Sunburst The Newsletter for Seniors United Now

The Voice for Seniors in

Sherwood Business Center – Franklin’s Inn st #15 - 2016 Sherwood Drive, Sherwood Park, Alberta, T8A 3X3 1 Qua rt er 2013 Telephone 780-449-1816, Fax 780-449-1475 I ssue 28 Toll Free 1-855-786-8669 seniorsunitednow.com Email [email protected]

What’s Inside? Notice of Annual General Meeting

Notice is hereby given that the Annual General Meeting of President Report Pg 2 Alberta Seniors United Now Society will be held as Executive Director Pg 3 & 9 follows: Membership Renewals Pg 5 Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Chapter News Santa Maria Goretti Community Centre

Sherwood Park - Strathcona County 11050 - 90 St Edmonton, AB Chapter Pg 8 9:00 AM – 10:00AM Meeting Registration St. Albert Chapter Pg 4 Edmonton Chapter Pg 5 Keynote Speaker: George VanderBurg Associate Minister of Seniors

Awareness For the purpose of: SUN Volunteers Pg 7 1. President’s report Working for You Pg 6 2. Receiving and considering financial statements for the Communications Pg 10 year ended December 31, 2012 and the report of the auditors thereon 3. Electing directors; and Other 4. Transacting such further and other business as may AGM NEWS Pg 1 & 12 properly come before the meeting or any adjournment Revenue sources Pg 11 thereof Raffle – Winners Pg 4

Dated the 28th day of February, 2013 On Behalf of the Board of Directors

Annual Membership Fees Lifetime Membership

$15.00 individual $25.00 Couple $150.00 individual $250.00 Couple

$100.00 Group/Affiliate organization N/A Group/Affiliate organization Memberships open to Alberta Seniors 55+ Non-voting Associate membership (under 55 years) or non-Alberta resident

Sunburst 26 2ND & 3rd Quarter 2012 Page 2 of 12

Presidents Report:

The fall of 2012 and the start of 2013 has been a time of welcoming new members from ASFPR and to get them all registered. We have also been busy with direct advocacy to the Government of Alberta on behalf of seniors.

On November 1, the board wrote to the Hon. , Minister of Health expressing our concern and opposition to Alberta Health Services increasing long term care accommodation charges by 5%, effective January 1, 2013. This increase far exceeds the cost of living increase, the CPP and OAS benefit increases thereby eroding seniors purchasing dollars. SUN suggested that accommodation increases be tied to the Alberta cost of living increase. At the least, seniors would not have to face catch up increases.

On December 14, a letter was sent to the Hon. , Minister of Finance expressing our members alarm over the underfunded pension liabilities. We are concerned that this could compromise our pension plans and significantly impact on seniors incomes. We have currently arranged a meeting with Deputy Minister, Department of Finance to have a preliminary meeting in preparation of our requested meeting with Doug Horner.

On January 2, we again wrote to Hon. Fred Horne to express our dismay over the reduction/ capping of individual seniors hours of service. Need for home care services are increasing, yet Albert Health Services has moved to cap levels of service. This is a step backwards and will again force seniors in need to seek services from active treatment facilities rather than in their homes. The obvious outcome will be compromised active treatment beds for all Albertans.

In November, SUN's advocacy committee welcomed Ken Smith, Brian Huff and Wayne Sorenson as members. Their background and experience regarding pension reform and fairness issues will be most helpful.

The current issue of significant concern is the capping of homecare services. This issue could have a serious impact on all seniors. Your board will continue to monitor this issue and to respond directly to the government to pressure Mr. Horne to direct Alberta Health services to rescind this decision.

I invite all members to attend our Annual General Meeting scheduled for April 24.

Gordon Voth, President

Gordon Voth, President Notice by Nominating Committee of the Board of Directors

The nominating committee is seeking SUN members who would be interested in having their name, put forward for election to sit on the Board of Directors at the April 24,2013 Annual General Meeting If you are interested, please forward your name & contact information to the SUN administration office; attention nominating committee and you will be personally contacted.

