20 November
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GRADS Meeting Minutes November 9, 2023

Middlebrook Community Room 6:30 p.m.

Six people were present at the Grant Roberts Area Disability Supports meeting.

Boost for Teachers and Mentors

MaryLou Bullert presented the proposal for 2024. It is included with these minutes. The timeline includes: January 2, 2024-Announcements are sent out.

February 16, 2024-Applications are due.

February 29, 2024- Winners are announced.

Pick-a-Prize Raffle

MaryLou Bullert has organized a pick-a-prize fundraiser. She demonstrated how this fun raffle works. This local project will be started after Thanksgiving with the prize boxes and tickets at The Bank Coffee Shop in Milbank. Proceeds will be split equally between the food pantry and GRADS.

LifeQuest

Laura Maag from LifeQuest has requested funding from GRADS to pay for gas for out-of-town recreational events. The group plans to attend “The Birthday Club”, a play in Watertown, as well as to make a visit to the Redlin Art Center. Laura will submit a bill for reimbursement.

Laura Maag expressed concern that transportation costs to and from work will no longer be covered by the Department of Social Services. This greatly impacts individuals with disabilities who travel to their jobs.

NDEAM Review

Rachael Johnson shared the evaluation of the National Disability Employment Awareness Month event in Sisseton held on October 5, 2023. She requested input from the group for the upcoming debriefing meeting in December. Suggestions included expanding the event by inviting other schools to attend. Perhaps Milbank could host an event, too.

Newsletter

Diane Stewart requested information to add to the upcoming Grant County Arc News. We want to include a big THANK YOU to Arc for helping to sponsor the NDEAM event. We also thank Diane for including GRADS information in the newsletter.

Special Olympics

A request was made for for funding for motel costs for adult participants attending the next bowling tournament. We will discuss this again at the January 2024 meeting.

Financial Report

The checking account balance in First Savings and Trust in Milbank was $3,810.13 on September 29, 2023.

Next Meeting

The January 11, 2024 GRADS meeting will be via ZOOM at 6:30 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Rachael Johnson

GRADS Secretary/Treasurer

31 October
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GRADS Board Meeting Minutes

GRADS Meeting September 14, 2023

Middlebrook Community Room 6:30 p.m.

Four members attended the Grant Roberts Area Disability Supports meeting.

NDEAM/Sisseton

Rachael Johnson handed out invitations and posters to be distributed in the Milbank/Big Stone City area. Other invites have been sent and posters have been placed in Sisseton, Agency Village and Peever. Ads have been placed in The Grant County Review, the Sisseton Courier, the Arc Newsletter, GRADS website, Facebook, and community calendars in Milbank and Sisseton. The catered meal will be provided by Bobby Jo’s, and the venue will be Family Life Center in Sisseton. The speaker will be Daniel Card from Think 3D Solutions in Sioux Falls, SD. The date is set for Thursday, October 5 and dinner will be served at 6:00 with the program to follow.

ADA Celebration Review

Rachael read the ADA review. One suggestion was to have more fun Bingo prizes. We send a special thanks to Char’s brother and grandson for providing and leading the Bingo game. Thrivent provided funds for the food and Bingo prizes.

Financial Report

Rachael Johnson reported that we received $267.95 from the benefit rummage sale in July.

Next Meeting

The next GRADS meeting will be on Thursday, November 9, 2023 at the Middlebrook Community Room, 902 E. Milbank Avenue, Milbank at 6:30 p.m. We will discuss Boost for Teachers for January of 2024.

Respectfully submitted,

Rachael Johnson

GRADS Secretary/Treasurer

20 July
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GRADS Meeting Minutes July 15, 2023

Middlebrook Community Room 11:30 a.m.

Three people were present for the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) celebration planning session. Rachael has received a Thrivent Action Team grant to pay for Subway sandwiches and some supplies. She will check with Subway on prices and will order the sandwiches before our event. Rachael, Char, MaryLou, & Diane S. will bring bars. Char will make coffee and lemonade. She has already purchased chips. We will all bring Bingo prizes and Char will get the Bingo game.We will use tablecloths on dessert and regestration tables. Vases with flowers will be on guest tables.Tentatively our speakers will be Char Athey (GRADS), Laura Maag (LifeQuest), Diane Stewart (Grant County Arc), Rachael Johnson (Voc Rehab), Amanda Peterson or Lana Smith (ILC) and Mayor Rafety (city of Milbank). MaryLou Bullert will be our MC. Rachael will put news stories in the Sisseton Courier, The Grant County Review and The Valley Shopper. She will ask Cheryl P. to place information prominenly on the GRADS website. Char will make and distribute posters. Rachael will send an email to GRADS as a reminder of this event. Katrina has sent letters out and has RSVPs from 11. We will need to be at the Milbank Visitor Center before 5:00 p.m. on July 31 to set up. We will serve food from 6-6:30, have speakers, and play Bin

13 June
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GRADS Meeting June 8, 2023

Middlebrook Community Room 6:30 p.m.
Four members were in attendance at the June meeting of Grant Roberts Area Disability Supports.

