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WASC Calendar

Board Meeting ~ Friday, February 20 (conf. call)

Spring Training ~ Friday, April 17

Wisconsin Rapids

Fall Training 2015 ~ September 16-18,

Metropolis Hotel, Eau Claire

“Serving Senior Centers

Since 1983”

Volume 9, Issue 4

www.wiseniorcenters.org

December 2014

Friday, April 17, 2015 The Hotel Mead & Conference Center in

Wisconsin Rapids; $25 per person

It’s All About Developing, Enhancing and Supporting Senior Center Boards

If you’ve ever wanted to bring a Board Member (or two) to a WASC Training;

this is the one!

Wisconsin Association of Senior Centers

Spring Training


VOLUME 9, I SSUE 4 AN OFFICIAL PUBLICAT ION OF T HE WISCONSIN ASS OCIATION OF S ENI OR CENTERS

From the President’s Desk

DEAR WASC MEMBERS, PARTNERS, ASSOCIATES & SUPPORTERS

During this season of Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, New Years, and

many other reasons to celebrate, I wish to you and your families a most blessed time of

Thanks, Celebration, a Time for Review, and Renewal.

My thoughts from the last newsletter were quite aggressive but did in fact yield some

positive responses and promises to get involved, and I thank those of you for that. I

remind you all that the Strategic Plan will be coming in an email to each of you soon. Please do find at least

one goal/area to make a difference in.

To abbreviate my challenge just a bit, during this busy time of year, and make sure I can also follow through

with it, PLEASE reach out to someone from your area or across the state in an effort to support, share and be

a resource to each other. MAKE “1” call and make our Association stronger by touching another WASC

person. Together let’s make 2015 a GREAT YEAR FOR WASC!!!

Other than that: PLEASE connect with family, friends, co-workers and partners to share THANKS -

PEACE - LOVE & JOY of the Season!!!

Mark

Arthritis Foundation Online Exercise

Program Training

1. Go to www.e-affaa.com

2. Click on “Online Workshops – On Demand!”

3. Click on “Arthritis Foundation Exercise Program”

4. Then click “Buy Now” to purchase.

Questions or more information contact:

Jessica Graser

Program and Event Coordinator

(608) 221-9800 x5203 (direct)

(262) 470-2545 (mobile)

Arthritis Foundation

Upper Midwest Region

5936 Seminole Centre Court Ste 203

Madison, WI 53711-5131

tel:%28608%29%20221-9800%20x5203

tel:%28262%29%20470-2545


Officers District Phone Email Mark Ziemer, President 3 920.232.5302 [email protected]

Karen Neuman , Vice President 3 920.361.5422 [email protected]

Marcia Hendrickson, Treasurer 1 608.251-8405x11 [email protected]

Secretary-OPEN

District Delegates Marcia Hendrickson 1 608.251-8405x11 [email protected]

Connie Steinhoff 1 608.348.9934 [email protected]

Evonne Boettge 1 920-887-4639 [email protected]

Catherine Keiner 2 262.375.7644 [email protected]

Karin Sevener 2 262.375.5311 [email protected]

OPEN (Alternate) 2

Mark Ziemer 3 920.232.5302 [email protected]

Karen Neuman 3 920.361.5422 [email protected]

Sherry Salfai (Alternate) 3 920.685.7005 [email protected]

Barbara Pritzl 4 715.286.2953 [email protected]

OPEN 4

OPEN (Alternate) 4

Donna Calhoun 5 715.346.1406 [email protected]

Danielle Green 5 715.682.2776 [email protected]

Stephanie Schroeder (Alternate) 5 715.369.6170 [email protected]

Committees & Other Accreditation, Sheila Frohmader 920.674.7728 [email protected]

Administrative Coord., Deb Weberpal 608.921.9123 [email protected]

Newsletter, Pat Guttenberg 608.267.8650 [email protected]

