CASTLEGAR SENIORS BRANCH #46
Report to West Kootenay/Boundary Regional Meeting – Midway, B.C.
April 15, 2019
We start the year with our Installation of officers, President, 1st and 2nd Vice, Treasurer,
Secretary and 5 directors. We currently have 233 new and renewed members with 48 slow to
renew.
We continue to offer daily activities Monday to Friday between 9 – 4. They include:
• Darts Monday and Friday.
• Whist Mondays,
• Floor Curling Monday to Thursday, and most recently also Friday nights.
• Carpet Bowling, Crafts, and Line Dancing on Tuesdays,
• Pool on Tuesday Evenings,
• Rummoli Wednesdays,
• Bingo Thursdays,
• Bridge and Crib on Fridays,
• Poker every second Thursday evening.
This is a very full schedule to manage. For the most part, things go smoothly. We would not be
able to offer this variety of activities if it were not for our location at the Castlegar complex
and our wonderful volunteer coordinators.
We renewed our lease with the Regional District Central Kootenay for another 5 years. Our
lease includes our designated space (lounge with small kitchen), A/C, heat, light, phone,
maintenance, garbage removal. We have full, free use of the complex and all its rooms from 9
– 4 Monday to Friday. With the caveat that if a paying customer wants one of the rooms we are
using, we are bumped. If we want a room on the weekend, we pay like anyone else.
Our lounge is open Monday to Friday 9 – 4 for coffee, muffins and socializing. You will often
find groups of individuals who meet regularly for this purpose. Many have been participating
in one of the activities the complex offers like swimming, the gym, yoga, etc. Other groups
such as the 55+ BC Games Zone 6 holds their monthly meeting at our location. Since last fall,
another group, the West Kootenay Chapter of the Council of the Blind Branch #29, meet once
a month to socialize and hold their meeting in our lounge.
The SOCIAL EVENTS COMMITTEE plan and organize several special events throughout the
year. Afternoon Dances, Dinner Dances, Soup Days, and an Annual Appreciation Tea for all
our members who are 80 and over. Over 80 attended last May. Most recently, they planned a
Waffle Breakfast and a Pancake Breakfast. This is something new for us and seems to be
popular.
We host TECH LEARNING once a month in collaboration with the Columbia Basin Alliance for
Literacy. For those who may not know, the program sends three Techs to us for 2 hours once a
month. People bring their devices and their problems. The numbers are increasing.
Our General Meeting is held on the second Thursday of the month. We changed our meeting
from the first Thursday to the second so that our Treasurer would have time to prepare a
monthly financial statement. We now have a dispute over the wisdom of this change.
Something we will have to resolve.
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Our membership approved a Selkirk College Nurse’s Bursary of $1000; a donation to the 55+
BC Games of $500 and a donation to Castlegar Hospice of $1000.
For the past three years we have held a Driving Workshop, Participants share their experiences
and we go over what to expect once you get the letter requesting you visit your doctor. We
looked at the Simard Test and discuss how to pass it. There have been many changes to the
process and I am finding it more and more difficult to find the time to update myself.
Especially the new ERA (Enhanced Road Assessment). I know COSCO does a workshop on
this subject, but they are few and far between. There is definitely a need for these sessions and
I believe they should be held regularly.
We collaborate with the Recreation Department at the Complex to host the “GIVE IT A TRY”
the campaign held in May or June. It is possible for people to try out some of the sports that are held at
the 55+ BC GAMES. A free lunch is provided. It is a campaign to encourage participation in the
Games. If you have the opportunity you should GIVE IT A TRY.
Organizations we work with to further the cause of our seniors:
• City of Castlegar
• IRIS (Increasing Recreation Involving Seniors) Sandie McCreight
• Castlegar Age Friendly Project
• The Castlegar Library Hosting the NIDUS webinars month of October
• Columbia Alliance for Literacy
• Non-Profit Advisor Program (Columbia Basin Trust)
The challenges our organization is facing:
• Presently we are making a total assessment of our relevancy for today’s senior as we
participate in the Columbia Basin Trust Non-Profit Advisors Program. We are working
through the extensive report, they have given us. Our first challenge is getting our house
in order. We are looking at how we can improve our governance and set our path for the
future with a strategic plan.
• Education of our membership, the community, the world. Everyone who is long-lived
will face the same issues ALL seniors face.
• As our numbers grow, our designated space at the complex shrinks. We need a
dedicated knowledgeable committee called Space and Means whose task is to get more
space and find the means to do it. With more space, the possibilities are endless.
Daycare programs, meal programs, and on and on. What a better place for these things than
at the Community Complex.
• Transportation to and from the complex is becoming increasingly difficult for some.
Every time we look at the idea of a “transportation committee” the subject of insurance
and liability rears its ugly head. Is there no way forward with this?
Respectfully submitted
Beverley Kennedy, President
