It has been extremely rewarding working with such a talented and dedicated board, office manager Gill Smith, and office volunteers since taking over as President 6 weeks ago.
Members have asked me if I have enjoyed running the Centre. My response is that neither I nor the Board run the Centre, however the over 150 volunteers do! The Board and I are there to make decisions to establish the structure and environment to support them in their invaluable work.
Doug Smith, currently serving as our Board Past-President, told me about a slogan for the Centre that he had used in the past. “Your home away from home.” It fits perfectly! That is how we want our members to feel. We want members to feel welcomed and comfortable coming in to fulfill whatever needs they have; eat a great economical meal, partake in their favourite activity, or simply sit and do a jig-saw puzzle or have a chat with a friend.
At the last Board meeting the Treasurer’s report was encouraging. We are holding our own, but we anticipate extra expenses forthcoming. For example, Maintenance Director Andy Koberwitz, arranged for a free inspection of our heating/cooling and ventilation systems.
There are issues in air flow around the building, which will need to be addressed with more venting. The bottom line is we need to increase our revenue streams, particularly from grants, sponsorships, and donations. However, we are very confident that this can be achieved. Hopefully, I can announce some beneficial corporate relationships in the near future.
Having received the grant money for the Seniors Computer Literacy project, which was funded by the New Horizons for Seniors Program, the challenge was to purchase our list of 9 computers plus peripherals within the budget allotted for it. Best Buy (Coquitlam) was our best option. Our salesman, Josh, put together the specific list of hardware that would fit our needs. Once it was made clear that we were a Seniors Centre with a tight bottom line and a limited grant budget, Josh called in his manager, Vrutang, and the price reductions began. In the end, our list of needed equipment was now priced at under $11,000 which was well within our budget. We purchased a free repair and replacement plan on the 9 computers purchased and an additional Best Buy membership for 24-7 access to live Geek Squad software support. This coverage extends to include our existing computers. We are excited about planning computer literacy classes starting next month which will be held in the Dr. Farish room, as well as providing access in the lounge to a Mac or PC laptop for personal use.
In closing I want to assure you that, as well as being a welcoming place to come to, we want it to be a healthy and safe place. At the recent Volunteers Fair held in the Auditorium a new member who is a chef, was shown our kitchen, and announced that ours was the cleanest one he had ever seen. No dirt could be found. Kudos to Emily, her crew, and Jim our Janitor! Our Health and Safety committee is currently undergoing a review of all our safety procedures and potential hazards around the Centre. If you do happen to notice a possible healthy or safety issue, please inform the office staff.
Looking forward to another fun and exciting month at the SSAC.