Legislative, Jill McHone 608.270.4290 [email protected]

GWAAR, Pam Vankampen 715.836.3916 [email protected]

GWAAR, Janet Zander, Advocacy 608.228.7253 [email protected]

GWAAR, Carrie Porter, Transportation 608.228.8092 [email protected]

BADR, Anne Hvizdak 715.677.3037 [email protected]

BADR, Sara Koenig 608.266.3746 [email protected]

Nutrition Revitalization, Karen Neuman 920.361.5422 [email protected]

2015 WASC Board of Directors & Committees


2015 Training Topics Needed Now!

We are starting to plan the Fall 2015 conference which will be September 16-18 in Eau

Claire. If you have any topics you would potentially like addressed please send them to

Mark Ziemer, [email protected] or Deb Weberpal, [email protected]

ASAP! Your input makes a better training! Call for proposals will go out in January.



Gert Olson Memorial Scholarship Available The Gert Olson Memorial Scholarship is a $250 scholarship for training not covered by an agency budget, Fall

Conference Scholarship or Spring Scholarship. This is an annual scholarship and is available in 2015. This

award is given to a WASC member in good standing to provide funding for training and related expenses for

self-improvement and to enable her/him to better perform their job. The application should provide what

training you are attending, benefit of the training, a letter of recommendation from a board member, supervisor

or colleague, which includes a brief statement showing financial need for assistance, and a copy of the

agency’s budget for the current year. After the training, the recipient is requested to write an article for the

newsletter about it and/or give a presentation on the training at a District meeting.

Applications should be sent to the WASC President, Mark Ziemer, Oshkosh (email on page 3).

Hello and Good Bye!

New Directors: Jeremy Slusarek, ADRC of Brown County; [email protected]

Retirement: Dottie Winkleman, Fond du Lac

Snooky Zuidmulder, ADRC of Brown County

Pat Tobin, Janesville Senior Center

If you are new to WASC, have new staff, changes to your contact information or news to share, please inform

Deb Weberpal, [email protected]

Congratulations to the Two Rivers Senior Center for recently completing WASC Senior Center

Re-accreditation!

Congratulation to Seniors in the Park for winning a

Silver Star award from the Wisconsin Parks and Recreation Association for the motorcycle program

“Park Riders”

Aging in America, ASA Conference in Chicago Hyatt Regency Hotel, March 23-27

Friday March 27 is the Senior Center Summit: A Window to the Future. Fee is $200 for non-ASA members.

If you are interested you can go to www.asaging.org/aia for more information.



Newsletter Article and Program Resources Looking for articles or information for newsletters, handouts, etc...? Check out the resources below:

Food Facts from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. This site offers a variety of food and nutrition related

topics. There are downloadable free, pdf versions of the handouts plus short 2-3 minute video clips you can watch or

show. http://www.fda.gov/Food/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/ucm077286.htm Holiday Food Safety: Here is an example of what is available at the site noted

above.http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodborneIllnessContaminants/BuyStoreServeSafeFood/ucm188807.htm#Holiday

FoodSafety

There are handouts, videos and Holiday Food Safety Kit http://www.holidayfoodsafety.org/ The Center for Disease Control has a great aging section with articles and interactive tools. Click here

The Wisconsin Institute for Healthy Aging (WIHA) has research, workshops, training, and information on Evi-

dence-Based Prevention Programs. The National Institutes of Health has information for all ages from diabetes to exercise to sleep to nutrition.

Omro Area Community Center Hosts Volunteer Wisconsin AmeriCorps The end of October was the beginning of the year of service for the volunteer of Volunteer

Wisconsin’s AmeriCorps, serving at the Omro Area Community Center. Katrina Martz, of

Oshkosh, WI chose to give a year of service to AmeriCorps. She is serving at the commu-

nity center in Omro in the capacity of Volunteer Coordinator and Recruiter. Her primary

job over the next year will be to recruit at least 10 long term volunteers for the center.

