Officer Corner

Officer's Corner: Karin Wasler, National Vice President

Member Motivation

Keeping members motivated is key to a successful, healthy lodge. The difficult part is figuring out how to do it. Motivation is a very individualized factor – each member will have different keys that unlock the secret to their own personal reasons for joining – and staying. By thinking about what each person's reason is for joining the organization, you can better help them get the most out of their involvement. Some members join groups to learn or explore something new. To motivate these members, continue to feed their curiosity by helping them learn about modern Denmark, a unique component of our culture, or even invite them to run for a lodge office that puts them a bit out of their comfort zone. Sometimes people may have joined to meet new people in their community. You might motivate them by involving them in ways that require them to interact with others, like helping with a committee. Think about the topics your members bring up during social hours: is it social justice? Is it animals? Is it supporting the local women's shelter? Invite them to give a presentation on how these topics are addressed in Denmark; or maybe this is a cause your group would like to support for a year or two. After all, our foundation is built on providing help for one another. Our Danish Sisterhood lodges offer members a wonderful place for our members to feel like they 'belong.' We share heritage or even language, or maybe just a passion for all-things Danish. These shared values can help us feel satisfied, needed and validated. Providing opportunities for members to make contributions to the organization is especially important when it comes to motivation. Do you remember to acknowledge accomplishments at meetings? Do you thank each other for coming? Sometimes small gestures can have a big impact in how a person feels about belonging to an organization. Use peoples' names. Give individual attention to people – even in a Zoom meeting. Listen - a lot. And lastly, let them know how important they are to you. An exercise I used in my days working with college groups was to hold a brainstorming session on all the reasons people joined the group. Then, break up into subgroups and assign each subgroup part of the list. Have each subgroup analyze how well your Lodge meets each reason for joining. As a final step, have each subgroup report back to the larger group. This can be a great way to promote dialog in your lodge about how to improve motivation and engagement in your Lodge.

Karin is a second generation Danish-American, born and raised in Wisconsin. She lived in Iowa, and Minnesota prior to moving to Los Angeles in the early 2000's to be with her now husband, Locke. Karin has managed a health and safety training program at UCLA since 2008.

Snowbirds:

Just a reminder to all you snowbirds, please let me know when you want to change your address for summer delivery of the Newsletter.

You’ll find the change form in the back of the newsletter or email secretary@danishsisterhood.com

Thank you, Glenda

We began our program year in September via a Zoom meeting. We were delighted to be “together”. We shared updates including the birth of Kim Renehan’s grandson Addison Jack in August. There are more grand babies on the way for other sisters. Betty Titus’ two grandchildren have completed degrees in the medical field. We also did some planning for the year’s meetings including speakers, charity gifts and of course good food. We enjoyed each other’s company again in October with dinner at the local Olive Garden for those members comfortable in dining out. Our November meeting featured a guest speaker Lisa Steen Riggs who is the manager of The Danish Windmill in Elk Horn Iowa (www. danishwindmill.com). Lisa is the mother of our newest lodge sister Katrina Riggs. Lisa shared information about the windmill’s move from Nørre-Snede Denmark to Elk Horn Iowa in 1976, reassembled in Iowa by over 300 volunteers. Elk Horn is a very small town (population ~600 in the 2020 census) that is nearly one-half Danish heritage. It was remarkable that they were able to raise the money for the move and later the repair of this windmill. Their connection to Denmark is strong as they actively market tourism and have had two Danish documentaries filmed in Elk Horn in 2013 and 2014. The documentaries are “Denmark on the Prairie” and “Return to Elk Horn”. It was a very interesting presentation. December was all about Jul! Prior to our meeting we shared cookie recipes which were compiled into a small package by Karen Kollar and Kim Renehan. We celebrated with a hybrid in person / zoom Jul celebration. Jackie Smith opened her festively decorated home to our group. Since it was such a success last year, Sarah Petersen used an online tool to generate names for Secret Santa. This enabled us to share gifts with a particular person in mind. The gifts were either delivered in person or mailed prior to the event. The gifts were creative and included items such as a cross-stitch kit, mugs, books, towels and candy. Those in person enjoyed a ham dinner with sides and desserts at a beautifully decorated dining room table. Also, in December we shared with others in the community. Using money donated by our members, Kim Renehan and Karen Kollar purchased, packaged and delivered gifts for the Southington (CT) Social Services Children’s Christmas Party.

