Members Present:
Sandy Grant, Kathy Osbun, Gloria Stubbs, Arlene Irizary, George Irizary, Art Rosenblum, Marc Alexander, David Getzoff and Barbara France
Members Absent:
Ann Walker, Davis Brown, Suzanne deKozan and Dana May Casperson
Call to Order:
The regular meeting of the Board of Directors of the Parkinson’s Support Group of Sonoma County (PSGSC) was called to order by Chair, Kathy Osbun at 10:00 a.m.!
Approval of Minutes:
The minutes of the April 16, 2014, Board meeting were approved with the following correction:
Under Telemedicine Marc reported that another trial at the University of Rochester was under way but it was not yet approved for California.
Treasurer’s Report:
Sandy reviewed the Profit and Loss and Balance Statements. Art has reviewed and verified all financial records for the month.
Kathy received a call from the family of Kathryn O’Brien Lawrence who recently passed away as a result of Parkinson’s Disease. It was their wish that PSGSC along with Hospice from Petaluma be recipients of donations in lieu of flowers.
Programs:
Set-up for monthly meetings: Since meeting attendance has increased we need to make new arrangements for set up and take down. With this in mind, Kathy inquired of a church trustee if we could hire their janitor to do this for us. The trustee took the request to the board and today informed Kathy that we would be able to make arrangements with the janitor privately to do set-up. Kathy has a call in to the janitor and is awaiting a reply. Kathy asked for a motion authorizing her to hire the janitor for the June meeting for whatever fee Kathy felt reasonable. Sandy so moved, Gloria seconded and the motion passed with a voice vote. After the June meeting we will review the arrangement and continue if all are satisfied with the plan.
Exercise class list: After the last meeting where PT Lee Dibble emphasized the importance of exercise for PD patients, some people asked if we might compile a list of exercise classes in the community. Kathy said that she felt that we only knew about two classes, the class at Memorial Hospital and Pam Field’s yoga class and that to list others that we knew nothing about might be problematic.
After discussion, the consensus was that exercise is important and we should emphasize it whenever appropriate but not provide a list of specific classes. Discussion in break out groups might be a better place for recommendations. Individual members could tell of their classes and provide more specific information.
Christmas party: Gloria said that she spoke to the Ukulele group that Arlene had heard last Christmas and they said it was too early for them to set up Christmas dates. She is following up on several other suggestions and going to listen to other groups perform. She will report back with her suggestions
Facilitator Workshop: This workshop will be June 13 10 a.m. to 12 noon at the Redwood Caregivers Office at 1140 Sonoma Avenue Suite 1B. There is still time to invite others who might be interested.
TEVA dinner: John Case, the local TEVA rep. has an educational budget so they put on informational meetings like this dinner to be held on May 28. Marc will attend and take brochures from PSGSC and speak briefly about the group.
Program surveys: Marc distributed a sample survey that he would like to pass out at the June meeting. This will guide him in choosing the speakers for the upcoming year. Several additions and changes were suggested and Marc will produce a new survey to reflect the proposed changes. Marc will make a brief statement about the purpose of the survey at the June meeting. The surveys will be handed out and filled in by members at their seats.
Arlene made the motion that we buy 100 pens to be used at meetings for this and other similar uses. Sandy seconded the motion which was passed on a voice vote.
Data Base:
93 were in attendance at the May meeting.
Fundraising:
Mary’s Pizza fundraiser brought $320 plus an additional individual donation of $20, for a total of $340. Round Table Pizza fundraiser produced $225 and though Kathy has inquired, she has not yet heard the amount raised at the Johnny Garlic’s event.
All the events seemed enjoyable to the participants but there was some confusion with the Round Table Pizza procedures. The manager had said that the staff had been trained to ask people who came in with coupons if they wished to donate 20% of their bill, 20% plus some amount, or round up to the nearest dollar from the basic 20%. Not all people had this explanation given and there was also confusion about whether donation jars were allowed.
A discussion of whether to continue with all three or just one or two of them is tabled to the next meeting when more members are present and we have the amount raised at the Johnny Garlic’s event.