A‘long term volunteer’ is a person who is willing to give 15 hours of volunteer time over

the course of a year. Volunteers in today’s busy society are unwilling to commit to a regu-

lar weekly schedule, but that doesn’t mean they don’t want to participate. Thus the flexi-

bility to work on a project or an event and still be considered a volunteer of the center is

the key to recruiting.

Katrina will also be developing a volunteer handbook, an orientation procedure and a database with informa-

tion on the volunteers so that the center can give recognition for their service at some, upcoming event. She

will also work on limited fundraising and direct service to the patrons of the center, and she will serve as an

extra set of ‘hands’ to get things done. This works out well since the AmeriCorps slogan is: Getting Things

Done for America.

The Omro Community Center is able to have Katrina for the year through a grant from Marshfield Clinic’s

Volunteer Wisconsin and grant monies made available to them through the federal government.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of AmeriCorps, which is considered an American version of the Peace

Corps. President Obama set up a program so businesses have access to information on members who serve, if

the business is willing to give preference to the service member when it comes to interviews and hiring. This

will provide a conduit for companies who value community service to find employees with similar values.

The hope is that this new database will offer an avenue for service members to find good jobs after their year

of service.

For now the community center is the beneficiary of Katrina’s passion for service to the community. We thank

her and every AmeriCorps member for giving back in such a huge way. Their willingness to ‘Get Things

Done’ will make a difference in the lives of the patrons here in Omro and throughout the State of Wisconsin.

http://www.fda.gov/Food/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/ucm077286.htm

http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodborneIllnessContaminants/BuyStoreServeSafeFood/ucm188807.htm#HolidayFoodSafety

http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodborneIllnessContaminants/BuyStoreServeSafeFood/ucm188807.htm#HolidayFoodSafety

http://www.holidayfoodsafety.org/

http://www.cdc.gov/aging/

http://www.cdc.gov/aging/

https://wihealthyaging.org/

http://health.nih.gov/


VOLUME 9 ISSUE 4 AN OFFICIAL PUBLICAT ION OF T HE WISCONSIN ASS OCIATION OF S ENI OR CENTERS

2015 Conference Committee Members Wisconsin Minnesota

Co– Chairs: Mark Ziemer Nicole Gorman

Site: Mary Pica-Anderson Lacelle Cordes & Barb Lipinski

Activities: Bob Powers Lacelle Cordes & Barb Lipinski

Hospitality: Kitty Kaari, Karen Neuman Lacelle Cordes & Barb Lipinski

Auction: District Two

CEUs/Room Hosts/

Evaluations: Danielle Greene Kris Orluk

Sponsors/Vendors: Barb Pritzl Rebecca Kropelnicki

Registration: Deb Weberpal

Marketing Pam VanKampen

Please contact Mark Ziemer if you would be interested in serving on any of these committees.



Legislative Report State

Transportation - The Move WI Alliance (MWA) - An alliance of advocacy groups

(non-transportation providers) continues working to improve mobility and

transportation options around Wisconsin. Several public education

presentations were held around the state this fall encouraging citizens to talk to

their local officials and state legislators about MWA’s priorities. Thank you to

all Senior Centers that signed on to the Move WI Alliance petition in

September.

Family Care - Joint Finance met on Wednesday, 10/12/14 and approved, 13-0,

Family Care expansion contracts for the following counties; Brown, Door, Kewaunee, Marinette,

Menomonie, Oconto, and Shawano. Eight counties remain without aces to Family Care/IRIS – Vilas,

Oneida, Forest, Florence, Taylor, Adams, Dane, and Rock.

Non-Emergency Medical Transportation - The Legislative Audit Bureau’s (LAB) full audit of the NEMT

brokerage program remains underway. Though the audit is not expected to be complete until late this

winter, LAB is expecting preliminary information in time to inform the 2015-2017 State budget

process.

