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Featured Articles

President’s Desk......................2Greetings from President Liptak

District and Society News ......4Check out the latest news!

National Competition News...8

Obituaries.............................11

National Convention News ..12

National Committee News...13

F ind us at:americanturners.org

Tom Bozonelos, Michelle Lesperance, Hall of Fame InducteeFerdinand (Ferdi) Beinert and President David Liptak

The 2016 Turners National Bowling Tournament will behosted by Rochester Turners in Rochester, Pennsylvania.

Betty Dau — Hall Of Fame Award

A Sound Mind in a Sound Body

American TurnerAmerican TurnerVol. 69 No. 5October • November • December 2015

TOPICSTOPICSTOPICS

O ff i c i a l P ub l i c a t i o n o f T h e A me r i c a n Tur ne r s

Find us on Facebook — Follow us on Twitter

www.americanturners.org222

O ff i c i a l P u b l i c a t i o n o f T h e A m e r i c a n Tu r n e r s

P r e s i d e n t ’ s D e s kAMERICAN TURNER TOPICS

ISSN 0746-3480(USPS 023-660)

is published 5 issues per year inJan-Feb, Mar-Apr, May-Jun, Jul-Aug-Sept, Oct-Nov-Dec.

1127 E. Kentucky St., Louisville, KY 40204.

Periodicals postage paid at Louisville, KY 40204 and

additional post offices.

Subscription rates $4.00 per yearPOSTMASTER:

Send address changes to AMERICAN TURNER TOPICS,

P.O. BOX 4216, LOUISVILLE, KY 40204

National Office Address1127 East Kentucky Street

P.O. Box 4216 Louisville, KY 40204

Please send all correspondence to the P.O. Box Number.

Office Hours: 7:45 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. (E.S.T.), Mon.-Thurs.Phone (502) 636-2395 FAX (502) 636-1935

New Email Address:[email protected]

American Turner TopicsOfficial Publication of the

American Turners Dedicatedto “A Sound Mind in a Sound Body”

Send all copy for Turner Topics to:Craig Sniezek, Editor1440 Crestwood Dr.

Aurora, IL [email protected]

Deadline for Next Issue is: December 16, 2015OFFICERS OF THE

AMERICAN TURNERS

President .......................................................David [email protected]

1st Vice President .........................Thomas R. [email protected]

2nd Vice President .......................................Dennis [email protected]

National Secretary...............................Shirley [email protected]

National Treasurer ...............................David [email protected]

National Bowling Chair ...............................Terry [email protected]

National Cultural Chair..................................Sue [email protected]

NHPEC Chair................................Michelle [email protected]

ETF President...........................................Edward [email protected]

Jahn Fund President ........................................Frank [email protected]

Past President................................Thomas R. BozonelosTurner Seal and Emblem registered in

U.S. Patent Office #390643 and #393750. Use isrestricted to bona fide

Turner Societies authorized bythe American Turners.

Dear Turner’s

It’s hard to believe the year isalmost over. Here is a quick update ofNational Events that took place lastyear and where they will be held in2016. My goal is to keep you informedof the Activities available to your Dis-tricts and Societies, and keep you in-formed of the Funding Bodies the JahnFund and the Endowment Trust Fundand the ways they are trying to help usgrow our Organization. We are alsolooking to improve our Marketing ef-forts, by creating a Marketing Commit-tee, and adding value added programsfor your use. I have added the namesof your District Representatives thatattended our 2015 National Councilmeeting, so you know who to contactwith any questions.

The goal at the 2016 NationalConvention will focus on helping youunderstand who our Funding Bodiesare and their functions the Jahn Fundand the Endowment Trust Fund. Whatdo Our Chairs do, and how can theyhelp you.

National Events

Bowling – Syracuse did agreat job of hosting this event, every-one that attended had a great time andthey would encourage more bowlers toattend next year in Rochester PA.

Softball – Ft Wayne who alsocelebrated their 150 Year Anniversaryin 2015, the weather did not cooperate,but again all that attended had a greattime. The 2016 Tournament willbe in Louisville hosted by Covingtona great example of Turners working to-gether, and helping one another out.

Golf – Clinton MA anotherwell-organized event. The weather forthis event was great and everyone en-joyed the weather, the course and com-radery. And we look forward to seemore golfers in Akron OH in 2016.

2015 National Festival – thisevent was held in Aurora with 21 Soci-

eties attending.This is theCrown Jewel ofour Organiza-tion. It is a His-torical Event,being the oldestongoing Festival in the United States.There will be more on this in anotherarticle in this issue.

