New Chapter Email
If you have not sent a note with your name to aarp5239@gmail.com, please do so. We are creating an email list just for our chapter. In the future if you change your email, send changes to aarp5239@gmail.com.
Let the Good Times Roll!
What a great get-together and fun time was had at the Chapter’s Annual June Picnic on the 20th. Because of the rain, the event was moved from the Sweetbriar Pavilion to the LOW Community Center…and despite the rain, a record crowd of members showed up to mix-and-mingle and share fellowship time and great food with each other.
Our thanks once again go to Gil and Lucy Churchill, our outstanding Refreshment Chairs…to the hamburger and hot dog chefs who braved the mist and rain to provide the mouth-watering hot meats…to Joe McEuen for smoothly handling the last-minute table-and-chair setup change from outside to inside…and to the many, many volunteer-helpers and dish-sharers for putting on such a relaxed, enjoyable, and tasty Chapter picnic. Great work, all, and well done!
Looking to upcoming events, the AARP Board Meeting will be held Monday, July 11, starting at 10 AM at the Wilderness Library. Chapter Officers and Directors and Committee Heads are encouraged to attend these Board Meetings. The meetings are also open for any members who may want to bring problems or service opportunities to the attention of the Board for possible action.
Then plan to come to Sailboat Beach by the Clubhouse on Saturday, July 23, to watch Bobbie Prees once again represent AARP Chapter 5239 in the Lake Youth Foundation’s annual Cardboard Boat Regatta. The fun starts at 11:30 AM. Bobbie won First Place for us last year in our race category, so she’s the early odds-on favorite to win again this year. Let’s all plan to show up to cheer Bobbie on to another watery victory.
Finally, our neighbor is a pretty blonde who can be quite dense about things. She complained the other day that her internet provider had rejected her password, even though she had followed the rules. What password did you use? we asked.
“MickeyMinniePlutoHueyLouieDeweyDonald GoofyRichmond.”
Why did you submit such a long, long password?
“They said it had to be eight characters long and include at least one capital.”
Dick Martin, President
McKees Discuss Conservation Program
by Carolyn Wray
The next meeting of AARP Chapter 5239 will take place on Monday, July 18, at the LOW Clubhouse. The meeting will begin at 9:30 AM with sweets and coffee followed by the program at 10 AM. The speakers will be Lynn and Dave McKee, volunteers at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI), a 3,200-acre facility located in Front Royal, Virginia.
They will be presenting an overview of the Institute, which supports the Smithsonian’s effort to conserve species and train future generations of conservationists. Staff at this location facilitate and promote research programs at Front Royal, at the National Zoo in Washington, DC, and at field-research and training sites around the world.
The SCBI houses about thirty endangered species of animals, and Lynn and Dave will be discussing the breeding programs and survival plans for Black Footed Ferrets, Clouded Leopards, Red-Crowned and White-Naped Cranes, Scimitar Horned Oryx, Przewalski’s Horses, and Cheetahs.
This should be a most interesting program and everyone is invited to come.
July Birthdays (Cancer and Leo)
Karen Anderson, Tony Aris, Bernie Arnold, Julia Barnes, Joann Batten, Bonnie Boelke, Richard Costanzo, Sue Dickinson, Barbara Drumheller, Gayle Fargo, Sandra Frame, Gene Jacobs, Janet Jacobs, Bob Jenks, Rima Laviano, Jim Lemieux, Sandi McNeilly, Ursula Medwid, Bernie Palowitch, Ruth Pavlik, Delma Roessler, Patrick Rowland, Doris Schluter, Margaret Thode, Sharon Webb, Diane Weller, and Verna Wescott
SUNSHINE REPORT
by Carolyn Durphy
Sympathy cards were sent to twins Sandy McNeilly & Sharon Webb on the loss of their mother.
Get well cards were sent to Virginia Bayer, Joe Noland, and Joyce Richter.
If you know of a member who needs cheering up, contact Carolyn Durphy at 972-3306.
A good time was had by all…
by Bob Johnson, Volunteer Coordinator, Day of Service
Wednesday May 18 and Thursday, May 19, 2011, were our “Volunteer Service Days.” First, thanks to all of you who volunteered and accomplished a huge service to our community. My count shows 70 people contributed 292 hours of service. This is slightly ahead of last year and well over our goal of 10% of the members and almost as many hours as last year.
I am including the contact information for the organizations. These organizations need help all year long—not just the two days we work as teams. If you are interested, call them directly and arrange a time to volunteer. Some of the reports I’ve received:
TRIAD: Dick and Kathleen Bradie (aceboggs@ comcast.net). Seven volunteers were able to complete all of the admin work (yellow dots), and a good time was had by all!
Dogwood Village/Orange County Nursing Home. (Patti Talley, Director, ptalley@dogwoodvillageocva. org). Barbara Ehlan, Skip and Joy Poole, Peggy Grella, and Joyce Breeden assisted residents in planting geraniums on the facility’s patio and terrace.
Orange County Animal Shelter (Betty Hughes hughesbj@comcast.net). Seven people (Ann Walker, Chris Grimley, Peggy Cooke, Bobbie Prees, John and Betty Hughes created 900 mailings for fundraising. This is the second year a vital task was completed. A “job well done.”
Wilderness Food Pantry (Betty Beck bbmarlpat@ aol.com).