Sunburst 26 2ND & 3rd Quarter 2012 Page 3 of 12

Executive Director Report:

John MacDonald

This has been an exciting and very productive period for SUN as the information below will show but more important than that is the steady emergence of SUN as an important and genuinely accepted voice for Senior’s in Alberta.

A recent meeting with Associate Minister of Seniors, the Hon. George VanderBurg has brought to a satisfactory conclusion the long journey for SUN to have Alberta enact Property Tax Deferment legislation. The Property Tax Deferment Act was passed in the fall of 2012 and Minister VanderBurg informed SUN that his office was working out a few unexpected details but that seniors would be able to utilize this legislation in this tax year 2013. Details should be made public shortly as most municipal tax assessments start arriving in late spring (May/June).

In addition we discussed Senior’s housing bringing to the Minister’s attention the SAFER program in B.C. to which we were told that a similar program already existed in the Capitol region. SUN indicated that this issue was not fully resolved and that they would continue to research it accordingly. When asked about the Independent Seniors Advocate the Minister indicated that this office was still planned but that it would be slower to implement due to the current economic reality. He also reiterated that the office would NOT be independent. SUN further discussed Alberta’s Supportive Living Framework and Home Care with the Minister which led to his office planning to look into some specific, SUN identified, concerns in care facilities. Lastly Associate Ministe r VanderBurg confirmed that he would indeed be SUN’s Key Note speaker at SUN’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) on April 24, 2013.

SUN has also been busy at our Chapter Level with arranging some very informative and challenging speakers for our Chapters. Presentations on Senior’s Benefits, both Provincial and Federal, a presentation on SUN’s Advocacy Initiatives by SUN V.P. Dick Tansey, a popular presentation by Carole Aipersbach on Wills, Estate Planning & Personal Directives and a presentation on Senior’s Drivers Licenses featuring Dr. Bonnie Dobbs the developer of the Simard MD Test on Assessing Driver’s Medically Induced Cognitive Impairment and the DriveAble organization who test Driving skills.

In Alberta all drivers are required to be assessed with respect to their driving abilities once they turn 75 years of age. SUN engaged this issue in order to inform our seniors of the how, the when, and the why of this process and in order to clear up some problems being reported by our seniors with the assessment process. SUN will be meeting with the Minister of Transport to further discuss and clarify this process in the near future. In fact, Minister of Transport, Ron McIver, has indicated a desire to address our seniors around this entire issue and SUN will be organizing such an event to fit with the Minister’s schedule. Stay Tuned!

This Driving issue is only one aspect of the Advocacy involvement that SUN engages in for SUN members. We have a dedicated Provincial Advocacy Committee headed up by SUN’s Vice President, Richard (Dick) Tansey, who, in turn, works with our Chapter Advocacy chairs to resolve members issues around transportation, accommodations, seniors benefits, income support, Health Care and Home Care concerns. At present your Executive Director has been volunteering his services to explore affordable housing options, the Life Lease concept and co-operative Housing projects under the direction of the advocacy committee and Mr. Tansey. Is all of this paying off? You bet it is.

continued on page 9

Sunburst 26 2ND & 3rd Quarter 2012 Page 4 of 12

St. Albert Chapter… Quarterly Activity Summary

Chapter meetings are held on the 4th Monday of each month at 1:30PM at the St.Albert Royal Legion on Tache Street. We do not meet in July, August and December.

Our Executive strives to keep our membership informed on any progress on the local issues which include property tax, user fees, utility costs and transportation. We are continuing to monitor and report on important issues including changes to Health Care, seniors benefits and on any other important matters. In keeping with our efforts to provide informative speakers we acknowledge the excellent presentations in the following months:

October 22/2012 – Doris Vandersteen - St Albert Housing Society - an excellent presentation of their work in Affordable Housing in St Albert November 26/2012 – Dennis Magnusson – Executive Director, Sturgeon Foundation – an informative presentation on the state of seniors subsidized housing in St Albert and area. January 28/2013 – Steven Khan – St Albert MLA & Minister Enterprise and Advanced Education – with an overview of his first term as an MLA and rookie Cabinet Minister tasked with a significant portfolio. Stephen’s presentation was quite informative with information on Alberta, Canadian as well as International initiatives either in place or being considered. February 25/2013 - Doug Horner – MLA – St.Albert – Spruce Grove – Minister of Finance

Please join us at our upcoming Chapter meetings 1:30 PM @ Legion on Tache St. St.Albert

March 25/2013 Topic: Round table discussion with St Albert City Councilors April 22/2013 Topic: TBA May 27/2013 Topic: TBA June 24/2013 Topic: TBA July/August – no meetings

Your Chapter Executive is working for you and welcomes any questions, concerns or ideas you might have.

R.P.Tansey St Albert Chapter – Board Liaison

New Years Stuff your wallet – Sales or Marketing Cash Raffle winners January 09/2013 Do you have a background in Congratulations to the following SUN members: Sales or Marketing? SUN needs Ticket #255 – P. Alexander – Stony Plain your experience to lead our efforts to obtain advertising for Ticket #586 - E. Nerling – Edmonton the SUNBURST newsletter. A Ticket #555 – L. Lambert – St. Paul few hours monthly may be all it Each of these lucky members received entails as little or as much time as you have available. a cash prize of $474.00 WE NEED YOU!! Thanks to all members that purchased tickets; Contact Lynn @ the SUN Office [email protected] over $2,100.00 was raised for SUN. 780-449-1816 You could be the next winner!!!

Sunburst 26 2ND & 3rd Quarter 2012 Page 5 of 12

Edmonton Chapter… Quarterly Activity Summary

November 2012 This Remembrance Day our Executive Director John MacDonald and interm chair Ed Hamaliuk had the honour of placing a wreath at the cenotaph located at the site of the new Kingsway Legion located at 14339-50th St. This is a beautiful new facility and I highly recommend a visit to same. Several members of our chapter assisted head office with the completing and envelope stuffing of membership card for the new members from the Alberta Society for Pension Reform(ASFPR). Our phoning committee assisted with calling members in south Edmonton informing them of a Dec. 4th meeting with the intention of starting a new chapter. Our Vice- President Mr Dick Tansey addressed the attendees and briefly explained the origin of the Sun and informed on the Advocacy issues currently being undertaken both at our chapter and provincial level.

December - We took a Christmas break.

January 2013 This is the first month that the members of the ASFPR were invited to attend. John MacDonald officially welcomed them as new members of Seniors United Now. Our guest speaker was Carole Aippersbach from Centre for Public Legal Education Albert. She took a somber subject of Wills, Personal Directives, and Power of Attorney and presented it in a very informative and interactive manner which was very well received. Due to the large increase in membership we expanded our phoning committee and were successful in recruiting Mr. Wayne Sorenson Formally from the ASFPR to fill our secretarial position. Welcome Wayne.

February 2013 Our new reporting secretary Wayne Sorenson provided an overview of issues and updates regarding the Public Services Pension Plan. Dr. Bonnie Dodds delivered an excellent presentation on the SIMARD (Screen for the identification of at risk drivers) program. As driving privileges are concerns to us seniors we will follow up with a presentation by Barb Carstensen from DriveAble, for our March meeting.

Note: Our web site is now up and running check us out at www.seniorsunitednow.com

Please join us for drinks and goodies, try your luck at our 50/50, listen to some interesting speakers, be informed on our advocacy progress, and enjoy some good fellowship. Meetings are held every second Monday of the month 1:30 PM at the McClure United Church 13708-74st. Looking forward to seeing you.

Membership Renewal ARE YOU DUE?

If your membership is/was due for renewal: January, February or March 2013 you will receive a Yellow renewal notice. April or May 2013 you will receive a White soon due notice.

Current & Lifetime members will not receive a notice.

If your renewal is past-due, there will be a Pink renewal reminder enclosed.

For specific details as to when your membership is due for renewal, Please contact the SUN office.

780-449-1816 or Toll Free-1-855-786-8669 or email - [email protected]

Sunburst 26 2ND & 3rd Quarter 2012 Page 6 of 12

SUN WORKING FOR YOU

SUN continues to advocate on your behalf whether it be on individual issues or broader issues affecting all seniors. We continue to get calls from members, as well as non – members, who are hearing about SUN out in the communities. The issues vary, such as Joe who is complaining of lack of or inconsiderate treatment in Long Term Care Facility; Al who is requiring help to circumvent the bureaucracy for healthcare needs; and Karen who is seeking guidance to resolve issues relating to caregiver activities and to resolve complaint with the Office of Public Guardian. These are but a few of many that we have been able to provide some direction.

