GUESTS: None
PAUL HARRIS FELLOWS:
Dave Brown recognized Jean Wakely, Lee Dilley and Andrei Sivanich for earning a second Paul Harris Fellowship with their ongoing support of Rotary Foundation. Nice work Rotarians.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
We offer our condolences to Kris and Rick Estenson. Kris’s mother died recently.
Bob Will is now living at Three Links Care Center after suffering a couple of falls at home. His family says he would appreciate correspondence. Cards and notes can be sent to Bob Will at Reflections, 809 Forest Avenue.
Our Club Service Team is planning for a time — hopefully in the not too distant future — when we can meet in person. The team is looking for a laptop and a web cam to facilitate hybrid meetings. If you have either and are willing to donate one to the club, see Brad Frago.
President Vicki encouraged members to take advantage of this year’s virtual Rotary International convention. You can sign up at the Rotary International website.
Jean Wakely is on the hunt for more Rotary magazines to hand out at the May 15 Northfield Area Chamber of Commerce Home and Garden Show. Contact her if you have some to contribute.
HAPPY NEWS
Peg Prowe is happy to announce she has handed off her leadership responsibilities for Mills Town Trails to David Detert. She also mentioned she will be moving to Nokomis Square Co-op in Minneapolis to be closer to family.
Charlie Kyte is making our roads safer by helping a couple of our former outbound exchange students learn to drive.
Fred Rogers is happy to be back in Northfield after 10 months away.
Mark Abbott is happy to announce that our water project in Tanzania has received final approval and is moving forward. We helped raise $4,700 for this initiative.
George Davis’s mother-in-law died recently. He and Linda are now the family elders. He said he has been blessed to have been surrounded all these years by Linda’s wonderful family.
Drew Weis
Drew Weis, How to Quickly Calm the Body and Clear the Mind. Hosted by Scott Richardson.
Don’t panic … or if you do, Drew Weis has a couple of suggestions for how to restore your calm.
Drew is a Northfield clinical psychologist who opened Autumn Water Counseling last year. He enjoys working with people in their mid-30s to late 60s, who are traveling through their autumn years. He has a special interest in people’s resilience and their natural ability to navigate and recover from adversity.
Referencing our club motto — Service Above Self, Drew said to serve well, we need to take care of ourselves.
That includes finding ways to reset when we become frightened or anxious. He offered some breathing techniques designed to lower our anxiety. The key is to maximize exposure to carbon dioxide to reverse the effects of hyper-oxygenation triggered by our fight or flight response to danger.
Another technique is sensory grounding. By constantly shifting our focus we can deactivate our threat centers and calm down. Watching a campfire or the flow of water are calming activities. Similarly people knit or play the piano to relax.
A third technique involves engaging the vagus nerve highway that runs from the center of our brains down through our abdomens. Tension can cascade up the nerve highway or relaxation can cascade down. Splashing cold water on your face while bending over or a cold compress on your neck can set that relaxation in motion.
The reptilian fight or flight response is a protective mechanism, a guardian, Drew said. But it can also become a monster if it is activated too often. He encouraged us to use the body’s innate abilities to our advantage as we seek refuge from stress and anxiety.
The handout for Drew's presentation can be seen here. The entire March 18th meeting can be viewed here.
COMING UP
Charles Goldstein
April 1 — Charles Goldstein, Raising the Curtain on Your Second Act. This presentation addresses the state of the workplace and the challenges faced by those in the 40+ age bracket. More importantly, it provides the path for opportunities for those seeking to change their work and pursue a career better representing their dreams and desires. "2nd Acts" refers to those who may actually be in a 3rd, 4th or more phase of their work life, as well as some who choose to start a new venture during retirement in their field of interest and passion as well. Hosted by Bob Thacker.
Mariah Mills Jacobsen
April 8 — Mariah Mills Jacobsen, Minnesota 9/11 and Global War on Terrorism Task Force. Nearly 20 years have passed since the deadliest terrorist attack in human history. The Walz administration has assembled a Task Force to identify ways to honor and remember the Minnesotans lost in 9/11 and those who served in the Global War On Terrorism. Hosted by Andrei Sivanich.
