MILWAUKEE, WI - For many, June can be a month to take time out of busy schedules to appreciate and celebrate the men in our lives.  With Father's Day, June 19, quickly approaching, TOPS Club, Inc. (Take Off Pounds Sensibly), the nonprofit weight loss support organization, offers hints and tips to keep dad healthy and active.  Whether you're a member of TOPS or simply a member of a family, use these ideas to encourage Dad to live a healthy lifestyle year-round.

Give Dad the Gift of Health
• Be Dad's exercise buddy. Make an effort to exercise regularly together, and schedule it on the calendar as a reminder.  Working out with a partner encourages you to motivate and hold each other accountable.

• Does he like gadgets? Give him a pedometer or heart rate monitor.  These tools will inspire Dad during his workouts and help him track progress and an ideal intensity level.

• Help him unwind. A gift certificate for a massage will give Dad the opportunity to de-stress.  Less stress is healthy for his mind and immune system.

• You're never too old to make a homemade gift. Activity coupons are a great way to inspire a healthy lifestyle.  Whether you offer him a hike, yard work help, or bike ride, an activity coupon will give you time to spend with each other and get you moving.

• Gift him with a membership to TOPS. TOPS provides weight-loss support and wellness education for only $26 annually in the U.S. and $30 in Canada.  Visit www.tops.org for more information or to find a chapter near you.

A Father's Day Feast

Celebrations typically include many indulgent meals.  Use Father's Day as an opportunity to make tasty, healthy food that the whole family can enjoy.  When it comes to choosing snacks and meal options, these guidelines are easy to incorporate into Father's Day festivities.

• Start his Father's Day out on a healthy note. Serving Dad breakfast in bed not only shows that you appreciate him, but it also sets the tone for a healthy day.  It may even inspire healthy breakfasts throughout the year.  Oatmeal, fruit salad, cottage cheese, and scrambled eggs are examples of some delicious, hearty breakfast foods.

• Have a heart-healthy cookout. Does your dad consider himself a "grill master?"  Get creative with food choices to make the meal healthier.  Turkey dogs, veggie burgers, buffalo burgers, and chicken are great options.  Look for packages with a higher percentage of lean meat.  If beef is more appealing, choose meat that is labeled "choice" or "select."  It also never hurts to throw some vegetables on the grill.

• Is he nuts about snacks? Almonds, walnuts, and hazelnuts pack a lot of nutrition, including healthy fats, protein, Vitamin E, Omega-3 fatty acids, and fiber.  Suggest to Dad that he might want to consider swapping a handful of nuts for the traditional bag of chips.

TOPS Club Inc. (Take Off Pounds Sensibly), the original, nonprofit weight-loss support and wellness education organization, was established more than 63 years ago to champion weight-loss support and success.  Founded and headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, TOPS promotes successful, affordable weight management with a philosophy that combines healthy eating, regular exercise, wellness information, and support from others at weekly chapter meetings. TOPS has about 170,000 members in nearly 10,000 chapters throughout the United States and Canada.

Visitors are welcome to attend their first TOPS meeting free of charge. To find a local chapter, view www.tops.org or call (800) 932-8677.

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BOURBONNAIS, IL (06/09/2011)(readMedia)-- Olivet Nazarene University announces its student-athletes who recently received a Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference All-Academic award.

Moline resident Erica Engelbrecht was a senior at Olivet majoring in biology during the 2010-2011 academic year and competed on Olivet's women's tennisteam.

Moline resident Nicholas Mizeur was a junior at Olivet majoring in youth ministry during the 2010-2011 academic year and competed on Olivet's men's track and field team.

Olivet's Tiger athletes earned 48 of the 218 Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference All-Academic awards this spring, the highest total of any school in the 15-team conference.

Sports honored with the spring CCAC All-Academic awards include baseball, softball, men's golf, women's tennis and both men's and women's track and field. To receive the award, a student-athlete must have a 3.25 grade point average or higher and have earned at least 30 semester or 45 trimester hours. The student-athlete must also be enrolled at the institution for a minimum of one academic year.

