WAVE Board Meeting, December 8, 2017

Treasurer’s Report

Treasurer reported that WAVE currently had 19 paid memberships, out of a potential for 65 villages in the DC-MD-VA metropolitan región.  Currently we have $665.00 in annual revenues, with $5,100.00 in carryover funds. 

There was agreement that we needed to get as many 2017 dues paid as possible.  Barbara Sullivan said that she would send an email with the information form to village contacts.  All agreed that we must do more to encourage dues payments, including reminders on the WAVE website, emails, the newsletter, etc.

The conversation evolved into a discussion regarding the need to recruit someone to write/edit/be responsible for a WAVE newsletter that might be compiled monthly.  One idea floated was that in the newsletter and during WAVE business meetings, we could feature a “village spotlight” on some aspect of one village for information sharing. 

Website & Host Server

Acknowledging that there does not exist a formal communications mechanism for information sharing, Dave Prescott (who has taken over keeping the WAVE website up to date) asked that we forward newsletters or information ítems of relevance to be posted on WAVE’s website. 

After considerable discussion regarding what entity/server would be chosen to host our website and regarding registering the domain name, it was agreed that Dave would investigate the options and make a recommendation for quick implementation. 

Although we discussed the need for a Communications Director to manage the email lists and the production of a WAVE newsletter, there was no decisión on who might be recruited to do so. This ítem remains open. 

2018 Annual Meeting & Elections

We decided that the next WAVE Triannual meeting would be held on Monday, 26 Feb. 2018 at the Bethesda/Chevy Chase Regional Service Center in Bethesda.  During this meeting, we are due to have elections for Board members.

The following was compiled for discussion:

• Newly elected Board members from Jan 2017-Jan 2019 include Eva Cohen (MD), Bob Craycraft (DC, who resigned as a Co-Chair), Miriam Kelty (MD), L Liddle (VA, who’s since resigned), Don Moldover (MD), Pat Scolero (DC), Peggy Simpson (DC – replacing Barbara Gage) and Barbara Sullivan (VA).
• Members with expiring terms from Jan 2016-Jan 2018 include Pat Clark (DC), Virginia Hodgkinson (VA), Gail Kutner (VA) and Eddie Rivas (MD).
• Given Bob Craycraft’s resignation as a Co-Chair, Peggy Simpson has agreed to serve in that capacity for 2018.
• A decisión was made to nominate another VA board member to replace L Liddle, Sharon Canner, who will run for election with those whose terms expire in Jan. 2018 (see above). This will give us a total of 12 board members – 4 DC, 4 MD & 4 VA.
• Thus, the slate of board members for election during the February 2018 meeting include Sharon Canner (VA), Pat Clark (DC), Virginia Hodgkinson (VA), Gail Kutner (VA) and Eddie Rivas (MD).

The final ítem was a request from Steve Gurney from the Guide To Retirement Living, for a presentation to the Senior Resource Group on Monday 02 April 2018. Barbara, Peggy and Eddie will represent WAVE in that presentation.

WAVE Triannual Meeting, Tuesday, October 17, 2017           

St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church

555 Water Street SW, Washington, DC 20024

Plenty of parking at The Wharf or at 1100 4^th Street SW

Metro: Waterfront-SEU Stop is one (long) block away

Agenda

9:15 am       Lite Fare Networking (provided by Home Care Assistance)

                    (Please bring business cards and materials to share)

9:40 am       Welcome, Barbara Ehrlich, President Waterfront Village

                    The Rev. Martha Clarke, St. Augustine’s Presbyterian Church

9:45 am       Business Meeting:  Miriam Kelty, President WAVE

                    Introduce our Host, Jerald Roberts, Home Care Assistance

                    Approval of Minutes:  Eddie Rivas, Secretary

                    Treasurers Report: Virginia Hodgkinson

                    Committee Reports

                    Village to Village Network National Gathering

10:00 am     Beckyanne Theriot, Owner of A First Class Move

                    Disorganized homes and hoarding: how Villages can identify and compassionately support members with dysfunctional and dangerous home environments.

