Wiscasset Senior Center: Brainstorming ideas

Thu, 04/17/2014 - 11:30am

Last Wednesday Ellie Tracy did an excellent job in running the membership meeting. A good number of people stayed for the meeting that was held right after the dinner. Trustee Chairman Carl Hewitt was unable to attend as he was a bit under the weather that day.

Ellie used a PowerPoint presentation to review the trustees duties and to bring up for discussion several ideas that have been discussed in recent trustees meetings. The major ideas for discussion were: reduce the number of trustees: reduce the number of trustee meetings per year: publish four newsletters per year; publish monthly menu; review and revise committees by category; and work by committee.

The proposal would reduce the number of trustees from nine to five. Trustees meetings would be reduced to quarterly scheduled meetings with special meetings held on an as needed basis. The officers or executive board could meet to handle pressing needs. Newsletters would be published quarterly but a menu would be printed monthly. Committees would be assigned a category of like tasks. Each Trustee would be a member of a committee but the committee would elect its own chairman. Most of the Senior Center work would be done by committee.

A question was raised if it was wise to reduce the number of trustees and the number of meetings given the facts that there are so many pressing problems. The answer was that perhaps the problems could be better solved by more people working together through committees. Trustees would no longer have to attend meetings and would not have to take on solving problems by themselves. Now committees would work specific tasks and by having a trustee as a member of each committee; the committees could be coordinated and therefore more effective. The big thing would be that more people could get involved by serving on a committee.

Would this work? Would people want to get involved and serve on a committee? Would this result in more enthusiasm and growth? It is something new to try and we need to try something. I went to the lunch last Thursday and there were fewer than eight people there. As I said last week, it is not others who must decide and take action, it is you!

The cribbage tournament winners on Tuesday, April 8 were June Caton first, Patty Bridgham second, Stuart Wyman third, Earl Dighton low score and Dot Kidney had the high hand. The cribbage tournament winners on Thursday, April 10 were Patty Bridgham first, Linden Simmons second, Earl Dighton third, Gail Thayer low score and Ken Colby had the high hand.

Meals for next week:

(Reservations, please! Call 207-882-8230 at least two days in advance for meal reservations.)

Wednesday, April 23: Dinner, meatloaf

Thursday, April 24: Lunch, Chef’s Special Entrée