a new house and of course putting money aside for my kid’s education, there other things on that list. One of the things I wanted to do was put a swimming pool in Frederick and also build an account that would help make it sustainable and provide for the staffing of the facility each summer. I also would try to invest in the creation of some kind of business in town that would enable the community to have more jobs available and more people that could potentially buy their groceries in our store and other things would hopefully snowball from there.
Another contribution I would make would be to a project in my hometown, Ellendale, ND, the old Opera House. The project has been years in the making, but I think it is truly an awesome endeavor and will be quite spectacular and good tourist draw when it is completed.
In a recent newsletter from Agurban, A Hometown E-zine, by Jack Schultz of Boomtown Institute he talked about generations of Norman Asbjornson’s family who made their home in Winifred, MT. After graduation Mr Asbjornson couldn’t wait to leave his small town and move on to bigger and better things, eventually founding a very successful company that in 2007 made Forbes Magazine’s list of best small companies. The company called AAON, grosses 150 million in annual sales.
After looking back at his success, Mr Asbjornson had to give credit to his small town upbringing and wanted to give back to the community that gave him such great roots. Because of his generosity the small community of Winifred, population 150 people, has a new city hall, library, community center and museum. He also gave a million dollars to students enabling them to attend Montana State University.
Maybe Frederick and many of these other small towns involved in Horizons will find their Norman Asbjornson and their own version of Oprah’s Big Give! Even if we don’t find a Norman Asbjornson, we certainly have enough people that have had average succuss and want to give back to their community. Whether is takes one year or 20 years, with all the spirit and tenacity that has been generated, Frederick will certainly look different in another 5-10 years.