Episode 26: Decades of Dedication: The Becker Family's Impact on Communication Services

Hosts Niki Lampi and Tamara Pogin on Hear Me Out, sharing the heart behind the Masonic Children’s Clinic for Communication Disorders—a place where families find support, hope, and free speech, language, and hearing services when they need it most.

In this episode, they sit down with longtime supporter Maggie Holt, whose connection to the clinic spans generations. From her father’s passionate fundraising and her mother’s years of service, to her own memories growing up alongside the clinic, Maggie reflects on the deep sense of community that has shaped its mission.

She shares stories of humble beginnings, the power of giving back, and the lasting impact the clinic has had on families—along with the pride of seeing it grow into what it is today. It’s a heartfelt reminder that behind every service provided is a community that truly cares.

Transcript

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Hello and welcome to Hear Me Out, the official podcast of the Masonic Children's Clinic for Communication Disorders. This is the place where we dive into all things related to communication disorders and how we can best support the kids and families affected by them. We will be talking with speech language pathologists, clinic staff, families and donors to share stories, insights, and the impact of providing free speech, language and hearing services to children across our community. I'm Niki Lampi speech language pathologist and director of the clinic, And I'm Tamara Pogin, also a speech language pathologist with a focus on working with autistic children and their families. And we are your hosts. We're so glad you're here. Hello. Today we have Maggie Holt with us. Maggie is a longtime supporter of the clinic, and her involvement spans decades, even though she's younger than Nikki and I. Mm-hmm. Maggie and her parents have a legacy of service in many avenues, but specifically the Scottish Rite clinic now, the Masonic Children's Clinic for Childhood Language Disorders. Welcome, Maggie. Hello. Thank you. Thanks for inviting me. Hi Maggie. So glad Hi, that you're here today. Thank you. It's great to be here. So mainly for the first part of your, your decades of life, your parents had a large role in supporting the clinic, and especially in its beginnings. Can you tell us what you remember? Yes. So, I was a kid, so this has a foggy lens over it, but, um, you know, middle schoolers and high schoolers kind of tune out what their parents are into. But my dad was, involved in. Many Masonic branches, especially the Scottish Rite and their pet project sort of became the Scottish Rite Clinic for Childhood Language Disorders, which started at UMD. And I think my parents got increasingly involved once, it was at its new location here. On Second Street, and my mom was hired as the office manager in 1999. So, I was just starting high school and, the building was new. It was just kind of being finished out. And then my dad's involvement was more like in, in the Masonic side. He was about fundraising and rallying and really getting the organization to. Support the clinic and make sure that it would get funded ideally in perpetuity so that it would always be here to help families and kids. So that was kind of, kind of how they got involved. And then I got involved in high school. One of my afterschool jobs was to clean the clinic on Wednesdays and weekends, so I'd come. Take out the trash and vacuum and clean the bathrooms and all that. Before there was like a dedicated custodial person before that was like part of the office manager's duty. It was just a, it was a much smaller building. So I was able to tackle that and be involved in that way. So I was aware of the clinic and its missions early on. And yeah, I, I remember my parents going to the annual dinner every year and dressing up and talking about the theme and how that was always a good time and. How impressed they always were coming back home. The support that the community could show for this really little clinic, and it's very kind of niche mission, especially, you know, in, in the nineties and the early aughts when maybe people weren't quite as aware of how many friends in our community might have a kid on the autism spectrum, or how many, how many people might really need these services. It wasn't. Maybe as well known. So they were always really impressed with the, the showing up that would happen every year for the annual dinner. I remember them telling me about that. Mm-hmm. That's so great that you were able to see that, that growth period, you know, where it started small at UMD, early nineties, and then 99 when the newer clinic was built. To be part of that and to actually like be in there and cleaning and working and helping and supporting the mission in that way. Yeah, I, I remember it was really exciting to see, the audiology booth for the first time and like feeling like that was so state of the art so cool. That oh, you have to see it now too. It looks great. An audiologist like really spruced it up, so you'll have to go check it out. Yeah. Yeah. I, I just remember feeling like, whoa, this is, this is an important place. This is kind of a big deal in this little hole in the wall building. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. And now it's a bigger deal building that I think may be better fits what actually happens here. It's kind of cool. That is really interesting. So, yes. So your, your dad, Terry? Mm-hmm. he was a mason. Yes. And Masons are dedicated to service and philanthropy, and so he just naturally flowed in. But I think that he really caught the mission really quickly. And I remember Terry, because he would come into the clinic and he was always so excited and jovial and joking mm-hmm. And a little, and, uh, and so he, he definitely. Um, a lot of the masons at the time, like Terry, like, um, Glen's little Mm, lil chagrin. Lil chagrin. Thank you. We're gonna leave that in. 'cause I think that's real. He deserves his props. But anyway, they knew it was kind of a secret, like it was like. They're like, we don't wanna be the best kept secret. We wanna be well known. Yeah. And I think that they really, that was part of their mission too, is to be ambassadors, to be like, this happens and this is why we need to support the kids and, and the this is what the kids need. And, and to be able to like, grow in their language skills and be able to communicate. And, and so that was definitely something that the annual dinner did. It was like that gave them regular people opportunities to invite guests and so that they could hear the mission. Mm-hmm. And then other times too, We used to have, clinic nights at the Masonic, temple. Oh, right. Yeah. So they would like invite the either staff or a family to dinners. Mm-hmm. And I don't know if you were ever there for those, but it was, I remember doing a couple of those and Terry would definitely be, you know, there and supporting and, and just so that we'd have a little bit more of an intimate type type of time to talk with the Masons actually about, like, this is, this is what you need to know so that you can go out and be an ambassador. Right. Or, or not to get weary of fundraising because in those days, it was sometimes year to year funding. It was like, we're, we're gonna do it. We're gonna make it happen. Yeah. You know? Yeah. Like smaller local grants, from area foundations, regional foundations, that kind of thing. And then yeah, just generous individuals who would give like sometimes on a monthly basis. Sometimes they do their all-in-one at the annual. But yeah, I think. My dad was definitely very extroverted and very enthusiastic, so once he caught the clinic bug, he was like, this is, this is a great thing and everyone I know needs to know all about it. And that was, I think his role. Cheerleader. Yeah, he was a cheerleader. That's exactly right. And I find that with so many people who learn about the clinic, that they start out thinking like, well, what is this? And it really, are you sure it's free? And then they find out how many people are involved and support it and give, and just what a great, what great services we offer to these kids and how life changing it is. Yeah. And then they are, they're kind of hooked, like, oh, I wanna be part of that. I wanna help too. Yeah. I want to, you know, be part of these kids' journeys. yeah. And so your mom, Jean, that's what you said, she, she started working at the clinic and like you said, 1999. Mm-hmm. Has she shared with you like over the years, just like what her thoughts were from this, the beginnings to what it is now? Yeah. And, and how, you know, she was part of that for, for quite a while. Yeah. Yeah. So I think she said she was office manager for eight-ish years. Oh, that's a long time. Yeah, it was a long time. So she definitely saw lots of families come and go. Sometimes sibling groups, you know, families who had a longer. Tenure with the clinic. And she saw a lot of, a lot of funding come in and really saw the program grow from this tiny little building, which is where our current parking lot is. Yep. In this bigger building. And before it was the clinic, I think it was a credit union. And before that I think it was a gas station. Like, so if you can picture what size little building that was. Mm-hmm. And like a little gas station, not like a quick trip. No, like a gold, not a shopping center, a small gas, a little, a little tap up gas station. Um, and I asked her, you know, like, what, what were your fondest memories? And she said, just seeing the relief in the families when they walk in the door and they just, it's like taking off a backpack of stress just all of a sudden. Huh, okay. Like, these people here can help me. They can help us. They can help my kid. And I think like knowing, knowing that you're helping someone and how much better their life is getting and is going to get, but also just in that moment, that leap of improvement, knowing they're not alone. There's a trajectory here, it's gonna be okay. Mm-hmm. Like that's such a critical thing. Someone to walk with you. Exactly. Exactly. Um, so I think for her, like just seeing the growth of the program and knowing that it was gonna be something bigger and just seeing how many people were being helped day after day was really incredible. And then of course, you know, she went on to another position and she went on to graduate school and another things, and then I came back to town and ended up, 10 years later, taking on the position. Um, I, you know, she came back for different. Annual dinners and other events here at the clinic as well. And so she toured the new facility and, got to meet Nikki and other new members of the team under now the Minnesota Masonic Charities umbrella and just see like how much bigger it has become. And I, I think she's just generally proud