AAUW Grand Rapids MN

Grand Rapids Timberline

     Volume 48, Issue 5              January, 2024

NEWS FOR AND ABOUT

AAUW GRAND RAPIDS

 BRANCH MEMBERS

 

EDITOR; Myrna Peterson

myrnakay67@gmail.com

218-301-6028

January 15, 2024

Location: United Methodist Church 

Social/Registration: 11:30 AM Lunch 11:45 AM - !2:30 PM

Menu: French Dip, Baby Red Potatoes, Coleslaw, Chocolate Cake

           Cost $12

Food Chair: Nancy Salmi

Food Committee: Sue Mattson, Marva, Jean Hutchins, and Judy MacAlpine

Business Meeting: 12:30 PM

Program: 12:45 PM

PROGRAM TOPIC: 'Acupuncture, How It Can Help People'

PRESENTER: Amy Dolan

Amy Dolan will be our speaker during our January AAUW luncheon, and she will talk about 'Acupuncture, How It Can Help People. Amy is an acupuncturist licensed by the Minnesota Board of Medical Practice. She is a graduate of Northwestern Health Science University with her master's degree in Chinese Medicine; her training included clinical instruction in acupuncture and Chinese medicine. In addition to her education, Amy spent time in training with masters in the field, where it all began. She now practices as a licensed acupuncturist in Grand Rapids, MN, at her business, Northwoods, Acupuncture, and Wellness Centers. She has been featured in the Star Tribune Minnesota's Best for the last two years as best acupuncturist. This year she was in the running for 'Itasca County's Best', where Northwoods Acupuncture and Wellness Center was voted Best Massage and Best Health Care runner-up. Amy's internships and work history include a variety of clinics:  

* The Courage Center's Inpatient Rehabilitation Center in Golden Valley, MN

* Woodwinds Health East Hospital in Woodbury, MN

* The Edith Davis Teaching Clinic in Bloomington, MN

* Northwoods Acupuncture and Wellness Center in Plymouth, New Hope and 

   Grand Rapids, MN

This year, 2024, Northwoods Acupuncture will celebrate its 15th anniversary treating chronic pain, anxiety, fertility, neuropathy, headaches/migraines, and more.  

***RSVP to AAUWRSVPGrandRapids@gmail.com by Monday, January 8.

President's Message

Happy New Year!

May the New Year bring you happiness, peace, and good health! I will be sending out the new national AAUW model bylaw and the revised state bylaws via email in January.

Lorrie Classen, President  

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***Travel Treasures

Participation in Travel Treasures has been great, from donors to all who take a chance on winning something special. We will resume this at our January meeting after a short break in December, so bring your contributions. All proceeds go towards our Scholarship Fund. 

Marlys Mestemacher

Norma Eppinga

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I thought, growing old would take longer!

**INTEREST GROUPS**

***LITERATURE
The AAUW Monday Morning Lit Group will meet on January 8, 2024, at 9:30 AM in the private dining room at Majestic Pines. Jean Gardner will lead our discussion of THE BOOK WOMAN'S DAUGHTER like Kim, Michelle Richardson. This is the sequel to THE BOOK WOMAN OF TROUBLESOME CREEK. Set in the beautiful, rugged, Kentucky mountains, it is the story of Honey Lovett, the 16-year-old daughter of the famed, blue skinned, Troublesome Creek packhorse librarian, Cussy Mary Carter Lovett. Forced to live on her own following, her parents' imprisonment after their marriage, which violated Kentucky's 1953 miscegenation law, Honey picks up her mother's old Pack Horse library route and delivers books to the hollers of Appalachia. The route is treacherous, the legal system does not want Honey to pave her own way and Honey faces danger wherever she goes. This is Honey's story, and that of the remarkable women who run the hills and hollers of Appalachia. Coffee will be provided. For more information, contact Nancy Salmi at 218–244–6063 or nsalmi@earthlink.net.

