SPOKES VOL. LXXVI NO. 37 March 26,2019
We were greeted this morning by Jerry Gruber and Pete Swanson.
Vice-President Dan Thompson opened our meeting; we sang “America the Beautiful” followed by Art Ayers’ invocation.
How nice to see Paul Hemmeter this morning! WELCOME BACK, PAUL!!
GUESTS: Tara Gillette, Marketing/Communications Specialist, for the Region IV Area Agency on Aging, Inc. Tara will be presenting today’s program.
New member updates for the directory are again available for pick-up. Many thanks to Tom Renner for putting them together.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
*April 12th- Blessings in a Backpack
*This Thursday, March 28th, will be the last Thursday Night Supper at the Congregational Church this year. Many thanks to those Rotarians who have helped on the third Thursday of each month!!!
*A reminder that April 27th is our Annual Educational Fundraiser, which is to be held at The Beeches Golf Club.
*Our Recognition Dinner is to be held on June 25th at Hawkshead, following an afternoon of golf. Non-golfers are invited to participate in a longest putt contest after the golfing is completed.
Vice-President Thompson invited nominations for Rotarian of the Year, Educator of the Year, and Community Service Awards.
SONGS:
Bob Boerma “navigated” us through Program #5: “The Band Played On”, “Hello Ma Baby”, and “Roll Rotary”.
50/50
Sergeant-at-Arms Stuart Comiskey chose our speaker, Tara Gillette, as our “honest and reliable” candidate to draw our first winning ticket.
The winning ticket belonged to Ross Woodhams, who then proceeded to draw the #10 card, guaranteeing Bob McAlear the $2 prize.
BIRTHDAYS and ANNIVERSARIES:
Ross Woodhams and his wife celebrated their 39th anniversary!
FINES:
HAPPY BUCKS truly dominated this morning; however, Larry Wittkop paid tribute to the Spartans saying, “How SWEET it is!”. Scott Mark added a “Go Green!”, and Art Ayers gave a “shout out” to the Wolverines, as did Jerry Gruber. While Deb Davidson did not mention her Boilermakers, she did voice support for the conference: “Go Big Ten!”. Nick Tuit seemed confident this morning adding, “Spring will come!”.
PROGRAM: Tara Gillette, Marketing/Communications Specialist, Region IV Area Agency on Aging, Inc., was introduced by Program Chair Tom Renner.
As she did when visiting with us two years ago, Tara came prepared to share a video presentation; however, once again, it “wasn’t to be”, as compatibility of equipment was an issue.
At some point, we’ll look forward to her video; however, she does extremely well on her own!
The Region IV Area Agency on Aging, located in St. Joseph, Michigan, is “a private non-profit corporation that has been the nerve center for aging services in Southwest Michigan. Established in 1974, for developing age-supporting commerce and services, it plays a major role in planning, funding, and delivery of various services. It advocates on behalf of older and disabled persons, identifies needs of the elderly and disabled and creates plans for meeting those needs, through a system of in-home and community services, to enable people to maintain their independence. The Region IV Area Agency on Aging also administers federal, state, local, and private funds to support those services.”
Tara supplied a wealth of information regarding “The Agency’s” services. Among them were:
*Long Term Care Options at Home
My Life. My Choice.-Programs offer quality home-based care options for people 18 years old to age 100+. Services may be in your own home, or they may be in assisted living or adult foster care homes. Services could include:
Nurse/social worker to coordinate care
Help managing medications
Help with bathing and other personal care
Social transportation
Emergency button
Nursing services
Home delivered meals
Help with laundry, cooking and cleaning
Support and relief for caregivers
Help making the home more accessible
Nursing Home and Hospital Transition-Services help anyone who would like to ensure that they can move back home. Whether you want to move back into your own home, or need to find a place to live, their staff can help.
Aging and Adult Services Agency-this program helps older adults (60 and older) to continue living as independently as possible, for as long as possible. Care managers meet with older adults and caregivers in their home to develop care plans.
*Who, What and Where
An extremely valuable handout…It is a quick reference guide of frequently requested phone numbers and web sites and is published by the Area Agency on Aging(AAA) for informational purposes only.
To receive a copy of this brochure, call the Info-Line for Aging and Disability-1-800-654-2810.
Tara took some questions from our members and received thanks from Vice-President Thompson and the club for a very informative, and very relevant, presentation.
Program Chair Tom Renner presented Tara with our token of appreciation, our Rotary pen.
Next Meeting: April 2, 2019
Program Chair: Bob McAlear
Program: Michael McCarthy, author of Ashes Under the Water-The Eastland Disaster
Greeters: Art Ayers/Bob McAlear
We concluded our meeting with the Four-Way Test.
Art Ayers, Seasonal Editarian