We played hard at the abovementioned events, but there was agreat deal of work that went intopreparing for these events, the effortsof Host Societies Syracuse, Ft. Wayne,Clinton and Aurora are greatly appre-ciated along with the respective Chairs.

The 2019 National Festival willbe held in Fort Wayne Indiana.

The Jahn Fund:

Generously contributed to thePrincess Contest in the amount of$750 for First Place, $500 for SecondPlace, $250 for third place, and $100to each of the other contestants fortheir efforts. The Jahn Fund also con-tributed to the Festival Youth TravelContribution $9,715.60

Awards:

We had 2 well deserving recip-ients of our Highest Award.

The Honor Key:

Al Knieser of Syracuse was ap-proved by poll vote of National Coun-cil earlier in the year and presented tohim at His society.Joy Bodine this year, approved by pollvote of National Council, and awardedto her at the meeting of N a t i o n a lCouncil.

Athletic Hall of Fame Award hadbeen submitted for Turner Ferd Bein-ert earlier in the year and approved byNational Council. The award was pre-sented to Turner Beinert at the 2015National Festival.

Cultural Hall of Fame Award had been submittedfor Turner Betty Dau earlier in the year and approved by Na-tional Council. The award was presented to Turner Dau atthe 2015 National Festival.

Scholarships:

(Nicole Gebhardt, Gabrielle Pawlowski, Jacklyn Vieth) havebeen issued scholarship awards for the 2015-2016 school year.

We just had our National Council Meeting in Ft.Wayne IN. They did a great job of hosting this event. It wasthe 1st weekend in October and Indiana weather can be a littlecool, and in this case a little wet also. As we arrived at the Clubon Saturday morning it was 52 degrees and drizzling, but thatdid not stop this Society from having a Softball Tournament.Needless to say it was a great atmosphere to have a meetingplanning the future, seeing the activity going on at this Society.

The following representatives attended:

National President David Liptak, National 1st Vice PresidentTom Bozonelos, National 2nd Vice President Dennis Zeller, Na-tional Secretary Shirley Luckhardt, NHPEC ChairpersonMichelle Lesperance, National Cultural Education Chairper-son Sue Knisley, National Bowling Committee ChairpersonTerry Bodine, and District Council Representatives CentralStates Joy Bodine, Lake Erie District John Paxton, Middle At-lantic Dave Mulrooney, New England District Dale Bo-janowski, New York Marion Oppelt, St.Louis Ross Hetz,Upper Mississippi Darold Sindt, Western Pennsylvania RobRobison, Western U.S. Ed Larkin (substitute for Carol Bren-nan) and Wisconsin District Karen Loughran. Ray Virgens,New Jersey District President, was absent. Congratulations to new Council Members Karen Loughran(Wisconsin District) and Ross Hetz (St. Louis District), also aThank You to Frank Wedl form the Jahn Fund and Dan Hois-ington from New Ulm for their participation in this meeting,and to Ed Larkin, Denver Turners for filling in for Carole Bren-nan who was missed.

Some key items addressed at this meeting were:

Turner Topics:

Beginning immediately, email addresses of memberswill be collected via the society computer lists used for obtain-ing National membership cards. Those members whom thesocieties do not submit email addresses for will continue to re-ceive their Turner Topics by U.S. mail. The email ad-dresses will be used only for distributing the TurnerTopics and the national office will be responsible forsafeguarding the email addresses.

Endowment Trust Fund:

The trustees would like to require that societies anddistricts must participate in any of the national events or cham-pionships in the year before the grant is requested, in order forthe ETF to approve any grants offered by the ETF with theexception of the Instructors grants or the Safety CertificationGrant. The events and national championships can be Na-tional Conventions, National Council Meetings, National Fes-tivals, or National Championships in golf, softball, bowling,etc. At least one person from the requesting society or districtmust have attended one of the aforementioned events prior tobeing awarded the grant money. This would go into effect inJanuary, 2016.

The Endowment Trust Fund has also created a newgrant to help with members that are promoting Turnerism(more to follow on this).

Marketing:

We now have a new American Turners Facebookpage, we have a new phone App. and there are many morethings to come, that we believe will help our Societies increasemembership and bring value to their membership. The newMarketing Committee headed by Chair Nick Barts is lookingfor folks interested in becoming part of this committee.