Many Issues continue to affect the general senior population including, but not limited to, the following:

Senior Homeowners continually rising property taxes We have met recently with Associate Seniors Minister George VanderBurg regarding the progress of Seniors Property Tax Deferment Act and are advised it is on track for implementation this year which will certainly be a relief to many senior homeowners. You will recall the Property Tax Deferment Plan was initiated by SUN several years ago and was finally accepted and fully supported by then MLA Geo. VanderBurg who was able to carry it through to passage of the Act which received Royal Accent in May/2012.

Continuing Care Supportive Living Framework We also discussed the progress of returning Government run Continuing Care Facilities to in-house food preparation, which is nearing completion and will result in removal of the ghastly meals provided under previous contracts for the 21 day meal cycle program. We are continuing to pursue proposed changes to the Continuing Care Supportive Living program

Rental Assistance for low income seniors The subject of Affordable Housing was discussed and review of funding for rental assistance programs has been promised for low income Albertans. We are promoting a stand alone program presently in place in BC identified as SAFER (Shelter Assistance for Elderly Renters). In keeping with the Affordable Housing issue we are reviewing recent recommendations put forward by the Capital Region Housing Committee as it relates specifically for low income seniors.

Seniors Alternate Transportation is always a big concern, both for medical needs but also for drivers who have lost or given up their license. The University of Alberta Medically At Risk Driver group have provided a website link for Alternate Transportation in Alberta (www/ualberta.ab.ca – click on Alternate Transportation) This link will be available on our website in the near future. We also have a link on our website for Edmonton under RESOURCES – senior link – go to ESCC - find a ride

Pensions have become a topic of late with reports of unfunded pension liabilities, objectionable cost of living adjustments, complaints of foreign governments requiring payment of taxes on pensions paid. With respect to local government pensions we have requested a meeting with Finance Minister Horner who referred us to his Assistant Deputy Minister and a meeting is scheduled for Feb 25th

Power of Attorney/Personal Directives Acts We continue to pursue changes to the Acts specifically with regards to the complaints process and /or the lack of complaints process for the protection of the persons who are willing to accept the responsibilities associated with both Acts. We have written to the Justice Minister in this regard and hopefully we can open up some dialogue to address this problem.

There are many different issues facing the SUN Advocacy Committee at any given time. We are always looking for volunteers who have a background in various professions or who would like to become involved with research activities. If you have any questions about any of the above or for any subject please contact your Chapter Issues Consultant, your Chapter executive members or contact the SUN office directly.

Report submitted by Dick Tansey – Advocacy Chair

Sunburst 26 2ND & 3rd Quarter 2012 Page 7 of 12

VOLUNTEER FOR SUN March 2013

Seniors United Now (SUN) advocates for seniors individually and for seniors as a group. Because we have in excess of 4000 members we are a sizable group and our collective voice is an important one that is listened to. Two areas we require volunteers in are research and phoning.

Research We need volunteers to research senior issues in health, housing, finance. To name just a few of the areas that Seniors have expressed their concerns with: Homecare Services Long Term Care facilities Income Thresholds and Seniors’ benefits Affordable housing, Research can be done on a computer from your home at your pace. Research can also be done by collecting information from newspapers and other publications. You may have a particular area of interest that you have noticed is an issue that seniors need to have addressed. As a volunteer you would be working with a committee chairperson. We need to raise public awareness about issues that are affecting seniors in this province.

Phoning We need volunteers to phone SUN members throughout the province. Members may be informed about SUN activities, informed that their memberships need to be renewed, invited to meetings that have speakers presenting on topics relevant to seniors. Phoning will happen from your home within a specific time frame. The Coordinator of Volunteers will assist with organizing these specific tasks. Our organization needs to connect with our members throughout the province.

The success of the Seniors United Now initiatives relies on the dedication and enthusiasm of volunteers.

