A Busy Week of Activities

My week began with a scheduled visit by U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer to Valley Manor where he held a press conference to announce his sponsorship of the National Silver Alert Act. Anytime the Senator comes to town, it is a big deal for Rochester. To have him come to Valley Manor, is a big deal for Seniorsfirst. A big "thank you" to board member Sharon Boyd (president/CEO of the Rochester Alzheimer's Association) for referring this opportunity to Valley Manor.

The Silver Alert Act is modeled after the AMBER Alert and will provide federal coordination and assistance to local and state enforcement to assist efforts to locate missing senior citizens across the country. The Senator's visit brought out all the media and a room full of Valley Manor Residents and community supporters. Not surprisingly, once the Senator finished his prepared statements, the conversation turned to the issue of national health insurance.

On Tuesday, I had the excitement of attending the state auction of the Armory site (see earlier Blog entry). That turned out to be more drama than I had anticipated and was certainly an interesting experience.

On Wednesday and Thursday we held our Kirkhaven and Valley Manor board meetings. At both communities we had a strong focus on financial performance and fiscal strategies as we reviewed our 3rd quarter statements and prepared for our 2010 budget development. I wish I could say all is well, but in these challenging economical times, I'm not sure that is even a reasonable expectation. We'll be putting together a contingency plan to ensure we are prepared to handle whatever comes our way. I'll Blog on that subject in the weeks to come.

On Friday, I attended the Greater Rochester Awards luncheon, which celebrates the exceptional work accomplished through our community's human services sector. Congratulations to Seniorsfirst board member, Pat Grover from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, who was honored with a Community Champion award.

On Friday afternoon, I volunteered to perform for the Kirkhaven residents at their weekly Happy Hour. I had a blast playing and singing Halloween songs to mark the occasion. When I ran out of Halloween music, I played some of my country music and other favorites. I wasn't really surprised that they enjoyed singing along with "Amazing Grace" and "America the Beautiful", but who knew they would have so much fun with Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline".

Lastly, here are two cute pictures from a little pre-Halloween activity my wife and I had with our grandsons Logan and Brennan.

Thanks for visiting my Blog. See you next time!