With Gratitude - 2021

5thAnnual

ROSIE AWARDS nominationsare open!

RecognizingWomen as aDrivingForce

The womenofourcommunity area driving forceand we recognize them each year forwhattheybring to ourunique culture. We’re lookingtoyou,our readers, to helpuscelebrate thoseamong us whodrive us forward.

Nominateaspecial womanyou know todayby sendingusashort summar ydescribingtheir contributions to ourcommunity

We will honorwinnersinthe followingcategories:

•MostEngagedVolunteer

•SilentAdvocate

•TheSpiritAward

•TheRosie Award MarliseRiffel, 2020 Rosie Awardwinner

•TheMentor Award

•LeadershipAward

Deadlinefor nominationsisJanuary 31,2022.

Forquestionspleasecontact Aliat218-428-2929 or dearrosie@thewomantoday.com Awards

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With Gratitude

Gratitude is an amazing quality.

When it is felt, it immediately enriches our lives and the lives of many others around us. People full of thanks and gratitude can’t help but work hard to make the world better for others.

It’s contagious and changes us in many positive ways.

It doesn’t reside in isolation. It must be shared.

It’s not finite either … even the most grateful among us can find many more things to be thankful for if we take the time to consider them.

You will find people on the pages of this edition of Gratitude who exhibit thankfulness and do their best to spread it to others.

Thanks for reading these stories. We hope they inspire you to live grateful lives and to spread your good fortune to others in our community.

If you have any story ideas for future editions of Gratitude, please reach out to me at rlubbers@duluthnews.com or (218) 723-5301.

— Rick Lubbers Executive editor Duluth News Tribune

A note from a reader

To the Editor: My husband and I moved back to Duluth a month ago after living and working in Chicago and Nebraska for nearly 25 years.

It’s great to be back! We love the Northland.

We enjoyed reading the [August] Gratitude magazine insert in our Duluth News Tribune. Thanks for inspiring us!

We found a home in the same Hunters Park neighborhood — just 2 blocks from our “old house.” Our three sons were all paper carriers in the neighborhood in the late 1980’s and ’90s. Our oldest son delivered papers for 6 years from Junior to Senior high. He loved those Christmas bonus gifts! My husband would sometimes fill in for the boys — so they could sleep in. Fun memories!

We’ve always enjoyed reading newspapers. In Nebraska we had subscriptions to the Omaha World Herald, Fremont Tribune, and the Oakland Independent.

Keep up the important work of journalism!

With appreciation,

Steve & Kitty Hoden, Duluth

Local Girl Scout troop appreciative of decade-long experience

BY LAURA BUTTERBRODT Duluth News Tribune

A Proctor Girl Scout Troop recently celebrated its four members achieving the highest rank of Ambassador. The girls, who are juniors in high school, have been part of Troop 4026 for 10 years, and are now eligible to earn the Gold Award, which is the highest achievement in Girl Scouts.

Over the years, the troop has done enough activities to fill the members’ vests with badges several times over. From canoeing in the Boundary Waters, to having a sleepover in the Mall of America’s Sea Life aquarium, from adopting families in need during the holiday season, to traveling to the East Coast, the troop members have garnered a wide-ranging skillset.

Troop 4026, which started with six firstgrade members and had 16 members come and go over time, now has four young women left, all of whom have been there since the start. Several moms of past and present members credit troop leader Leah Jerzak for her dedication and creativity. However, Jerzak says she’s just doing what she can do to empower young women to become future leaders.

“It’s a really great program,” Jerzak said. “Young women need more opportunities like this. Girls are traditionally in the shadow of boys and this is a way we can show what they can do. It’s not the stereotypical cookie-selling thing.”

While the Girl Scouts do indeed sell cookies, they also have learned how to perform CPR and first aid, make maple syrup, use a GPS and cross-country ski.

“Young women need more opportunities like this. It’s not the stereotypical cookie-selling thing.”

- Leah Jerzak

Jerzak said one of the most memorable projects she helped facilitate was when the girls built a quinzee snow shelter and slept most of the night in it. Kim Parmeter, who has helped Jerzak and the troop with leadership over the years, said it was one of the most memorable experiences for her and her daughter, Cecelia.

“I was never more of a nervous wreck of a mother,” Parmeter said. “I think I was there at 6 a.m. to pick her up because I was so nervous, but they did great and had so much fun.”

Jerzak, who is a nurse at Community Memorial Hospital in Cloquet, said she follows a guidebook from the Girl Scouts for ideas about how to earn badges, but sometimes takes creative liberties and uses her network of local resources.

A favorite example was when the troop earned its Special Agent Badge in 2019. The Duluth and Proctor police departments taught the troop about interrogation, fingerprinting, body language and other everyday aspects of police work. Then, Jerzak covered her dining room in plastic and the girls used artificial blood straws to analyze blood spatter for velocity and drip patterns.

Natasha Schnorr, whose daughter was in the troop through middle school, said Jerzak has exposed the troop to things they may never have had the chance to experience otherwise.

Laura Butterbrodt / Duluth News Tribune

Aurora Moen-Smith’s Girl Scout vest has accumulated layers of badges over several years during her time with Girl Scouts Troop 4026 in Proctor.

GIRL SCOUTS

From Page 3

“This group of young ladies have been opened up to a world of opportunities and ideas for their future all because of this one woman taking an interest in guiding them into becoming strong minded, capable women who can be and do anything they set their minds, hearts and goals to become,” Schnorr said. “She teaches them that there is no limit except for those they put on themselves.”

For Girl Scout Brita Bergland, a favorite memory was when the troop made hand-tied blankets and adoption pamphlets for Animal Allies. The community service project earned the girls their Bronze Award.

For her Silver Award, Bergland made bee houses for the community to help save the local bee population. And for her Gold Award, which is the equivalent to the Boy Scouts’ Eagle Scout award, she is considering renovating the Proctor basketball court.

“I feel like a lot of people don’t really know as much about Girl Scouts as they may know about Boy Scouts,” Bergland said. “Both are very unique in their own ways but Girl Scouts is just as important and contributes just as much in communities.”

Jerzak’s daughter, Aurora MoenSmith, said the numerous outdoor activities the Girl Scouts have led her to participate in have given her an appreciation for the environment.

“Girl Scouts is what grew my love for the outdoors,” Moen-Smith said. “I love backpacking and going on canoe trips with my grandpa because Girl Scouts sparked that.”

For her Silver Award, Moen-Smith wrote and illustrated a book about Isle Royale’s ecological system. She’s now considering pursuing a career in environmental science after high school.

Cecelia Parmeter also has acquired a love for science thanks to the Girl Scouts. She said her favorite activities have been the trips, including a trip over the summer to Boston and Salem, Massecussetts, and the outdoor activities. She also built bat houses for her Silver Award after learning about a disease impacting bat populations.

“Girl Scouts has definitely driven me to want to explore the science side of life, like what goes on behind stuff and how things really work,” Parmeter said. “Which is why I’m really in love with my chemistry class right now.”

Jerzak said the most rewarding part of leading the troop over the last decade has been watching the members grow up into confident young women. Many past and present members have taken on leadership roles in school, extracurricular activities and at work. She also sees a lifelong bond among Troop 4026 members.

Above: Girl Scouts Troop 4026 members bridged to the highest rank of Girl Scouts on Oct. 24, 2021. From left, Gracie Swor, Aurora Moen-Smith, Brita Berglund, Cecelia Parmeter and troop leader Leah Jerzak. Below: Girl Scouts Troop 4026 members went cross-country skiing in January.

“We get these girls and they come in and they might be kind of shy, but over the years they build this sisterhood that kind of transcends the social hierarchies of middle school and high school,” Jerzak said.

When the troop members graduate high school, their time as Girl Scouts will come to an end, but in the meantime, they are still earning badges and dedicating time to planning for the Gold Awards. Moen-Smith said she thinks she wants to build something, and Parmeter is considering making the Proctor School swimming pool wheelchair accessible. They’re hoping their achievements will be as wellrecognized as Boy Scouts and their Eagle Scout achievements.

“There’s so much that Girl Scouts can do. It just takes strong volunteers to get them out the door and out into the woods to do some of that sort of thing,” Kim Parmeter said. “I look at what some of the Boy Scouts have done and I’m like, yeah, our Girl Scouts have done that, too.”

Above: Girl Scouts Troop 4026 members experimented with fake blood spatter at troop leader Leah Jerzak’s home in 2019 as part of their work to earn their Special Agent badge.

Left: Members of Proctor Girl Scouts Troop 4026 took a trip to the East Coast during summer 2021, visiting Boston, Salem, Cape Cod and Provincetown.

Starbase: Developing leaders in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM)

BY ANDREA BUSCHE Duluth Freelance Writer

Due to the increased popularity of youth math and science programs such as robotics, the acronym “STEM” (science, technology, engineering, and math) is at the forefront of our vernacular these days. One organization right here in Duluth, Starbase, has a dedicated mission of educating and inspiring youth about job opportunities in these fields.

