Director's Message - February 2025

Sharon, Sandi and Robert checking in Bingo participants. The Senior Center hosts Bingo every Tuesday from 6-9 p.m. Doors open at 5 p.m.

Lisa Blair
Executive Director

Here we are, well into the new year and things haven’t slowed down one bit. The lack of snow (so far) this year has kept us vibrant and alive with activity and it has been so good to see everyone continue to remain busy and involved. The Christmas lights outside of our building have gone dark and the decorations inside have been replaced with signs of the expectation of Valentine’s Day. I am the kind of person who craves as much sunshine as I can possibly get, so it is also with immense pleasure that I announce Daylight Saving Time is only five short weeks away! Indeed, we continue to move on into 2025.

As the season continues to change, we also embrace change within our facility. You may have noticed a new face at the reception desk. David, who has been helping in the Second Chance Thrift Shop and is the mastermind behind The Friendship Brigade, our card-making club, will be tending the front desk from 2 to 4 p.m. on Mondays. He will soon be joined by another volunteer, Kathy, who will be at the desk on Tuesdays and Fridays from 2 to 4 p.m. Let’s make sure to welcome them both and give them plenty of grace as they learn this new role.

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Bingo is not without its own changes. Anyone attending bingo on Tuesdays may have already noticed that we have a new Bingo Manager. Sharon Braun started training late last fall and is now on her own in this capacity. After over a decade of managing bingo, Penny Treider has officially retired from that role and is now exclusively working in the thrift shop. We welcome Sharon and, with much gratitude for her years of dedication, say farewell to Penny.
There have also been a few other changes with bingo and we find ourselves in need of one or two volunteers to write receipts for the bingo winners. The volunteers are needed every Tuesday evening so if we had several volunteers, each person would only be needed twice a month. Please contact Lydia Agidius, in the Program Director’s office, if you are interested.

The Second Chance Thrift Shop continues to be remarkably busy and they are looking for additional help as well. There is a part-time cashier position available. It is 21 hours per week and requires two Saturdays each month. This is a paid position and requires a written application. Please contact Shannon, the Thrift Shop Manager, if you are interested and would like to begin the application process. You will be joining a great team!

In keeping with the theme of change, I am sure you have all noticed substantial changes with the Livewire, both in physical appearance and content. The publication reads more like a traditional newspaper and the pages are unbound, making it easier to remove and save pages that are important for the entire month (namely the menu!!). There is a Table of Contents on the front page, allowing for quick access to help you find what you are looking for. There is also much more room for informative ads, all of which help sustain the cost of printing and mailing the publication. I hope you are enjoying this new format. We welcome your feedback on these changes and let me know if there are any other changes you would like to see in the Livewire. Thank you, Russ, for making this all happen.

You may have noticed my absence for several weeks prior to Christmas. I was away on a trip with a dozen of our members on a cruise on the Rhine River. We visited Switzerland, France and Germany on our excursion and it was absolutely wonderful. The Christmas markets were lively and exciting and we all had the chance to try the many different cuisines of the region. The weather was mostly cooperative and the experience was incredible. In case you missed out on this fantastic trip, there will be another opportunity next December as Lydia prepares to take another group on a similar trip on the Danube. That riverboat is almost fully booked, so don’t delay signing up if you are interested. I will also be away later this month when I take a group to Costa Rica and then again in late April for a trip to Italy. These last few trips wrap up the travels I was working on while I was the Program Director, so if you are hoping for a chance to travel with me, you had better jump on board quickly. Lydia will be mostly taking over from here, so head on over to her travel section in this issue to see what she is up to next.

Late last year, the Wenatchee Valley Senior Activity Center was awarded a Wenatchee Valley Fund Legacy Grant from the Community Foundation of North Central Washington in the amount of $23,000. This grant was much needed and I think I can speak for everyone when I say how incredibly grateful we are to have been awarded such a generous amount. The Community Foundation of North Central Washington helps so many nonprofits in the North Central Washington area and they positively change many organizations with their benevolence. If you ever find yourself with an opportunity to support them in their generosity, don’t hesitate. They are a wonderful foundation and they are critical in helping us keep our doors open and our activities continuing for you - our members. As they said to us in our award letter, “We are honored to support your work and grateful for all that you do to make the NCW region a better place to live, work, and play.” Thank you NCW Community Foundation from all of us here at the Wenatchee Valley Senior Activity Center!

We also continue to receive donations from our members and local businesses for our building expansion project. Thank you to each and every one of you. We are grateful for every donation, no matter the amount. It is by one step at a time that we will meet our goal. The Building Committee and Fundraising Committee are working tirelessly to make this vision come to fruition as they actively work on grants and local support. I will continue to report on our progress each month and if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to stop by my office. Lydia has established a modernization forum that needs active participation from our membership. If you have ANY ideas or suggestions for the renovation phase of our facility, please plan to attend one of these forums to make your suggestions known. Drafting has begun on this project and we can’t entertain ideas if we don’t know what you would like.

On a final note, I am pleased to announce a new program that Lydia has started. To show our appreciation to all of our wonderful volunteers, the first Friday of every month will be our Volunteer Appreciation Lunch. If you are an active volunteer and would like to participate, sign up for lunch at least 24 hours prior to that day. When you check in, simply show your volunteer badge and you will receive your ticket for a free lunch that day. Thank you to all our volunteers!

I want to take this opportunity to remind everyone that Monday, February 17 is Presidents’ Day and the senior center will be closed.

In closing, I want to leave you with this thought. There is so much in life to live. Participate in it all!
 
~ Lisa