NDEAM/Sisseton
The theme of the 2023 National Disability Employment Awareness Month is Advancing Access and
Equity. The Sisseton event will be on Thursday, October 5, 2023 at the Family Life Center, 404 West
Hickory Street, Sisseton. Dinner will be served at 6:00 p.m. followed by guest speaker, Dan
Card/Think 3D. The evening will end with the recognition of local employers/employees. Please RSVP
by September 29 to Rachael Johnson by phone, 605-698-7445 or email, striping@venturecomm.net.

ADA /Milbank
The Americans with Disabilities Act celebration will be on Monday, July 31, 2023 at the Milbank
Visitor Center, 1001 East 4th Avenue, Milbank. Subway sandwiches, chips, bars and beverages will be
served from 6:00- 6:30 p.m. A short program will follow. The evening will conclude with BINGO.
RSVP by July 17 to katrina.koeppe@state.sd.us. Rachael Johnson will apply for Thrivent Action Team
funds to pay for sandwiches, etc. Charlotte Athey will purchase chips, bottled water, coffee, and paper
products. She will bring the BINGO game and a large thermal coffee server. Rachael will arrange for
people to bring bars. We will all bring BINGO prizes. Speakers will be Laura Maag (LifeQuest),
Charlotte Athey (GRADS), Diane Stewart (Grant County ARC) Mayor Pat Raffety (City of Milbank),
Rachael Johnson (Voc Rehab for Katrina Koeppe), and perhaps someone from Independent Living
Choices. Rachael will put ads in the Sisseton Courier, The Grant County Review, & The Valley
Shopper. Charlotte will contact Tidbits and have posters done before July 15.

Benefit Rummage Sale
There will be a benefit rummage sale on Saturday, July 15, 2023 starting at 9:00 a.m. at the
Middlebrook Community Room, 902 E. Milbank Avenue, Milbank. We will set up late afternoon/early
evening on Friday, July 14. Some item to be sold are counter stools, a water purifier, a humidifier,
puzzles/games, books/magazines, household goods, and some clothes/shoes. If you have things to
donate please reply to this message. Rachael Johnson will place ads in papers and Charlotte Athey will
do posters.

Project Update
Laura Maag (LifeQuest) can use free state park entrance passes from the library. She will also look into
Reading Squared, the summer reading program for adults that they offer. Laura wants to encourage
LifeQuest participants to drink more water. We authorize her to purchase incentives such as movie
passes or pizza certificates for meeting specified goals of drinking water at sponsored activities.

Financial Report
The checking account balance in First Bank &Trust in Milbank was $3,685. on 5/31/23.

Next Meeting
We will have a meeting on July 15 at the rummage sale to finalize plans for the ADA celebration.

12 June
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The financial help that was given by GRADS to the Sisseton School District-Transition Class was spent on the materials for coffee making and some tools for carpentry lessons.

For the carpentry, the class bought tool boxes, nails, hammers, screw drivers, rulers, and fliers.  Each of the students will have their own toolbox with tools inside which they can bring home to finish some carpentry assignments/job especially during distance learning or snow days in Winter time.

For the coffee making skill, sugar, coffee, and creamer were purchased to accomplish the training ang practice of such skill. 

The whole class is grateful to this grant.  May your organization continue to support us, the teachers. 

May Amodia, Sisseton School District

On Friday, May 5 Milbank hosted special Olympics. We had 290 athletes from 13 different school participate.  We were able to feed all athletes, coaches and families for free.  We used the 100.00 to help cover the expense of the food.

Abbey Trapp, Milbank School District 

 

Hello Mary Lou and the Grant Roberts Area Disability Supports,

I want to thank you and your group for the Boost for Teacher grant that I received.  

The funds from this grant were used for buying food for our transition program.  Students in this program enjoy going to the store to purchase food and other supplies for the apartment.  They learn how to make a shopping list, find items in a store, comparison shop, and live within a budget.  They also work on decision making skills and sometimes need to compromise with their peers before making a purchase.  After making a purchase, students enjoy using the food to make meals. 

Grocery shopping and meal making is a favorite activity for these students.  Most meals are decided upon by the students and allowing them to decide what to make encourages their enthusiasm and participation in the activity.  The students chose to use this money to buy groceries to make monster cookies, tater tot hotdish, biscuits and gravy, sloppy joes, and chicken fettucine alfredo.  The students did an excellent job learning how to make these meals and everything tasted delicious!  Since staff and students are the only individuals that use the apartment, students with the guidance of the staff members, are responsible for making sure that they clean up after themselves doing daily and weekly housekeeping tasks.  

This was my first year with the Milbank Transition Program. It was great to work with these students and help them develop their independent living skills.  I greatly appreciate the support your group gives to individuals with disabilities.   