Orange County Historical Society Paul Carter (pjlitterbox@peoplepc.com )
Sheltering Arms: Marian and Frank Jacobeen (jacobeen@juno.com). Eleven volunteers accomplished quite a bit: boarded up a broken window in the men's bedroom, organized the cabinet in the upper hall by contents, and reorganized and purged the freezers. Three of the men did outside work—grass cutting, trimming bushes and other needed work. It was a good day’s work! Frank Jacobeen shared that he still has carpenter work to do.
Wilderness Battlefield Shelter. Bob Johnson (bjohn913@comcast.net) The National Park Service spent quite a few dollars to paint the original Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) building (ca. 1930) and replace the roof. John Trach, Dorse Counts, Wade Aylor, Aggie Mucciacciano, and I cut weeds and raked leaves to make it safer (from brush fires) and more beautiful (can an old brown building be beautiful?).
Services to Abused Families (SAFE). Karen Brown (kbrown.safe@gmail.com) Pam Nalls, Dorse Counts, and Bob Johnson removed and painted 26 kitchen cabinet doors and drawers, installed new hardware, and reinstalled the fronts.
Photography: Thanks to Dick Durphy and Ralph Scheuermann for picking up and delivering lunches, and for taking pictures of the teams.
Lunches: Bonnie Boelke took charge of the lunch project. Bobby Prees, Vi Liberti, and Jane Tobin were done by 8:30—well before the deadline. As a consumer of one of the lunches, I can attest they were delicious, nutritious, and very welcome in the field.
Another note about the AARP picnic on June 20. We had hamburgers, hot dogs, and buns left over. Kathleen Bradie asked me if I could take them to the Germanna Heights Apartments (I help with a Sunday service there). Darlene Sayler added her pot of wonderful home-made beans. Due to your generosity, they had a wonderful cookout. Those who missed our picnic missed the best hamburgers made fresh by Lucy Churchill and her team of burger busters.
I’ve tried to get all volunteers and contacts names as best I can, but this task is like herding cats—you all are so busy and so talented, it is hard to get all the facts straight. If I’ve made a mistake or omission, please forgive me. Until next year.
NOTES, BITS AND PIECES
New Members
We welcome Florence Ramey and Lee Mintz who joined as new members in June.
Silent Auction
by Patti Batten
The Silent Auction Committee has benefited from two recent “LIVING ESTATE SALES.” We will meet shortly after July 4 to price and prepare for the July Silent Auction.
The tables are set up at 9:30 AM to give you time to select the items before the meeting starts. If you have any new or gently used, clean items you want to donate, you may bring them to the meeting or call Patti at 972-1370, Jean at 972-8310, Margaret at 972-5540, Diane at 972-2078 or Karen at 972-7866 for pick up
The Refreshment committee needs bakers for the next several months. See Alice Grgas at the refreshment table to sign up. Thanks for all your past delicious goodies.
New Yorkers Club activities
9/11 T-shirts are on sale to benefit Sheltering Arms. In honor of the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attack, “In Remembrance” T-shirts are on sale for $15 each by the New York Picnic Committee. Contact John at 972-4883 or at JoJanT@verizon.net
Tickets for the September 10 NY Club Picnic can be obtained from the following: John at 972-4883, John at 972-6216, Tony at 972-2016, and Dick at 308-5507. The $15 ticket includes the meal, souvenir booklet, and all supplies. Proceeds will be donated to Sheltering Arms.
Medical News
by Sandy Frame
Are you always tired? Not getting enough quality sleep can be one of the reasons. For most people seven or eight hours is ideal. If you have trouble getting enough sleep, these are some of the suggestions from Focus on Healthy Aging.
· Set a designated sleep and wake time and stick to that schedule every day of the week.
· Avoid stimulants such as caffeine especially after dinner.
· Create a quiet, peaceful sleep environ-ment. Do not watch television in the bedroom.
· Get regular exercise during the day (at least 30 minutes most days) but not heavy in the evening. You can find exercises to do in a chair if you are limited in mobility.
· If you take medication that makes you drowsy, take it in the evening if you can.
· Do not use alcohol as sleep medication.
From “Focus on Aging,” Women’s Health Reporter, Volume12, #6, June 2011.
Legislative News
by Pat Berry
Last month I wrote that the State of Virginia was preparing to launch an online registry for Advance Directives. Well, I guess you all know that the legislative process is slow and deliberative. I asked for status and found that the regs are waiting for approval from the Governor’s office. Once that is done they will need to be approved by the Registrar and be placed into a public comment period. That period is 30 days in duration. Can we all say maybe September?
Meanwhile, I’d like to mention a database sponsored by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) that allows consumers for the first time to view safety complaints that other people have filed against specific products. After major recalls of children’s products and toys in 2007, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 granted the CPSC authority to make the information it collects available to the public. The result was the creation of an online resource of comments from real people, not just company public relations departments. For example, if you type in "refrigerator," you will get a list of formal recalls and also specific complaints that previous buyers have filed concerning the appliances. To review a product, go to www.SaferProducts.gov. Consumers who visit the database can also file safety com-plaints of their own against a wide range of products. To register a complaint, you must provide your name, the name of the manu-facturer and model number, as well as other key information. Become an active partner in consumer affairs by sharing your comments with this national audience.