Voting – On Oct. 9, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an order blocking implementation of Wisconsin’s

voter photo ID law (Act 23). As a result, Wisconsin voters did not need an ID to vote.

Wisconsin Women’s Policy Institute (WWPI) – I am a part of this year’s training which goes from

September 2014-May 2015. As part of the training our group is working directly on three current

public policy issues: Unemployment Insurance for Caregivers, Long Term Care Investment Fund

(InvestaCare/Ingrid Thompson’s idea), and Caregiver Tax Credit. The goal of the Institute is to draft

legislation and find legislative sponsors by spring of 2015. Ingrid’s Long Term Care Investment Fund

already has a draft bill so the group is working to build support and finding Republican sponsors who

will introduce the bill.

Federal

OAA Reauthorization – The OAA’s current authorization expired in FY 2011. We must make one last final

push to encourage the Wisconsin members of the Senate and House to support a bipartisan, simple

reauthorization that protects the core OAA programs in hopes that some action will be taken after the election.

If reauthorization does not occur before the end of the year, education (especially with new members of

Congress) and advocacy will begin in full force in the new year. National Caregiving Champion – Janet

Zander, GWAAR Advocacy and Public Policy Coordinator and Claire Culbertson, GWAAR National Family

Caregiver Coordinator, met with Senator Baldwin’s staff to discuss a nomination for Senator Baldwin to serve

as a “Caregiving Champion” at the national level for the National Alliance for Caregiving’s (NAC)

Caregiving Champion program. They have received notification that Senator Baldwin is willing to accept a

nomination. Janet and Claire are now working with NAC to write up a profile of the Senator and process her

nomination. Janet and Claire are also talking with local Caregiver Coalitions about ways the coalitions can be

advocates for family caregivers and help draw attention to the issues they face.

~Jill McHone, Fitchburg, Legislative Chairperson; [email protected]



Meet WASC District 2 Delegate Catherine Kiener

Hello WASC Members! I am the Director of the Port Washington Adult Community

Senior Center. I have been in my position since December 7, 1998. I am looking forward to professionally serving on the WASC Board of Directors to advance the

profile of Senior Centers in Wisconsin and our communities. The challenge to get

busy professionals together to network with one another to share ideas and develop skills is one I look forward to in District 2.

My degree is in Recreation Management with an emphasis on therapeutic recreation

from the University of Wisconsin La Crosse. My career started as a recreation

therapist in Long Term Care where I advanced to an Assistant Director and then took a job change to be a Director of Activities. I maintain national certifications as a park

and recreation professional (CPRP) and as a therapeutic recreation specialist (CTRS).

The continuing education units I obtain from conferences are the primary base for

recertification standards for these professional designations.

The coordination of various program instructors, volunteer leaders, office volunteers,

and planning of events and trips are job tasks that I enjoy. Marketing the senior center

is an area I am improving in, along with other skills necessary to effectively manage

the Center. I am fortunate to work in an area with 2 other centers close by to organize a county wide Senior Games. The Center has very part-time assistant and maintenance staff members who are also city employees and contribute to

the Center mission of “providing cost effective programs, classes, activities and services to citizens 55 years and older”.

I am a mother of two college students and am blessed to have support from my husband for the hectic schedule that can

happen as a Senior Center Director. I enjoy photography, reading, skiing, camping, travel and walking.

Meet WASC Administrative Coordinator Deb Weberpal I am beginning my third year as WASC’s Administrative Coordinator. It is an interesting

and varied job. I learn so much from all of you!! I come to this position with 22 years of

experience in Senior Centers, 12 in a non-profit center, The Gathering Place of Milton, and

10 years as the Senior Coordinator for the City of Whitewater Parks and Recreation De-

partment. I have held every position on the WASC board, except vice president, which

hopefully gives me insight into past practice, helping new board members understand their

job, and assisting the board with annual activities and deadlines.

