Right Wisdom

 I wrote on this blog about a year ago that I was going to be more consistent with writing. Well, how did that go? I wrote a few more blogs after that and then I went silent. I apologize if you were looking for some consistent insight into my world but life/work got in the way.  Here I am a year later writing again. Hopefully this time I will be more consistent. Please send me messages of things you might like me to write about. I will recap some of the trips I have planned this summer.  My son graduated from High School this year and will be heading off to college. I decided not to run for city council but throw my support behind some other well qualified candidates. With all that I should have more time to write.  I'm going to work on some things to write about and I'll be back tomorrow with a list of some topics and dates soo you will know when to read my blog.

 I just got back from being on vacation. I spent a week at a lake in northern Minnesota. One tradition my son and I have when we are up there is that we take a day and travel to different parts of the state. My son posts pictures of city halls throughout Minnesota. His goal is to get every city hall in Minnesota. Here is a link to his Instagram account that shows pictures of the ones he has visited.  City Halls The other thing we like to do is check out roadside attractions. On our last trip we saw a number of them. Here are the ones we saw and where they were located.  Colonel Cobber located in Backus Minnesota. In Backus they celebrate a corn fest every year.  Lucette Kensack located in Hackensack Minnesota. This is Paul Bunyan's girlfriend World's largest Tiger Muskie located in Nevis Minnesota.  World's largest Dilly Bar located outside a Dairy Queen in Moorhead Minnesota. Unfortunately you can't eat this one. But we did get one you could eat, of course it w...

 Today I'm going to give you a book review. My favorite books to read are non-fiction books about baseball seasons, baseball players, presidents, or history. The book I'm currently reading and almost done with is "Team Of Rivals" by Doris Kearns Goodwin published in 2005. This book is 754 pages and I have 23 pages left so I think I can give you a good indication about the book. This book is really a retelling of the political career and presidency of Abraham Lincoln as told through extensive research into diaries and memoirs of those who worked closely with Lincoln. I have really enjoyed this book and the writing of Kearns. She is able to piece together all of her information about Lincoln's presidency and life during that time. She gives us up close narratives of the behind the scenes at the White House and his cabinet especially during the civil war. More often than not Presidents will give cabinet spots to friends. This book shows that Lincoln surrounded himsel...

 The title of this article is apropos since I haven't blogged in almost 12 years. I plan to start this blog up again and try to blog on a consistent basis. I will also be broadening the topics that I write about. Be sure to subscribe so you can get notifications about when I post. So what have I been up to since that October day in 2013 when I made my last blog? Let me recap for you. When that post happened I was in the middle of my Toastmaster journey and I'm happy to say that I crossed the Toastmaster finish line by earning my DTM. I didn't continue in Toastmasters after that since I changed jobs and took my leadership skills to Mathnasium and started running a Mathnasium in Blaine MN in 2016. I got the opportunity to blend my education degree with my MBA and use it as the Director of the Mathnasium in Blaine. I also had the opportunity to be the director at one in St Louis Park and one in  Andover. I ran these until 2023 when I decided to go back into the classroom and t...

On Tuesday October 1st the Frontier Division Speech contest was held. What a fantastic event it was! We had 6 contestants for the Table Topics contest and 6 contestants for the Humorous speech contest. We packed the facilities with guests, contestants and helpers from across District 6. There were even a number of Toastmaster dignitaries there to enjoy the festivities. As Division governor I have the task of putting together this contest. However it could not be possible with out great helpers and quality contestants. Leaders must always find those people who have the vision to take things to the next level. Whether you are leading a project at work, coordinating a special event or leading a department the most difficult thing in leadership is making sure you have quality people surrounding you. The six area governors for the Frontier Division put on fantastic contests and sent quality contestants to the next level (The division contest). A big thank you to my 6 area governors,...

Contest season has begun all across District 6 Toastmasters. Clubs are finishing their contests and the Areas are conducting theirs. One Division contest has finished and nine more lay ahead in the coming weeks. The culmination is a trip to Thunder Bay for the District 6 Humorous and Table Topics contest. In the Frontier Division Area 26 completed their contest on Wednesday evening. It was a fun and exciting contest. The winner of the Table Topics contest was Stephanie Morse-Nolund and the winner of the Humorous contest was Sonja Froyen. All contestants did an excellent job. A big thanks you to Janice Janes the Area 26 governor for a great contest. The Frontier Division has three more area contests this week. Tuesday is area 24, Wednesday is area 21 and Thursday is area 23. It will be agreat week for the Frontier Division as three more areas crown their representatives for the Division Contest. The division contest will be held on October 1st at Deluxe Corporation. Please join in...