Charity Johnson, director of Starbase Duluth, shared a bit about its history.

“We are a 501(3) organization, and we are contractors for the Department of Defense to administer the program,” she explained. “Starbase has been around nationally since 1991, and we’ve had a Duluth site since 2017.”

Starbase is proud to have a strong partnership with the 148th Fighter Wing, and all of the program’s four classrooms are housed on-site at the Air Base.

Johnson wants people to know that anyone can find success in a STEM field.

“There’s really a STEM opportunity out there for everyone, regardless of what you think your abilities are,” Johnson noted. “We like to open kids’ eyes to what’s out there. There are a lot of STEM-related jobs right here in our own backyard.”

STARBASE: Page 6

“There’s really a STEM opportunity out there for everyone, regardless of what you think your abilities are.”

- Charity Johnson

Photo contributed / Starbase

A team of fifth-graders from Moose Lake Elementary are analyzing median flight distances of launched rockets with various payloads.

Programs

Starbase partners closely with local schools in an attempt to reach students who are underrepresented and underserved in their exposure to STEM education. The program started out working with just Duluth Public Schools, but now serves a 400-squaremile service area spanning from Hinckley to International Falls and serving 2,400 students per year.

STARBASE FEATURES SEVERAL PROGRAMS, INCLUDING:

School Year Program: Full classes of fifth-grade students, along with their teachers, come to Starbase for a full week of STEM learning, as a supplement to their regular education.

Starbase Explorers Summer Program: This option serves fourth to sixth graders, and is open to the general public. Youth groups, such as the Boys & Girls Club, YMCA and others, can also apply. There is a $100 tax-deductible contribution recommended for each student attending the summer program.

Community Outreach: Johnson and her staff of nine (consisting of full-time instructors, classroom assistants and an administrative assistant) volunteer at a variety of community events, including science fairs, STEM nights, sidewalk days, the Duluth Airshow and more.

Starbase 2.0 – coming soon: This after-school program for middleschoolers will start in spring 2022.

Starbase also offers STEM-based lessons that students can explore from home, and teachers can incorporate into their curriculum. All lessons closely follow both Minnesota state and national standards.

Both the school year and summer programs center around the storyline of a mission to Mars. The students study concepts including inertia, atmospheric conditions, landing a pod, and more.

“We try to inspire students by putting them in the shoes of a scientist or engineer,” Johnson said.

STARBASE: Page 7

Above: Students from Laura MacArthur Elementary School in Duluth show off their Mars Lander inertia restraint design.

Below: Virtual reality gives students the opportunity to explore the functionality and capabilities of innovative technology.

Photos contributed/ Starbase

FUNDING

The school year Starbase program is free to students. Participating schools are only responsible for transportation costs during the school year program. And, as noted, the summer program suggests a $100 tax-deductible contribution.

The majority of funding for Starbase comes from the federal government. However, significant contributions also come from the State of Minnesota, the Department of Education, and many private donors, including Enbridge, Minnesota Power, Cirrus, Essentia and others, who recognize the value of educating youth on STEM subjects.

“Technology can quickly become obsolete, and it’s hard to keep ahead of that,” Johnson said. “Our donors understand that, and help us to keep our scientific equipment relevant and cutting-edge.”

DONOR TESTIMONIALS

Dan Barnes is vice president for information systems at Essentia Health.

“We’re thrilled to partner with Starbase because it allows us to help provide equitable access to this type of premium education for all fifth-graders in our area. Starbase is a STEM education program, and STEM is exactly what Essentia does, so this is also an opportunity for us to cultivate our next generation of colleagues and leaders.”

“Essentia’s mission is to make a healthy difference in people’s lives, and that aligns so well with Starbase’s mission, which is to serve the underserved population,” he added. “For all those reasons, we couldn’t be more excited about this partnership.”

Lori Hoyum is regulatory compliance administrator with Minnesota Power.

“There are a significant number of STEM-based companies located in this region,” Hoyum said. “This heightens the importance of developing STEM literacy in our youth, ideally creating curiosity and excitement in the areas of science, technology, engineering and math early on in their K-12 education that continues into their post-secondary education.”

PROJECT PARTNER

As a Starbase partner, the 148th Fighter Wing is also a significant supporter of the program. In fact, all branches of the United States Military offer a plethora of STEM-based careers, including engineering, finance, medical professions and many more.

The Wing Commander for the 148th, Col. Chris Blomquist, said: “As an organization focused on innovation, providing a STEM-focused learning opportunity is an investment in our area students and our collective futures. Without exposure to STEM, the next great creation or innovation doesn’t happen. The 148th is proud to host Starbase to be that exposure point for local kids.”

