Climate (Social and Weather)

Joe is settling into his new job. Today he will go to his first work related social event. A holiday luncheon sponsored at another Kingspan location here in Rockford. It will be a chance to meet other employees that work in other parts of the plant. 

Yesterday I met with the Finance/HR Manager at the thrift store I volunteer with on Mondays and Wednesdays. She wanted to chat with me about other ways I can support the organization. We will see in the coming weeks/months what volunteer roles will work out. The people working at all levels of this nonprofit seem committed to what they are doing. They are exemplifying their mission.

Mission Statement:

Meeting the local needs of hunger, affordable quality goods and community building.
We envision a connected community creating hope and a quality of life in which all people thrive.

Core Values:

People | We treat individuals as being worthy of our love, respect, and care.
Service | We believe that people benefit from serving and being served.
Relationships | We connect individuals and groups to create purposeful partnerships.
God | We exist to accomplish God’s purposes. 

Key Verse:

Isaiah 58:10

…….”if any of you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry & satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness & your night will come like the noonday.”

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Many of the volunteers are involved through their church. Rockford is a conservative community plus our U.S. Representative is a Republican. I am not particularly impressed with his record. Minnesota is a blue state, and the state seems progressive. However, I find myself smack dab in the middle of a conservative community. If we don't talk politics, I will survive. Frankly, this gives me more pause than concerns about wintry weather and snow. What if they all find out there is a non-church-attending liberal in their midst?? 

It helps that the people that I have met are nice. I will take nice, gladly.

Speaking of the weather. The temperature at 6:40am (when I drive Joe to work) was 30 degrees. The high today is expected to be in the low fifties. The record high for this day is 54 degrees. Nice and balmy! 

Of course, this beautiful weather raises concerns about drought conditions in the area and in the state. The U.S. Drought Monitor shows most of Wright County as abnormally dry with the northern part of the county listed as moderate drought. With all the lakes and rivers in Minnesota, it is easy to forget there is a potential problem with water.

My agenda today is to get the laundry done and have a video chat with my cousin, Eleanor, this afternoon. I am looking forward to catching up with her!