Council on Aging, February 6, 2014
HOLDEN COUNCIL ON AGING
Thursday, February 6, 2014
Conference Room – Senior Center
Present: Rev. Dr. Jerry Heslinga, Susan Sullivan, Faye Ellis, Rebecca Tornblom, Marilyn Burnham,
Jim Robinson, Peter Lukes, Louise Charbonneau, Maureen Buffone, Cynthia Smith.
The Minutes from the December 5, 2013 meeting were approved and accepted.
F.H.C.O.A. REPORT
Faye reported the account balances as of December 2, 2013 as follows:
Commerce Bank $14,099.60
Leominster Credit Union (furnishings acct.) $3,637.30
Leominster Credit Union C.D. $23,826.26
LCU Trip Account $4,378.55
The Friends’ Valentine’s Day Cookie Sale will take place on Friday, February 14, 2014.
Faye reported that the Friends are in the process of redoing their bylaws. They went to a lawyer to insure that the corporation is protected. The bylaw changes will be posted on the bulletin board and then will be voted on in April. Sue stated that is was commendable that they took something that happened in another town to protect themselves, and it says a lot for the group.
The Friends group paid $600.00 towards the cost of the new TV in the lounge.
The Friends raised over $200.00 from the cart on the day of the Winter Carnival.
HELP AT H.O.M.E. REPORT - Jim Robinson
Jim submitted an updated financial report, dated December 31, 2013, showing a combined balance of $42,080.49. There was just over $10,000.00 received in donations.
The HCOA board unanimously approved the transfer of $4,412.92 in September from the Help at H.O.M.E. account to the Welcome Aldrich account, to be back in sync with the balance from five (5) years ago. Jim will transmit the information to the Treasurer’s Office.
Jim noted that there were no disbursements in November and December. This generated a fair amount of discussion at the meeting. Fuel Assistance will be running out for most people and there is usually an increase in applications at that time. Most of the recent disbursements are going to the light department, which Jim has been sensitive to. In the past, most of the disbursements were pretty well split.
The Help at H.O.M.E. committee has elected new officers. Brian Bullock and Karen Halley will serve as co-chairs; Faye Ellis will be the liaison between the HCOA Board and Help at H.O.M.E. Committee; Marty Holman will serve as the clergy representative; Susan Marsh will continue as booklet coordinator; and Jim Robinson will continue to serve as Treasurer. The board will meet again in March and talk more about getting word out.
BOARD OF ELDER SERVICES REPORT ~ Richard Mansfield
In the absence of Mr. Mansfield, no report was given relative to Elder Services of Worcester Area, Inc.
DIRECTOR’S REPORT - Louise Charbonneau
JANUARY EVENTS
Wed, Jan. 1 ~ Senior Center Closed in observance of New Year’s Day
Thurs., Jan. 2 ~ Movie “Bedtime Stories”
Thurs., Jan. 9 ~ Movie “Miracle”
Mon., Jan. 13 ~ Feel Good Bingo
Wed., Jan 15 ~ City of Four Jazz Concert
Thurs., Jan. 16 ~ Book Discussion Group read The Light Between the Oceans, By M. L. Stedman
Movie “Argo”
Mon., Jan. 20 ~ Closed in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
Wed., Jan. 22 ~ Winter Wonderland Concert w/Marti Sawyer
Thurs., Jan. 23 ~ Movie “Mrs. Miniver”
Mon., Jan. 27 ~ Learning to be Supermarket Savvy w/speaker from Oriol Healthcare
Thurs., Jan. 30 ~ Movie “Buck”
FEBRUARY EVENTS
Wed., Feb. 5 ~ Worcester’s Hidden Gem – Worcester Art Museum – Valentine Talk
Thurs., Feb. 6 ~ Det. Chris Carey from HPD talking about scams
Movie – “The Cutting Edge”
Wed., Feb. 12 ~ Home Cooked Meal – Beef Stew, Bread, Cream Puffs
Thurs., Feb. 13 ~ Movie – “Love Story”
Fri., Feb. 14 ~ Friends of HCOA Annual Valentine Cookie Sale - 9-?