For more information, including registration, visit Starbasemn.org/duluth.

Dan Barnes

Lori Hoyum

Photo contributed / Starbase

During a STARBASE Explorers summer camp session, Family Freedom Center youth experiment with air-powered rockets.

Paying it forward together

BY TERI CADEAU Duluth News Tribune

When the four founders of Duluth’s Bent Paddle Brewing formed the brewery in 2013, co-founder Laura Mullen said they decided right away to be a place that nonprofit organizations could turn to for donations and support.

“Our husbands had worked for breweries in the Twin Cities, so we all knew that breweries received tons of charitable requests for everything from swag to beer to space use,” Mullen said. “We knew we wanted to create a way for these organizations to turn to us and have our own program in place from the start. So we created the ‘Paddle it Forward’ program.”

In November 2021, Bent Paddle worked with a few local nonprofit organizations to host a variety of fundraisers to support them. This ranged from creating a new special brew to giving free event space.

COLLABORATING WITH A COMMUNITY SCHOOL

The Spirit of the Lake Community School in Duluth has turned to Bent Paddle in the past for support when hosting fundraisers. But this year, the school faced a larger fundraising challenge.

PAYING: Page 9

“We knew we wanted to create a way for these organizations to turn to us and have our own program in place from the start. So we created the ‘Paddle it Forward’ program.”

- Laura Mullen

Contributed / Spirit of the Lake Community School

Students from the Spirit of the Lake Community School learn to make jump ropes out of yarn with a jump rope machine at the school fundraiser on Give to the Max day.

Contributed / Spirit of the Lake Community School Hilary Buckwalter-Wilde, the enrollment and community engagement coordinator, staffs the raffle ticket table with Matt Johnson at the Spirit of the Lake Community School fundraiser at Bent Paddle Brewery.

PAYING

From Page 8

“We had a surprise of needing a new furnace,” said Hilary BuckwalterWilde, enrollment and community engagement coordinator for SLCS.

“We have a very old building that we purchased a few years ago and the furnace went. That added a couple hundred thousand dollars to our capital expenses.”

Combined with increasing operating costs due to the COVID19 pandemic, Buckwalter-Wilde said the school was looking to fundraise around $20,000 this fall to ensure a solid financial future.

The school turned to Bent Paddle to see if they’d be willing to host a “Give to the Max” event Nov. 18. The family friendly event included yoga

for kids, prizes, jump rope making, dancing and live music from Kyle Ollah and Four Mile Portage.

Mullen said the brewery was happy to donate the use of their Enger and Olsen taproom for the fundraiser.

“Since we’ve added that 50-seat space, we’ve been able to host several charitable events,” Mullen said. “It’s much easier now that we have a bigger space to give. When we first started with our original taproom, we could only give out the space on Sundays, otherwise we were pretty busy.”

Buckwalter-Wilde said the event went really well, and all funds raised that night will go to the school’s operational budget.

“Every little bit helps us continue to provide a holistic, arts-based and Waldorf-inspired education to our students,” Buckwalter-Wilde said.

PAYING

From Page 9

BREWING UP SUPPORT FOR MENTAL HEALTH

Earlier in the month, the same taproom was the launching point for a new pale ale with a specific mission: to raise funds for mental health programming. The “Pay-it-Forward” pale ale was a new beer brewed by Bent Paddle in partnership with Bell Bank to raise funds for Amberwing, a center for youth and family mental health and chemical dependency care.

The pale ale was the brainchild of Mullen and Bell Bank President Tim McShane.

“We’d been talking about collaborating on a project since before the pandemic,” Mullen said. “Then that kind of got squished down. But this fall, we got it going again and made a pilot batch of the pale ale.”

The name originates from the bank’s Pay-ItForward program that provides each full-time Bell Bank employee $1,000 to donate to a charity or organization in need annually.

“Some employees choose to pool their funds, or team up with community members or businesses, to give an even larger gift,” McShane said. “We also have an advisory board which receives funds to donate to nonprofits and organizations. This year, we’re giving to Amberwing as we know they’ve seen their needs increase dramatically since COVID started.”

McShane’s involvement on the Miller Dwan Foundation Board made him aware of the work the outpatient program does to treat mental health issues in the community and made him take action to raise support for the organization.

Enter the pale ale — $1 for each pint and $5 for every growler or crowler purchased in November will go to Amberwing. Additionally, Bent Paddle and Bell Bank hosted a launch party on Nov. 4 to tap the pale ale for the first time and raise funds. That event raised approximately $3,200. Totals from the beer sales throughout November haven’t been totaled as of press time, but McShane is hopeful to raise close to $10,000 through the various efforts.

