Residents’ Council President’s Message for March

President’s Remarks for the March 1, 2023 Sunburst Issue

At the Residents’ Council meeting on February 7th, I announced that the Residents’ Council would evaluate whether to change the time of its monthly meeting permanently from 7 pm to 3 pm depending on the attendance for the January and February meetings. Those two meetings saw an increase in resident attendance and availability of managers when needed to address specific topics. The Council appreciates all the input from residents, pro and con. We heard your voices and overwhelmingly voted to change the time permanently to 3:00 PM.   The meetings will continue to be held on the first Tuesday of the month in the Auditorium.  Now we are hopeful that you will continue to attend our meetings and again make your voices heard.

On behalf of the Residents’ Council we congratulate Dr. Stephen Schimpff on his selection as our newest Resident Director on the Charlestown Board of Directors (BOD). Dr. Schimpff (he prefers Steve) replaces retiring Resident Director Naomi McAfee. We extend our sincere thanks to Naomi on her long-term dedication to her duties on the BOD on which she will continue to serve as an ex-officio member. Pat Kasuda is our other Resident Director. I encourage you to submit to any member of the Council any concerns/suggestions that you may have, which will be discussed with the BOD at our joint quarterly meetings or before, as needed.

Soon the Council will be meeting with the Administration to discuss the Holleran Residents’ Satisfaction results and suggest possible ways to improve those areas of deficiency and encourage continuation of the positive things indicated. Another way that the Council works on your behalf is the conception of programs beneficial to you. One example, is the Falls Prevention Initiative. It is well known that at our age we are prone to falling. But it is important to recognize that we have the power to prevent these falls! In December, 2019, Safety & Security Committee Chair Janet Allan, Health Committee Chair Lois Kimber, and Coordinator of the Parkinson’s Support Group Bill Miller came together to discuss the need for a fall prevention campaign with the overall theme of ‘Staying Independent’. COVID put a halt to the planned activities until now. An effort to restart the program is scheduled, so stay tuned!

Do you want to be part of the decision process? Do you want to share your various and impressive talents with our Charlestown Community? Do you want to make a difference?” Then say “yes” when you are invited to consider being nominated to the Residents’ Council. The Nominating and Elections Committee is seeking residents to run for the seven councils seats that will become available for the year 2023-2024.  Please, don’t say when asked to consider accepting the invitation:  “I’m retired” or “I’m too busy”—these are some past comments made for not accepting! Yes, we are retired but that does not keep us from giving of ourselves. Yes, we are too busy but the busy person gets things done. Another comment frequently made is “I’m just one person, what difference can I make?”—Nothing could be further from the truth.  Consider the African proverb “If you think you are too small to be effective, you have never been in bed with a mosquito.”  It’s your determination to make things happen that makes the difference. More information is posted on the bulletin boards and on our residents’ website ccicharlestown.org. Of course, any Council member can answer your questions. Attend any of the various monthly committee meetings. There, too, you can learn how you can be involved.