Cultural:

This is another area we need help with, there aremany opportunities we are not taking advantage of to get ourmembers of all age groups involved.

WebDocs:

Members can join Webdocs for $20.00 per monthwith access to physicians and discounts on many, many, variousservices. A portion of the monthly fee would go to the NationalOrganization. President Liptak explained how he had used iton Palm Sunday had a DR. call him in 30 minutes and had aprescription waiting for him at a pharmacy within an hour.(see more in an article in this addition)

National Convention 2016:

Clinton Turners are the hosts for the 2016 NationalConvention. The dates will be August 5 & 6, 2016. Turner JoyBodine stated that the Convention Support Team will be work-ing on ideas for the 2016 National Convention. Ideas theyhave come up with are as follows:

Encourage more people to come to the convention byinviting all Turner members to the Convention, not just delegates.

www.americanturners.org 333


P r e s i d e n t ’ s D e s k ( c o n t . )



Ask honor key recipients to be motivational speakers.

Marketing speech by Nick Barts

Other ideas that have been discussed are to have short,instructional speech on how the committee chairpersons shouldrun the meetings, the chairman of the committee meetings aregoing to be pre-assigned and their packets should be given tothem so they can prepared to start their meeting right away onSaturday so that their time can be spent on items pertaining tothe committee instead of using time to learn how to run theirmeeting.

Also, people who are running for office should be ableto introduce themselves on Saturday and to tell of their quali-fications for the position they are running for.

The National Council meeting was a very productivemeeting and we are looking forward to a great year in 2016, Ilook forward to seeing many of you at the National events, andat the 2016 National Convention.

Have a Blessed Holiday Season coming up and thankyou all for doing your part in keeping this great Organizationmoving forward

David Liptak

David LiptakNational PresidentAmerican Turners

District NewsNorthwest Turners Chicago

Northwest Turners Chicago has enjoyed an-other successful year with their gymnastics program.

At the 2015 State Competitions our level 7gymnasts were among the top 5 in the state winning 1ston Beam and 1st place All Around. We also have sev-eral gymnasts that qualified for Regionals. Our program is continuing a long tradition of a soundmind in a sound body and we continue

to create opportunity for all gymnasts to participate inthe National Festival. We had our biggest participationthis year at Aurora Turners and won several firstplaces. Thanks to parents and coach for your cooper-ation, and Aurora Turners for great equipment.

Our level 8 gymnasts just returned from thePanama City USGA competition and I am so happy toreport that we placed 1st All Around. Congratulationsto all of our gymnasts and our coach Yefim Kharpak ontheir hard work, effort, and determination this season.

Our Team and Club continue to representNorthwest Turners in a positive, healthy atmospherewith a focus on excellence.

Respectfully submitted,Barb ZweifelNorthwest Turners Chicago

Society NewsTurner Ferdinand G. Beinert

American Turners Hall of Fame Inductee

On July 9, 2015, by action of the National Council,Turner Ferdinand Beinert was awarded the honor, of beinginducted into the Hall of Fame. His induction was recog-nized at the National Festival Banquet, where he was invitedto the Podium to join President David Liptak, First VicePresident Tom Bozonelos and National Health and PhysicalEducation Committee (NHPE) Chair Michelle Lesperance,for the presentation of his NHPE Athletic Award.

Turner Beinert (Ferdi), is now 89 years of age and a58 year member of the American Turners. He became amember of the New York Turn Verein (NYTV) on Feb. 25,1957 and continued his membership, unbroken, in theAmerican Turners New York (ATNY) following the mergerof the Mt. Vernon NY Turners with NYTV in 1983. A verysociable guy (a champion of Gemütlichkeit), he is well liked,and admired by all who know him.

Over the years, Turner Beinert has devoted a greatdeal of time to his Society and he continues to do so. Thefollowing is a summary of his accomplishments:NYTV - Board of Officers from 1962-1967 as Correspon-dence Secretary

P r e s i d e n t ’ s D e s k ( c o n t . )

D i s t r i c t & S o c i e t y N e w s



NYTV/ATNY - Board of Officers, as Turnwart 1982-1983(merger period)NYTV/ATNY - President of men's senior class (Altersriege),1979-2015ATNY – President of the Society's 25-40-50 year Club,1987-2015

Representing New York Turners, he has marched inall but 4 of the New York City Steuben Day Parades andparticipated in all District Track & Field meets, since 1957.