and impressed of, of what it is. Mm-hmm. Good, good. Yeah, I mean it really, it. S Yeah, every year I'm just, especially at the annual dinner, I'm just so thankful to everybody who supports this mission because, you know, we see the families come in and it is an emotional journey for them. And for sure, I remember one child that I evaluated and we were their first stop on the, their journey through, um, what was gonna be kind of a rocky development. And, the mom looked at me and. And just said, is she gonna be okay? Mm-hmm. You know, and you, you forget that initial fear of the unknown mm-hmm. When these families come in just having no, you know, minimal background on child development, minimal background on, communication disorders, and then, looking for that guidance, looking for that help, and it's, yeah. It's, it's huge. Yeah. Mm-hmm. One of my. One of my thoughts of when I was thinking about Jean and in our, in our old clinic, it was you, there was this double doors, but you could go through the door and boop, there she is. She was right at your face. Yeah. And, um, because she was, you know, behind a desk right at the entrance. But I think all of our support staff, really learned and and enjoyed some child development. she was like learning how to, you know, communicate with, some kids that might struggle with being understood. And it was so neat. But she would develop her own relationships with some kids. Mm-hmm. And parents because, they're there like twice a week or, and for a couple years. So that was always fun, to see that. And then, like you said, your mom went on to another position in graduate school. Mm-hmm. And She wanted to be an educator and so she was a literacy, um, yeah. Supporter for a while. Yeah. Yeah. Um, she was a reading interventionist. Yes. Um, so she was doing literacy pullouts for elementary aged kids and yeah, I think some middle school, but mostly earlier elementary aged kids, like helping reading support and getting that. Language fluency. So she definitely took a lot of her experience and time at the clinic and what she learned and then her graduate education and put that together to continue to help kids. And I, for about five years, when I was living in the Twin Cities, I was a behavioral therapist for kids with autism. So. I also had some experience working with this population and, and working with the families as well, and helping find that support before I came on the team here when we moved up to Duluth. And so what year, what year was that? 2015, 2016 that you started at the clinic? In your, in early office manager capacity? 17, early 2017 is when I joined on the team. Because we talked about that, that really while you were here, the few years that you were here, was a were transition years. Yes. Meaning that we just opened the clinic in 2016. Yep. The brand new building. The new one. Mm-hmm. And then you came on in 2017. Mm-hmm. I think like February, like it was right at the beginning of the year. Carol Roberts retired the next year. Right. And Nikki came on as the director in 2018. 18 in June. Mm-hmm. And then, yeah, so it was a lot of stuff happening, a lot of moving parts. We were still the clinic, but we were growing a lot. We. We hired new staff. Mm-hmm. we were figuring out a large building mm-hmm. And, and things like that in our scope of practice and so, sure. Yeah. And it was so helpful for me to have you there as office manager because, especially with your history with the clinic, with and your parents and you were able to, yeah. It was really helpful just to fill me in on. On the history of it and how it got to where we were at the time. Mm-hmm. And also where can we take this from there? Right. And yeah, it was about that same time that Masonic Charities was, they had a major funding role that I think was maybe not super well known. And then like they sort of expanded and brought it under their umbrella of charities, right around that same time as well. So it was a lot of transition. And yeah, just kind of a, a bridge time really. Mm-hmm. Between all these different points kind of coming together. Yeah. It was, an interesting time to come in and be like, okay, learn a new clinic and learn a new, the old system and the new system and where you wanna go with the system and Yeah. Right. But it was an exciting time Yeah. Because of that. But yeah, a lot of change and a lot of change for the, the staff that was there at the time too. Mm-hmm. Oh, I'm sure. And even just like the span of my time, knowing what the clinic was like my mom said. In the nineties when she was just getting started, when the move was from UMD to the little clinic, you know, she was kind of helping move the clinic and the records from analog to digital. Mm-hmm. Right. Um, 'cause a lot of things were still pen and paper, but even like a lot of the fundraising stuff was just like handwritten checks and a log book and stuff like that. So she had a lot of computer experience, so she moved a lot of things. Not online yet, but onto the computer system, like a lot of spreadsheets and documents and stuff like that. Just kind of helping digitize and now I'm sure here we are 20 years later practically, and I'm sure it's. Almost more app based or like everything has online. I, I don't know. Do you even have pens and pencils here? Like do you, we're living in the space age now. Yes. 