Frazee grad praises her hometown for its support

By Robert Williams

Editor

Vikingland Community Support Program of Alexandria and its executive director, Becky Schmitz, a 2003 Frazee-Vergas graduate and Miss Frazee, were awarded the National Alliance on Mental Illness Minnesota (NAMI) were named Minnesota’s Provider of the Year Wednesday, Sept. 24.

The award recognizes an organization that provides mental health services and demonstrates excellence, respect and best practices. 

“Sometimes I forget that people are watching because I feel like we live in a small town; Alexandria isn’t, but it feels kind of obsolete compared to programs in the metro,” Schmitz said. “To have that honor was pretty exciting.”

Prior to the award announcement, Schmitz was already asked to speak at the NAMI annual conference in November. 

“It’s going to be a big day all together to speak and receive the award for everybody here; it’s really cool,” said Schmitz.

Working in the mental health field is not easy and nobody does it to win any kind of award, however the distinction does have a positive impact on the day-to-day effort involved.

“I feel like we work at a really tough job; you leave a lot of days just feeling kind of defeated or does what I do matter?” said Schmitz. “You get kind of tired and burnt out and feel like you’re spinning in a circle and you don’t know what to do next. We all know here that what we do makes a difference. To have that recognition, I think is sometimes what we need to give us that motivation to keep doing what we’re doing. It’s really easy to get down on yourself and doubt things – doing the daily grind every day. When you get recognized at the state level it makes everybody feel a little bit prouder of their work and it’s pretty awesome that we can all share that together.”

The recognition is far from the daily duties at the Alexandria office, but that work has a much more tangible reward.

“Your only award is at the end of the day if somebody is doing well and they say thank you for helping me; that is what matters most to us—is to see people succeed,” said Schmitz. “To be recognized in a completely different manner—that’s really amazing but it doesn’t change the fact of why I do what I do. You have to want to do this and want to help people and understand the ups and downs. Having an award is great but we obviously have a lot of work to do. The world is definitely a changing place right now. We’re trying to go through all those dynamics and take the award and hopefully it gives us a little more steam to keep going.”

Schmitz has also found success on the public speaking circuit. In less than three years, her mental health toolbox and accompanying presentation have gone from an idea to a steady stream of speaking engagements in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa and potentially growing to more spots in the nation, including a potential spot in Palm Beach, Florida. A lot of her early motivation and momentum came from her hometown.

“Truly, the Frazee community has been so totally supportive and amazing—just coming home over Turkey Days and seeing people or the people that reach out to me throughout the year,” she said. “Or getting a picture from Mackenzie (Hamm) and seeing the kids watching my videos—how amazing to live in a community where you get that support. We’re all families trying to support each other and wanting to see everybody succeed and appreciate seeing that in other people. It’s really great and it makes my heart happy to have that support from a place that means the most to me.”

Schmitz also credits CornerStone Executive Director Mackenzie Hamm and her efforts in helping turn the youth and community center and bistro into a full fledged family resource center in about the same timeframe as her toolbox work has taken shape.

“It’s incredible; it’s been fun to see and read about what they’re doing,” said Schmitz. “I use them as a reference around here all the time. Go there, see it; talk to Mackenzie. We need help around here and they’re doing it and now it’s become a safe haven, a job opportunity, a workspace. They’ve changed that church into an amazing place with different avenues to teach people life skills.”

Schmitz has gone about the recent success with the idea that things happen when they are supposed to, but seeing the tremendously positive feedback to her toolbox and its presentation has been a big and pleasant surprise.

“I still shake my head, honestly,” she said. “When you think about hopes and dreams, they always seem like hopes and dreams—they’re kind of out there in the distance. To actually be doing it, I still don’t even know. It’s just kind of unreal.” 

Schmitz is currently teaching a 10-week class based on her mental health toolbox and has upcoming engagements in Duluth and the Twin Cities in November. After speaking at a recent women’ s retreat for her church she  got such a positive response she is now creating a new Christian Toolbox.

“It’s been so fun to see it all evolve and it’s just its own thing now; I could have never pictured it when I was sitting in my kitchen during COVID writing about what I thought these tools should look like to where it is now? Holy cats!” Schmitz said.

Schmitz has also seen an evolution in herself and how she presents the toolbox to groups.

“The more I do it and the more I learn about myself and from other people these past couple years especially, I’ve gotten a lot of chances to visit with people and hear about their lives and what they liked about the toolbox and how they think they can use it—it’s made me mature a lot more the past few years having that confidence and hearing how much people enjoy it and it actually has an impact,” said Schmitz. “Sometimes you worry that you start something and nobody is going to care, it’s not going to matter or nobody gets it and it’s just a waste of time. To see it continue and people like it and they want to know more and they’re excited about my articles—it’s humbling to know that something that I thought of as helping people—it makes me feel a greater responsibility and a lot more passion knowing that it’s helpful. I can’t wait to keep sharing that with other people. It just makes you feel a little bit stronger as an individual to share what you have to share and to have people like it in return is even that much more gratifying.”

Schmitz’ written work was recently featured in Definitive Woman Magazine (definitivewoman.com), a publication that has featured area women, their lives, homes, health, hobbies, careers and connection with family, friends and community since 2009.

MANI is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the lives of children and adults with mental illnesses and their families. For over 40 years, NAMI Minnesota has worked to promote the development of community mental health programs and services, change public attitudes about mental illnesses, improve access to services and increase opportunities for recovery.

An awards presentation will be held at the MANI annual conference Saturday, Nov. 1, at 11:30 a.m., at the St. Paul Rivercentre.