We are looking forward to 2022!

Camp Grant Applications Due April 30

As I write this article in the middle of February, each, not to exceed the camp costs. Find an apthe wind is blowing and the snow is flying in plication at the Danish Sisterhood website www. central Minnesota, but I KNOW summer is coming and that means CAMPS for kids. The Danish Sisterhood supports the members and their children and grandchildren through age 18 who are attending a camp during the summer. This camp may camp SUMMER GRANTS danishsisterhood.org. Go under “What We Do” to camp grants. Remember camp grant applications are due by April 30, 2022, so get your application going soon. Enjoy a summer camp!! be a day camp or an overnight camp. It can pertain to something about Denmark or can be about any of your interests. The Danish Sisterhood of America will assist you by awarding up to 8 camp grants of $100.00

Tivoli Lodge #300 was founded in 2002 as a way for individuals across the nation to join the Danish Sisterhood organization despite not living near a brick-and-mortar lodge. Initially, the only tangible member benefit was the monthly Danish Sisterhood News. Since the establishment of lodge officers in 2019, members now have monthly meetings, member initiations, Christmas parties, and even lodge leadership installations. Through the use of Zoom, we have developed friendships, heard of each other's Danish traditions and even seen some of each other's pets. Sound similar to your group's Zoom experience? That's because it is. The mission of the Danish Sisterhood is to strengthen, maintain and preserve the Danish heritage and traditions for future generations. Tivoli Lodge serves as the virtual arm (lodge) of the greater national organization. Meeting every second Thursday evening for a presentation about Danish traditions or culture followed by fellowship, members experience many of the same benefits of in-person lodge meetings. Our lodge leadership board is elected annually, and meets monthly to continue to help our lodge grow. It is a rewarding experience to

Second Trip Available!

This year's trip to Denmark and the German Border Lands, planned for August 11-22, is full. Thankfully, Benedikte Ehrs has made a second trip available to us. Dates: September 22 – October 3 During 2020, the centennial of the reunification of Southern Jutland with the rest of Denmark was celebrated by Danes throughout the area. Part of this area was lost to Germany in 1864 during the 2nd Prussian War and part of this loss was regained by Denmark in a 1920 referendum. Join us as we explore this important and beautiful area during our 2022 Danish Sisterhood tour. work with such talented people from across the country. Communication with lodge members is conducted via email, our monthly Zoom meetings and a members-only Facebook group. Presentation topics and meeting information can also be found on the National Foundation for Danish America’s website at danishamerica.org. At the close of 2021, Tivoli Lodge had 81members from 26 states. A good number of our members are also members of another Danish Sisterhood lodge and/or additional Danish-American organizations, which enriches our experiences - we learn what other groups are doing, and even share programming. Speaking of programming, this year we look forward to celebrating our 20th birthday with a virtual party; learning about the Spring 2022 Rebild meeting and trips in Chicago; initiating new members in March and much, much more. If you are interested in joining us, please see our website https://dss300.danishsisterhood. org/ or reach out to us at tivolilodge300@gmail. com.

Submitted by Karin Wasler, Tivoli Lodge president

Trip includes: • Transportation in a 4 star bus, serving coffee, tea, and cold drinks during rest stops • 11 nights’ accommodations in 3 and 4 star hotels and one castle • 11 breakfasts and 11 dinners • All entry fees at museums, castles, ferry crossings, etc.