In 1992 Ferdi was appointed to the Advisory Boardof the American Turners Jahn Education Fund (ATJEF)where he served for 10 years, through 2002, before beingelected to the Board of Trustees where he continues to servesince 2003.

Turner Beinert, as a competitor, has attended 14National Festivals (1959–2011), winning many awards. Thisyear he participated in his 15th National Festival with entriesin the cultural competition:

In 12 Festivals he competed in Gymnastics. In 14 Festivals he competed in Track & Field, Swimming andVolleyball.In 5 Festivals he had entries in the Cultural Competition.

He has also competed in 6 National Volleyball Tournamentsand one National Bowling Tournament.

As a District Delegate, Ferdi has attended several NationalConventions.

On the in-ternational stage,Turner Beinert,representing Amer-ican Turners, com-peted, in Track & Fieldevents, in 5 GermanTurnfests (Interna-tional Sports Festi-vals):1 9 7 8 – H a n ove r ;1993-Hamburg ;1 9 9 8 - M u n i c h ;2002-Leipzig; 2005-Berlin

Betty DauHall Of Fame Award

For more than 40 years Betty Dau has put her heartand soul into Turners. All her children werein Turner gym classes in Louisville throughout the years,making Betty a gym mom. Betty was also active in other ac-tivities such as teaching Knitting and Crocheting, giving par-ents something to do while waiting for their children to beexcused from their gym classes.

To name a few positions Betty has held over the years dis-playing her involvement with Turners:*American Turners --- National Cultural Chairman from1974 through 1975*Moline Turners --- President in 1976 and 1977*During her presidency at Moline Turners, she signed thecontract to sponsor the Festival to be held at the MolineTurners in 1979*She served as Secretary for the Moline Turners in 1981*Betty and her late husband Bob Dau, were editors of theTurner Topics for a short time.*After Bob passed away, Betty moved to Florida for a fewyears then returned home to Louisville.*She became a member of River City Turners in 2011*She is now serving as Cultural Chairman for River CityTurners and has held that position since 2014

We are happy and honored that Betty continues to representour Turner Organization at River City Turners in Louisville.

It is our privilege that we are a part of recognizing Betty Daufor all her accomplishments.

CONGRATULATIONS -- BETTY, For your National

Cultural Hall of Fame Award!

D i s t r i c t & S o c i e t y N e w s



American Turners Records Online

The Ruth Lilly Special Collections and Archives at the IUPUI University has begun postinghistorical American Turners records online through its eArchives system. The records arescanned and the digital files are saved as pdf files. We currently have American Turner an-nual reports from the early 20th century posted on the site. In the future we will be addingconvention minutes and the minutes of the Vonwort/National Executive Committee/NationalCouncil. We will include English translations of German-language material if we have it.We will also add materials from some of our other German-American collections. The linkto the site is https://archives.iupui.edu/handle/2450/8371.

A finding aid for the American Turners Records is available online athttp://www.ulib.iupui.edu/special/collections/german-american/mss030. This site alsoincludes links to digitized copies of the American Turner Topics and to the collection of digitizedphotographs. Finding aids for our other German-American collections can be found athttp://www.ulib.iupui.edu/special/collections/german-american.

If you have any problems accessing the files or have any questions, contact Greg Mobley [email protected] or at 317-278-3262.

Endowment Trust Fund

A CHALLENGE to every American Turner member, especially those who serve in any ca-pacity as Society or District officers – access our American Turners website, see what it has to offer,in particular that part explaining in detail the various grants being offered by the Endowment Trust!

It seems this is a well kept secret for those in need of financial assistance to help advance (orin most cases to catch up) with some of the needs in the daily operation of a successful Society.

We can’t solve your problems but we can give a helping hand. However, it all starts with YOU!

So far in 2015 the Endowment Trust has put in motion over $52,000 in the form of 17 as-sorted Grants and we are not done yet! Beginning in January 2016 a new Grant program will beoffered annually in addition to the existing Grant programs for something the Endowment Trusthas never offered help with before. Be sure to read all the upcoming issues of your American TurnerTopics magazine to get the latest details and if everything else fails, TAKE THE CHALLENGE –access our American Turners website! It’s free, its factual, its for Turners everywhere!