Please contact Mary Smith, Coordinator of Seniors United Now, to indicate your interest in volunteering for SUN.

Phone: 780-455-7568 Email: [email protected]

SUN CASINO VOLUNTEERS REQUIRED

When: April 9 & 10, 2013 (Tuesday & Wednesday) Where: Century Casino (Fort Road Edmonton)

Seniors United Now (SUN) need you to help us with our volunteer component. There are various levels of volunteers required from General Manager, Banker, Cashier, chip runner and Count Room. We can also accommodate your time availability as there are 3 shifts each day.

Day Shift 11:00am – 7:00pm Night Shift 6:30pm – 2:30am Count Room 9:30pm – 2:45am

Several volunteers are required for each shift each day. Please call Mary at 780-455-7568 [email protected] and let her know you’re willing to help SUN with this essential fund-raising activity.

Sunburst 26 2ND & 3rd Quarter 2012 Page 8 of 12

Sherwood Park-Strathcona County Chapter… Quarterly Activity Summary

GREETINGS FRIENDS AND A SPECIAL WELCOME TO ALL NEW SUN MEMBERS. Our SUN Chapter General meetings are held at Bethel Lutheran Church, on the third Tuesday of each month except December, July and August. We invite speakers, who address issues of concern to our Seniors. Please come and bring a friend.

Please join us at our upcoming Chapter meetings

1:30 PM @ Bethel Lutheran Church 298 Bethel Drive

th March 19 2013 Topic: SENIORS HOUSING IN STRATHCONA COUNTY Speaker: Ken Fearnley

th April 16 2013 Topic: HOME CARE SERVICES Provincially & Locally Speaker: Noreen Soneff

May 9th 2013 @ 7:30pm

Bethel Lutheran Church, 298 Bethel Drive, Sherwood Park.

SPECIAL EVENT: PUBLIC FORUM ON ISSUES OF CONCERN TO SENIORS & THEIR FAMILIES GUESTS: MAYOR Linda Osinchuk MLA Cathy Olesen

May 21st 2013

Topic: BOARD ELECTIONS * ACTIVE SENIORS HAVING FUN.

JUNE 2nd 2013

SPECIAL EVENT: BUS TRIP TO THE UKRAINIAN VILLAGE

10:00am-4:00pm.

JUNE 18th 2013

Topic: LOOKING BACK & LOOKING AHEAD: SETTING PRIORITIES FOR NEXT YEAR.

Facilitator: John MacDonald, Provincial Sun, Executive-Director.

NOTE: our SUN chapter does not meet in July or August.

APPEAL FOR VOLUNTEERS: My two -year term as Chair ends June 30, 2013. We do not have a Vice-chair to step into this position. In order to ensure continuity we need someone to "shadow" the Chair in April, May and June. That person would then be well prepared to become the Chair.

PLEASE CONSIDER VOLUNTEERING FOR THIS POSITION OR AS A BOARD MEMBER AT LARGE. Dawn Parker, Chair 780-417-3732

Join us and bring your ideas and suggestions.

Together we can improve the lives of seniors and other Albertans.

Sunburst 26 2ND & 3rd Quarter 2012 Page 9 of 12

Executive Director Report: Continued from page 3

SUN has received requests to be involved with the unveiling of the Property Tax Deferment Program from Associate Minister of Seniors the Hon. George VanderBurg. Associate Minister VanderBurg has also written to SUN explaining the various Ministerial responsibilities for administering programs and services for Alberta’s seniors and persons with disabilities. We received an extensive, three page, letter from our Health minister the Hon. Fred Horne in response to our inquiry. SUN had a letter from Minister Ken Hughes, the Minister of Energy expressing his desire for SUN to work with his Ministry. The Minister of Finance the Hon. Doug Horner responded to our request for a meeting by indicating he is completely tied up at present with the Budget but suggested SUN work with his Assistant Deputy Minister Mr. Mark Prefontaine with whom we met with on Feb 25/2013.