For more information, see the Danish Sisterhood website, or contact our trip coordinator:

Connie Schell E-mail: cschell4dss@aol.com Phone: 518-651-1789

Greetings to all our Sisters from Katherine Lodge #20, Kenosha, Wisconsin. We held our first meeting of the new year on February 16th. Our meetings have been virtual due to high levels of COVID19 spread in the area. New officers were installed: President: Anna Nielsen, Vice-President: Lisa Zanin, Secretary: Kara Ernst-Schalk (filling the remaining year left vacant by Anna Nielsen's new position), 1st Trustee: Jonna Chiapete, and 2nd Trustee: Mary Lou Nielsen. Majbritt Andersen-Stewart moved into the position of Past-President, our Treasurer remains Marge Orth and Vita Andersen continues as Guard. At our first new board meeting, we set the 2022 Calendar. Our regular meetings will continue to be held on the third Wednesday of each month. Virtual meetings begin at 7:00 p.m. When we return to in-person meetings, we will begin at 6:30 p.m. New locations for our in-person meeting are being explored. We have some exciting and interesting programs (mostly to follow our regular meetings) scheduled for the year. March will be a presentation on the pre-history of Denmark. April will hold a demonstration of how to make citronfromage. In May, we can look forward to the Midwest District Convention and, at our regular meeting, we will hold a memorial program for the Sisters we've lost in the last two years. Members will share their fond memories of each of the deceased Sisters. In the summer months, we do not hold regular meetings, but still get together for some fun social events. We hold a Summer Solstice potluck/party in June (this year on the 18th/rain date 6/25). July is busy with participation in the Kenosha parade, and new events--Brown Bag & Beer and/or Brown Bag & Bingo at a local biergarten, and our big fundraising event. This year we will be having a wine tasting to raise money for our scholarship fund and chosen charities. Details will come out soon. For August we always celebrate our lodge's anniversary with a Sunday afternoon luncheon. Also new, we are looking at scheduling "coffee hours" at various times for Sisters to socialize over coffee/tea at local coffee shops as well. We are back to regular meetings for September, October and November. In addition to nominations and elections, some great programs are planned: presentation on the DSS Denmark trip, cooking demonstration for æblekage, and making Danish Christmas cards. Finally, we now have a lodge email address: danishsisterhoodkenosha@gmail.com.

Hope all Sisters stay healthy and happy.

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DSN Submissions Best Practices & Tips

Submitting an article to the DSS Newsletter but don’t know the best way to submit it? To make the process smooth and easy, here are some best practices to follow when you send in a submission.

Write Your Article If you’re having trouble getting started, just start writing—whatever comes to your mind first! Then, go back and edit and your work.

Remember to include your name as well as your lodge’s name, number and location!

After you’ve made your last edits, go back and double check for spelling and grammar mistakes. Or have another person give it a look—two sets of eyes are better than one!

Document Format Make sure your article or submission is written in a Word Doc, a Google Doc, a TextEdit Doc or a similar word processing file. Don't put photos in the document!

Photos Photos should be high quality and not blurry. They should be sent in the same email as the document containing your text, but as separate attachments. If images are too large, send them in separate emails as attachments or in a Google folder.

Where to Submit You can send your submissions to our Editor, Lauren, at editor@danishsisterhood.com

Topics to Write About Trying to come up with some new ideas? The first piece of advice we have to share is: write what you know! Did you grow up in Denmark? Do you have a Danish tradition in your family? Do you have a story that has been passed down to you by your grandparents? Just write it down and share it!

If you're not in the personal sharing mood, no worries! Do some research on a historical item, event, place or person. Talk to the other sisters in your lodge and ask if you can interview them! There is a wealth of knowledge that our sisters have and there's nothing stopping us from sharing that knowledge!

Address Changes, Missing Issues, Deadlines, etc. Address changes should be sent to our National Secretary, Glenda Madrid. You can email her or use the form at the back of the DSN. Youth birthday additions also go to Glenda! Missing an issue? Contact our Membership Trustee, Karen Vig-Keathley for a replacement. Wondering about our deadlines for each issue? We have them listed on page 15 for your convenience!