I have a degree in Health and human performance with a minor in Gerontology from UW-Whitewater (Go

Warhawks!). I am a Certified Parks and Recreation Professional in addition to being a pole walking instructor,

group fitness instructor and am working toward my supervisory certificate from CVMIC (Cities and Villages

Mutual Insurance Company.) If your city is a member it is great training. They also have online training.

As a not quite full time employee, like many others I enjoy the challenge of presenting a myriad of programs,

trips and wellness opportunities to enhance the lives of older adults in the community. I am fortunate to be in

a university community. The students are a great resource as volunteers.

I have three adult children, two grandchildren and a grand-puppy. In my free time I enjoy yoga, tai chi, read-

ing, walking in the woods, traveling, and spending time with family and friends.

I look forward to getting to know more of you. Please feel free to call or email me or your district delegate

with any questions or assistance. We are a wealth of knowledge.


VOLUME 9, I SSUE 4 VOLUME 9, I SSUE 4 AN OFFICIAL PUBLICAT ION OF T HE WISCONSIN ASS OCIATION OF S ENI OR CENTERS

Nutrition Program Revitalization

The Elder Nutrition Program will conduct some listening sessions/focus groups in 2015 to get ideas to change

the name for the Elderly Nutrition Program. If you would like to help recruit older adults to participate (50-55

y/o +) or help host a listening session/focus group in your area, please contact me. Still working on finalizing

a plan to do this.

Nutrition program revitalization pilot projects are in full swing! Here are some pilot project highlights:

o Barron County – Rice Lake Senior Center initiated a breakfast bar/Bistro and a seasonal weekly Salad

Bar.

§ Have served 725 breakfast meals since June 16th, which is an average of 181-200 per month

§ Had 52 new diners in the first month and average donation rose 91 cents ($2.50-$3.41)

§ Rice Lake Senior Center has made some updates as a result of increased participation – updated cof-

fee service, paint, and decorations, rearranged set up – this was unexpected but great!

§ Other site managers are bringing participants to try breakfast at the senior center (10 sites in Barron

County)

§ No reservations required – people like this

§ Transportation available

§ Groups from the community intend to have their meetings there

§ Support of site manager and the senior center co-directors is crucial to this effort.

o Florence County: The Hillcrest Dining Center will be relocated from a large gymnasium to a remodeled

classroom for a more intimate, inviting atmosphere. It will incorporate a coffeehouse approach seating area and

will offer Internet access. Intergenerational activities will be provided through partnership with the youth program

“Food, Fun, and Fitness” offered by the School District of Florence County and UW Extension. A component of

these activities will be creating garden boxes to grow produce for use by the nutrition program. Breakfast and eve-

ning meals and a salad/soup/sandwich bar will be offered on a rotating schedule.

§ Hasn’t spent any money yet, but is seeing increases in participation just by offering different pro-

gramming and being in the vicinity of the technical college

§ Technical college is buying them a sign.

o Green County: The Monroe Dining Center located at Behring Senior Center in Monroe will be remodeled

into a modern and chic café that will serve meals five days per week for lunch, include a coffee bar open through-

out the day, and will include a breakfast bar serving hot and cold breakfast items three days per week. The break-

fast program will be coordinated closely with the senior center’s wellness and exercise programs and the ADRC’s

health promotion programs.

§ Hope to open in January, soft opening in December

o Green Lake County: Berlin Senior Center - “Start Your Day – Stay & Play” pilot project will include facil-

ity modifications to include a make-your-own-espresso bar and an outdoor table under a sun umbrella. A breakfast

bar will be created and serve breakfast five days a week. Locally grown fruits and vegetables will be provided, and

vegetables will be grown in the senior center’s garden. Reservations are not required and breakfast will be offered

to the general public on a fee basis.