The Minister of Service Alberta, the Hon. Manmeet S. Bhullar has written to SUN requesting our participation in his effort to identify possible beneficial changes to the Condominium Property Act. Lastly, Our Vice President, Dick Tansey wrote to the Minister of Justice about concerns to the legislation in the Power of Attorney Act and the Personal Directives Act. The Hon. QC, Minister of Justice, has responded advising Mr. Tansey that his comments will be reviewed with respect to Powers of Attorney and that his comments on Personal Directives were passed to the Hon. David Hancock QC, Minister of Human Services. This follow-up response was recently received.

In addition, SUN has been busy with developing new Chapters based on interest from our membership. This is a very active involvement for SUN’s Executive Director and the entire provincial Board. SUN continues to work collaboratively with other Seniors organizations such as PIA, ACA, ACGA, CARP, ARTA, ESCC, SALT, ANSRO, SAGE, GEA and more. The recent addition to SUN of over 2,000 new members from the Alberta Society for Pension Reform(ASFPR) has not only broadened SUN’s membership but it has added passion, energy and significant talent to our efforts. We have also re-built SUN’ Web Page and invite you to take a look and let us know what you think. Visit our site at www.seniorsunitednow.com

Respectfully, John MacDonald

Recommended Reading

Working the Dead Beat

Globe and Mail columnist Sandra Martin honours the lives of Canada's famous, infamous, and unsung heroes in this unique collection of obituaries of the first decade of the twenty- first century. Here are Canadian icons such as Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, economist John Kenneth Galbraith, social activist June Callwood, and urban theorist Jane Jacobs. Here

are builders such as feminist and editor Doris Anderson, and businessman and famed art

collector Ken Thomson. Here are our rogues, rascals, and romantics; our service men and

women; and here are those private citizens whose lives have had an undeniable public impact. Finally, Martin interweaves these elegant and eloquent biographies with the autobiography of the obit writer, offering an exclusive and intimate view of life on the dead beat.

Sunburst 26 2ND & 3rd Quarter 2012 Page 10 of 12

SUN COMMUNICATIONS

Excerpt from letters sent to:

January 02, 2013 Honourable Fred Horne Minister of Health

The SUN Board of Directors and our membership were dismayed to learn that some Albertans receiving home care will see their hours of service reduced by Alberta Health Services. It does not make sense to hear that AHS considers cutting hours of service does not cut service. Need is defined by the medical condition of the senior and cannot be compromised without putting that senior at risk. Your Governments stated policy is to have every Albertan age in place. You will need increased Home Care support to achieve this objective not less. Once again seniors will start to be warehoused in active treatment hospitals as their health deteriorates and the home care support is not there. Cutting home care is not the right place to start for AHS to balance their budget. It should be the last place you would reduce or cap services. Surely there are areas to cut in the health system, other than seniors. We urge your Government to direct AHS to ensure that Home Care services for seniors is being provided, as required, not compromised.

December 14, 2012 Honourable Doug Horner, M.L.A. Minister of Finance, Alberta Provincial Government

On the positive side, the prosperity of this Province is reflected in the lowest unemployment rate of all other provinces. As well the perceived future shortage of skilled workers is currently being addressed by our Province to ensure continued prosperity can be enjoyed by all Albertans. However seniors, the very people that made this Province what it is today, do not always share in this prosperity. Instead of seniors looking forward to a bright and positive future, they are faced with increased prices in just about every commodity, including food, shelter, property taxes, rent etc. Their cost of living increases don’t come close to covering these increased expenses. For those retirees of the Alberta Government, (Public Service Pension & Local Authorities Pension Plans) the cost of living adjustment is based on only 60 percent of the rise in the Alberta Consumer Price Index, which came to a 1.2 percent increase in 2012. On average these pensioners received a 12 dollar per month increase. Having contributed to their pensions over their working lives, many now live on basically fixed incomes with rapidly deteriorating value and purchasing power, because their pensions are indexed far below actual inflation rates. This confirms that the gap between the rich and the poor is growing in Alberta. However, it is encouraging to know that our Provincial Government is currently devising a new social policy framework for vulnerable Albertans, and acknowledge that a growing shift is needed to avoid growing inequity. I’ve come across one example which is the new “Employment Pensions Plans Act (Bill 10)” It is encouraging to see that this legislation will allow Alberta businesses and employees to benefit from access to modern, flexible pension plans that will meet the future needs of plan sponsors and plan members, while continuing to ensure that promises made can be kept.

