President’s Message … Margaret Schieck

Happy Mothers’ Day to all mothers, stepmothers, grandmothers, and anyone filling the role of Mother figure.  Enjoy your Day!

The next glasses sorting opportunity will be on May 6th from 9:00 a.m. to approximately 2:00 p.m. with lunch provided.  This is an easy way to contribute 5 hours of volunteer time, and it’s fun.  The event takes place at the Santa Clara County VISTA Center, 101 No. Bascom in San Jose (cross street is San Carlos).  The event is sponsored by the Campbell-West San Jose Lions Club. See you there.

Senior Safari events have returned to Happy Hollow Park and Zoo.  The first free event will be on May 25th. Seniors enter free and parking is free as long as you enter between 9:00 a.m. and 9:59 a.m.  If it is your first visit, you will receive an admission card with the future events listed and any subsequent visits will not require you to stand in line.  Once in the park, you may stay as long as you wish.  Coffee and light breakfast fare are available for purchase.

On Memorial Day, May 29th, let us not fail to honor those who gave “the last full measure of devotion” for our country.  The Campbell Veterans Memorial Foundation will hold its annual Ceremony at 9:00 a.m. at the Memorial site on Orchard City Green at City Hall.  The ceremony will also be streamed live on Facebook.

CHAPTERS:  There are 16 local AARP Chapters left in the State of California.  Only 5 of these are in Northern California, and only 2 of the 5 are in the San Francisco Bay Area.  The Campbell Area Chapter 5151 is proudly one of those 2.  One does not have to be a Campbell resident to belong to this Chapter.  More about the various cities represented next month.

SUGGESTION BOX:  Please note that our Secretary, Fannie Young, brings a suggestion box to every general meeting.  It is located on the table at the front of the meeting room.  We welcome suggestions for speakers/programs.  Please feel free to make suggestions for speakers by using this box.  Please include contact information if you can provide it.

Have a great month of May.  We’ll see you at the meeting on May 16th.

President’s Message … Margaret Schieck

Happy Mothers’ Day to all mothers, stepmothers, grandmothers, and anyone filling the role of Mother figure.  Enjoy your Day!

The next glasses sorting opportunity will be on May 6th from 9:00 a.m. to approximately 2:00 p.m. with lunch provided.  This is an easy way to contribute 5 hours of volunteer time, and it’s fun.  The event takes place at the Santa Clara County VISTA Center, 101 No. Bascom in San Jose (cross street is San Carlos).  The event is sponsored by the Campbell-West San Jose Lions Club. See you there.

Senior Safari events have returned to Happy Hollow Park and Zoo.  The first free event will be on May 25th. Seniors enter free and parking is free as long as you enter between 9:00 a.m. and 9:59 a.m.  If it is your first visit, you will receive an admission card with the future events listed and any subsequent visits will not require you to stand in line.  Once in the park, you may stay as long as you wish.  Coffee and light breakfast fare are available for purchase.

On Memorial Day, May 29th, let us not fail to honor those who gave “the last full measure of devotion” for our country.  The Campbell Veterans Memorial Foundation will hold its annual Ceremony at 9:00 a.m. at the Memorial site on Orchard City Green at City Hall.  The ceremony will also be streamed live on Facebook.

CHAPTERS:  There are 16 local AARP Chapters left in the State of California.  Only 5 of these are in Northern California, and only 2 of the 5 are in the San Francisco Bay Area.  The Campbell Area Chapter 5151 is proudly one of those 2.  One does not have to be a Campbell resident to belong to this Chapter.  More about the various cities represented next month.

SUGGESTION BOX:  Please note that our Secretary, Fannie Young, brings a suggestion box to every general meeting.  It is located on the table at the front of the meeting room.  We welcome suggestions for speakers/programs.  Please feel free to make suggestions for speakers by using this box.  Please include contact information if you can provide it.

Have a great month of May.  We’ll see you at the meeting on May 16th.