Mon., Feb. 17 ~ Closed in observance of Presidents’ Day
Wed., Feb. 19 ~ Free Legal Clinic by appointment
Thurs., Feb. 20 ~ Book Discussion Group read Simply from Scratch by Alicia Bessette
Movie – “Lincoln”
Thurs., Feb. 27 ~ Movie – “Lovely, Still”
SPRING CHICKEN ALPHABET SOUP FITNESS PROGRAM
Sponsored by Oriol Healthcare, we began a new fitness program with Instructor Marty French called “Spring Chicken Alphabet Soup Fitness” on Friday, January 10 at 1:15 p.m. Spring Chicken Fitness uses the mind, body and spirit in every class. If you don't "use it ....you loose it!" The Alphabet Soup program uses the brain and body together to strengthen every cell that we need for a strong healthy life from 50 to 100. Safety, balance, laughter, strength and stretch are a part of Spring Chicken Fitness. Join us just for the joy of it! We have averaged 42 participants each week.
NEW TELEVISION AND STAND
As a result of grant moneys and money from the Friends of HCOA, we now have a new 60” flat screen television and stand in the lounge. They were purchased at Brown’s TV and Appliance in Northborough. Louise chose the TV, and Adam went to Northborough to choose the stand. If you see Adam, Louise hopes you will tell him what a good job he did. The old TV is now in the exercise room hooked up to the Wii video game system.
PARTNERING WITH HFD
Lt. Dave Chapin and Louise wrote a grant to the MA Department of Fire Services for a SAFE for Senior’s program. Their grant was favorably accepted. Dave, Clare and Louise have met and will be starting the program in April (perhaps in conjunction with a home cooked meal). The first presentation will be about “Slips, Trips and Falls.”
SOME NUMBERS FOR DECEMBER AND JANUARY
December
Mrs. Gordon goes Christmas shopping in Boston in the 1900’s – 47
Holiday Concert – 47
Christmas Party – 77
Mountview Breakfast – 110
Rotary Breakfast – 113 (Holden participants)
January
City of Four Jazz Concert – 54
Winter Wonderland Concert w/Marti Sawyer – 30
Supermarket Savvy – 20
MARCH MEETING
Louise informed the board that she will be away for our next meeting, and asked the board if they still wanted to meet. It was unanimously decided to skip the March meeting and meet on April 3rd.
BUDGET HEARING
Our budget hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, March 19 at 7:00 p.m. at the Light Department. Louise will still be away, so Jacquie will be presenting our budget. Jacquie would appreciate our attendance. It shows the Finance Committee that there is interest in and support for our budget. Louise will provide her with numbers that she may or may not need and will ask Maureen to send board members a reminder e-mail when the time draws closer.
MARCH EVENTS
Wed., March 5 …... Pre-Diabetes Talk sponsored by VNA - 10:00
Thurs., March 6 ….. Movie – “An Unfinished Life” – 12:30
Mon., March 10 …. The Majesty and Mystery of Crop Circles – 1:00
Sponsored by Holden Arts Council Grant
Wed., March 12 .… Free Legal Clinic w/Attorney Bergeron – 10:00 – 12:00
Thurs., March 13 … Movie – “How to Marry a Millionnaire” – 12:30
Wed., March 19 …. Diabetes Screening sponsored by VNA by appt. 10:00 – 12:00
Thurs., March 20 … Book Discussion Group read Tales from the Crib by Jennifer Coburn
Movie – “Hyde Park on Hudson” – 12:30
Thurs., March 27 … Movie – “Parental Guidance” – 12:30
OUTREACH DEPT. UPDATE ~ Cynthia Smith
Cindy attended this morning’s meeting to talk about some of the things the outreach department does. She explained that no day is typical. If it is a slow day, Cindy will go through the voter registration book and make home visits to seniors 79 years old and up, bringing Files of Life and other useful information to them. On a busy day, Paula and Cindy may each have 11 phone calls, 3 drop-ins and 1 home visit. Paula works 23 hours per week, and Cindy works 16 hours per week. Louise stated that for part-time outreach workers, they cover a lot of ground.
OLD BUSINESS
None
NEW BUSINESS
None.
CITIZENS ADDRESS
None.
ADJOURNMENT
It was unanimously voted to adjourn the meeting at 8:55 a.m.
The next meeting will be held on Thursday, April 3, 2014 at 8:00 a.m. at the Holden Senior Center.
Respectfully submitted,
Maureen Buffone