Ed Colton, President American Turners Endowment Trust





Effective January 1st, 2016

SCHOLARSHIP GRANTS FOR MEMBERS OF AMERICAN TURNERS

GENERAL INFORMATION

1. The American Turners National Organization is offering a Scholarship Grant annually to its members that are working in a degree program at a fully accredited College or University. Only applicants who are planning to major in a Physical Education, Sports Medicine, Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, or Recreational Therapy curriculum will be considered. Exceptions, however, are possible for students who have been involved over a number of years in Turner programs and pledge to continue service to the American Turners. 2. The By-laws of the American Turners provides the authority and purposes for the granting of Scholarship Awards by the American Turners. This By-law also provides that “The Scholarship Committee of the American Turners shall develop a scholarship plan containing rules and regulations to determine the eligibility of the applicants seeking an award and a system of priorities to select the best possible candidates”. 3. Scholarship recipients may apply for subsequent scholarships. However, they must submit a new application each year and meet all requirements to receive an additional scholarship. 4. A Scholarship Grant will be offered for the Junior year and Senior year only 5. Scholarships will only be awarded for Undergraduate College or University programs. No scholarships will be awarded for Post graduate programs, Professional or Trade Schools or for Community or Junior Colleges. 6. Special consideration will be given to applicants in one of the five (5) fields: Physical Education, Sports Medicine, Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy or Recreational Therapy. Exceptions will be made for other majors for candidates who have been involved in American Turner programs and pledge to continue service to the American Turners. 7. Electronic courses pertaining to one of the five (5) majors listed in #6 must be offered by an accredited college or university. 8. Scholarship recipients may receive a maximum of two (2) scholarships. You may first apply going into your Junior year of study. If for some reason your application was denied going into your Junior year, you may then re-apply going into your Senior year. 9. The completed Application for an American Turner Scholarship must be received by the National Office of the American Turners postmarked no later than July 1st of any given year. Any applications received after July 1st will be returned to the applicant and will have to be resubmitted for consideration the following year. 10. All applications postmarked by July 1st, and qualified by membership, will be screened by the American Turners National Office and then forwarded to the National Scholarship Committee (NSC). The NSC will then review each application to determine if the applicant meets all the requirements as stated in these rules. The NSC has the final decision in the awarding of scholarships. 11. The National Scholarship Committee shall determine the number and amounts of Scholarships to be awarded each year. 12. After an application for an American Turners Scholarship Grant has been approved, the National office will make payment of ½ of the total amount of the Scholarship Grant paid directly to the College’s or University’s Admissions Office, Registrar’s Office or Financial Aid Office as indicated on the Application For American Turner Scholarship form chosen in the name of the applicant. The second ½ of the total amount of the Scholarship Grant will then be paid at the beginning of the second semester to the respective College or University upon notification from the school that the applicant is still enrolled as a full time student in good standing, and the submission of a transcript of grades for the completed semester along with a schedule of classes for the 2nd semester. 13. If the applicant’s Major or accredited College or University changes after the application was approved, the American Turner’s National Office and/or the National Scholarship Committee must be notified.

AMERICAN TURNERS1127 E. Kentucky St., P.O. Box 4216 Louisville, KY 40204 502-636-2395 Fax 502-636-1935




SCHOLARSHIP GRANTS FOR MEMBERS OF AMERICAN TURNERS

REQUIREMENTS OF APPLICANTS

Check List

1. The applicant must be a member for a minimum of twelve (12) months prior to July 1st of any given year and be in good standing with his or her Society; Memberships at Large included. The official membership anniversary date is the date printed by the National Office on the annual membership card.

2. A scholastic recipient may receive a maximum of two (2) scholastic awards. If you are entering your Junior year, you may apply for a scholarship. You may apply for a scholarship award going into your Senior year whether you received a previous award or not, or if this is your first time applying for an award.

3. Special consideration will be given to applicants in one of the five (5) fields: Physical Education, Sports Medicine, Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy or Recreational Therapy. Exceptions will be made for other majors for candidates who have been involved in American Turner programs and pledge to continue service to the American Turners.

