Annual January Luncheon…Paddy Wray

PLEASE JOIN US FOR OUR POST HOLIDAY LUNCHEON

ON TUESDAY JAN 16TH 11:30

Price approx. $10.00 with drink & tax

We have reserved a private room at the Santa Clara Hometown Buffet. The restaurant is in the Moonlite Shopping Center at El Camino Real and Kiely Blvd. We would like you to reserve your space at the December meeting or call Paddy Wray or Margaret Schieck by Jan 3rd. If any of you talented people would like to offer some entertainment, we are seeking dancers (ballet, tap, belly, whatever); also actors to provide a play or skit.

President’s Message…Ken Schieck

Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukah to all the members of Campbell AARP Chapter 5151! May you all give and receive the blessings of this period. I hope that some of you were able to participate in the annual Christmas wrapping party which was held on Friday, Dec. 8.

We are privileged to have Campbell mayor and AARP member Liz Gibbons install our new slate of officers at our December meeting. I have enjoyed leading this group, and I look forward to working with the Board and you in 2018.

Every issue of the Campbell Reporter mentions the scams that unprincipled people make on seniors; please be careful of phone calls, e-mails and good old snail mail. If they look or sound suspicious, they probably are!

There are a lot of notable (and maybe not so notable) folks who have birthdays in December including: Woody Allen (1st), Brittany Spears (2nd), Walt Disney (5th), Mary Queen of Scots (8th), Kirk Douglas (9th), Frank Sinatra (12th), Beethoven (16th), Pope Francis (17th), Joseph Stalin, Brad Pitt and Steven Spielberg (18th), Cicely Tyson (18th), Mao Zedong (26th), and Woodrow Wilson (28th).

MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION (PLEASE PRINT)

Revised 10-1-17

I wish to renew my membership or join the Campbell AARP 5151 Chapter. I have enclosed a check for my annual chapter dues which include E-Mail delivery of our newsletter for $14, or Regular mail delivery for $17. I am a member of the National organization.

National No. (Required) : . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Expiration Date:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

E-Mail Address. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Amount Paid $ . . . . . . . . Check #. . . . . . . .

NAME:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [ ] New Member* (see below)

ADDRESS:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [ ] Renewal

CITY:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . STATE:. . . . . . . . .ZIP CODE: __ __ __ __ __ — __ __ __ __

PHONE: (. . .. . . .) . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .SIGNATURE:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DATE . . . . . . . .

*How did you hear about our chapter?_________________________ Age Group? 55-65 ( ) 66-75 ( ) 76+ ( )

Please make checks payable to AARP Campbell Chapter 5151.

Mail to: Membership Chairperson Shelly Schwartz or

Deliver to: Shelly Schwartz at Campbell Community Center, Q80, on November 19, 2017

Opportunity Tickets…Barbara Robinson

November drawings at three for $1 are:

“Kool Kit” $36 Value

Ice Pack & Biofreeze Spray

Winchester Chiropractic

1270 S. Winchester Blvd, S.J.

(Thanks to Barbara Robinson)

Red Robin (Free Dessert w/Purchase-$5 Value)

El Paseo de Saratoga

(Thanks to Angie Jaggars)

Campbell Express

Two Free Subscriptions 408-374-9700

(Thanks to Stephon Hansen)

Weekend Coffee Roasters

Bag of Fresh Coffee Locally Roasted

(Thanks to Rick Loek)

October winners were:

Half Hour Massage: Bonnie Wasenbaum

Denny’s: Richard Sarsfield

Campbell Express: Paul Waxenbaum and Betty Rhodes

Weekend Coffee Roasters: Rick Loek

Community Service…Marilyn Clough

I have been adding up all of our volunteer hours that have accumulated so far. I know there are many of you who volunteer in interesting places but neglect to let us know about them. Please remember the purple envelope at the meeting! You can go all the way back to January — the information doesn’t need to be in any particular order.

To further entertain myself I am rooting around in old meeting minutes in order to write our chapter history. What memories this conjures up, and how things have changed over the years in so many different ways. We are a very adaptable bunch.

Legislative Report…Daniel Nnorth and Claudia Schott

The last thing that sick, older Americans need right now is a tax hike — but that’s exactly what will happen unless Congress takes action.

A bipartisan bill has been introduced in the Senate, which would protect older Americans from a potential tax increase in 2017. Senators Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, introduced the legislation midOctober designed to protect seniors with high health care costs from a “health tax” in 2017. The Seniors Tax Hike Prevention Act of 2017 (S. 1977) would allow for a two-year delay in the scheduled increase of the income threshold — to 10% from the current 7.5% — after which those age 65 and older can deduct medical expenses on their tax returns. AARP “supports this temporary delay as a necessary immediate step toward permanently restoring the tax threshold to 7.5% for older Americans with high out-of-pocket health care costs.”

Citing recent IRS data, AARP noted that:

• 56% of those taking the medical expense deduction were age 65 or older.

• Nearly 31% of taxpayers age 65+ that claimed the medical expense deduction had annual income under $50,000.

• Nearly 73% of people of all ages claiming the medical expense deduction had annual income under $75,000.

AARP is urging “Congress to follow the lead of Senators Brown and Portman by enacting measures such as this that will help protect older Americans from high health and long-term care costs.”

AARP also asks us to tweet, write or call our Senators to urge them to get on board with this bill. If it doesn’t pass soon, we are the ones paying, yet again. There is also an advocacy page at action.aarp.org. Just type in “Seniors Tax Hike Prevention Act of 2017” into the search bar and you will find a link to the action page.

NOVEMBER 21 MEETING IN Q80

November 21 meeting in Q80 at 10:00 a.m.

Social Time at 9:30 a.m.

Leave clean clothing and bedding and nonperishable food for Sacred Heart on the bench outside. Please do not bring garage sale type items for Sacred Heart. Please bring books to share. Place these items on the first table: donations for the troops; new and used greeting cards in the box; your volunteer hours in purple envelope.

Lunch after meeting: Aldo’s Ristorante & Bar 14109 Winchester Blvd, Los Gatos 408-384-1808 (at Knowles Drive)

Program: Ray Cosyn, Historian

 

President…Ken Schieck

During November, we will celebrate the feast of Thanksgiving, one of our earliest American holidays. While we give thanks for our many blessings, let us remember the plight of the poor, giving generously to our favorite charity, and remembering to be generous to the victims of the natural disasters in our country this year as well.

The Board is going to develop an evacuation plan to handle such events as the fire drill at our general meeting last month; the plan will be presented to the Campbell Senior Center administration for approval. I think the drill went smoothly but we need strong guidelines to handle another one.

Marilyn Clough is writing a history of our organization, which is over 20 years old. If you wish to assist in this endeavor, please call or e-mail her. The completed essay will be presented to local community newspapers for publication.

Wesley Manor, a senior’s retirement center, is seeking a part-time receptionist for weekends/ holidays from 9am to 5 pm; pay is $15/hr. up to a maximum of 36 hours/month. Need excellent judgment and communication skills and ability to respond effectively to resident and physical plant emergencies. For further information, email info@scmrf.org.

Birthdays in November include Marie Curie and Daniel Boone (Nov.2), Carl Sagan (Nov.9), Leonardo DeCaprio (Nov.11), Grace Kelly (Nov.12), Georgia O’Keeffe (Nov.15), Alan Shepard (Nov.18), Bill Nye (Nov.27), Jon Stewart (Nov.28), and Winston Churchill (Nov.30).

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL!