Re: Opening and Welcome Commission Chair Ciriaco Gonzales called the meeting to order at 11:00 a.m.
Re: Approval of Minutes Chair Gonzales asked if there were any corrections, additions or deletions to the September minutes. Stuart raised a question about an extra word in the first sentence - page two, paragraph three, remove ‘she’. With this correction, the minutes were approved as read.
Re: Club Reports Stu Crump, reporting for the Willing 3 C’s advised their last meeting had been held November 19th with 11 members in attendance. There was a short business meeting devoted mostly to the Secretary and Treasurer reports. Chris Veirs attended. The Christmas party and menu were discussed in detail. There was also a demonstration and member participation in Christmas crafts. Pete Sante, reporting for the Triple F Club said they had a Christmas Party and luncheon with 56 in attendance, 12 of which were members of the Carnation Players. The Carnation Players gave their annual performance for the club following the meal. Nancy McIntyre, reporting for the Golden Ringers, noted there had been a very good attendance at their last meeting December 14th. John Brown and his band provided the entertainment as they played the ‘oldies’. Nancy noted that there was a dance floor and several seniors were dancing. In closing she mentioned that Karen Lumpkin had also attended. Doug Bly, reporting for Bethany House, said he had been out of town at the time of the last meeting and had not attended. Marty Roney submitted her report for the Senior Associates that noted the club had three meetings / events in November: 8th – 18 members / guests attended the Thanksgiving Luncheon at the Flaming Pit in Gaithersburg – 22nd – a ‘non-meeting’ with 7 members but no officers present – 29th – 10 members present for a pot luck followed by tree trimming at the Glenview Mansion. There was no meeting December 6 and there was a catered Christmas lunch at the Glenview Mansion on the 13th with 20 members / guests. The Carnation Players provided the entertainment.
Re: White House Conference of Aging Nancy said she had volunteered at the December 14th meeting of the White House Conference on Aging. The conference concluded on that day with the top resolutions reflecting concerns about the independence and health of older Americans, especially in relation to long-term care. The strengthening and funding of the Older American’s Act was urged in order to keep seniors independent and in their communities.
Re: U.S.M. Report Ciriaco said the next U.S.M. meeting would be Monday, December 19th. Plans are being finalized with Montgomery County for the bus ride to the rally in Annapolis on January 24. All are urged to put this on their calendar and make every effort to attend. We need to meet with our state legislators and let them know what senior citizen concerns are in relation to the upcoming legislation. He noted that USM are currently discussing the Medicare Part D program, the government’s privatized prescription drug program. U.S.M. members are extremely concerned about the complexity and size of the plan and offerings.
Re: Old Business None
Re: New Business Before the meeting and later under new business, the members began task of setting goals for the next year. During the discussion, the following list was created:
- Bealls’ Grant property – viability
- Survey – the demographics and economic circumstances to include the # that live alone # live with a spouse # disabled
- Existing housing complexes – maintenance
- Lifeline
- Handyman services
- Maintaining contact with members who are ill or otherwise not attending programs at the Center
- Skills inventory for volunteer services
- Reverse Mortgages
- Aging in Place
- Emergency Preparedness
It was decided that the Commissioners would consider the list carefully and come to the January meeting with their lists prioritized.
Re: Staff Report Lorraine said they have received 17 or 18 applications for the Task Force and that she was extremely pleased to see the diversity of the applicants. They will be meeting Monday to finalize the process. She also mentioned that she has been working with the Rockville Police Department on emergency preparedness and that they have been talking about a mass mailing. She is also working on writing a grant to get the monies to purchase battery-operated flashlights and radios for those seniors who are unable to get out to make these types of purchases.
With no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 11:53 a.m. | 
