Volunteers keeps senior center going

Perhaps you’re reading this column over your first cup of coffee,

anticipating your morning walk or thinking about the day’s activities

you’ve planned. If so, here’s a suggestion: Make it a point to take a

stroll today around the flea market at the Costa Mesa Senior Center

and meet the terrific volunteers who make the center the oasis it is

for our community’s senior citizens.

The flea market will be open from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the senior

center’s parking lot at 695 W. 19th St. And while you’re there, pick

up a special treasure or unusual item.

The Costa Mesa Senior Center flea market is one of the

fund-raisers the center relies on to finance the numerous services

that are such a vital part of our members’ lives. Indeed, without

activities such as the flea market, the Costa Mesa Senior Center

would not be able to serve our community’s seniors.

That’s because the Costa Mesa Senior Center is a nonprofit

organization. Even though we do receive, with thanks, support from

the city of Costa Mesa, the vast majority of our funding is generated

from corporate and private donations.

Beyond the financial generosity that supports the Costa Mesa

Senior Center, our center and nonprofit organization is privileged to

be governed by a volunteer board of directors dedicated to the

center’s mission, as well as a committed core of volunteers that

literally runs the center day in and day out.

The spirit of volunteerism pervades all sectors of our work. The

volunteer board of directors is made up of wonderful people from all

walks of life, each of them contributing their skills for the

betterment of the center and the seniors it serves.

Their commitment deserves recognition.

Del Heintz is president of the board of directors. Del is vice

president of government affairs for Comcast and represents Comcast in

regulatory community affairs and government affairs for the company’s

broadband operation in Southern California. Del is an energetic

leader whose vibrant interest in community affairs and his management

skills serve the center very well.

Del is assisted by Jerrel Richards, board vice president and

immediate past president, who formerly served as a University of

California vice chancellor and as an Orange Coast College dean.

Loretta Clause is a board member and a past president who

practices family law. Ron Frankiewicz serves as board treasurer, and

is an accountant and business consultant. Joan Weeks Is our board

secretary, and is vice president, branch manager for the Carl Warren

Co.

Heather Armbruster is owner of “The Heathers” board and care

facilities. Board member Phyllis Daugherty directs the travel

department at the center.

Board member Linda Dixon is a former Costa Mesa mayor. Thomas

Johnson is a board member and is publisher of The Daily Pilot.

Board member Manfredo Lespier is an attorney specializing in

family and civil law. Gwyn Parry is a center board member and

director of community medicine at Hoag Memorial Hospital in Newport

Beach. Board member Sonja Elson is a senior editor at UC Irvine. And

board member Arlene Hazelrigg is owner and president of Hazelriggf

Risk Management Services.

We are so fortunate to have these important community leaders

serving on the Costa Mesa Senior Center Board of Directors. They

volunteer their time and expertise in providing vision and direction

for the center.

Equally important are the volunteers who assist in innumerable

ways in the daily running of the center. They always bring a special

moment to the center’s life, just by taking time to show how much

they care. The volunteers are often the first voice you hear on the

phone, the person who takes your lunch and coffee tickets or the

instructor who teaches many of our education classes, including

computer training. They are the core that make this center function,

and we would be lost without them.

The fourth Friday of every month, volunteers meet and discuss ways

of improving the center. Becoming a senior center volunteer is a

great way to serve your community. You are welcome to attend our

monthly volunteer meetings if you have and interest in serving.

As a volunteer, I can promise you that you will learn from and be

enriched by the wonderful seniors in our community. Having passed

through so many experiences -- from the early days of the automobile

right into the computer age -- their wisdom is a treasure that they

are eager to share. You can’t imagine how wonderful it is to have a

cup of coffee in our lounge and just listen to the great tales our

members have to tell.

Volunteers share themselves, interacting with others in a way that

always makes the world a little brighter and a better place. Whether

serving as board members or as helpers at lunchtime, all the

volunteers bring a great deal of valuable talent and caring to the

center.

As an example, a special day at the center will be our

Independence Day barbecue on Wednesday. A lunch will be prepared by

several members of the Costa Mesa Fire Department from 10 a.m. to 2

p.m. Tickets cost $4 for members and $10 for nonmembers.

Join us that day and experience just how wonderful the Costa Mesa

Senior Center and its people truly are. For more information, call us

at (949) 645-2356. Or, better yet, stop in and visit.

* AVIVA GOELMAN is the executive director of the Costa Mesa Senior

Center and will write occasional columns about the center, its

members and senior issues.