'cause we're old. I'm sorry. So we are all in our thirties and we're all in our thirties. That's right. Wink, wink. Yeah. We are actually transitioning to, an online. Medical record systems. So we're in the process of that. But, because we are a smaller clinic, it's nice that we can keep things pretty simple. Yeah. Mm-hmm. And so I think that's something that we all really love for sure. And don't wanna change too much. But yeah, a lot of the stuff is online, you know, and you go into the, the. Dinners now. And remember those old credit card machines? Yeah. It's like you would actually physically swipe and it would make a carbon copy. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You have to run it over. Yeah. And then you have to call a phone number and you would enter in on a push button telephone. Like the credit card information. Yeah. Yeah. We don't do that. We let that go. So yeah, we have like the little square readers and, and that, so that has made it much easier. Yeah, for sure. Right. And so what we're they're talking about is like, it used to be just at the annual dinner, but now, you know, to make it easier to donate to the clinic, there's things like, we have QR codes available, right? And we have, like you said, a quicker the square reader or whatever. It's that you could just swipe the card, you know, an app attached to your phone so that we can get the accurate records and people can do it at with ease instead of being like, oh yeah, you know, like actually. This is funny. I'm seeing a kid today and I bought Girl Scout cookies from her. Mm-hmm. And I said, is it okay if I write a check? Like, I didn't, you know, I didn't know if they were gonna have like a way for me to pay for it. Do I still accept checks? Yeah, you do that. Yeah, because, so the Girl Scouts of America are still accepting checks, everyone, just so you know. Well, that's good. Good know. Do you need your cookies? But, but they also had, like when I went to Cub Foods and stuff, they were like, we, they had a Venmo and so that's the kind of thing that we're trying to keep track with too, so that people can give the way they want to. Right. The way that it's convenient, the way that they can do it while they're thinking about it. Mm-hmm. And so that is really helpful. Yeah. Well, and then also to like, to set it up to automate and just do like a monthly donation and just have it automatically roll out 'cause mm-hmm. I think. That's kind of what helps make funding a little more sustainable. Like when you're counting on funding from individuals is like, if they can just have an automated monthly thing instead of like, oh, I have to come up with an annual donation that's gonna be more sizable. You know? Mm-hmm. That $20 a month is, is much easier and you don't even think about it, right? Mm-hmm. Right. And it makes, it makes the annual budget, like coming from the planning side. For the organization. It makes it easier when you know like, okay, these are funds rolling in every month, and that mm-hmm. We can account for these projects or things we need to refill regularly. Mm-hmm. Rather than, oh, we're gonna have to wait till next July to get that. Right. Our bubble fund. Right. Yes. Bubble fund was a big one at the annual dinner. Mm-hmm. Yes. You know, it was funny. It was like, um, yeah, you and Emily created the, 'cause we track all of our purchases and everything. I'm like, guess what? How much, how many dollars worth of bubbles? We go through a year. Guess how much? Um, Playdoh. Playdoh. We go through another playdoh and the Playdoh budget. The bubble budget glue to make slime. Oh, glue. We should track lots. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yes. So that was part of your, your job as you worked as an office manager for several years or a couple years. Yeah. And we typically refer to you as the glue that kept things together. But what types of supports did you provide? Like I've heard it was wildly varied, like, you know, childcare, office manager, problem solver. Do you think anything like crazy or outside of the box that you, that you. Took on as part of your role? I mean, I don't think any of it was like super unexpected or out of the box. It was just a lot of different things. You had to wear a lot of hats, so I was doing intake. Like a family would call and say, I got this number and I'm really worried about my kid, and this is what's going on. And so you're the first point of contact for that family. And just again, remembering like whatever they're going through is really scary and really painful and just being. Able to hear them and help walk them through and let them know like, this is what we're gonna do. These are our first steps. We're with you. It's, we're gonna figure it out and if we don't have what your kid needs, we will tell you where to go next. So just being that first person. And then the same thing when they walk in the building, especially for an assessment. A lot of families feel really nervous because like, oh my God, what if my kid's gonna get a diagnosis? Or, oh my God, what if my kid's not gonna get a diagnosis? Like, either way. That's terrifying. And what does that mean for the rest of their childhood, for the rest of our lives? So just making sure that when someone calls or walks in the door, you acknowledge them, you meet them where they are, you're kind and you know, you don't wanna like make some golden promise, but you also don't want them to feel like. Well, there's nothing that can be done. Why are you even here? You know? Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Just welcoming. Just welcoming. Just like, here you are, we're here with you. We're gonna figure this out. Um, and then, yeah, there was some random childcare, there's some random cleanups. There's, you know, someone had a medical emergency on the public sidewalk outside once, so we called paramedics. Like it's just the stuff that happens working in the building. Mm-hmm. Um. The annual dinner was always like a big, a big event. The lead up, the planning and coordinating, making sure we had the venue and making sure we knew what was gonna happen for parking and making sure that all the guests had been invited, tickets had been purchased. We had a program planned all the items that had to be printed, all the prep for receiving donations. Decor, all that kind of stuff that goes into a big event. Planning. It's a lot of work. It's a lot of work. And then, yeah, just like the record keeping as part of the office. We'd have smaller grants and stuff, so reviewing some of those applications, just doing some proofreading. And then yeah, keeping track of donations, keeping those spreadsheets going that have like lifetime totals and that kind of stuff. Running bank deposits. You know, it's just like a lot of little pieces that come together. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Appreciate that. All of those office and support piece, it's, it's a lot of juggling. It's a lot of little thing, little important things Yeah. That you really have to keep track of and, and stay organized with and you're, you're great at it. Well, thank you. And we also must give credit to, the person who was office manager between my mom and me for 10 years. Yes. And Jan, right? Jan. Jan. Jan. Mm-hmm. And she had already moved on when I started, so I don't think she and I ever really crossed paths. We may have met like once, so. Oh really? I think so. And so that's why I'm like, her name is Jan, right? Yep. Yes. Okay. Yeah. 'cause it was then Jean, Jan, Maggie, and now Uhhuh. Emily. Emily, Emily, Emily. Mm-hmm. Okay. Emily. Yeah. Yeah. Pretty good there. Yeah. Yeah. So that's really, that's only a few people for. Many, many, many years for almost 30 years. Mm-hmm. Yeah. We do have very little staff turnover. I think people, once they're, again, they catch the clinic bug, they learn about it, and they just grow to love it and wanna be part of that mission. Tamara, you've been here since, was it still at UMD when you got connected? No, it had just moved here. I, I had been so we could, if we cheat. It's 2001. 'cause I was a student intern with Tahirih Bushy. Right. But I was hired as a clinician, fully licensed in 2003. Okay. Okay. But still, that's been over 20 years. Yeah, that's a long time. And Nancy was, Nancy beat me by a couple years, 'cause she was hired in 1999, right when they moved to the new clinic as well. Okay. So she started probably just months before my mom did. Mm-hmm. I mentioned. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. She was right. And during that transition time of moving from here. Okay. UMD, so she's the, the longest standing employee. Mm-hmm. But it, she's dedicated her career to this place. Yeah. Mm-hmm. That's amazing. Yeah. Yeah. We appreciate her and all of her wisdom and Yeah. Even your audiology team has been really, I mean, Linda was. With the program when it started at UMD maybe? Yeah, she was, yeah. She started with us at UMD and continued, through both building changes. Mm-hmm. Even though she was working at the schools she full-time as well. Right, right. So it was very much an extra. Passion project for her to put in extra time to Yeah. Make sure our kids here were seen. Yeah. And now, um, and then after her, it was Amy Packard. Amy Packard. Mm-hmm. And then she retired. And then now we have Kelsey Putvin, who is our first ever full-time audiologist. Wow. I'm so glad you have a full-time audiologist. That's. I, I think like maybe when I was a younger adult without kids, I didn't understand like, oh, why do you need a full-timer? Like, are the, is there really that much need? Yes. Mm-hmm. There is really that much need. There is. There is very, yeah. And even just the change that she's making in our current clients and being able to do just a little bit more outreach and a little bit more connecting has made a huge difference. Yeah. Yeah. So great. Yes. And that's what's so different about our clinic here too, is that yes, we see kids, you know, um, individual one-to-one, you know, therapy that you would maybe see in other places. But then we also have this time carved out for parent education, for outreach. Mm-hmm. For, you know. For like some of the outside the box things, since we don't, since we don't bill for insurance, we can say yes. How about we do research this thing for, that you wanna know about for like childhood literacy or how do write a social narrative about using the bathroom in in all the steps and things like that, that maybe doesn't always happen in other settings or, or you know, it definitely happens in other settings, but like what we actually get. It's carved out time for it. Yeah. Whereas other people, they're like, ah, yeah. Yeah. And Maggie, so your mom and dad were both involved in the clinic? Mm-hmm. And then you were involved in the clinic and also your brother was, or brothers? Yeah. My, it was my older brother's Eagle Scout project to make the raised play platform. So again, like he was a senior, so I was a ninth grader