NO General Meeting This Month
In place of the general meeting, we will have our Annual Luncheon on January 21 at
Mama Mia’s Restaurant, 200 E. Hamilton Ave. & 3rd Street
NO TICKETS WILL BE SOLD AT THE DOOR. Lunch will be served at 11:30. Your hosts will be Paddy Wray, Margaret Schieck, and Barbara Robinson. Great way to start the New Year! Hope to see you there.
We will be entertained by the Harpers Hall Ensemble. Harpers Hall makes its home in the San Francisco South Bay Area and Central California Coast.
Their purpose is to promote an appreciation of the folk harp, to cultivate its living musical tradition, and to preserve the fun and magic of the harp for members and for the general public. Members range from beginning harp players to professional musicians. They hold monthly gatherings at members’ homes or other locations during which they conduct mini-workshops, practice repertoire, share music with each other, and snack on treats that they bring to share. In addition, they perform for festivals, host workshops and house concerts featuring traveling harpists, and hold annual harp retreats.
They played for us last December: a performance that was greatly enjoyed by all.
Gracefully aging in-place: most of us wish to remain in our homes as long as possible during our sunset years, but many of us will require outside assistance in order to fulfill that wish. Learn what to expect when you hire someone to help you “age-in-place.” What kinds of questions should you ask? What type of help can you expect? What is the cost and how to pay for it?
Speakers: Markus Breitbach with Help and Care In-Home Care Services; Casey Fleming, Reverse Mortgage Specialist with C2 Financial; Ann Escobar, Financial Advisor with Waddell & Reed; and Debra Schwartz, Senior Real Estate Specialist with CSR Real Estate Services and panel moderator will provide insight and guidance into these questions about aging-in-place. They are committed to helping seniors feel empowered to make informed decisions about aging with dignity.
As the Reverse Mortgage Specialist at Guild Mortgage, Tom King has spent the past six years dedicating his focus on educating seniors in the benefits of reverse mortgages. With the changes made by HUD, reverse mortgages can play an important role for seniors as a financial planning tool as recognized by many Certified Financial Planners. These changes protect the borrower and provide for greater benefits in accessing the equity in the home to achieve many different objectives, including paying off a current mortgage, setting up a line of credit, taking funds at closing, drawing funds on a monthly basis, or a combination of the above based on the amount of equity in the home.
The Boomerang Barbershop Quartet was formed originally in 2000 from four members of the Peninsulaires Barbershop Chorus: Al Ward, Steve Wolf, Jim Gray, and lead singer Rob Sequera. The name “Boomerang” was a play on their members: they were baby-boomers and Silicon Valley boomers and their lead singer was Australian. About 5 years ago, Rob and Jim moved on to other pursuits, and after a temporary period with another lead, they became the Boomerang of today; Lead Ramin Keyvan, Bass Steve Wolf, Baritone Dave Morley, and Tenor Al Ward. They previously sang at an AARP meeting in 2018 and their performance was thoroughly enjoyed by all.
Heart of the Valley, SERVICES FOR SENIORS, INC., is a non-profit, all-volunteer organization helping seniors 65 or older in West Santa Clara Valley by offering services and programs that help them maintain their independence. Come learn more about their offerings and find out why they are passionate about helping seniors in our community. Perhaps their programs will benefit you or someone you know, and/or possibly you’ll find them to be a worthy volunteer opportunity.
Their motto: “Friendly Neighbors Helping Seniors Stay Independent.”
Our speaker for June is Jennifer Schachner, Program and Operations Director for the Timpany Center in San Jose, which offers a wide range of therapeutic and fitness programs at reasonable rates to the local community (including numerous aquatic classes). Come and hear about all the programs offered at the Timpany Center.
Our speaker for May is Robert Stromberg from Housing Ready Communities, Santa Clara County. This organization works to find solution to the homeless crisis by taking action to support the development of supportive affordable housing communities. There will be a presentation and an opportunity to ask questions afterward.
Our speaker for the general meeting this month will be Antoine Cook, AARP Associate State Director, focused on Volunteer Engagement and Management in the local community. He began working for AARP in July 2006 and is responsible for developing and managing relationships with various AARP programs, such as: Smart Driver, Tax Aide, Chapters and more. Mr. Cook also sponsors conference calls in which California chapters of AARP share information. The program topic will be the relationship between the California state office and the local chapters.
The November program will be a presentation from Sourcewise (formerly known as the Council on Aging) concerning the changes in HICAP (Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program) and in Medicare coverage for 2019.