Advice for Improving Your Golf Drive

Charlotte Johnson is an experienced senior executive who serves as a co-CEO and trustee of the Otto Bremer Trust. Charlotte Johnson of Otto Bremer is also a keen golfer who plays regularly. 

The drive is one of the most important shots in the game of golf. Here are a few tips that should help you improve your drive.

1. Focus on the shot rather than everything that surrounds it. At times, playing off the tee can feel like a performance, especially if an audience is present. Drown out distractions and get the shot right.

2. Change the placement of the ball so it relates to your stance. As a general rule, the ball should be placed farther forward of your stance than it typically would be for other shots. You should aim to make contact with the ball as your club’s head begins to ascend.

3. Keep your muscles relaxed throughout the swing. At your finishing position, you should have all your weight on your left foot (or right foot, if you are left-handed) while your other foot should be on its tiptoe.

Authors’ Challenges When Writing Historical Biographies

Charlotte Johnson serves as a co-CEO and trustee of the Otto Bremer Trust, a grantmaking entity in the Upper Midwest that was formerly known as the Otto Bremer Foundation. In her spare time, Charlotte Johnson pursues a multitude of hobbies, including reading nonfiction.

Some academics doubt that biographers can adequately take into account the wider historical context of the personages about which they write. Yet, good biographers seldom discuss such personages without reference to their impact on the age in which they lived—and vice versa.

The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography emphasizes the importance of readers learning about both of these aspects of biographies, which means that biographers must be careful about how they portray their subjects.

This raises the question of whether biographers can separate their emotions from their subjects. Some authors choose to write about people they admire, whereas others opt to discuss those they detest.

In this regard, biographers may feel a connection to their subject by digesting all of the information they can find, including documents, personal letters, and other data that reveal pertinent or shocking details. In doing so, they must take care to reflect details accurately, making sure not to let their emotions affect their writing, particularly about someone who has affected the course of history.

YAH Awards Scholarships to Three Youth Volunteers

Charlotte Johnson is a longtime co-chief executive officer and trustee at Otto Bremer Trust. A charitable trust established in 1944, Otto Bremer has helped countless nonprofit organizations through its grant-making activities. In her role with the trust, Charlotte Johnson contributes to its mission of helping local communities move forward by supporting such nonprofits as Youth Acton Hudson (YAH), which focuses on the empowerment of Hudson youth.

Many of the youth volunteers at YAH spend thousands of hours working toward community building. As an incentive, YAH grants scholarship awards to deserving youth. In 2016, YAH chose three scholarship recipients: Clare Weber, Shayla Koeckeritz, and Brianna Manke. 

The three young women have a combined 3,000 hours of volunteer experience and eight years of service to YAH. Throughout their high school years, they have been heavily involved in all of YAH's programs and have had a significant impact in their local communities despite responsibilities at school and at home. 

The recipients have all achieved acceptance to major universities: the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Creighton University, and the University of Colorado Boulder.

Why Women in Business Should Play Golf

As a trustee and co-chief executive officer of Otto Bremer Trust, Charlotte Johnson plays an important role in managing the trust's grant-making projects. When not busy with her responsibilities at Otto Bremer, Charlotte Johnson enjoys playing golf.

The statistic that only 20 percent of women play golf has remained unchanged for decades. Pam Swensen, chief executive officer of the Executive Women’s Golf Association, argues that it's important for more women to play golf, especially those who are involved in business.

Golf has long been considered the sport of business, as it provides valuable networking time for prospective clients and careers, thus leading to key business opportunities. Swensen notes that by not playing golf, women may not gain access to these same opportunities. In fact, a study by Catalyst found that being excluded from informal networks such as those formed while playing golf significantly impedes women’s career development. Swensen hopes that in the future, more women will develop the confidence to spend time outside of office hours on the golf course, thus benefiting from the unique business advantages that the sport can offer.

Otto Bremer Trust Funds Scholarships for The Retreat

 

Charlotte Johnson is the Co-CEO of the Otto Bremer Trust. As the manager of the Otto Bremer Trust, Charlotte Johnson oversees the Otto Bremer Trust's responsibilities as a grant-making foundation. The Otto Bremer Trust was formed in 1944 and supports the Bremer Bank communities in the Midwest.

The Otto Bremer Trust has awarded a grant to The Retreat, a residential recovery treatment center located in Wayzata, Minnesota, for those wanting help with drug and alcohol dependency. The grants will fund scholarships for those needing financial assistance to attend. Residents of the Bremer Bank communities in Minnesota will receive scholarships in 2016, and individuals from Bremer Bank communities in North Dakota and western Wisconsin will be awarded scholarship funding for 2017. The grant total is $500,000.

The Retreat has been helping people for more than 17 years and has 30-60-90-day residential programs, non-residential programs, family and senior adult programs. The Retreat believes that its program, based on the education, support, and the spiritual principles of Alcoholics Anonymous, will enable individuals to lead sober and productive lives.

Otto Bremer & the Salvation Army: Taking Care of Minnesota’s Families

It’s no secret that the Salvation Army is one of the oldest surviving charities in modern Western history. So when Charlotte Johnson and her fellow staff at Otto Bremer Trust discovered the needs facing several Salvation Army chapters in Minnesota, it only made sense for a partnership to form. Under the leadership of Charlotte Johnson and her staff, Otto Bremer Trust generously granted $362,000 for support programs and other community outreaches hosted by the Salvation Army Northern Division.

The grant will be spread out across 10 different Salvation Army locations in Minnesota, such as St. Cloud, Rochester, Brainerd, Austin, and Fergus Falls. The grant will cover expenses for a variety of community awareness and mentorship programs and local needs, including hiring supplemental staff to ensure the success of growing programs within each chapter and providing financial support for families in need.


The Otto Bremer Trust was founded in 1944 by Otto Bremer, a Midwestern banker and community leader who believed in the power of helping those in need.                            

Otto Bremer Trust Supports Alcohol Recovery Center in Minnesota

Based in St. Paul, Minnesota, Charlotte Johnson of the Otto Bremer Trust is in charge of overseeing the trust's investment in the Bremer Financial Corporation. Charlotte Johnson’s trusteeship of the Otto Bremer Trust emphasizes strong community support.

On a mission to improve the quality of life for families and communities affected by alcohol and drugs, the Otto Bremer Trust recently granted $250,000 to The Retreat in Wayzata, Minnesota. Based on the 12 principles of Alcoholics Anonymous, The Retreat was established more than 17 years ago to offer affordable educational services for people addicted to alcohol or drugs. The Retreat offers a residential recovery continuum with 30-, 60-, and 90-day programs alongside nonresidential family and seniors programs.

As the cost of health care continues to rise, access to alcohol and drug dependency programs in Minnesota is limited. From 2009 to 2013, recovery centers in the state provided alcohol abuse treatment to an estimated 20,000 people per year, making up 6.25% of the total alcohol dependents in the state. In the same period, these centers provided illicit drug use treatment to an estimated 17,000 people per year, making up about 13.7% of the total drug dependents in the state.