and not super into what my big brother was doing, but I was aware he was. S making this project. He had, I don't know, read something or seen something about how, particularly kids on the autism spectrum, but other kids with sensory processing challenges, if they could do work or, or tasks, on a, an elevated platforms, sometimes that could increase their ability to focus on that task. And so his project was to build this raised platform with little stations. So that kids could go up there and do little activities, and he donated the project itself and all the time to the clinic. And part of the way, I know the scouting has changed, but in the nineties, the Boy Scouts program, to reach the rank of Eagle Scout, you had to accomplish all this stuff and then also plan a community project. So that would be figuring out an area of need and then determining how could you solve or help. And planning this, getting the building materials and then recruiting the other item. So my younger brother was also one of the scouts that was involved in the actual construction of the project and the delivery and getting it set up in, it was at the time the little clinic, and I understand the, the pieces still in use. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. So we, so, um. I believe it was Tara Bushy who had done some research on the Miller method, which is what you're talking about, where, knowing, first of all, just in general, kids learn when they can move. Mm-hmm. And so it, so it was the idea of how do we get kids moving in a smaller space? 'cause our clinic was smaller mm-hmm. But also in a safe way. And so then the platform was about three feet tall. It had stairs going up to it. And then there was a slide and there was, usually we had, we. We got some beanbags that they could jump off. Mm-hmm. So all these things could happen. And it was all kind of based on this Miller method where the, in the, in the research, they had a platform that was like this. So she's like, how do we do this? And your brother kind of stepped in and went, well I could do this and make it. Yeah. Look, and so we made it look the way it was. So it's modular, meaning that we can take it apart. We can um, have one staircase, we can have two staircases. We can have the slide. We can have the slide. There's a plexiglass in the middle so that we could pop it out and do like a puppet show thing. Or even just years, like 20 years, kids are like. I'm standing on glass. Yeah, that is so interesting. It's like I'm floating in the air. Yeah. And then, or, or maybe dad can go underneath and be like, hi. And so then that face-to-face practice happens, but through this plexiglass. So, we definitely have it, a space for it in the clinic and that we use, but because it's modular, sometimes we take it down and are using the space for other things. But it's been so nice that it's held up for mm-hmm. I think, like I said, I thought the sign. There's a plaque on it that says, you know, Eagle Scout project Matthew, Becker 2000? I think so. So, yeah. It's definitely been 20, over 25 years that we've been using It. Used a lot. Mm-hmm. Used heavy use. So I'm, I'm so glad to hear good construction. Let him know. It's like good construction. I will tell him. I'm glad to know it's still in use. 'cause I remember being surprised when I started here in 2017. Like, oh, you guys still have that thing? So that's, that's great. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yep. your family's impact has lasted it and will continue to last because, especially with Terry and Well, and Jean too, that their, you know, their, their legacy and support. It was such a foundation for other people because they got the message out there. Yeah. Yeah. My dad was so proud of this place, and like I said, he was never a speech therapist. We were, I mean, my family made donations, but it's not like he was one of the cornerstone donators or anything like that. But he loved this idea and I think, like my mom and I were talking about why my dad was so involved in. Freemasonry in all its various branches. Like we would joke that he'd have at least one club meeting every night of the week, sometimes two or probably overlapping. Like it was just, he loved it so, so much, and it was because he was extroverted and outgoing. But he also like the whole idea of freemasonry is a brotherhood that's working to improve their community together. Like that's, that's all it is. It's not like some secret society or anything like that. It's a bunch of guys who wanna help. That's all it is. And his parents in South Dakota were very involved in Freemasonry, so he was gonna be involved in it early on. And my parents moved up to Duluth in like 1983 and my mom's uncle was in town here and he was in Euclid Lodge. And my dad joined, Euclid Lodge. And just from there it just got bigger and bigger for him where like. He wanted to be a person who helped people. That's who he was. And that was his professional career as well. He was a nurse anesthetist. So he was in ORs all day, every day, helping people make it through surgery. And that's, you know, not the anesthesiologist, but the nurse anesthetist is, you know, like other nurses in other hospital type settings. It's like often doing a lot of the background work. But that's what makes the whole picture work. And then he was also in the Air Guard reserve, and he ended up getting deployed after September 11th actually. And it was the same thing. He