Greetings in the New Year! We hope 2012 is a healthy, happy, and productive year for you and your family. The Board of Directors would like to express our appreciation for your support, your involvement, your membership, and your can-do attitude that has carried us over a very rough patch in 2011. We hope 2012 is a successful year for you and for the center. Thank you again for all that you have done to support our efforts. And speaking of thank you’s, we would like to acknowledge the financial support received recently from Casa de las Campanas and our Rancho Bernardo Kiwanis and Noon Rotary Clubs. We could not do this without you, all of you!

For 2012, we have the proverbial goods news and bad news. Being firm believers in procrastination creating only ulcers, we will start with the bad news. Our membership rates will increase beginning in 2012. The city has strongly suggested our membership rates be moved more in line with the $100 per person charged by Mira Mesa’s Senior Center. However, the board voted to increase our membership 50% to a total of $60 for an individual ($100 for a couple). This amount, multiplied by the number of members we currently have, covers two thirds of the cost of operating our center, not including any staffing or newsletter expenses. We realize this is a tremendous jump, but felt we had to bring our membership cost more in line with what it costs to operate the center. Unlike the Poway Center, we do not have the Bingo income to support our operations, and Escondido and San Marcos receive dollars from their respective municipalities, so our rates really do have to increase.

We realize this is a great concern to our members and want to let you know now that we will work with you to keep you as a member. If this causes a hardship for you and you feel you will not be able to renew your membership this coming year, please let the Center know immediately. The board has committed to raising the funds needed for those members unable to afford the rate increase and we will work with you to continue your membership.

Another change for 2012 will be a “Class Pass.” In the interest of fairness, the Center will charge those who attend classes with instructors paid by the Center an annual “Class Pass” fee of $100. You will receive a “Class Pass” at the Center that is valid until your next renewal when you start attending classes in January. This amount will cover approximately half of the expense of our instructors. We will work to raise the remainder of these funds through fund raising activities and other sources of funding.

Again, for those members who are unable to afford the cost of the annual “Class Pass,” please contact the Center staff. We want to keep our members Healthy, Active, and Connected, so please let us know if this causes a hardship for you. There will be a volunteer commitment option as well as quarterly billing. And, if you are favored by your circumstances to underwrite the cost of another member’s “Class Pass,” please consider a donation to the Center in that amount above and beyond your own membership.

And now, for the good news. As always, our goal as a board is to provide the most services to you, our members, in the most resourceful manner possible. Thanks to the perseverance of a dedicated member, the Center will enjoy the free custodial services of a team from Employment and Community Opportunities beginning in 2012. Please welcome and thank these team members when you meet them at the Center. We appreciate their assistance greatly. Thanks to a very generous donation from several other members, the Center will have a paid part-time staff member in the office for several months to continue the volunteer work Valerie Brown and Marla Cruz have provided to keep the Center running.

We are adding classes available to our members, thanks to the generosity and support of community members who are volunteering their time to offer these classes. Our donated computer lab, with seven PC computers and an instructor’s flat screen television, will feature weekly classes free to members. A walking group will start the beginning of the year in the parkland surrounding Lake Hodges, guided by one of our dedicated members. Other classes are in the works; we will keep you in the loop as they move forward.

And remember, if you are interested in getting involved, we would love to welcome you to the team. As our volunteer application now reads, whatever it takes to get the job down is what we hope to accomplish. With your help, the Center will be stay Active, Healthy, and Connected and be the community resource the community wants it to be. Thank you for your involvement and support!