The collaboration has benefited Bent Paddle in an unexpected way as well. The pilot brewer who created the pale ale submitted it to the Minnesota Brewer’s Cup Awards, where the beer won third place in the pale ale category.

“And that’s a pretty big category, so we were very happy,” Mullen said.

While the busy fundraising month of November has wrapped up, Mullen said the brewery will continue to do what it can for the community.

“We always wanted to start Bent Paddle as a company with a soul,” Mullen said. “And we wanted to be able to say ‘yes’ to nonprofits whenever we can because we know how hard they’re working all the time.”

Above: Bell Bank teamed up with Bent Paddle on Nov. 4 to release the new “Pay-it-Forward” pale ale to pay-it-forward to the Amberwing program through the month of November. Right: A crowd gathers at the pale ale launch party at Bent Paddle on Nov. 4. Contributed / Spirit of the Lake Community School

Left: Spirit of the Lake Community School Board Chair Georgia Lane pulls raffle tickets with the children and announces winners at the Give to Max Day fundraiser. Right: Spirit of the Lake Community School student Sahvin Korzenowski gets ready to make a jump rope.

7

ways to

be a volunteergood

Volunteering is a fun and rewarding endeavor. Millions of people across globe serve as volunteers, which is a testament to just how rewarding being a volunteer can be. Understanding how to be a good volunteer is the first step toward making the experience enjoyable and effective.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Educate yourself about an organization. Research volunteer organizations’ missions and goals before you get involved. Understanding their process can make you more effective right out of the gate. Furthermore, directors will appreciate that you took the initiative to learn more about the organization before you signed up.

Bring your enthusiasm and energy. Enthusiasm and energy for the cause may motivate others to take action. Being high energy also may make you more fun to be around, which your fellow volunteers will appreciate.

Be honest about your interests. The more interested you are in an activity, the more likely you are to continue doing it. That goes for anything, including volunteering. Be honest about what you want to get out of volunteering and seek opportunities that help you achieve those goals.

Be dependable. As a volunteer, you should arrive when you say you will, stay the duration of time you promised and perform the tasks you agreed to perform. People will be relying on you, so it’s important to honor your commitment.

Be prepared to be flexible. Volunteers often must take on many different roles, and a willingness to jump in on any task and help is a hallmark of great volunteers.

Embrace your creativity. Thinking outside of the box is a strength in a volunteer. It means you can examine a situation from all sides and offer innovative solutions.

Be selfless. Above all, giving time to a cause you believe in is all about putting others before yourself. Figure out what you can give rather than what you can get.

Volunteering is a rewarding endeavor, and is even more so when volunteers approach their work with enthusiasm and energy.

Second Harvest launches new program to rescue food for local families

Fresh Connect to enable volunteers to pick up food

Duluth, MN — Second Harvest Northern Lakes Food Bank is launching a new program to rescue food for local families. “Fresh Connect” will enable volunteers to pick up food from local convenience stores, retailers, restaurants/caterers and deliver it to local food shelves, on-site meal programs or the food bank directly.

“The pandemic has affected so many in our region,” said Shaye Moris, executive director of Second Harvest Northern Lakes Food Bank. “This summer we piloted ‘Fresh Connect’ with a handful of dedicated volunteers and feel it has good potential to provide even more food to local families.”

As the region’s only “food bank” and rescuer of nationally and regionally donated food for 135 charitable feeding programs (food shelves, soup kitchens, shelters and its own direct service programs) throughout northeast Minnesota and northwest Wisconsin, Second Harvest estimates the new program could result in thousands of new meals each month.

“With new donors like Costco coming into our market, we need to ensure our truck capacity for large donations,” Moris said. “Volunteers picking up food donations in smaller, personal vehicles would help us increase our efficiency, serve our current donors more effectively, reach new donors and ensure fresher food from donation to end recipient.”

Second Harvest is seeking 10-12 volunteers for their new opportunity which will be available nearly every day of the week throughout Duluth, Superior and surrounding communities. They’re looking for volunteers who are reliable, able to stand, lift, bend and carry up to 50 pounds, have a driver’s license, proof of acceptable insurance limits and a clean, reliable vehicle. If you’re interested or would like to learn more, contact Andrew Haukebo, volunteer and development coordinator, at 218- 336-2303.

Each year, Second Harvest rescues over 2.5 million pounds of locally produced food resulting in over 2 million meals for Northland families, children and seniors.