Your August/September GCCOA Newsletter Is Here

August/September 2018, Vol. XIX, No 1

A Great Event for a Great Cause

The Council’s Homemade Treats and JamFest is just a few weeks away and the Council team has been busy preparing for this family-friendly fundraising event. The JamFest will be held in the Xenia Community Center gym, next door to the Council’s office on W. Second St., and we hope you will join us. For those who will be out of the country or have some other valid reason for not coming out (wink), you can order jam and a few baked items through our ‘pre-sale’ which is posted on our website. 

We are pleased to have local oldies band Mack & the Rockets sharing their music and energy with us, and this alone is worth the $10 ticket! But wait … there’s more! There will be a variety of games and our Country Store will be set-up for those of you interested in purchasing a jar or two of jam, cookies or bread, or some wonderfully creative items handcrafted by our talented volunteers. And in Council fashion, a tasty refreshment menu has been planned and will be ready for you to enjoy.

Paul Newman, Jr. returns as our play-by-play announcer for the Cloud Races, with the winner taking home a trophy like no other! We have an impressive array of silent auction baskets which you can find on our website. Pre-bidding is available, and the final bids will be taken at the JamFest.

The highlight of the event, as always, is the Live Auction with auctioneer Lee Duteil of the Beavercreek Senior Center and his trusty sidekicks Ed Marrinan of the Greene County Community Foundation and professional auctioneer and Council volunteer Jim Barney. 

The auction starts at 5:30pm and we look forward to your expressions when the mouth watering homemade pies, cakes, cookies, jams, and breads hit the auction block. It is quite exciting to bid, but it is just as exciting to watch!

For those who have come out in previous years, thank you and we look forward to seeing you again (with 2 or 3 of your friends!) For those who have heard about the JamFest and wondered what all the fuss is about—we hope this will be the year you will join in on the fun. It has the best recipe for success, combining food, music, laughter, great people and a very important cause. Parking is free, the building is air conditioned, and you will be greeted with a smile.

Wednesday, August 15th
4pm to 6:30pm
Xenia Community Center
1265 W. Second Street
Tickets—$10; available at the senior centers, Council office and at the JamFest door

Please help spread the word and if you are on Facebook ~ please ‘share’ and watch for photos!

It's Your Money: Make Sure You Can Access It

Pop Quiz: If your spouse takes care of the family finances, and she pays most of the bills online with a computer, will you know how to take over for her if she is incapacitated in some way? We recently had such a case with a senior, but fortunately the spouse had the online passwords written down and stored for safe keeping. Her husband was able to “mostly” keep up with the bills until she was back on her feet. In most families, one person takes care of the finances but it is critical to have a system to recover from a disaster if the ‘keeper of the data’ becomes incapacitated. 

A decade or so ago, just about all of our financial records were exclusively on paper, and still are for many of us. With the world migrating to an online enterprise, we need to be aware of the practical (and legal) ramifications of online storage. Click here for some tips on how to manage your online accounts.

2017 Annual Report

The Council’s Annual Luncheon Meeting was held June 19th. During 2017 the Partners in Care Program (PIC) made up 71% of Council expenses, which included providing care management support and purchasing a variety of in-home services (eg. home delivered meals, bathing, emergency response systems, homemaking) from 34 contract providers for over 1,600 seniors (an average of just under 1,100 seniors each month).

Click here for stories that illustrate how PIC supported Greene County Seniors, and for more information about Council opeerations and expenses.

Music and the Brain

Our next Music and the Brain program is:

Wednesday, September 26th
1:30pm-4:30pm
Xenia Community Center
1265 W. Second Street
(next to the Council’s office)

We continue to promote the benefits music has on our brains, including those with memory challenges and dementia. Our theme for this music-filled afternoon is Give My Regards to Broadway and we will spend our time listening, humming, singing, swaying and maybe doing a bit of footwork! There is no cost to participate but reservations are appreciated in order to plan for set-up, materials and brain-healthy refreshments. Brochures will be available at the senior centers, Council offices, and on the Council’s website. You can also request a brochure by contacting the Council at 937-376-5486 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. We hope you join us!

