Waukon native to share wisdom of her own mentor at local workshop

by Lissa Blake

What started as a promise, has turned into a lifelong passion for Waukon native, Dr. Mollie (Weighner) Marti.
Marti, a 1984 graduate of Waukon High School, was fresh out of the University of Iowa Law School when she landed a clerkship with the late Federal Judge Max Rosenn. Marti said her time with Rosenn, who is today one of the most cited judges in United States History, would change her life forever.
“He was my life’s greatest teacher,” said Marti, who recently has written the book, “Walking with Justice: Uncommon Lessons from One of Life’s Greatest Mentors.”
While Marti said she has always had a passion for justice and “what makes people tick", she added, “Judge Rosenn showed me the value of serving in profound ways.”
Marti said she feels fortunate that she was so blessed with an amazing teacher and that she has found a way to pass that on. “Some people who never had a mentor walk away from this book and say, ‘Now I have two',” she said.

THE PROMISE
A resiliency researcher, psychologist, lawyer, author and speaker, Marti’s admiration for her own personal mentor was so profound, that when he died at the age of 96, she vowed to pay it forward.
“I knew what a gift he was as a mentor, and I made a promise at his funeral that others’ lives would be better for my having known him,” she said.
Marti, who teaches psychology at the University of Iowa, has spent her career giving inspiring keynotes and trainings at conferences and events. She has served as a life coach for many, mentoring college athletes, Olympians and business elites, combining what she calls the “science of success” with the art of exceptional living. She recently was recognized as one of the top 25 business coaches on Twitter.

RARE OPPORTUNITY
Area residents will have the opportunity to learn from Marti during two community wellness workshops being held at the Kerndt Brothers Community Center in Lansing Tuesday, October 16. The first begins at 10 a.m., and the second at 2 p.m.
The workshop, entitled, “Rejuvenate! Refueling to Better Serve Others” is designed to help empower direct care staff to make positive changes within area health facilities. Marti encourages anyone who is interested to attend.
“It’s really for anyone who wants to rejuvenate: health providers, bankers, realtors … Everyone is really in customer service,” she said.
“How we live our days is how we live our lives. I hope to help people rejuvenate and find strategies that fuel them up instead of burning them out,” she said.
Sponsors of the event include Northeast Iowa Community College, Makee Manor, Northgate Care Center, Waukon Good Samaritan Center, Mayo Health Systems – Waukon Clinic, Community Connections/Allamakee Substance Abuse Prevention, Thornton Manor and Veterans Memorial Hospital.
Registration is free for employees of aforementioned sponsors. Anyone else wishing to attend can pay $20. Admission for a group of five people is just $50. Continuing education credit is pending.
For more information and to pre-register for this event, contact Julie Fossum at Thornton Manor Nursing Center at 563-538-4236.

REACHING OUT
Marti lives with her husband and kindergarten sweetheart, Churchtown area native Monte Marti, and their three children in Mt. Vernon. They spend their vacations at their part-time home in Lansing.
A few years ago when Mount Vernon lost three teens to suicide in a six-month period, she felt a call to action. As a result, she founded the Community Resiliency Project, a non-profit organization, which allows her to extend her resilience work to communities in crisis. She uses what she learned from Judge Rosenn to develop mentoring opportunities for low-opportunity youth.
Part of the proceeds from her new book, “Walking with Justice,” go toward that project.

BOOK SIGNING
Marti will host a book signing and reading Monday, October 15 at 7 p.m. at Robey Memorial Library in Waukon. Books will be available for purchase.
For more information on Marti or her work, visit www.drmollie.com.