***WALKING & TALKING

The Walkin group walks on Tuesdays at 1 PM. The locations change from week to week, but will be in the Grand Rapids area. The group is open to new members interested in walking. If you would like to join us, send your email and cell number to Karen Karls at k.karls@yahoo.com.

You will receive an email with the weekly walk location. Members walk when they can or want to; no need to RSVP. We generally walk for about an hour. If the weather is very dreadful, we may cancel, and will let you know. However, we are a Hardy group of women who value the fresh air and exercise, as well as companionship. 

***SUNSHINE & CARING
If any member of AAUW needs a bit of sunshine because of illness or a sympathy card, please let me know, and I will send a card from AAUW. You can email me at cyndy.agle@gmail.com.      

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Meet Linda Lonson

Here is 2024! First, I am so honored and excited to be selected in the member spotlight. And I have a lot of pressure to make sure this is good... not only from the earlier spotlights (Wow, so cool!) but also, I am sure my mom is looking down on me today - she was a AAUW member in Hibbing and Grand Rapids, MN, and a strong advocate for women. (Thanks, Mom!) Not only does AAUW have a lot of meaning to me personally, but so does growing up on the Iron Range; I am very proud of both. So here we go...

I was born in Hibbing, MN, and had the great opportunity to share that specific day and many more birthdays with my twin brother, Leigh. Yes, I was born a twin, and I am always grateful it wasn't his sister or identical, twin sister: I think that would be hard! I feel very blessed I was able to grow up 'On The Range'. when I think back, I realize how lucky I was to be able to be so involved in anything. I really wanted to, growing up in Hibbing. I know that really became the basis of helping me to be confident, well-rounded, and gave me a lot of chances to 'build character', as my dad would say. As an example, I was at three sport athlete, first chair, trumpet player (when HHS band went to Stockholm, Sweden, to play halftime at the very first ever, Europe, NFL game), Hibbing Winter Frolic Princess and a valedictorian, consequently earning me the MN State Triple A Award for Academics, Arts and Athletics in high school! And, believe it or not, I was an AAUW Hibbing High School Spotlight Recipient in 1990!  

Not only was growing up in Hibbing, a big factor, I also attribute Grand Rapids, and specifically the beautiful Sugar Lake for many memories being a part of me. My parents' cabin on Sugar Lake was where we would go most weekends and stay during the summertime. Being at the cabin, taught me how to 'keep up with the boys'. My favorite memories were playing baseball with my two brothers and dad in the cabin yard, (my older brother, Brent, ended up being a collegiate athlete playing baseball for the U of MM has a picture - now I know why I was a designated hitter DH on the Hibbing Fastpitch team as a Freshman!), 'hunting' with my dad, four wheeling, skiing downhill at Sugar Hills, cross country winter skiing, summer swimming/water skiing and sailing on the lake! I never had any limits, and my mom was my biggest cheerleader by supporting me in anything I wanted to do. Growing up on the Iron Range really gave me that opportunity to explore, become confident and accelerate! 

I learned business at a young age, watching my dad's interactions with customers and employees as I worked at the dealership he owned - Northwoods Ford, now Ford of Hibbing. It was there that I knew I wanted to run a business someday or high up in an organization for a certain! It was my mom's love for mathematics and confidence in supporting and believing in women achieving, they gave me the confidence to explore deeper into business. 

I became a legacy family Golden Gopher, (my mom and dad met at the U of MN - dad was studying business and mom mathematics) going to college with a scholarship from Alpha Kappa Psi (co-ed business fraternity) and the Carlson School of Managemant at the University of Minnesota. I dove into college with as much bigger and confidence as I did in high school and led many organizations, worked in the football office and even became Homecoming Royalty at the University of MN! I found it very important to be involved. I graduated with the Bachelor of Science in Accounting and an emphasis in M.I.S. (Management Information Systems) from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota.