November Ballot to Include Renewal of Senior Services Levy

The Greene County Board of Commissioners approved the renewal of the Council’s 1.4 mills Senior Services Levy for the November 6th ballot. The current five-year Levy expires at the end of 2019 and the upcoming election is the first opportunity to request the electorate’s consideration of this countywide levy renewal. As of the typing of this newsletter, the official issue number had not been assigned but should be known in the very near future. The Council will continue to receive property tax revenues generated from the current Levy through the end of 2019 and if approved by the voters, the Levy renewal will ensure that there is no gap in providing services to seniors and caregivers and providing grant funding to the senior centers will continue.

We will continue to educate the community about the Council and how their tax dollars are used and the Friends of the Greene County Council on Aging will begin their campaign-related activities in August.

It's My Money! My Stuff! My Life!

The fall It’s My Money! My Stuff! My Life! is set and the program brochure will be available mid-August. This program brings together local professionals with expertise in legal, financial, and long term care issues. It runs for five Tuesdays, October 2nd through the 30th, from 6pm—8:30pm, at the Xenia Community Center (next to the Council’s office). The cost is $40 per household and includes handouts, heavy refreshments, and a chance to learn from area professionals. To request the brochure, please contact the Council at 376-5486 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Fall Prevention Awareness

According to the Ohio Department of Aging, one in three older Ohioans will fall this year. Falls continue to be the leading cause of emergency room visits, hospital stays, and deaths for seniors, but we are hoping to reduce these numbers, at least in Greene County. During September, Fall Prevention Awareness month, a number of programs and activities have been scheduled at the senior centers to promote fall prevention and to help keep us strong, safe and upright! If your organization/group is interested in hosting a speaker on fall prevention, please contact the Council at 937-376-5486 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Changing of the Guard

The Council’s Annual Luncheon Meeting was held June 19th and members, guests, volunteers, and staff came together to share in the accomplishments of 2017. Remarks were offered by Membership Chairperson Karen Wolford and Board President Ruth Paulus, the 2017 Annual Report was presented and elections were held.

Kristy Matheson, Tammy McVicar, and Shannon Webster were elected to the Membership Advisory Council. Chris Pomfret and Rebecca Shelley were elected to the Board of Directors.

The 2018—2019 Board officers were elected at the July 10th Board meeting:

President          ~ Kraig Hagler
Vice-President ~ Chris Pomfret
Treasurer         ~ Mike McGrath
Secretary          ~ Ruth Paulus

Conference on Aging

The Council is again partnering with the Yellow Springs Senior Center to present the Conference on Aging for seniors, caregivers and professionals:

Longevity: Investing in a
Quality Long Life
Thursday, October 11th
9:30am to 3:30pm
Antioch University Midwest 

We are fortunate to have as our Keynote Speaker, Dr. Suzanne Kunkel, Executive Director of Scripps Gerontology Center and Professor in the Department of Sociology and Gerontology at Miami University. We also have four breakout sessions covering topics such as Social Security, Creative Housing Options, Blue Zones, and an update on the Fels Longitudinal Study. Brochures will be available by the end of August. The registration fee is $20 and the registration deadline is October 1st.

We Are In this Together!

Upcoming Programs & Meetings

Medicare 101 (offered every other month)
Wednesday, August 8th ~ 5:30pm—7:00pm
GCCOA Office, 1195 W. Second St, Xenia

Homemade Treats and JamFest/Music by Mack & The Rockets
Wednesday, August 15th ~ 4:00 — 6:30pm
Xenia Community Center, 1265 W. Second Street

Memory Loss, Dementia & Alzheimer’s Disease (offered every other month)
Wednesday, September 12th ~ 2:30pm—4:30pm
Council’s Beavercreek Space, Beaver View Health Center
3095 Dayton-Xenia Rd/Dark Brown Building

Music and the Brain
Wednesday, September 26th ~ 1:30pm—4:30pm
Xenia Community Center ~ 1265 W. Second Street, Xenia

It’s My Money! My Stuff! My Life!
Tuesdays, October 2nd thru 30th ~ 6:00pm—8:30pm
Xenia Community Center ~ 1265 W. Second Street, Xenia

Our mission: To promote independence and quality of life for Greene County senior citizens and caregivers by facilitating and supporting the development, implementation and continual improvement of a comprehensive and coordinated system of contact and care.