President’s Message .. Margaret Schieck

Happy Easter and a Joyous Passover to all our members.  Hopefully, the celebrations will not be waterlogged!

In March, we had the pleasure of hearing Dr. Art Low and Mr. Dave Kaplow give one of the most dynamic and interesting programs we have had.  The subject was the Lions In Sight program.  (See page 3 for a photograph of our guest speakers.)

For those of you who would like to consider volunteering, the next glasses sorting event will be held on Saturday, May 6th, from 9:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. Coffee is ready in the morning and lunch is served to the volunteers.  You can just show up at the VISTA Center at 101 Bascom Ave. near San Carlos in San Jose, or you can sign up in advance on the Lions website.

In April, we will have a program presented by a representative from Google regarding information technology for Senior Citizens. (See Paul’s article for details.)

Remember to sign up to bring refreshments for the May meeting if you can.  Of course, last-minute goodies are always welcome.

I hope you all have pleasant Spring Holidays — it really will get warmer!

President’s Message…Margaret Schieck

Happy New Year and best wishes for a healthy 2023.  Also, have a reflective Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on January 16th.  By chance, we get two long weekends in January and get to celebrate Lunar New Year on January 22nd!

Please remember that there will be NO General Meeting at the Community Center this month. Instead, we will have our annual luncheon on January 17th at Casa Lupe in Campbell at 11:30 a.m.  Parking is somewhat limited, so informal (arranged on your own) carpools are encouraged.  Remember to get your reservations and payment in by January 9th.   Guests are welcome, but reservations MUST be made in advance.

If anyone will be donating an item for a door prize, please let Lynda Martinez know.  There will be a free drawing at the luncheon, but we need to know how many prizes we will have.

The next glasses-sorting/cleaning Lions Club event will be held on Saturday, January 7th at the VISTA Center from 9:00 a.m.to approximately 2:00 p.m. (lunch included).  The location is 101 No. Bascom Ave., just off San Carlos. You do not have to stay for the entire time.  Come and meet new friends while discovering what happens to your eyewear donations.

Many thanks to the Harpers’ Hall musicians for the wonderful Holiday program they presented at our December meeting.  The group has already set aside December 19th, 2023, to come and play for us at that meeting!

Don’t forget to join or renew your membership in AARP Chapter 5151 this month.  Have a great January and we hope to see you at the luncheon.

President’s Message … Margaret Schieck

HAPPY 246th BIRTHDAY to the United States of America!  I hope you enjoyed the holiday.

July is “BRING A FRIEND” month for the Campbell Area Chapter of AARP.  Please invite someone to come to our meeting along with you, or separately. A guest does not pay for membership dues until they have attended 3 free meetings.  Of course, guests may also join at any meeting.  One does not have to be a Campbell resident to come to our meetings. “Campbell Area” includes San Jose, Milpitas, Saratoga, Los Gatos, Cupertino and Santa Clara as well as Campbell.  Coffee time is at 9:15 am and the speaker starts at 10:00 a.m.  The July meeting will take place on July 19th in Room Q80 of the Campbell Community Center, 1 West Campbell Ave. in Campbell.  As you enter the Center’s driveway, there is a large parking lot on the left, very close to our meeting room, Q80.

Last month, I mentioned the Senior Safari walks at Happy Hollow Park and Zoo.  Parking and Admission are free if you arrive before 10:00 a.m.  The senior walks take place on the 4th Thursday of the month through October.  Also, for a senior discount rate of $10.00, there are docent-led walks through History San Jose from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. every Thursday for the summer months.  Both venues are located in Kelly Park in San Jose.

Many thanks to all of the AARP Chapter members who came to Angie Jaggars Memorial Service.  It was well attended.

Remember, BRING A FRIEND TO OUR MEETING.

Campbell Area AARP Chapter Meetings

Campbell Area Chapter 5151 meets at the Campbell Community Center on the third Tuesday of each month at 10:00 a.m. in Room Q80. Don’t sit at home with little to do! Come join this active group. Make new friends. Expand your horizons. Meetings are open to residents of all communities, but membership in the National AARP is required for Chapter membership, which provides, for an annual fee, a mailed black-and-white local newsletter or an emailed color version.

