Governor Tim Pawlenty and Maj. Gen. Larry Shellito, the adjutant general of the Minnesota National Guard, presented 18 Yellow Ribbon proclamations to Minnesota cities, counties and companies representing nearly 30 entities at the Yellow Ribbon Summit last month at Boeckman Middle School in Farmington.

The entities receiving Yellow Ribbon proclamations had developed a detailed Yellow Ribbon action plan and conducted various events that benefited Servicemembers, their families and veterans. Duluth Mayor Don Ness said, "This designation reflects commitment to continue to expand the support and services we can offer."

Receiving proclamations were:
The Yellow Ribbon community partnership of Bayport, Bayport Township, Oak Park Heights,  and West Lakeland Township; The Central Minnesota Beyond the Yellow Ribbon Consortium (Cold Spring, Richmond, Rockville, Sartell, Sauk Rapids, St. Augusta, St. Cloud, St. Joseph and Waite Park); Southeast Minnesota (Olmsted County and Rochester), Crookston, Duluth, Hastings, Lake Elmo, Lakeville, Mahtomedi, Spring Lake Park, South St. Paul, Willmar, Brown County, Capella University, Dakota County Technical College, Globe University/Minnesota School of Business, Rochester Community & Technical College and St. Cloud State University.

As Yellow Ribbon entities the cities, counties and companies will be a part of the 45 strong statewide Yellow Ribbon network that honors and supports past and present Servicemembers through acts of volunteerism and events. The idea of Beyond the Yellow Ribbon, Maj. Gen. Shellito said, "is going to be the future of our state and the future of our nation."

The proclamation ceremony had hundreds of guests in attendance including representatives from each Yellow Ribbon entity, the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines and civilian organizations that support the military.

 
In Dec. 2008, Pawlenty proclaimed the first Yellow Ribbon City, Farmington, Minn.  It was a fitting location for the Yellow Ribbon Summit. Farmington Mayor Todd Larson welcomed the guests to the morning training while their volunteer network assisted with many parts of the day to include; the registration table, the color guard and by serving refreshments.

 
The Master of Ceremonies for the Proclamation Ceremony was Tom Lyons. His company, Faelon Partners LTD in Golden Valley, was honored with a Yellow Ribbon Company Proclamation in January. 

A new pilot program  begins in Minnesota next month. After Deployment: Adaptive Parenting Skills Training (ADAPT) is an educational program for military parents of children between the ages of 5 - 12 that runs for 14 weeks.  

Participants will learn how to cope with the stressors of deployments, how to re adjust to changes in routines after deployment and help parents align to provide encouragement and appropriate discipline.

"When a Servicemember deploys, life changes.  A Servicemembers self identity and self worth, interpersonal relationships, career progression and goals are all affected; and of course, our families sacrifice as a result of military deployments," said Lt. Col. Barbara O'Reilly, Chief of Beyond the Yellow Ribbon for the Minnesota National Guard. 

She continued, "We do not know the long-term impact of a parent's deployment on children, but they are undoubtedly affected.  Through ADAPT we have the opportunity to not only understand how our children are affected but to take action which increases the resiliency of our youth."

Two pilot groups are being offered in the Metro area. The first runs November - January, the second Febrauary- May. By July, multiple groups will be offered every quarter at various locations in the state where there is interest shown.

ADAPT is based on the highly successful Parent Management Training Program developed in Oregon by  by Dr. Marion Forgatch. This class is offered through a joint venture through the VA Medical Center in association with Ambit Network, at the University of Minnesota. 

For more information or to enroll, contact  Meaghan Nelson, Program Coordinator at 612-787-6895 or Darlene Wetterstrom, MFLC at 651-282-2488.

While the Cottage Grove based 204th Area Support medical Company began to prepare for their 90-day reintegration weekend, a few business members from the Cottage Grove Area Chamber of Commerce prepared the dessert for lunch. The dessert was donated by Cub Foods in Cottage Grove, and the business members served cake and ice cream to the recently returned Soldiers.

Erik Holtan, a member of Cottage Grove Yellow Ribbon Network, and a Staff Sgt. in the Minnesota Army National l Guard suggested the idea their network. "As a member of the Beyond the Yellow Ribbon program, we look for opportunities such as this," said Mary Slusser of Spartan Promotional Group.

