Minutes of the Meeting of the Staying Put
Board of Directors October 14, 2008
A meeting of the Staying Put Board took place on Tuesday Oct 14, 2008 at 3:30PM at the New Canaan Library.
Tom Towers called the meeting to order and welcomed David Moran onto the Board.
He then presented Jane Nyce with flowers in honor of her first 12 months at SP as executive director. Jane thanked all the volunteers who helped Donna while Jane was away. The surveys have been returned by 50% of the membership. It is good to note that most members said they joined to support New Canaan senior citizens.
As of today SP has had 45 calls since the September Board meeting - a good number of calls and as usual, most were for rides. There was no increase in membership in September, but the informational meeting on October 22 at the New Canaan Historical Society should help to increase awareness and membership. Many thanks to Art Congdon for the terrific flyer he designed and produced for this event.
The September training session for volunteers, which was run by Barbara Johansen, will be followed up with pairings of members for each of the volunteers to visit or to call on a regular basis.
Lois Sandberg will finish the newsletter as soon as Jane gets the draft to her. Andrew Clarkson has underwritten the printing and mailing costs.
Jane passed around the list for weekend coverage by volunteer Board members. She also encouraged Board members to recommend any reliable service people to add to the SP list: plumbers, electricians etc. Whenever there have been complaints about a recommended service provider, Jane has researched the issue and discovered that generally the problem was not poor service, but rather unclear communication which led to disagreement about what was expected from both parties.
Upcoming programs include social as well as informative events. Pat Stoddard held a successful brainstorming meeting in September and there are several events coming up: Pepsi Sculpture Garden tour October 15; flu clinic at Saxe October 18 and at Lapham Center October 25; meet the candidates sponsored by the League of Women Voters at the Library at 1PM October 19; dinner on the third Tuesday of the month (October 21) at Portofino's; the information session for potential members Wednesday, October 22 at 3PM at the New Canaan Historical Society; balance and dizziness seminar at Lapham at 11AM on October 23rd; Sherman Bull's slide show at the NCH Society at 4PM October 30th on climbing Everest with his son and also with an unsighted climber. More programs are scheduled for November.
David Brown also had several suggestions for social interaction: a limerick contest, a flea market (get rid of your stuff and buy somebody else's stuff), a caroche sing-fest, an afternoon of play reading, an art show, and a tea dance. Board presence at any and all of these events is encouraged.
This year's fundraising appeal is in progress. Judy Bentley and Tom Ferguson have completed this year's appeal letter, and many Board members have added personal notes to each of the 500+ letters. The importance of IMMEDIATE acknowledgment of any gift cannot be underscored enough. Each donor expects and needs to know that the gift has actually been received, and that it is tax-deductible. Any personal thank-you note can be sent at the office's convenience, but the acknowledgment form letter must be sent as the donations come in.
Seminars will be held on financial planning, including wills, estate planning, investment planning, and long term healthcare on November 6, November 20 and January 8 at 3PM at the NCH Society. Mike Holland, Tom Ferguson and a law firm will most likely be our expert presenters. These will be information seminars, not sales pitch seminars. Pat Stoddard will secure the NCH Society for these meetings. The Board is charged with building attendance for these seminars.
Our guiding light, David Brown, has written an essay on SP in a "Stressed Future" - David lived through the "Great Depression," and has many useful insights which Jane will ask for his permission to be put on our website.
The Young Women's League has donated pumpkins to SP members who are unable to go out and buy their own. Stephanie Grillo is spearheading this timely offer. Bob Lear's book on volunteerism in New Canaan is available at the Elm Street Bookstore. Sales from proceeds go to SP.
The SP website should have more presence - at the very least it should be on the SP letterhead and in every mention in any newspaper coverage. Any grown children of New Canaan seniors will be apt to go to the SP website. The Town should include the SP website in its links. Also, the SP office phone number should be on the letterhead.
There being no further business, Tom Towers closed the meeting at 5PM.
The next Board meeting will be Monday, Nov 10 at 4PM at the Library.
Respectfully submitted,
Lyn B Chivvis, Secretary
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