With Wayne S. manning the cash desk, President Jack called matters to order and asked Gary R. to provide a blessing and introduce our guests. Gary delivered a very thoughtful invocation on the 100th anniversary of Vimy Ridge. He then introduced our speaker Cheryl Loadman and Jenn Frank, guest of Bev J.

Announcements followed with Dave S. reporting on the Masters Golf pool with 445 entries sold. No winner had been calculated as of the meeting date, but some of us with Sergio on our teams were hopeful! Dave will arrange for more advertising next year, as the papers could not accommodate our time frame for this year. Thanks Dave for all the hours you spend on this important project. The Club greatly appreciates this.

Jack announced that on Saturday he and four members took helpful District training at the Saskatoon Club. He also shared that the Badge Shield and Star dinner will have 517 attendees, one of the highest in recent memory. Congratulations to the BSS team in pulling this off.

Jack further advised that with the Budget changes our lunch price will need to go up to $22 to cover the new $21 cost. The Board will deal with this at their next meeting, 7 am Wednesday at the Saskatoon Club.

Gary R. has grocery cards for sale, an important fund raiser for the club. 

Jack indicated that the World Community Service awards nominations are due so please see Jack if you have an interest in supporting this program.

Sergeant Steve then surgically siphoned surplus savings from the room for:
 

 

Gary R. introduced  Cheryl Loadman, the Executive Director for Services for Seniors, taking the helm last July. Cheryl reported on the state of the Senior’s  population in Saskatoon which is growing, nearing 60,000. By the way, the PC term is now “older adults”, not seniors! Her clients face intellectual challenges as they get older, and 35 percent of them live in poverty with little savings for daily necessities. Others struggle due to inflation or disabilities and are income poor. Also benefit plans go away after retirement just when you need them most!

Her organization fields 250 calls a month for help with things like moving assistance as her clients move into apartments from their houses. This can involve moving boxes, setting up rooms, fixing gate latches etc. Home making, housekeeping, snow shoveling and laundry are also some of the other typical services offered. As many Seniors can’t afford tradespeople, Cheryl’s team can help with some of the basic tasks, with donations accepted as a form of fee.

People are living longer and want to stay at home and are often times healthiest in that environment. This can create challenges as mobility gets compromised and few Government programs are currently designed to assist Seniors. Also Senior’s causes are not sexy, so raising cash donations is tough and recent Budget cuts are hurting.

Private care is also expensive typically starting at about $1,200 per month at the low end of care and escalating from there. While it may be healthiest for Seniors to stay in their own homes, if there is an accident or a serious health issue, a hospital stay is not only expensive, it might be devastating due to infections and complications.

Thank you Cheryl for a most insightful presentation and for highlighting some of the many challenges faced by our older adult community.