Cindy Carlson received a thank you from the Stillwater Sunrise Rotary club thanking us for our contribution to their Global Matching Grant water project in El Corozo, Nicaragua.
 
John Ordway reminded us that this Saturday (November 20th) is the deadline to receive matching Paul Harris Recognition Points for contributions to Polio Plus.  If you would like to give, let John know before the Saturday deadline and he will bill you on your quarterly dues statement.  If you give online, please let John know so he can keep track of it.
 
Edeth James’ guest today was his Fiancé, Rachel.  They will be married in Dallas this week.
 
Our presenter today was Laura Packer, Vice President of Story Arts of MN (SAM).  Laura is a multiple award winning storyteller, coach and consultant.  Story Arts MN develops, supports and promotes storytellers and spoken word artists.  They welcome story tellers of all cultures, experience levels, backgrounds and styles.  In addition to promoting performance oriented storytelling, SAM also supports storytelling in educational, business and spiritual settings.
 
Laura believes that we are hardwired to be storytellers and that our brains are most fully engaged when telling and listening to stories.  Studies show that storytelling improves memory via neural coupling and that hormones related to empathy and relationship building are released when we hear or tell stories.
 
In addition to its role in promoting storytelling, SAM serves to:
  • Connect storytellers and audiences
  • Coordinate storytelling events
  • Provide a clearinghouse for information via their newsletter
  • Collect best practices and quality indicators
For more info about Laura, Click here.
 
As you might expect, the pandemic has made it difficult for many families to put enough food on the table.  The Ralph Reeder Food Shelf, with your help, has been able to increase the amount and variety of food they are able to give each family, but the holiday season is expected to be a real challenge.  Bell Lumber and Pole has partnered with the Food Shelf to match your increase in donation over last year.  Online donations can be made at www.ralphreederfoodshelf.org or checks can be mailed directly to: 2544 Mounds View Blvd. Mounds View, MN, 55112.  Although monetary donations are most effective, actual food item donations are welcome.  Click here to download a flyer of the most needed items.
 
Next week’s presenter is CeCeTourlouw from Terebinth.