Council on Aging, April 2, 2015
HOLDEN COUNCIL ON AGING
Thursday, April 2, 2015
Conference Room – Senior Center
Present: Susan Sullivan, Richard Mansfield, Faye Ellis, Marilyn Burnham, Wayne Howard,
Jim Robinson, Louise Charbonneau, Maureen Buffone, Rita Brennan-Olson.
The Minutes from the February 5, 2015 meeting were approved and accepted.
F.H.C.O.A. REPORT
Faye reported the account balances as of February 1, 2015 as follows:
Commerce Bank $14,544.44
Leominster Credit Union (furnishings acct.) $2,037.51
Leominster Credit Union C.D. $23,945.53
LCU Trip Account $5,497.50
Faye reported that the Friends raised $771.00 from their cookie sale in February. They donated $1,000.00 to the Wachusett Food Pantry and $1,000.00 to Help at H.O.M.E. The Friends will also be sponsoring the bus for the pen pal program again in June, which will cost approximately $700.00. Some of the Friends members have started meeting to decide ways to celebrate their 35 year anniversary. They would like to showcase the senior center and what it has to offer. They are hoping to have several different celebrations, possibly with a kick-off at the pen pal party.
HELP AT H.O.M.E. REPORT ~ Jim Robinson
Jim submitted a financial report dated February 28, 2015 showing a balance of $30,624.11 in the Help at H.O.M.E. Fund and $18,768.07 in the Welcome Aldrich Relief Fund. Donations for December and January totaled $2,061.00 and disbursements totaled $709.52. The total amount of donations received since July 1, 2014 is $13,605.65.
Karen Halley, Susan Marsh and Joe Sullivan attended the Selectmen’s meeting to present information on Help at H.O.M.E. Faye Ellis went to a local clergy meeting, and a lot ot the clergy did not know about this assistance. Karen Halley also went to the high school and the central office with Help at H.O.M.E. books.
Sue presented a letter that she received from the Help at H.O.M.E. Committee saying they would like to see more disbursements made and suggestions on modifying the disbursement criteria.
There was further discussion on the maximum that we can distribute per family per year and the number of disbursements per family per year. Allowance for seasonal emergencies was also discussed and accepted as something to consider, as well as giving some leeway for second disbursements.
Sue will report back to Karen.
DIRECTOR’S REPORT ~ Louise Charbonneau
MARCH PROGRAMS
Mon., March 2 Legal Clinic w/Attorney Arthur Bergeron
Wed., March 4 Prescription Advantage Talk
Thurs., March 5 Movie “Guilt Trip”
Pre-Diabetes Screening
Mon., March 9 Jerry and Mabel Comedy Show (postponed until May)
Thurs., March 12 Movie “P.S. I Love You”
Thurs., March 19 Book Discussion Group ~ Prime Time by Hank Phillippi Ryan
Movie “The Women”
Wed., March 25 Adventures in Yellowstone w/Retired Chief Ed Stark
Thurs., March 26 Movie “The Perfect Game”
APRIL PROGRAMS
Wed., April 8 Poetry Reading w/James Balko Nicola ~ 1:00
Mon., April 13 Safe Driving Program w/John Paul of AAA ~ 1:00
Thurs., April 16 Book Discussion Group The Year of Pleasures: A Novel by Elizabeth Berg 10:00
Mon., April 20 Senior Center Closed in Observance of Patriot’s Day
Thurs., April 23 Volunteer Recognition ~ 12:00
Wed., April 29 Legal Presentation “Benefits 101” w/Attorney Arthur Bergeron ~ 1:00
BUDGET HEARING
Our budget hearing was held last week. It went very well. Louise thanked Sue, Maureen and Friends President Marcia Sherbourne for attending. There was a question on our capital budget which Jacquie asked Louise to address, and she has done that.
VOLUNTEER RECOGITION
Our volunteer recognition will be held on Thursday, April 23 at 12:00 p.m. Our lunch is being provided through Toupin’s Catering and will be a pot roast dinner. As all of the board members are volunteers, Louise invited them to attend and asked that they tell Maureen such that she can add you to the reservation list.
MOVIES
Attendance at our weekly movies has diminished to just about zero so for the months of April and May, Louise decided to forego the movies. Clare has utilized some Thursday afternoons for other programs. If the movies are not missed, we’ll cancel the Netflix membership and direct that money to other programs.
BOARD TRAINING
The Executive Office of Elder Affairs is hosting regional Board Trainings. These trainings are facilitated by Emmett Schmarsow who is EOEA’s Project Manager for Councils on Aging and Senior Centers. He is an excellent speaker and a wealth of knowledge. These trainings are for Board Members, especially new board members. It is not a requirement for you to attend but if you’d like to our local training will be on Wednesday, May 27 at the Leicester Senior Center, 40 Winslow Avenue. Registration is at 8:30 a.m. with the training from 9:15-11:45. A continental breakfast will be served so they ask that you make a reservation. If any of you would like to attend, let Maureen know and she will make your reservation for you.
NUMBERS FROM FEBRUARY AND MARCH
Zentangle – 16
Author, Thomas Ingrassia – 14
Adventures in Yellowstone – 37
AARP Tax Preparation for Feb. & March - 69
OLD BUSINESS
Sue, Rick, Maureen Locke and Rita have formed a small strategic plan committee. They will meet when Maureen is back from her trip. They have been compiling strategic plans from other places and should have something to report back to the board at our next meeting.
NEW BUSINESS
None.
CITIZENS ADDRESS
Rita voiced concerns on the Elder Services meal program and asked how we can get more information on the website. She will talk to the Friends group to see if there is any interest in having a page on the website. Louise will talk to Jacquie.
ADJOURNMENT
It was unanimously voted to adjourn the meeting at 9:30 a.m.
The next meeting will be held on Thursday, May 7, 2015 at 8:00 a.m. at the Holden Senior Center.
Respectfully submitted,
Maureen Buffone