§ Average per day numbers run about 10 visitors per day

§ About 1/3 never or very seldom came to dining center

§ More positive reputation of the senior center

§ Increased awareness of good food

§ Healthy food & enjoyable atmosphere (Continued on page 10)



Nutrition Program Revitalization (cont.)

§ Café Connect— The Oregon Area Senior Center will be remodeled to create a fresh, inviting WiFi café style

dining center. A variety of music programs will be offered weekly to entice new diners.

· All damaged drywall repaired, new paint and flooring·

· Indoor awning for kitchen serving window installed.

· Grand re-opening of Café Connect took place on September 18th with 41 congregate diners in

attendance.

· A photo and explanation of the grant will be featured in our December newsletter that reaches

approximately 750 seniors.

· The Café Connect sign for a wall in the dining room has not yet been created but staff are work-

ing on a design.

· There have been 13 new unduplicated diners.

· Average daily attendance pre-revitalization was 7.7 per day. Post revitalization launch has been

12 per day. This demonstrates that of the 13 new diners in 2 months, on average 5 of these attend each

day.

· Donations 43 cents per meal with an average of $2.18 per meal.

§ Café 301 (Sun Prairie):

· Facility/Infrastructure Modifications: We have purchased the dining supplies and a grill. Every-

one enjoyed the freshly cooked brats and hamburgers right off the grill! Challenges: The salad bar was

difficult to organize. The man power to lay everything out was an increased challenge for the staff.

We recruited a volunteer to completely set that up, which was a great help.

· Programmatic enhancements: These were the most exciting part to our proposal. Offering an

increased amount of socialization opportunities, cooking demos, different themed lunches and enter-

tainment are what enticed people to come. The later start time was appreciated by more than we real-

ized. The guests enjoyed the give-a-ways and the silly games we played occasionally. Most impor-

tantly, they enjoyed the increased contact with staff. They also enjoyed the fresh produce generated by

the garden. Challenges: Although this was an exciting piece, it took more time then expected to pull all

of the ideas together and to decorate. To pull that amount of time from the coordinator’s schedule was

not working most days. So, other staff would help and we were able to find a volunteer to help a cou-

ple days a week.

· Outreach/Marketing: We spread the word about Café 301 through a flyer that went out to several

homes within our community. We included information in our monthly newsletter regarding the

“specials” we offered throughout the week.

· Measurable Outcomes: Served 85 people through these 60 days, we were hoping for 125. How-

ever, we continue to have new people attend the meal site. 43 of those 85 were new faces to the meal

program.

§ “My Meal, My Way” East Madison/Monona—service at a restaurant for breakfast with no reservations.

· Average attendance 51 per day and $3.32 average donation per meal

· 228 new older adults between August 1 and November 7

· Comments on the great food quality and location in nice restaurant

· Transportation is a potential issue – lots of down time, need activities

· Need to continue to market to make sure people are aware it is continuing

If you have any questions about the statewide nutrition program revitalization effort or the pilot projects,

please contact Sara Koenig at [email protected] or 608-266-3746.


Gold Sponsors

c/o Deb Weberpal 623 Waters Edge Dr Whitewater WI 53190

YOUR SPONSORSHIP

LISTED HERE!

For more information contact

[email protected] or

608-921-9123 Platinum-$400 includes WASC membership list Gold-$250 Silver-$100 Bronze—$50 (nonprofits only)

Julius Stecker District Sales Manager WI

Collette Vacations

cell: 608-577-7222

800-770-6740 ext 4019 fax: 888-722-7307

[email protected]

www.collettevacations.com

Globus Family of Brands

Rachelle Hildebrandt

5301 South Federal Circle

Littleton CO 80123 608-628-8825

[email protected]

www.globusfamilygroups.com

Silver Sponsor

Manitowoc and Two Rivers

Convention and Visitors Bureau Jason Ring

[email protected]

www.manitowoc.info

Let us help you plan your trip.

“Coast for awhile”

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.globusfamilygroups.com/

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