4. The applicant must submit a transcript of completed grades from the prior year of the College or University he or she has Attended as in the case of a transfer, or is currently attending. Additionally, the student must maintain a minimum GPA of 2.5 on a 4.0 grade point scale or a 3.5 on a 5.0 grade point scale for each semester. A minimum of twelve (12) credit hours or its equivalent must be maintained for the duration of the scholarship. 5. Applicants must secure endorsement from both their respective Turner Society President and their District President. These signatures must appear on the application form before the application is submitted to the American Turners National Office for consideration of the National Scholarship Committee. 6. The applicant must submit with the application form, a Fall registration schedule for the selected College or University (such College or University must be recognized and located in the United States); the school within the College or University. The same is expected for the Spring semester. 7. The applicant must also submit with the application form an estimated cost for tuition & books for the year. And, please submit the address and phone number of the institution’s Admission’s, Registrar’s or Financial Aid’s Office of the selected College or University where the Scholarship Grant is to be remitted. 8. The applicant must submit a written essay of at least one typewritten page titled “How I Am Involved in the American Turners Today and What My Plans are for Involvement in the American Turners in the Future.” 9. The applicant must submit a letter of recommendation from a society officer noting how the student has been involved in their society. 10. The applicant must complete a minimum of twelve (12) hours of volunteered service within his or her Society. If a Turner Hall is not available, a minimum of twelve (12) hours of community service must be performed in the name of American Turners in the same calendar year when the application is submitted. The minimum hours of service must be completed by July 1st of any given year. The completed number of service hours must be approved by either the Turner Society President or the community representative. 11. ALL REQUIRED DOCUMENTS must be sent to the American Turners National Office and post marked no later than July 1st of any given year.





APPLICATION FOR AN AMERICAN TURNER SCHOLARSHIP GRANT

I, _______________________________________, am applying for a 1 year American Turner Scholarship Grant. PRINT Applicant’s Name

It is my understanding that American Turners will contribute an amount, to be determined (if) when this application is approved, toward the total cost of tuition and books and that I am responsible for the balance. I agree to fulfill all of the requirements as stated in the Requirements Covering the Granting of Scholarships attached to this application. In addition, I understand that my written essay may be used in Turner Topics or on the AmericanTurners.org website. to promote Turnerism. Signature _____________________________________ Home Address_________________________________________

Applicant’s Name City ___________________State _____________Zip _________ Phone ______-______ -________ Date of Birth _____/_____/________ Email Address ____________________________ American Turner Membership: Date Joined _____/_____/_______ Official Membership Card # ______________________ The applicant must be a member of American Turners for a minimum of twelve (12) months prior to July 1st of any given year and be in good standing with his or her Society. The official membership anniversary date is the date printed by the National Office on the annual Membership card. Scholarships are awarded to full-time students beginning in their Junior year. A scholastic recipient may only receive a maximum of two (2) scholastic awards. Parent or Legal Guardian’s name: _______________________________________________________________________ (Only needed if the applicant is under 21 years of age) College or University _____________________________________ Declared Major ______________________________ R

emit Scholarship Payment to the Address of: ___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Admissions Office / Registrar’s Office / Financial Aid Office / Other

Certification and Endorsement of Society, District and National Office

I have reviewed this application for a Scholarship Grant submitted by the above named applicant and find, to the best of my knowledge, that he or she meets all of the requirements. Therefore, I recommend that he or she receives an American Turner Scholarship Grant. Name of Society__________________________________Signature___________________________________________ Society President Name of District__________________________________Signature___________________________________________ District President

Endorsement of the National Scholarship Committee The American Turners agree to contribute $_______________ as a Scholarship for________________________________ Applicant’s Name while a student at _________________________________ for a period of one year provided that he or she fulfills Name of College or University all of the requirements as stated in the Requirements of Applicants (Rev. 2014) of the American Turners. Signature__________________________________ Signature_________________________________________________ Chair - National Scholarship Committee President/Secretary - American Turners




O b i t u a r i e s

August E. Thomas, Jr. (79), died peacefully in his sleep on October 15, 2015 after more than a decade-longstruggle with Alzheimer’s Disease. Born on Christmas Eve 1935, he served honorably in the U.S. Army from1955-1958 before working as a machinist for Sherwin Williams and the Water Reclamation District of GreaterChicago.

Augie’s involvement with Turners began in 1946 taking children’s classes at the Eiche Turner Hall. There heexcelled at gymnastics and other sports. He later moved to the Lincoln Turners, where he added hand bal-ancing and volleyball to his repertoire. Augie served on the Board of Officers at Lincoln and ran the districtvolleyball tournament for decades. His triples team with Jim Thompson (deceased) and Gerhard Ziss (stillkicking) affectionately known as “Mother, Jugs and Speed” dominated the Turner volleyball courts for decades.

National Festivals were particularly important for Augie. Not only did he compete in every Turnfest from thetime he was a teen until his late 60’s, he also competed in every event that he could enter without overlappinginto another event, where he was consistently among the top finishers. Between his athletic prowess and alwaysbeing there for the socializing, drinking and singing that took place after the competition days were over, Augiebecame well known to Turners all across the country.