Movie night: Marc has received information about a film to be included in the San Francisco Film Festival called “Ride With Larry”. Larry is a 19 year PD patient who rode 300 miles across the state of South Dakota. This is a 90 minute feature film and might be used as a fundraising event. Both the Rialto and Summerfield movie theaters do have fundraising events so this could be a different thing for next April’s Parkinson’s Awareness month.
Telemedicine:
Marc reported that the University of Rochester has focused on telemedicine and several trials are underway. Since each state has its own requirements and standards there is a lot that must be worked out before their findings could be implemented elsewhere. However, telemedicine does seem to offer hope to underserved areas and Marc will report further developments as they occur.
Strategic planning:
Before opening discussion of future plans for PSGSC, Kathy read the mission statement from our brochure. There followed a discussion of where the group might grow in the future. This included ways in which PSGSC might best help its members. The consensus was that education should remain a priority with our strong speakers program, additions to the library and information about PD events, research and clinical trials. The biggest challenge facing the group is our continued growth. Increased size might require a larger meeting place and the additional problem of how to maintain break out groups in ways that they remain small enough to promote as much individual participation as members desire. We also discussed the possibility of supporting smaller groups in areas further from Santa Rosa like Healdsburg and West County. People in these areas might gather in much the same way the Women’s Group and the Men’s Breakfast Group do. They provide support in a smaller setting but their members are still part of the larger PSGSC.
Consensus was that education is a high priority and growth is the biggest challenge. The discussion will be continued at the next meeting when more members are present.
Aware In Care Outreach:
Suzanne, at the April meeting, had suggested that volunteers from PSGSC take the Aware In Care kits into hospitals to familiarize hospital staff with the special needs of Parkinson’s patients. It was felt that at present, the group does not have the credentials for such an undertaking.
Adjournment:
The meeting was adjourned at 12:00 by Chair, Kathy Osbun. The next meeting will be Wednesday June, 17, 2014, at Brush Creek Senior Living.
Respectfully submitted,
Barbara France, Recording Secretary
Sandy Grant, Kathy Osbun, Gloria Stubbs, Arlene Irizary, George Irizary, Art Rosenblum, Marc Alexander, David Getzoff and Barbara France
Members Absent:
Ann Walker, Davis Brown, Suzanne deKozan and Dana May Casperson
Call to Order:
The regular meeting of the Board of Directors of the Parkinson’s Support Group of Sonoma County (PSGSC) was called to order by Chair, Kathy Osbun at 10:00 a.m.!
Approval of Minutes:
The minutes of the April 16, 2014, Board meeting were approved with the following correction:
Under Telemedicine Marc reported that another trial at the University of Rochester was under way but it was not yet approved for California.
Treasurer’s Report:
Sandy reviewed the Profit and Loss and Balance Statements. Art has reviewed and verified all financial records for the month.
Kathy received a call from the family of Kathryn O’Brien Lawrence who recently passed away as a result of Parkinson’s Disease. It was their wish that PSGSC along with Hospice from Petaluma be recipients of donations in lieu of flowers.
Programs:
Set-up for monthly meetings: Since meeting attendance has increased we need to make new arrangements for set up and take down. With this in mind, Kathy inquired of a church trustee if we could hire their janitor to do this for us. The trustee took the request to the board and today informed Kathy that we would be able to make arrangements with the janitor privately to do set-up. Kathy has a call in to the janitor and is awaiting a reply. Kathy asked for a motion authorizing her to hire the janitor for the June meeting for whatever fee Kathy felt reasonable. Sandy so moved, Gloria seconded and the motion passed with a voice vote. After the June meeting we will review the arrangement and continue if all are satisfied with the plan.
Exercise class list: After the last meeting where PT Lee Dibble emphasized the importance of exercise for PD patients, some people asked if we might compile a list of exercise classes in the community. Kathy said that she felt that we only knew about two classes, the class at Memorial Hospital and Pam Field’s yoga class and that to list others that we knew nothing about might be problematic.