Members often share common interests. Monthly general meetings provide a forum to keep people informed about various local, state, and federal issues, such as legal news, health, identity theft, personal safety, utility regulations, musical programs, magicians, dance and drama groups, and much more.

Members are encouraged to volunteer in the local area to help fulfill the National AARP, “To serve, not be served.” Chapter 5151 has provided commendable volunteer service to many organizations, even throughout the pandemic of 2020-2022.

Come visit us at our next meeting on the third Tuesday of the month and bring a friend.

President’s Message…Margaret Schieck

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE!!  I hope you all enjoyed the holiday break.  We start a new year with new challenges and new opportunities!

Our General Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, January 18, in Room Q80 at the Campbell Community Center.  Social time is at 9:15 a.m. with the program scheduled for 10:00.  Meetings are limited to 50 participants, so please sign up in advance prior to January 17, by emailing Joy Walsh or calling her.  We MUST enforce the 50-person limit. If you do not sign up in advance, you may not be able to attend. Officers and Committee Chairs are automatically on the sign-up sheet.  Thank you, Joy for doing this.

Masks are required to enter the Community Center buildings, regardless of vaccination status.

The information regarding in-person meetings is contingent upon COVID guidelines staying as currently defined; we may have to switch to ZOOM at the last minute.

Our Chapter has been operating at a deficit for several years, mostly due to printing and mailing costs, and we find it necessary to raise membership dues for 2022.  Effective March 1, 2022, dues for members receiving the Dispatch via email will be $15.00 and for those receiving it via snail mail dues will be $20.00. These changes represent a $1.00 increase or a $3.00 increase, respectively, for a yearly membership.

On a brighter note, the social committee has chosen a venue for our annual luncheon on March 15, 2022. We will be meeting at Casa Lupe Restaurant in Campbell on Winchester at Cherry at 11:30. The luncheon will be a buffet in a private room, with seating for 50 people with plenty of space. More details to follow at the January meeting.

Many thanks to Sue Yeager for stepping up to manage the Book Exchange table.  There will be no post- meeting lunch in January as no one has volunteered to be lunch coordinator.  For events to take place, we must have volunteers.

See you on January 18!

AARP January Program…Paul Levine

The speaker for our Jan. 18, 2022, meeting will be Ken Johnson, the Executive Director of the Campbell Chamber of Commerce.  His presentation will cover activities of the Chamber, including upcoming events, which can serve as opportunities for our members to serve as volunteers.

Ken has lived in Campbell for the last 31 years.  Prior to joining the Chamber staff in 2018, he co-founded WAGIC, Inc. (What a Great Idea Company) with his brother, where he served as Vice President of Idea Development.  For more than 30 years, WAGIC’s commitment to innovation in every stage of the design process provided outstanding results for its clients and the firm’s own consumer product lines.  Ken served as the company’s point man for creating, nurturing, and developing new ideas and partnerships.  Ken is also passionate about baseball.  He served as a varsity baseball coach for 12 seasons at Westmont High School in Campbell. Currently Ken is an assistant varsity coach at Branham High School.

Opportunity Drawing…Sharon Levine

Assuming we have an in-person meeting on January 18, there will be 3 Opportunity prizes:  a $15 gift card for Starbucks (anonymous), a tote bag (thanks to Shelly Schwartz), and a car sun-visor (thanks to Ron Berube).   The winner of the December-meeting prize ($15 for Panera Bread) was Harry Kiesler.

Membership…Shelly Schwartz

Happy 2022 to everyone!  Here’s hoping that this year will be a great improvement over last year, so continue to stay safe and be healthy.  And, since it is the beginning of a new year — and past time for all those who have not yet submitted their membership dues — please take a moment to write out your check and send it to me with your completed membership application. We always need your continued support, especially in these trying times.  Dues remain the same until March 1, 2022.  (See President’s Message.)