November 1, 2012 Honourable Fred Horne - Minister of Health cc: Honourable George VanderBurg - Associate Minister of Seniors

The SUN Board of Directors discussed your recent announcement that long-term care accommodations charges will be increased by 5% effective January 1, 2013. While we recognize that long-term care costs increase each year, we feel that a 5% increase is significant. This could have a detrimental impact on the income of seniors who are just making ends meet. It is SUN’s recommendation that these rates should not be increased periodically but on an annual basis. These increases should not exceed Alberta’s annual rate of inflation. This recommendation would avoid large catch up increases and would tie the increases to the federal increase in old age security and the Canada pension plan.

Sunburst 26 2ND & 3rd Quarter 2012 Page 11 of 12

SUN Administration Office News

Please assist the administrative office by updating SUN with any changes to your contact information:

Mailing address, phone number, new/cancelled email addresses.

During the Fall & Winter our office administrator is available: Monday, Wednesday & Friday 10:00AM - 3:00PM

780- 449-1816 Toll Free 1-855-786-8669 We now have voice mail – so leave a message and we will get back to you! Please note we are occasionally out of the office on business during these hours. It is recommended to phone before coming to the administrative office.

We want to communicate better with you. Do you have an email address? Please share it with SUN and be sure to add us to your address book. We do not share email addresses,

Email addresses are used only for communication of SUN and senior issues. If you don’t have an email address perhaps a friend or family member would act as a contact for you.

Seniors United Now Society has worked hard to maintain the lowest possible membership fees.

With no increase in fees since 2005 it is vital that additional revenue be generated.

Advertising – Advertising opportunities are available in the Sunburst newsletter for single or multiple editions from business card to full page sizes.

AGM SPONSORSHIP - We are looking for sponsors willing to donate $100 per table. Each table will display a sign showing the sponsor.

Donations – Received from members that kindly support SUN financially throughout the year.

Cash Raffle – Consider supporting this twice yearly raffle.

Bequeath – Members that have had positive experiences and want to give back & help SUN help other seniors.

Grants - SUN continues to seek grant sources. If you have any referrals or suggestions regarding grants please contact the SUN office.

Notable Quotes

An archaeologist is the best husband a woman can have. The older she gets the more interested he is in her. - Agatha Christie

It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit. - Harry S. Truman

Tack is the art of making guests feel at home, when that’s really where you wish they were. - George E. Bergman

No man is ever old enough to know better. - Holbrook Jackson

Sunburst 26 2ND & 3rd Quarter 2012 Page 12 of 12

REGISTRATION FORM

10th Annual General Meeting Alberta Seniors United Now Society

www.seniorhomecarebyangels.ca Name(s):______Select Your Caregiver ______Ph: 780 -487-4256

Email: [email protected] Membership #: ______

AGM volunteers required Address:______registration & 50/50 City:______Contact Mary @ 780-455-7568

Postal Code:______or [email protected]

Phone:______You are cordially invited to attend The Annual General Meeting of Email: ______Alberta Seniors United Now Society Tickets are $5 per individual (includes light lunch & refreshments) Wednesday, April 24, 2013 (Your tickets will be held for pick-up at Santa Maria Goretti Community Centre agm registration table) 11050 - 90 St Edmonton, AB

9:00 AM – 10:00AM Registration PAYMENT: Come early beat the 9:45 AM rush Please enclose Cheque payable to: Keynote Speaker: George VanderBurg Seniors United Now Associate Minister of Seniors

#of Tickets __ Amount: $_____ Cheque#___ Each current member will receive one vote.

Mail to: Registration deadline is April 15, 2013 Seniors United Now #121 Sherwood Business Ctr Please mail your registration form #15 2016 Sherwood Drive along with your payment or contact Sherwood Park, AB T8A 3X3 the SUN office at 780-449-1816 or Registration deadline is April 15, 2013 Toll Free 1-855-786-8669 Pre-registration is required to facilitate planning of Seating, lunch and WE LOOK FORWARD refreshments. TO SEEING YOU AT THE AGM!