Demester honored by Chamber

Having taught pre-K and kindergarten at New Rockford-Sheyenne for 28 years and counting, Lori Demester is well known and highly regarded in the New Rockford community.

As a teacher, she's taught hundreds of young students over the years, many who have gone on to become productive community members here in Eddy County.

And now, this summer she's taken on yet another opportunity to provide invaluable education and unique experiences for local youth.

For the past several weeks she's been working at Mindy's Clubhouse child care center as the lead teacher for their summer program, where more than a dozen kids are participating in unique educational activities and experiencing some of the great aspects of their community.

Her work hasn't gone unnoticed, and on Tuesday, July 9, she was recognized by the New Rockford Area Chamber of Commerce as July's Employee of the Month.

She was surprised with the honor by Chamber President Amy Wobbema, and Demester was shocked to say the least.

In an interview with the Transcript, Demester described what the kids have been doing at the summer program and a little about what it takes to make everything happen.

"Mindy wanted a program for kids at an age where they're too young to be home alone but too old for daycare," she said. "So she wanted kind of a school program that didn't make the kids feel like they're at school all day."

Demester said they do a lot of educational hands-on projects. Recently, they conducted an experiment that illustrated the chemical reaction between baking soda and vinegar, to teach lessons about space.

They've also done plenty of art projects and have taken several trips to businesses around the community, such as the Wonder Lanes Bowling Alley and Lutheran Home of the Good Shepherd.

The summer program has also visited the Community Ambulance Service of New Rockford and the New Rockford Fire Department to teach kids about volunteer emergency services.

And through it all, Demester has been hard at work planning all of their daily activities and managing the kids each day, along with the help of others such as Laura Reis and Jalynn Bonderson.

"There's a lot of planning that goes into this because there's no set curriculum," said Demester. "So everything Laura Reis and I do we have to create on our own and come with the plans, activities and all the supplies. But it's all worth it when we see the kids' reactions to the activities and projects."

The anonymous individual who nominated Demester for Employee of the Month also explained just how much work goes into making the summer program a success.

"I just can't get over all of the projects they've done, EVERY DAY. She lesson plans, makes phone calls, and is constantly preparing and printing and thinking.

"It's just insane how involved she's getting them in the community. Like doing things with the ambulance and fire, and Joanna Larson's flowers. ... I don't know if it sounds silly but I just feel we've never had a summer program as intense as this and [Demester's] been unbelievable," the nominator wrote.

At the end of the day, Demester said she simply enjoys working with the children and providing a fun environment for them to thrive in throughout the summer.

"I just love kids," she said. "I love working with them and seeing their excitement about learning new things."

Like Demester, do you know someone at a local business who goes above and beyond their daily duties or provides excellent customer service? If so, nominate him or her for this award.

Employee of the Month is a program spon­sored by the New Rockford Area Chamber of Commerce to recognize local people for service excellence.

Pick up a nomina­tion form at the Transcript office or Miller's Fresh Foods, or fill out the form online at https://shorturl.at/vBSV3. Send written nominations to P.O. Box 67, New Rockford, N.D. 58356 or email newrockford­[email protected].