Carlye Teel

December 2017 Director’s Message

Posted on by Binh Thai

Carlye Teel, Executive Director

I wish each of you the happiest of Holidays, however you celebrate this month. This has been a good year for the center and I know we will make December a fantastic last month of 2017. We have had a lot to celebrate: good programs, the new and the best of those that continue to meet the needs of you all; our fundraising has been good so far; our volunteers are outstanding and contribute mightily to the center’s success; the health and wellness offerings have been fantastic and meet many differing needs of our participants; the exercise opportunities are varied and provide services that benefit all, in whatever physical situation you are; The Community Dining program provides a delicious and nutritious lunch each weekday and you get to share a meal with friends, new and old; there are continuous opportunities every day to socialize, share ideas, and connect with one another; every day we offer classes to learn and grow to keep our minds engaged and active; And most of all we are so fortunate to have each of you who come to the center and participate. It is you that help make us what we are and I say we are a darn good center. Thank you! And thank you to our great Board and Staff. The Board helps us guide us short and long term and I can’t say enough about Kristina, Carleen, and Bob, they do a terrific job and it has been especially difficult as we have been down a staff person. Thanks everyone!

I want to encourage each of you to join us for our terrific December activities. We have our Breakfast and Book Sale on Saturday, December 2nd, 9am-12pm. Our fantastic Taproot event is on Tuesday, December 5th, please support, this is a wonderful way to start your Holidays and a great gift for your family and friends. Our parties are great fun, come on Friday, December 8th for the Holiday Party, the Holiday Feast on Monday, December 18th with Santa and gifts, the New Year’s Party on Friday, December 29th.

I also urge each of us to take an extra few minutes to be a good friend, give a big smile, listen to someone that wants to talk, donate to your cause, give your friends and family your time. The Holidays are joyous to many but they can also be difficult or sad for some. This is when your time can mean so much to someone else. And isn’t giving of ourselves the most important gift we can give? Thanks.

I also must mention that I hope you will be able to donate, what is comfortable for you, to our year end appeal. We hope to raise $20,000 from participants and the community to finish our year in a positive position. Some donors have stepped up and the first $5,000 donated will be matched by $5,000 and become $10,000. Thanks! It will be great if we can say 100% participated whether you contributed $1 or thousands.

During this busy season please remember to take care of yourselves, exercise, get rest, get out and be with
people, learn and grow, find the positive in life and smile for you and everyone in your life.
Happy Holidays!

Love, Carlye

Director’s Message

Posted on by Binh Thai

Wow! It is almost September and I’m sure looking forward to fall and all our activities for the rest of 2017. Wasn’t this summer something special? Certainly one for the record books with our 55 days of sun, heat and no rain. We have been very busy at your center. I hope you had a marvelous summer and spent some time doing your favorite summertime activities with family and friends. I hope you had lots of reasons to smile for yourself and for others benefit; that you were out and about interacting; that you had time to volunteer somewhere; that you had lots of opportunities for exercise whether it was walking, swimming, gardening, playing a game, golfing and that we all ate lots of the local fruits and veggies to keep us healthy, and that you found something to keep intellectually involved. Hope misfortunes were at a minimum, but if there was, that you could find something positive to learn from it. Our goal is to be the best we can be for where we are in our lives, so let’s all work together to make this happen.

I was just reading a Consumer Report and three things stood out. First, there are great benefits to having buddies, investing in friendships pays big dividends. Older adults who had friends were healthier, happier and had fewer health problems in their 60’s, 70’s, and well beyond. Second, a Tufts University study of 5,000 found those who ate a lot of fiber (beans, nuts, produce, wheat, and grains) had a 30 to 61% lower risk of osteoarthritis knee pain. Third, to help older adults fall less when outside, scan for trip hazards, ask for help when needed, wear good fitting shoes, don’t carry too much, and be careful with your bifocals. So now let’s have a busy, active, interesting September and fall season.

I always feel like September is a beginning. Summer is leaving us, leaves are changing, days are usually still pretty and nights are getting cooler, kids are back in school and everything starts back up at the center. We have some wonderful September and Fall offerings. There is something here for everyone. Our exercise programs are wonderful and diverse, our educational classes keep our brains active – I’ve always said we should learn something new every day, our lunches are nutritious and delicious, our people here are interesting, funny, stimulating, caring, helpful, good listeners, friendly, and always looking to share with another. It is fun to socialize here. Our health and wellness services are varied and there are opportunities to try new practices as well as the traditional services. I hate needles, but I tried acupuncture and it works well for me. I also tried Reiki and found that another healing and positive experience. We have meditation, massage, and Bastyr naturopathic services two times a week. We also have Foot Care, Dental Hygiene, Low Vision. Balance Exercises five days a week, 3 types of yoga, Shallow Water Fitness and EnhancedFitness are some of the exercise programs. They are very healthy and keep us well. Wonderful speakers, exciting trips, and so much going on. September is our Member’s Only Luncheon and our awesome Art, Wine and Chocolate event. Get your tickets and enjoy local artists, taste wines and chocolates, listen to jazz, and enjoy delicious hors d’oeuvres and chocolate desserts. See you at the center in September. Smile!

“Laughter is timeless, imagination has no age, and dreams are forever.” – Walt Disney

Love, Carlye