10:40 am     Break

10:50 am     Discussion Groups: Developing, Open & Executive Directors

12:00 pm     Adjourn 

Following adjournment, those interested may attend a networking lunch at The Wharf.

WAVE Triannual Meeting, Tuesday, October 17, 2017

Bob Craycraft, SW Waterfront Village, welcomed everyone and introduced Reverend Martha Clark, Rector, St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church, who also welcomed everyone to their facility. 

Miriam Kelty, Co-Chair of WAVE representing Maryland Villages, also welcomed attendees, explaining the new schedule of WAVE membership meeting three times per year – Triannual Meetings. 

The IT Committee offered in their report that they are still working after four years on studying village software packages that offer the best value to villages. Having studied many existing packages and not able to find developers willing to develop packages without a guaranteed return, the IT Committee has decided that they will serve in a “Consumer Reports” function to evaluate software packages for villages, in hopes that their reviews will lead to improvements and affordability.  The Committee also announced that Dave Prescott has taken over the duties of managing WAVE’s website.

The Treasurer’s Report stated that WAVE had collected $420.00 in revenue, spent $588.00 in expenses, had $5,102.00 in carryover, for a balance of $4,934.00.  All villages were reminded of the importance of paying village dues of $35.00 per year so that WAVE can prevent using up our reserves.

Secretary’s Report – The minutes from the June 2017 Triannual meeting were accepted as written and posted for review.

Announcements:

• Iona Senior Services announced an upcoming Practice and Ethics Committee discussion about ethical village issues.
• Home Care Assistance, serving DC and Montgomery County, MD soon, was introduced as the sponsor for the refreshments of this Triannual Meeting.
• Sharon Canner, Neighbors Helping Neighbors (N2N) in Reston, VA announced that there would be a Virginia Village Day in February 2018.

Guest Speaker:

Becky Theriot, founder and owner of A First Class Move (AFCM) was introduced to speak about Disorganized Homes and Hoarding.  She stated that her business was targetted to individuals whose homes were “bursting at the seams” with clutter, which can cause safety risks that can lead to health issues.  Among her more pointed remarks: hoarding is a disorder that can be treated but not cured; health, social and mental health and safety can all be compromised; not only is it important to clear up a physical space, but also it helps the individual; recognize the problem, consult professionals or authorities, and give the individual a say in how to remedy the situation; clutter requires organizing one’s space; the key is to make the solution as stress free as possible.

DC Community Conversations Town Hall - Agenda

September 27, 2017    1:00pm – 3:30pm

1:00pm: Welcome & Introductions

Opening Remarks: GOH and CNCS Staff

Summary of the initiative and introduction of key speakers/presenters

1:15pm: Age Friendly DC

Gail Kohn, Age Friendly DC

Discussion Topics:

• Introduction to Age Friendly DC and Current Initiatives
• Brief survey (Pending CNCS OGC approval)

1:45pm: Washington Area Villages Exchange

Miriam Kelty, Washington Area Villages Exchange (WAVE)

Discussion Topics:

• Introduction to WAVE and Current Initiatives
• How to Become Involved

2:15pm: Results of Community Conversations Demonstration Project in Washington, DC

Emily Morrison, GWU

Discussion Topics:

• Methodology
• Findings
• Next Steps

2:45pm: Conclusion and Open Networking

Closing Remarks: GOH and CNCS Staff 

DC Community Conversations Town Hall

September 27, 2017    1:00pm - 3:30pm    See Agenda Below

Please join us for a Community Conversation on the Measurement of Civic Engagement at the Local Level 

The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) is supporting a series of projects across the United States that are exploring ways to improve measurement of volunteering and civic engagement activities at the local or neighborhood level; and how to better capture and describe various facets of civic life which may be linked to other important indicators of individual and community wellbeing.

In support of this initiative, the Washington, DC Community Conversations Team – comprised of Guardians of Honor, the George Washington University, Age Friendly DC, and Washington Area Villages Exchange (WAVE) – has recently completed various interviews, observations, community consultations, and focus groups seeking to better understand what “civic engagement” and “volunteerism” mean to older Americans, how they talk about and think about these activities, the mechanisms by which they engage and volunteer, and why they choose to engage in these activities.

Given your expertise and interest in these issues, we hope you will join us Wednesday, September 27, 2017 from 1:00 pm to 3:30 pm at the True Reformer Building located at 1200 U Street, NW Washington, DC 20009 to learn about our partners’ current initiatives and to contribute to a discussion on the team’s findings.

Read more: DC Community Conversations Town Hall - 9/27/2017

WAVE Meeting

Monday, 19 June 2017

Barbara Sullivan, Executive Director of Mt. Vernon At Home, presided over this meeting. She opened the meeting outlining the Board’s new structure and the introduction of WAVE’s new timetable for three meetings per year. The Board Chair/President will rotate on this trimester basis, with a Board representative from each jurisdiction (DC, MD & VA) chairing WAVE’s activities and meeting every four months. 

Alexandra Johnson from Old Dominion Home Care was then introduced and thanked for providing the meeting’s refreshments. She provided a short description of Old Dominion Home Care’s services and their willingness to work with villages as appropriate.

Board reports were made:

• Minutes for the past WAVE meeting were accepted, with a request that minutes be posted sooner for review on the website.
• The Treasurer reported that dues for the July 2017- June 2018 year were due in July, and that each village please send in the registration form with their check to update our official contacts for each village. It was also announced that WAVE would pay for one (1) village in development for the Annual Gathering in Baltimore, 5-8 Nov. 2017.
• The IT (Internet/Technology) Committee reported that they need help finding a new web master for the WAVE website.  The Committee hopes to contribute to the national village conversation re: the needed IT tools that are more user-friendly and affordable for villages.  Therefore they need assistance in gathering information for newsletters, developing messaging for developing villages and other forms of support. 
• Peggy Simpson, VTV National Board Member and a founding member of DuPont Circle Village, reminded everyone that the Early Bird registration would end July 31; that the national office was launching a User’s Group for IT with the opening conference session addressing the digital revolution, and there will again be Dine-Arounds at the conference by interest areas.

Guest Speaker: Emily Carton, Owner of Thetfordhouse, “How villages can help with compassionate care and support for our loved ones.”

• Defined compassion as suffering with others and helping to alleviate their suffering, all with intention.
• Spoke about “social suffering,” feeling of isolation/not belonging to a social body; not being in relationships; wanting to be seen, loved, to feel at home, feeling valued.
• Described the importance of showing up and looking beyond one’s own fears and biases; cited an example of a ten year old that overcame her own fears to sing in front of a gathering of SNF residents.
• Told the story of two residents of the old Roosevelt Hotel on 16^th & Florida, NW, DC, who became close friends and mutual supports even though they each suffered from serious disabilities due to their illnesses and older age. “Love is possible regardless of impairments.”
• Described an individual who had had a lobotomy and dementia, who could not lie and wanted to have a dialogue: “don’t take things personally, their behavior is their means of communication.”
• “Be directive and use what you know to build bridges with others. Create bridges to people in their own worlds.”
• Mentioned an article in the New York Times, The Zen of Alzheimer’s, in which the authors state the importance of repeated moments and teaching the importance of living in the moment.
• Unfortunately, societal norms regarding Alzheimer’s disease creates hostility towards people with dementia. Thus it is also important to support caregivers. 

Announcements:

Carolyn Ward, Georgetown Univ. Medical Center, announced that the Memory Disorders Program would soon start enrolling potential subjects/ cognitively normal patients in clinical trials, for anyone interested in their research.

Staff (Miriam ?) from the Corporation for Community Services stated that they planned on starting their focus groups with village members later that week; please contact her, Anthony Nerino or Emily Morrison.

Various villages mentioned that they would be holding watch parties for national video cast from VTV on Sept. 25^th with Dr. Atul Gawande, author of Being Mortal. 

Waterfront Village in Southwest DC, will host the next WAVE meeting, Tuesday 17 October 2017, in St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church, 555 Water Street, SW, Washington DC 20024. Parking is available at The Wharf, 100 4^th Street, SW. The Waterfront Metro stop is one block away. Networking at 9:30 am; meeting starts at 10:00 am; optional Networking Lunch at The Wharf at 12:30 pm.