He is survived by his son, Keith, daughter-in-law Kathryn, grandchildren Elena and Jenna; his two sistersJanet Breunig and Elinor Bader; and countless nieces and nephews. August was predeceased by his sistersBetty Ekstrom, Margurite Strahl, Charlene Beringer and brother Robert Thomas.

Funeral services were privately held and there will be a brief memorial on the day of the Lincoln TurnerPicnic in August of 2016. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the American Turner En-dowment Trust Fund, or the Illinois District Turner Camp Memorial Pool fund.

A lifelong Turner, August Thomas embodied the motto “A sound mind in a sound body.”



ALL TURNER MEMBERS INVITED

to the

AAmerican Turners 76th National Convention

August 5 & 6, 2016 at Clinton Turners

Join us in…

“Building a Bridge from Yesterday to Tomorrow”

*Staggered schedule to allow attendance at more than one meeting

*Free Gift bags *Motivational speaker *50/50 Raffle

*Informative sessions *And of course – Gemütlichkeit!

Look for more information in your next issue of Turner Topics



N a t i o n a l C o m m i t t e e N e w s

2016 Turners National Bowling Tournament

The 2016 Turners National Bowling Tournament will be hosted by Rochester Turners in Rochester, Pennsylva-nia. There will be a buffet dinner and entertainment every Saturday during the Tournament. The followingWeekends have been reserved:April 30 — May 1May 7 — May 8May 14 — May 15

Bowling will be at Sims Lanes in Beaver Falls, PA, which is approximately 10 miles from Rochester Turners.There is a Holiday Inn and several small inns close to the Bowling Lanes.

There is a Hampton Inn, Holiday Inn Express and several other hotels closer to the Club. More information onthe hotels will be available shortly.

Club Information:

338 Pennsylvania Avenue Rochester, PA 15074724.774.8896

Other Contact Information:

Garth Wilson

Bowling [email protected]

CULTURAL CORNER:Now that the festival is over it is time to prepare for the next festival but before I do this I would like to thank

everyone who helped me at the National Festival this year. I don’t want to forget anyone so I am just saying thankyou to all.

The cultural competition wasn’t as well attended this year as in the past. There were only 12 societies thatcompeted out of 60. The youth weren’t as well represented this year, and the number of items was less. I would liketo challenge all societies to participate in the next festival. It is very simple all you have to do is one of over 80 classi-fications. Surely there is something every one of every age can do. You can find the classifications in the red bookwhich is on the National website or I will be happy to send you the classifications if needed. Don’t forget there arealso group competitions so if you don’t want to compete by yourself you can always have buddies with you.

Thanks,

Sue KnisleyNational Cultural Chairperson

Dave Dugan

President

[email protected]

Karen Beck

[email protected]



F ind us at:

americanturners.o

rg

National Health & Physical Education Report

Have you recuperated from the Festival? Well, don’t sit too long – it’s never too soon to start getting ready for thenext one…the 55th National Festival in 2019 will be hosted by Ft. Wayne Turners. Of course let’s first get readyfor next summer to attend the National Softball Championship hosted by Covington Turners and the NationalGolf Tournament hosted by Akron Turners.

Now I would like to re-introduce everyone to a web site – ChooseMyPlate.gov –created by the USDA. I encourage everyone to take a few minutes to see the wealthof information, including healthy meal planning, analyzing your own diet, learnhealthy eating habits, and many more topics. The plate is designed to remind youto make half your plate fruits and vegetables and eat less protein. Here are somehealthy tips for you:

1. Make half your plate veggies and fruit – Choose red, orange and dark green vegetables.

2. Add lean protein – Twice a week, make seafood the protein on your plate.

3. Include whole grains – Look for the words 100% whole grain or 100% whole wheat on food labels.

4. Don’t forget dairy – Drink a cup of fat free or low fat milk, or substitute fat free or low fat yogurt for milk.

5. Avoid extra fat – Using heavy gravies or sauces will add fat and calories to otherwise healthy choices.

6. Take your time – Eat slowly and pay attention to how you feel. Eating too quickly may cause you to eat too much.

7. Use a smaller plate to help with portion control.

8. Take control of your food – Eat at home more often. Choose healthier options such as baked instead of fried.

9. Try new foods – Keep it interesting, trade fun and tasty recipes with friends or find them online.

10. Satisfy our sweet tooth in a healthy way – Fruit!

Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas to all! Stay active in Turners and continue living our motto of a SoundMind in a Sound Body.