Through being involved and primarily being in Alpha Kappa Psi, the co-ed business fraternity at the U of MN, I learned the importance of mentors and networking. I was able to start working my way into the Business world during the summers of college and a public accounting internship at Virchow Krause Helgeson, auditing private colleges, a private accounting internship at G&K services. Finally, upon graduation, I interviewed and secured a full-time role at General Miils, a consumer goods company based out of Golden Valley, MN, as a Financial Analyst. Working for a top organization, like General Mills was amazing. I went to General Mills particularly because I could learn a business from the ground up and the functions of finance, sales and marketing. But what I didn't realize is the resources it provided me honing my leadership skills and the opportunity to climb very quickly, and be supported as a woman. I had over 15 promotions in 15 years through the functions of finance, sales, marketing and became a manager at a very young age. I moved 4 different times to and from Texas and didn't mind the moves as I was able to see different parts of U.S. I obtained my MBA with an emphasis in marketing at the University of Houston at night while working for General Mills. I was very driven to be a Director by a young age with a goal of becoming a CEO someday.

The opportunity to achieve my goal as CEO continued to knock when a recruiter asked me to look at Hearth and Home Technologies (HHT), a top manufacturer of fireplaces and stoves. The role was Vice President of the National Account Sales designing a team calling on the top 20 builders across across the United States. I thought it would be a great challenge to go from the food industry into the building industry, transferring the skills I had learned, and so I did! I continued to accelerate with roles at HHT as Vice President of trade, marketing, and ultimately running the entire sales organization as Vice President of Dealer Sales USA.  

Life is going along swimmingly. I met my husband and love of my life, Scott, and I had my eyes on continual climbing of the corporate world, and on retiring back on Sugar Lake of Cohasset, MN, someday. I purchased a cabin in mile from my parents home (They had moved from Hibbing and built on Sugar Lake where our cabin was.) Then COVID hit, and the world seemingly stopped. I was so lucky to have the cabin as I worked out of my home and could split time between Maple Grove and Grand Rapids, MN. I also spent much time with my parents and brother/brothers family, too, on the lake (Leigh, my twin, lives on Pokegema). Loving the greater outdoors never became truer than during COVID. During the pandemic, I ended up working for Napoleon, a manufacturer of HVAC, Grills and Fireplaces, where I am the head of New Construction Sales for the United States.

Through the pandemic, I saw many women less fortunate, who had to take a step back from the work world, many not on their own wishes, due to family demands and/or company cuts. So, I chose to help make a difference and sort out a Board position to help women re-emerge into the workforce. I became Executive and Founding Board Member for the Carlson School of Management Women Global Connect. It became a wild success of uniting Carlson, School of Management, University of Minnesota Women, both MBA and undergraduate together. We won an Alumni award 'Society of the year' from the whole University of Minnesota this past year!  

During this time, however, something no one is ever prepared for, my mom passed away unexpectedly. It's at that time I chose to live full-time once again in Northern MN, (I still have my home in Maple Grove, MN.) to be closer to my father and twin brother and his family. I have been living on Sugar Lake in Cohasset, MN, since January, 2022. As I looked to be involved in the community, my mom always was a HUGE proponent of AAUW, and so I became a member. 

Today, it is my goal to get back as much as possible. Particularly, I have a true passion for assisting and advocating for women interested in succeeding in business (I wonder why?) In specifically of Northern MN. As an example, I have the responsibility of heading up a nationwide team, and hiring at my current company of Napoleon. I just hired a young lady into sales from Grand Rapids, MN, who resides in CO. I am an executive mentor through Menttium organization. Menttium was founded in 1991 with the flagship program designed to help women move into business leadership positions. I recently started annually, giving a local business scholarship to AAUW, Grand Rapids, MM, in memory of Karen Lonson. I am also currently a Board of Directors member for North Country Chevrolet GMC in Hibbing, MN, Ford of Hibbing of Hibbing, MN, and Grand Rapids, Chevrolet, GMC in Grand Rapids, MN, which have women in upper/general management. Finally, it is my hope to get into teaching business at Itasca Community College as I continue to expand my horizons. I continually look to be involved in organizations and businesses that have meaning such as AAUW. Ultimately, it is my passion to continue to support specifically women and women interested in pursuing business of the Iron Range.

