Joyce West
The third Thursday of the month is when we hold our Business Meetings, which keep the membership informed of what is happening and what’s upcoming. If you have not been in the habit of attending, perhaps you could come and give us your “tuppenceworth” about how we are doing. Running a club is a bit like driving a team of horses: each horse wants to go its own way, but the reins in the hands of a skilled driver direct their efforts to the desired result. This is not to say that one person directs our efforts. Just like the saying that it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a team to grow a successful club.
Soon we will be holding elections, and it would be wonderful if our members would plan to take part. Seeing new ideas developing and succeeding is a wonderful feeling!
There has been the usual pretty good attendance at our activities; so much so that it has been suggested we might open on Thursdays every week, if sufficient members turn out. Now that we have more men becoming members, maybe they would like to come to play pool or dominoes or card games, or even just chat and tell each other stories that day! Membership is open to all who are 55 and over.
It seems that many of our members no longer have land line phones, and we are having difficulty keeping in touch. If you use a mobile phone, perhaps you could let us know the number so we can keep you in the loop regarding what is coming up. One of these things is the Seniors’ Games. There was a meeting in Kamloops last week, attended by our two representatives: Isabel McGrath and Kevin Scallon. There will be news of the events and other details as the time draws closer. They’ll be held in Coquitlam from Sept. 20–24, and people can get more information from Isabel or Kevin or at the Centre.
I know many of you have seen our members selling raffle tickets in Safety Mart, and have been very generous in buying them. It helps us raise funds for our various expenses, such as the Bursary we fund annually for a grade 12 student. It goes to someone who shows promise, works hard, and needs a helping hand to go further. We also donate to the Variety Club Telethon to help sick children and their families. We are very grateful to the management and staff of Safety Mart for the help they give us in this area; they’re always smiling and ready to give us a helping hand.
Our Carpet Bowlers visited Little Fort two weeks ago and report that a good time was had by all. There were seven carpets out and each team was made up of players from different places. Carpet Bowling is enjoyed by many of our members on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and always has a good turnout and happy rivalry between the different sides. On April 5 there will be a tournament in Cache Creek, so they will all have their best bowling shoes on! It is always good to renew old friendships.
Bingo has been doing well, too, and we all enjoy the sensation of winning even when the prizes are not terribly big! Much happy chat and catching up goes on before the start and at the refreshment break (just tea or coffee; no hard stuff!) while we all enjoy the goodies. A hard worker I forgot to mention earlier is Gena Stewart, who does much of the calling back of the winning cards for checking.
I know some of you took home some of the Mandala sheets and colouring pages. If you have finished them, will you please bring them back for display? We have a few posted already, and I am looking for others to join our “Art Gallery”.
We hope to see you at the Centre soon, either at one of our regular meetings or at the next Business Meeting on Thursday, March 17. We start with a potluck lunch at 12 noon, followed by the meeting from 1:00–2:00pm, and then cards until 4:00. The lunch is optional: if you’d rather not eat, just come to the meeting afterwards. Mark the date on your calendar and we will see you then, if not before!