Olivet Nazarene University is an accredited Christian, liberal arts university offering over 120 areas of study. It is centrally located in the historic village of Bourbonnais, Illinois - just 50 miles south of Chicago's loop - with additional School of Graduate and Continuing Studies locations in Oak Brook and Rolling Meadows, Ill. and throughout Chicagoland.

ONU news is also available on the web. Go to www.olivet.edu and click on "News & Events." Licensed University photos and official logos available upon request.

When there is a serious family problem, parents often wonder whether they should talk to their children or shield them from what is happening. The fact is, children pick up on all kinds of messages.And they take most things literally. Children take your comments-even offhand ones-seriously. That's why it is best to sit down and talk with your children. If you don't, kids come to their own conclusions about how bad things are, and usually their picture of the situation is much worse than reality.

Children depend on their parents for emotional security. When parents are tense, upset and inattentive, much of this security is gone. This piece includes ways to help yourselves as parents and more specifically some tips are given for ways to help your children cope with the stresses of the disaster.Accept your children's feelings and concerns. This usually requires you to really listen to your child. For example, when a child tells you: "I hate my teacher." the problem may not be the teacher but rather that your child still feels sad about things lost in the disaster, including the pens needed to do homework. It is important for you to take the time to ask your child questions that discovers the real cause of your child's frustration.

By asking questions and listening, you give your child permission to tell you what is really wrong. When a child says: "I hate my brother," parents often say: "Oh, no you don't." Compare this response to how you talk to a spouse or a friend. If they said: "I hate my boss," you wouldn't respond by saying: "No, you don't." You would probably say: "Really? Why?" Parents can do that for children, too.

Being honest in a way that helps children understand the situation, without being unrealistically optimistic or pessimistic, will help you build a strong, trusting relationship with your children. Speak to your children simply; give them just enough information to answer their questions. Being honest sometimes means admitting that you don't know the answers to everything. When you tell your child what you don't know, also tell them what you do know to reassure them. Children who have experienced a natural disaster worry about the future. They wonder if there will be enough money for food and clothes and whether their family will have to move. When your children ask questions about the future, try to respond in a way that is truthful and makes them feel secure.

Contact: Sharon M. Danes, Family Resource Management Specialist, University of Minnesota
phone: 612-625-9273

AMES, Iowa – Iowa Learning Farms and Key Cooperative will co-sponsor a strip-tillage field day at the Mike Hermanson farm and at Key Co-op S14 Office strip-till plots in northern Story County on Tuesday, June 21, beginning at 10 a.m. The field day will include a complimentary lunch and information about the conservation strip-tillage practice. The event is free and the public is invited to attend.

Strip-tillage marries the best aspects of conventional tillage with the benefits of no-till. Before planting (fall post-harvest or spring pre-plant), a strip-tillage implement creates strips of tilled soil. Surface residue is left undisturbed between the tilled strips. In the spring, corn or soybeans are planted into the tilled soil strips, which warm and dry faster than the rest of the field, making this system ideal for some Iowa soil types. Landowners and farmers should see better water infiltration, improved soil structure and potential for reduced fuel, machinery and other crop input costs with the implementation of strip-tillage.

Mike Hermanson completed his strip-tillage last fall and will have strip-till implements at the field day site. The field day will begin at Hermanson's strip-tilled field, located one and one-half miles west of Roland on county road E-18 on the north side of the road, just west of the turkey buildings. The field day will then move to the Key Co-op strip-tilled plots. These are located two miles east of Roland on E-18 and then one-half mile south on county road S14 (620th St). Lunchwill be at the Key Co-op site, sponsored by Monsanto.

Iowa Learning Farms are building a Culture of Conservation, encouraging adoption of residuemanagement and conservation practices. Farmers, researchers and ILF staff are working together to encourage farmers to implement the best in-field management practices that increase water and soil quality while remaining profitable.

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