Marie Festler recently joined the leadership council of the Park Rapids Chapter of Wellspring for the World.
Wellspring partners with the international organization World Vision to bring clean water, sanitation and hygiene to children and families around the world, and to meet its goal of bringing clean water to everyone everywhere World Vision works by 2030. World Vision is also committed to improving health for 18 million people by upgrading 2,000 health clinics by the end of 2023.
Festler grew up in Little Falls and retired from the military as a CW4 and a federal technician with 31 years of service at Army National Guard Post Camp Ripley. She and her husband, Kevin, recently moved to their retirement home on Bad Axe Lake in Park Rapids.
Marie is a member of the Park Rapids Lions Club and received the 2022 Lion of the Year award. She has helped with Helen’s Kitchen and is on the Park Rapids Rotary’s dragon boat team. She volunteers as a greeter and in the nursery at Eastside Christian Church.
“I could not say ‘no’ to the leadership council position when I saw how fresh water – something that most of us just take for granted – could transform the lives of people to be much healthier, happier, easier, longer and more productive,” said Festler.
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“It hurt to see women and children walking miles to get water from a water hole that was contaminated, women having to bring their own water to the make-shift hospital to have their own babies, and people getting sick and dying from drinking the water – when all I do is turn on a faucet or open a bottle of water! I immediately wanted to help make a difference.
For more information about the Park Rapids Chapter of Wellspring, contact Mark Larsen at markalarsen@hotmail.com or 701-215-0565.
The Trust Project