Michelle LesperanceNHPEC Chairperson

N a t i o n a l C o m m i t t e e N e w s



WebDocs Program

Greetings Turners,

We are very excited and proud to announce that we have partnered with WebDocsNetwork to provide our memberfamilies the most innovative health care and lifestyle services, benefits and savings program in the nation today.

You and your family can now have unlimited access to a national network of physicians, 24 hours a day, 365 days ayear. A network of physicians who is ready and able to consult, diagnose, treat, and write or re-new prescriptions and evenorder lab work when necessary for any and all non-emergency medical conditions. Physician consultations are conductedvia web-cam, phone or secure email. Immediate and unlimited access and care from the comfort of your home, office, oreven while travelling. The healthcare of tomorrow made available today. No more having to take time off of work to go toa doctor’s office only to wait, wait, wait, then be herded into an exam room only to wait some more and have the doctor do,what can only be called, hit and run medicine. No more co-pays or deductibles. No more having to go to an urgent carecenter or emergency room racking up hundreds or thousands of dollars in medical bills.

In addition to access to a revolutionary telemedicine platform, our members can now have unlimited access to all ofthe following services, benefits and savings as well.

* FREE unlimited access to doctors 24 hours a day, 365 days a year* FREE unlimited access to psychologists 24 hours a day* FREE unlimited access to dentists, dietitians, personal trainers and pharmacists* Doctor Office Visit Discounts* Dental Discounts* Vision Discounts* Hearing Discounts* Surgical Center Discounts* Lab Discounts* Discounts on Imaging* Medical Bill Assistance* Wellness Program* Diabetic Care Services and Discounts* 15-25% discounts on their wireless bills every month* 80% off coupons at over 18,000 restaurants locally and nationally* Special discounts and corporate rates on Air, Hotel and Car Rentals* Savings at over 30,000 merchants on everyday purchases* Up to 85% off of prescriptions(including generics and pet)* Vitamin Discount Program* Cash Rebates on every day purchases * Rewards Points on every purchase they make

You and your family can benefit from all of the above for just $19.95 a month. By taking advantage of just a few of the discountsand savings available to you and your family, you can save far more than the cost of the monthly membership. In fact, the average memberfamily of WebDocsNetwork saves $80-$130 each and every month.

Furthermore, WebDocsNetwork has agreed, through their HealthyforaCause.org channel, to generously donate 25% of allmonthly membership fees to American Turners so that we may support our Districts and Societies around the country.

You can see additional details and information at www.HealthyforaCause.org. If you are ready to get enrolled, please find ourpage by clicking on the “Charities” link. Once on our page, you will find the links to get enrolled and start benefiting from the most com-prehensive health care and lifestyle benefits program in the nation today. www.WebDocsnetwork.com/Turners

If you have any questions, please feel free to use the “Chat” feature on HealthyforaCause.org and they will be more than happy to help.You may also call 877.399.2002.

$

January/February/March 2016 IssueAll copy to Craig Sniezek by December 16

All copy to printer by December 20Page proofs to Turners by December 27

Mailing list by January 3Topics in the mail by January 13

Email Turner Topics info. to [email protected]

THIS IS YOUR COPY OF THE OCTOBER/NOVEMBER/DECEMBER

AMERICAN TURNER TOPICSIt now costs 50 cents to get a change of address correction fromthe Post Office. Save your organization money by reporting your

change of address promptly.

NATIONAL CALENDAR2016 Events

National Bowling - Rochester, PAThe weekends of April 30 - May 15

National Softball - Covington, KY

National Golf - Akron, OH

PERIODICALSPOSTAGE PAID

ATLOUISVILLE, KY

AND ADDITIONAL

POST OFFICES

Society ________________________________________Year Joined __________________________

Change Of Address Form For: American Turner Topics, P.O. Box 4216, Louisville, Ky 40204

Member Name _________________________________________________________________________

Email Address__________________________________________________________________________

New Street Address____________________________________Apt. No. __________________________

City ______________________________________State _________Zip __________________________

IF THIS IS A CHANGE, GIVE OLD ADDRESS OR ATTACH OLD ADDRESS LABEL

Old Street Address ____________________________________Apt. No. __________________________

American Turners National OfficeP.O. Box 42161127 E. Kentucky StreetLouisville, KY 40204

Documents

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