The Senior Center had a special meeting to elect new board members. Three new members were voted in by paper ballot. Four community members were willing to serve, with Sheila Duncan, Jim LaBuda, and Rhonda Works elected to the board. The other board members are Brenda Darlington, President, Wendy Kleinsasser, Terry Grant, and Karen Baumann.
The board has been requested to get a better number of its members, and two months ago, the membership voted that anyone wanting to vote would be required to pay ten dollars. This does not affect who can eat or use the center.
They also allowed time to discuss an amendment to the bylaws brought to the members by Barb Ophus. She desired to drop the age limit to 40, so they could become board members. She believed the Big Sandy Senior Center needed some energy and new ideas that younger board members could bring. After much discussion, the amendment was not voted in. Primarily because the new bylaws, which will be voted on August 10th, address this concern by creating committees that will allow any age community member to become involved in activities and projects which will bring the new vitality Barb wanted to address.
Karen Baumann has been appointed Program and Activities Chairman. She is currently organizing a committee if you have any ideas and want to become involved. Contact Brenda Darlington if you wish to become involved immediately. Karen will be returning to Big Sandy in the middle of August. A survey will be taken at the Big Sandy Senior Center at the August 10th meeting to start the ball rolling.
The first activity is blood pressure checks on August 15th at the Big Sandy Senior Center. Krystyl Kulbeck will be at the center from 11:30-12:30. The Senior Center would like you to take this opportunity to have a quick check-up on your blood pressure. This will happen once a month.
The Mountaineer will publish the menu for the week and any activity at the center. Following federal law, seniors can pay a suggested donation of $4.00. However, they are not required to pay. All others will be charged $6.00. At the beginning of reorganizing the center, it was noted by the membership that these figures won't cover the cost, especially if only those who were using the center continued to use it. It is hoped there will be an increase in the number of members who will eat at the center. Therefore the center will depend on donations from the public, especially at first. They are being careful to watch the food budget and currently, this month, are using what they have on hand.
Every meeting of the Big Sandy Senior Center has been well attended with questions and discussions from the membership. There were 48 members present at this meeting.