After discussion, the consensus was that exercise is important and we should emphasize it whenever appropriate but not provide a list of specific classes. Discussion in break out groups might be a better place for recommendations. Individual members could tell of their classes and provide more specific information.
Christmas party: Gloria said that she spoke to the Ukulele group that Arlene had heard last Christmas and they said it was too early for them to set up Christmas dates. She is following up on several other suggestions and going to listen to other groups perform. She will report back with her suggestions
Facilitator Workshop: This workshop will be June 13 10 a.m. to 12 noon at the Redwood Caregivers Office at 1140 Sonoma Avenue Suite 1B. There is still time to invite others who might be interested.
TEVA dinner: John Case, the local TEVA rep. has an educational budget so they put on informational meetings like this dinner to be held on May 28. Marc will attend and take brochures from PSGSC and speak briefly about the group.
Program surveys: Marc distributed a sample survey that he would like to pass out at the June meeting. This will guide him in choosing the speakers for the upcoming year. Several additions and changes were suggested and Marc will produce a new survey to reflect the proposed changes. Marc will make a brief statement about the purpose of the survey at the June meeting. The surveys will be handed out and filled in by members at their seats.
Arlene made the motion that we buy 100 pens to be used at meetings for this and other similar uses. Sandy seconded the motion which was passed on a voice vote.
Data Base:
93 were in attendance at the May meeting.
Fundraising:
Mary’s Pizza fundraiser brought $320 plus an additional individual donation of $20, for a total of $340. Round Table Pizza fundraiser produced $225 and though Kathy has inquired, she has not yet heard the amount raised at the Johnny Garlic’s event.
All the events seemed enjoyable to the participants but there was some confusion with the Round Table Pizza procedures. The manager had said that the staff had been trained to ask people who came in with coupons if they wished to donate 20% of their bill, 20% plus some amount, or round up to the nearest dollar from the basic 20%. Not all people had this explanation given and there was also confusion about whether donation jars were allowed.
A discussion of whether to continue with all three or just one or two of them is tabled to the next meeting when more members are present and we have the amount raised at the Johnny Garlic’s event.
Movie night: Marc has received information about a film to be included in the San Francisco Film Festival called “Ride With Larry”. Larry is a 19 year PD patient who rode 300 miles across the state of South Dakota. This is a 90 minute feature film and might be used as a fundraising event. Both the Rialto and Summerfield movie theaters do have fundraising events so this could be a different thing for next April’s Parkinson’s Awareness month.
Telemedicine:
Marc reported that the University of Rochester has focused on telemedicine and several trials are underway. Since each state has its own requirements and standards there is a lot that must be worked out before their findings could be implemented elsewhere. However, telemedicine does seem to offer hope to underserved areas and Marc will report further developments as they occur.
Strategic planning:
Before opening discussion of future plans for PSGSC, Kathy read the mission statement from our brochure. There followed a discussion of where the group might grow in the future. This included ways in which PSGSC might best help its members. The consensus was that education should remain a priority with our strong speakers program, additions to the library and information about PD events, research and clinical trials. The biggest challenge facing the group is our continued growth. Increased size might require a larger meeting place and the additional problem of how to maintain break out groups in ways that they remain small enough to promote as much individual participation as members desire. We also discussed the possibility of supporting smaller groups in areas further from Santa Rosa like Healdsburg and West County. People in these areas might gather in much the same way the Women’s Group and the Men’s Breakfast Group do. They provide support in a smaller setting but their members are still part of the larger PSGSC.
Consensus was that education is a high priority and growth is the biggest challenge. The discussion will be continued at the next meeting when more members are present.
Aware In Care Outreach:
Suzanne, at the April meeting, had suggested that volunteers from PSGSC take the Aware In Care kits into hospitals to familiarize hospital staff with the special needs of Parkinson’s patients. It was felt that at present, the group does not have the credentials for such an undertaking.
Adjournment:
The meeting was adjourned at 12:00 by Chair, Kathy Osbun. The next meeting will be Wednesday June, 17, 2014, at Brush Creek Senior Living.
Respectfully submitted,
Barbara France, Recording Secretary
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