With that, I am very humbled to have been able to share my story with you, but most importantly, I am very proud of each of you. I see strong accomplished women in this Northern MN group that remind me of how I got to where I am today. I could never have imagined the opportunities I have had and continue to have. As I look around, I see the role models I saw growing up every day particularly in my mom. THANK YOU, ALL YOU AMAZING WOMEN! So, as a toast to all of you, Happy New Year of 2024!

Here's to Strong Women: May We Know Them, May We Be Them, May We Raise Them (and each other in accomplishing our dreams!)  

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 Our members have such a variety of degrees. It is so interesting to see what everyone has studied to further their education.

Latin American Studies, Women's Studies, Civil Engineering, Biology, Finance, Religion, Parks and Rec, Elementary and Secondary Education, Nursing, Infectious Diseases, Economics and Management with International Relations, English Lit, Library, Science, Sociology, Social Welfare, English, Histology, Health, Physical Education, MBA, Media, Counseling and Guidance, Home, Economics, Early Childhood, Counseling, Business Adm, Economics, International Relations, Math, Industrial Engineering, Spanish, Theological Studies, Business Ed, Pharmacy, Computer Programming, Public Adm, Business Management, Public Health, German, Learning, Human Development, Technology Education, Administration, Public Adm, Teaching/Learning (Special Ed), Community Health Ed, Speech, Counseling, Library & Information Science, Experiential Ed, Org. Comm & Managemant, Superintendent Cert, Educational Tech, History & Religion

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 goMARTI

In follow-up to the November program, AAUW members had an opportunity on Saturday, December 2, to gain a firsthand ride experience in a goMARTI mobile.

Additionally, Jon Dege, and Tammy Meehan Russell, representatives of goMARTI, provided background information and answered questions about the mobility project.

GoMARTI provides free, autonomous transportation around Grand Rapids for everyone! For a complete interactive map of the goMARTI route, please visit http://www.goMARTI.com.

AAUW hopes to plan another goMARTI ride demo in the spring of 2024. Watch for future information.

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Whether you think you can, or can't, you're right!

 

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RECIPES

If you are looking for an earthy, savory soup, that's different, but simple, try this recipe. The first time, my friend, Barb, made it, I was hooked! You must like mushrooms, though. 

Hungarian Mushroom Soup

Serves 4

4 teaspoons unsalted butter

2 cups chopped onions

1 pound fresh creamy (baby bella) mushrooms, sliced

2 teaspoons dried dill weed

1 tablespoon paprika

1 tablespoon soy sauce

2 cups chicken broth  

1 cup milk

3 tablespoons all purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

Ground pepper to taste

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1/2 cup sour cream

1. Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Sauté the onions in the butter for five minutes. Add the mushrooms and sauté for five more minutes. Stir in the dill, paprika, soy sauce, and broth. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. 

2. in a separate small bowl, whisk the milk and flour together. Pour this mixture into the soup and stairwell to blend. Cover and simmer for 15 more minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Finally, stir in the salt, ground black pepper, lemon juice, parsley, and sour cream. Mix together and allow to heat thoroughly over low heat, about 3 to 5 minutes. Do not boil.    Time to eat and enjoy!

NOTE: Don't substitute low-fat dairy for the sour cream or milk. 

Leftover soup can be stored in airtight containers and reheated in the microwave or on the cooktop.

Submitted by Louise A. Koglin Fideldy 

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Terri Friesen - January 11

Jean Gardner - January 19

Alexandra Zimmerman - January 25

Marian Barry - January 27

Louise A. Koglin Fideldy - January 27

Karen Wennen - January 27

Diane Anderson - January 31

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!