Visitors to the Good Samaritan Society Sioux Falls Village might be curious about objects in some resident rooms: pieces of wood with Korean writing on them.
The residents could explain that the wood was autographed — in Korean — by three young martial arts students who recently gave an impressive demonstration of their skills.
Twin sixth-graders Emily and Chris Gullickson and their seventh-grader sister, Anna, are going after their Taekwondo junior black belts. They have been training with their father, Daryl Gullickson, a business analyst with Good Samaritan. He came up with the idea to do the demos at facilities in Sioux Falls, SD.
Their father says the events are entertaining and also encourage residents about the younger generation. Some residents have said that they are glad to see the girls so empowered, explaining that this is progress since they were youngsters themselves.
Gullickson emphasizes that residents enjoy an educational element as well as seeing the kids in action.
“Explain what it means to master a level and get to the next,” he advises. “We don’t just jump around and break things.”
Still, future events might include a few more board breaks, he notes, so that they can hand out the split pieces of wood. “There were a lot who really wanted that as a souvenir,” he noted with a smile.
From the February 01, 2015 Issue of McKnight's Long-Term Care News
