Exchange Club features Leann Kahl, Brian Duncan

Two guest speakers shared information during the Waseca Exchange Club’s meeting on Tuesday, May 12. 

 

After club president Mikhail Rostislavovich called the meeting to order, vice president Dr. Jay Bulfer said that since May is Military Appreciation Month, he wanted to highlight freedom shrines. Said Bulfer, “The freedom shrine is a permanent display of foundational American documents like the Declaration of Independence, The Gettysburg Address, the Bill of Rights and other historical documents located at schools and public locations.” Such shrines are already in place at some local schools and the Waseca County Courthouse. Said Rostislavovich, “This year we’ll be dedicating a brand new installation at the high school that's in the process of being put up. We have the pieces here, Jeanne [Sexton] and I have been working with the school and getting that program together, and everyone is invited.”

 

Bryan Duncan, whose wife is National Exchange Club vice president Annette Duncan, couldn’t help commenting on the club’s growth, saying “The last time I was in Waseca there were only four people on this board.” He told the group about plans underway by the Medford Exchange Club to set up a “Healing Field” in the Owatonna area from September 11 to 13. Such fields are temporary displays of sometimes thousands of flags; each is dedicated to an individual selected by the person who sponsors the flag. The honoree might be a loved one or a personal hero. Typical choices are 9-1-1 victims or heroes, veterans, emergency responders, and children. Flags are set up on a large open field where visitors can walk through and read the names and descriptions posted with each flag. Personal items, for example a boot, ribbon, or teddy bear, are also often displayed. Flags might also commemorate a pet or a special event in a person’s life.  “This is the only healing field that’s going up in Minnesota this year,” said Duncan. Plans are for 1,000 five-foot flags, including a set of 26 which show the changes in our flag over the last 250 years. More information is available on the website www.healingfield.org/owatonna. 

 

Also speaking at the meeting was Leann Kahl, who is a counselor with the Fernbrook Family Center in Waseca. She spent 26 years in direct care with the juvenile corrections department in North Dakota, becoming a counselor in 2013. More recently she’s been an adjunct instructor of online courses at St. Mary’s University of Minnesota. Said Kahl, “Not a lot of people even know Fernbrook is in Waseca. We’re located at 119 North State Street. Fernbrook is located in 12 different counties across southern Minnesota. We’ve just acquired Lighthouse Counseling near Milaca. We’re always looking for practitioners and many different openings, as long as we have referrals, we have an opening. Education is great, but we also want experience, we also take interns at all levels.”   

 

New Exchange Club members Riley Lynch, Mary Pascua and Josh Sorensen were inducted during the meeting; Rostislavovich reminded them of the Exchange Club’s mission statement, its core values and club motto; the induction also included a group reading of the organization’s covenant of service.

 

A ceremony honoring Sheriff Jay Dulas and Officer Tim Schroeder is scheduled for noon on May 20 at the city public safety building on State Street South. There will also be a Freedom Shrine dedication at 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 27, inside the Waseca Junior Senior High School. Exchange Club members will carry out their highway cleanup project on Thursday, May 28.