Michele Benike, Milbank School District

I would like to thank GRADS for the support that had been extended to us. Initially, the proposal submitted was intended to buy materials for cricut machine so we can make cards, wall decorations and many more. However, I did not go with the plan since I still need to give more time studying how to run the cricut machine that the school has provided for my class. 

Fortunately, I was able to use the money to a more memorable way that I assumed my students would love to do. I let them do chocolate bouquets for Mothers’ Day celebration. They did not only make bouquets for their mothers, but also for their teachers in 8th grade as well. 

It was really a very timely project and a memorable one. Their mothers and even the teachers who received it expressed their gratitude and made good comments about the project. 

I will be sending some pictures for you to see. 

Again, thank you GRADS for having $100 Boost for Teachers support. 

More power!

Karen Siriban, Sisseton

25 April
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GRADS Annual Meeting April 11, 2023

Middlebrook Community Room 6:30 p.m.

 

The annual meeting of Grant Roberts Area Disability Supports was called to order by President Charlotte Athey.

 

An election of officers was held. Laura Maag made a motion to elect the same slate of officers. Matthew Athey seconded the motion. All voted in favor via voice vote with none opposed. The officers are: Charlotte Athey-president, Matthew Athey-vice president, Rachael Johnson-secretary/treasurer.

 

The election for Board of Directors was held. Rachael Johnson nominated Katrina Koeppe for the 3 year term. Laura Maag seconded the motion. All were in favor via voice vote with none opposed. The directors are: Brenda Teske (1 yr.), MaryLou Bullert (2 yr.), Katrina Koeppe (3 yr.).

 

Rachael Johnson will file the annual report with the South Dakota Secretary of State. She will pay the $10. fee which will be reimbursed by GRADS.

 

The treasurer’s report was given by Rachael Johnson. The GRADS checking account balance in First Bank and Trust in Milbank was $3,716.52 as of March 31, 2023.

 

Rachael Johnson made a motion to adjourn the annual meeting. Charlotte Athey seconded the motion. All voted in favor. The meeting was adjourned.

 

Respectfully submitted,

Rachael Johnson

Attendance: Charlotte Athey, Matthew Athey, Laura Maag, Katrina Koeppe, Rachael Johnson

25 April
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GRADS Meeting April 11, 2023

Middlebrook Community Room 6:30 p.m.

Five people attended the Grant Roberts Area Disability Supports meeting. Please note that our meeting minutes, scheduled events and much more will be on the website www.gradisabilitysupports.org.

NDEAM/Sisseton

The National Disability Employment Awareness Month event will be on Thursday, October 5, 2023 at the Family Life Center, 404 West Hickory Street, Sisseton. Dinner will be served at 6:00 p.m. followed by a guest speaker and the recognition of local employers/employees. GRADS will contribute $125. toward expenses

ADA Celebration

The Americans with Disabilities Act Celebration will tentatively be held on Monday, July 31, 2023 at the Milbank Community Room/Visitors Center. Subs, chips, bars and beverage will be served starting at 6:00 p.m. Several short presentations will be given followed by BINGO. Katrina Koeppe will send out invitations (mid June?) and will follow up closer to the event. Charlotte Athey will reserve the room, get the BINGO game, purchase paper products, chips and bottled water. Laura Maag may have a modified BINGO game to use. Rachael Johnson will get the subs from Subway and arrange for members to bring bars/cookies. Katrina wil find out the names of the new Independent Living Choices staff and invite them to speak at the event. We will all gather BINGO prizes. We will discuss advertising at our next meeting.

Rummage Sale

We will have a rummage sale on Saturday, July 15 with set up on Friday, July 14 after 5:00 p.m. Charlotte Athey has reserved the Middlebrook Community Room via text. We will discuss advertising and other details at our meeting on June 8.

Projects

Laura Maag, Life Quest, requests funding for field trip mileage. Some ideas she mentioned were trips to the Laura Ingalls Wilder Pageant in DeSmet, Ft. Sisseton events, or a trip to Brookings. She will contact us regarding specific needs. Another idea she presented was for GRADS to purchase state park year passes for 2 vehicles at a cost of $54.

Katrina Koeppe suggested that the 18-21 program may need some funds. We will refer this issue to MaryLou Bullert.

Financial Report

The checking account balance as of March 31, 2023 was $3,716.52. in the First Bank and Trust in Milbank. This includes $1,475.from the Lucky Leprechaun Secret Treasure Box raffle.

Change in Meeting Day

Laura Maag made a motion to move the GRADS meeting day to the second Thursday of the month. Katrina Koeppe seconded it. All voted in favor of the change via voice vote with none opposed. The location and time will remain the same.

Next Meeting

The next GRADS meeting will be on Thursday, June 8, 2023 at 6:30 p.m. at the Middlebrook Community Room, 902 East Milbank Avenue, Milbank. We will finalize plans for the rummage sale and the ADA Celebration.

Respectfully submitted,

Rachael Johnson