As dessert was being served the Yellow Ribbon Network had a chance to talk to the Soldiers and learn about their reintegration process.

Cottage Grove Area Chamber of Commerce members Sue Manning from S. Manning Design, Brook Dusk from Anchor Bank, Jean Brown from the South Washington County Bulletin and Mary Slusser helped with the project.

On Saturday, October 16th the committee is organizing a "Military Appreciation Day" at Afton Apple Orchards from 10am-6pm. There will be military vehicles onsite as well as the Corn Maze, with cutouts representing the BTYR program. A military discount of 20% will be offered for military personnel and their families.

The majority of the 200 plus participants at the Fall 2010 Family Readiness Planning Conference (FRPC) in St. Louis Park in September were there representing the 1st Brigade Combat Team which is scheduled for a large deployment in spring 2011. With the upcoming deployment the topic of family readiness is becoming increasingly relevant as many commanders understand that family readiness contributes to Soldier readiness.

The attendees were welcomed by various persons, including Major General Larry Shellito and his wife, Evonne, who both expressed their gratitude to the attendees for taking a weekend away from their families to learn more about how this goal can best be accomplished. 
 
The FRPC presents an opportunity for a Commander to connect with their unit leadership, Family Readiness Support Assistant and Family Readiness Group (FRG) leadership regarding their command specific family readiness program.  Additionally, attendees receive training essential to maintaining a functional FRG. For new Commanders and FRG leadership this event is a critical learning tool created to equip them with the resources necessary to establish and/or maintain a functioning FRG.

Those who had attended previous FRPCs were welcomed by a new tiered curriculum that encourages participants to take a more active role in their Family Readiness Program.  

Overall, the participants left impressed by improvements made to the event based on previous reviews and are better equipped to effectively reach out to the families they strive to support.

Over the last 6 months nearly every member of the Minnesota Army National Guard received the "Mental Wellness 2010 - PMCS your mind" training.

The basis of the unit level training is a documentary written and directed by the Beyond the Yellow Ribbon team which features some tremendous "real-live" soldiers and leaders in our ranks.

The 20 minute documentary allows the viewers to hear the thoughts on mental wellness from the state's highest leaders.  State Surgeon Col. Basil LeBlanc says, "we need to take care of one another, and that means looking at your buddy in the face every day and gauging how they're doing. And then having the strength and caring to do something about it if you detect things aren't going well."  
 
The most poignant pieces are the testimonies of several, to include; Spc. Michelle Maxwell, Sgt. Ed Severson and Maj. Mike Pazdernik that bring validity to the command message that "It's okay to get help".

Not only has this piece allowed soldiers a chance to reflect about their mental wellness, it received national attention and has become an award winning documentary.

In April Beyond the Yellow Ribbon was notified the piece took a bronze in the Health and Wellness category of the 31st Annual Telly Awards. Each year the Telly awards receives over 13,000 entries from ad agencies, production companies, TV stations, cable companies, and corporations around the world.

In September word came that the Minnesota National Guard received four Emmy nominations from the Upper Midwest Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.  "Mental Wellness 2010 - PMCS your mind" was nominated in two categories; Military - Program/Special/Series and Community/Cable/Public Access. While attendees left the award ceremony empty handed, the nomination was an incredible success.

To view "Mental Wellness 2010- PMCS your mind" click here.

Minnesota Vikings Head Coach Brad Childress, like many Americans, received a delivery of popcorn from a Boy Scout this month.  Antonio Suarez, accompanied by his Dad, Maj. Ed Suarez of the Minnesota Army National Guard, delivered the popcorn to Winter Park.

 
When ordering popcorn from the Boy Scouts there is an option to donate popcorn to Servicemembers serving overseas. Childress, whose son is serving in the military, can relate in giving to a cause that is near to his heart.

Mike Wobschall of the Minnesota Vikings said in his blog, "Childress checked the box on the bottom of the order form with no hesitation to donate some popcorn to the men and women bravely serving our country."

Although he deals with football warriors on a daily basis, Childress still keeps in mind the warriors serving the country overseas.

For more information on how you can give back to Servicemembers and their families visit, www.BeyondTheYellowRibbon.org.