was in the medical squadron there because he wanted to help. That was my dad's whole life, was, there's something I can do to help, I should help. And I remember Every once in a while on a road trip, someone would have had a car accident that we'd come upon, and he would pull over the car and he would get out and he'd go, how can I help? I, I'm a first responder. How can I help? And we'd be like, oh, dad. You know, again, again, like there was, there was one time we were at the mall and some lady, I was a little kid and some lady had a, a seizure at JC Penney and fell and bonked her head. And he was there and he, he started CPR. He had someone call 9 1 1. Like he, that's who he was. Mm-hmm. I am here and I have some sort of skill I can help. That's so cool. And that's, you know, like I said at the clinic, he wasn't a speech pathologist. He wasn't a millionaire. But he said, I can tell other people about this. Well, right. And even if the dollar amount isn't as big as some others, think of how many people he shared the mission with. Yeah. And you add all of that together over the years. And I think, I think it's just. Remarkable. Mm-hmm. Yeah. And like what you were saying, the little gifts, the, the gifts that, that accumulate over time because you're like, if you commit to doing something every year or something every month, little bit. Mm-hmm. It really does add up. Yeah. And he kind of gave his whole family, his whole family into helping. We all, we all got involved every once in a while. Yeah. Yeah. That's true. so Maggie, you worked here for a couple years. Mm-hmm. What was your favorite part? My favorite part was always the little graduation ceremonies. Oh yeah. Yes. 'Cause we would bring the kids next door to the temple and get them up on the stage and. They would have their name announced, they'd get their little diploma, take pictures. Their were in the cap and gown, wearing in the cap and gown. It was so sweet. But also like for the families, this was a big deal. they didn't always know that they were gonna get to the point where their kid could graduate from a program. They didn't always know that their kid was gonna learn how to talk or communicate in. A meaningful way that would make their lives easier. So to see how proud, not just the kids were, not just the therapists were, but how proud the families were of like other kids, like their siblings. Like, oh, my brother Joey just got through. Like mm-hmm. They were so proud of each other and it was just like, I don't know, like launching them into this new step, this new chapter where their lives were gonna be easier and like. Now I'm a mom. I have two boys, and my older boy needed some OT and my younger boy had a, a big medical injury. So like as a parent, watching your kids struggle or suffer is excruciating. It is the worst. And you know, as a parent, you will move heaven and earth to help your kid and knowing that you can bring them here and that there's a whole team willing and able to help your kid. And you don't have to worry about paying for it. You don't have to worry about insurance and what they're gonna cover or not. You don't have to worry about whether there's a place for you here is like the greatest gift you could give to a parent. It's amazing what you guys continue to do here. I mean, my, my kids have not needed this particular service, but knowing that it's here and knowing how much this kind of thing helps families is just, it's amazing. That was beautiful. Oh, thanks. I don't like, I would cry. No, don't cry. Don't cry. Like it's, it's just amazing what you guys do. This, this place is so important and I know you're here day after day, week after week, year after year. And sometimes it feels like what you do is small because. You're in this building, in the snow in Duluth, in the cold working, and sometimes it feels like progress is slow and this is like a very, it, it is a, a, a piece of the pie. It's, you know, it's not the whole family, it, it, or the whole kids issues. It's a part of it. So I'm sure there are some days where it feels like, why am I doing this? But what you do matters so much. It's so important for these kids, for their families, for the community. And like, think about who these kids have gone on to be. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. The people that they go on to raise and the jobs that they hold and the communities that they move on to change. Like it's all, it's all connected and it's all important. So thank you for what you guys do here. 'cause I was only here for a blink. Well, thank you. Yes. We appreciate that. Thank you for her inviting me to come remember my dad and yeah. And our time at the clinic and. Remind myself why this is so important and why you should click below to donate to the clinic. There we go. Thank you. Right? Yeah. Thank you. Yeah, thank you Maggie, and thank your whole family. Yes, thanks. That wraps up this episode of Hear Me Out. Thanks so much for listening. Be sure to subscribe, share the podcast with others, and join us next time as we continue learning from the professionals, parents and donors who make this work possible and celebrate the amazing kids we serve. To learn more about the Masonic Children's Clinic or to support our mission of providing free speech, language and hearing services, visit our website and consider making a donation. Every gift helps us give children the voice they deserve. Visit us at masonic children's clinic.org.