The Buffalo Ridge annual meeting date and location have been set for Monday, May 12, at the American Legion in Spicer. The agenda and program will be sent to all affiliated clubs, leaders and others in time for all members and interested community persons to register. This year, we will have a special event to encourage more people to attend. Members are asked to bring a few friends. For every friend who joins the Federation that day, the member will be eligible for a special prize drawing and each new member signing up that day will have a chance at another special prize drawing. Watch your mail for more information on this special event.
The yearly meeting schedule for the three areas of Buffalo Ridge Partners has been set. The Minnesota Valley and Midwest areas will meet every other month and the combined group, including the Southwest area will meet in alternate months. Beginning in January, Minnesota Valley will meet on the second Monday of the month at Pizza Ranch in Montevideo beginning at 10:30 a.m. Midwest will meet on the third Monday of the month at Hoffman Senior Center beginning at 10 a.m. In February, the combined group, Buffalo Ridge Partners will meet on the first Thursday, Feb. 7, at Pizza Ranch in Montevideo beginning at 10:30 am. This should ensure that necessary information flows efficiently and in a timely manner.
During these meetings, we will hear from our Board of Directors and Advisory Council representatives. Information and issue work will be our foremost agenda items. We are very fortunate to have two members and Advisory Council members that are extremely knowledgeable about our main issue, property tax reform. Thanks, Les and Clarence, for your leadership on this issue. Thanks to our other Advisory Council members and alternates for taking on this important role. We look forward to hearing from you and sharing information.
This area will again take part in the Life Connections event held at the Willmar Civic Center on Friday, April 25. This event is a wonderful opportunity to inform people and community leaders about the Federation and what we stand for and our issue work. This event in past years has been held over two days but has been scaled down to one day this year. We will have information on our issues, benefits, membership, Health Care Choices, Senior News and other areas of interest to hand out. We will also have “gifts” to hand out and, of course, candy for the taking.
Our leaders who staff the booth are excellent salespeople and I couldn’t do this without you. Thank you. We inquired into a similar event being held in Alexandria, but the booth rental cost is prohibitive. I will also be working with the Heartland area helping them in their effort to plan for the future. I am honored to be asked to assist them and look forward to working with all the leaders and members. Feel free to contact me with questions and/or comments so that I can understand your wants and needs and better serve your area. I can be reached at 320/995-6633 or .
All areas of the state are now one organization and we must find and implement a unified plan of action for this and future years. We are all in this together so let us use this time as a learning experience and move forward into a strong and vibrant organization.
I also want to say “Thank you” to Kelly Pearson for her work on behalf of all members and others to expand and improve the Senior Partners Care program. You work in this area will help all of us better serve SPC members and future members.
On a sad note, Dennis Gerhardstein, you will be sorely missed. Your expertise and professional manner have saved me on many occasions and I will truly miss you. I wish you all the success you deserve in your new venture. Don’t forget us! Sue Johnson, director
The North Star regional forum is still in the process of re-organizing. At our Jan. 11 meeting in Virginia, we had 15 Partners in Mission (area clubs) with approximately 35 members present for the general assembly.
Fire Chief Darrell Knapper of the Virginia Fire Department presented an excellent program on emergency preparedness. The February program will be on “Health Care Directives for Seniors.”
At our January meeting we started something new. We’re going to have an “open mike” session. When our members arrive, if they have something to bring up, they are asked to sign-in and list the topic they want discussed. Two people signed in at our January meeting and we had a short discussion on each topic. This could become a very interesting part of our meetings.
During our General Assembly nominations for the State Advisory Council were opened. Lois Williams and Tom Wagner were nominated and there being no further nominations, a motion was made and passed to elect these two individuals as our representatives to the Minnesota Senior Federation Advisory Council.
Our March meeting will take place on the 14th and will be hosted by the Nashwauk Golden Age Club. They meet at 201 3rd St. in Nashwauk and this month the speaker will give a presentation on “Scams and Identity Theft.” Another timely subject.
And as always, Coffee An’ follows the program. Hope to see you there. Tom Wagner, regional forum president
The Senior Federation’s Northwest area annual meeting will be held at Warren Senior Center April 18, beginning at 9 a.m. Everyone is welcome.
Northwest moved its offices in September to Oklee. Since October the Federation’s state office in St. Paul has been has been handling the mailing of Northwest area renewal memberships. If you haven’t received a membership renewal letter, please call Myra Nesland at 218/796-5211.
When the Federation was structured by region, there were varying fees for renewals. Northwest’s was $12/single and $24/couple. Now, new membership fees for all areas are $20/single and $30/couple. Those who have renewed have received a new membership card from the state office. These cards are for membership only, not for the Senior Partners Care program.
Anyone from the Northwest area interested in the Senior Partners Care program should contact the Health Plan Information Center toll free at 1-866-783-5045. Trained phone center counselors are ready to handle any inquiries that new and existing Senior Partners Care participants have.
We appreciate the support we’ve received from our members, clubs and others, but still need your help. Donations are appreciated and can be sent to the state Federation office, 1885 University Ave., Suite 190, St. Paul, MN 55104. Thank you! Myra Nesland, financial secretary
