Summer certainly came in with a royal bang this year.
I can’t remember in my lifetime going through a more terrifying experience of thunder, lightning and torrential downpour of hail and rain. It sure did a number of flattening my flowers and the local gardens in the area.
Let’s hope that July will bring us some relief and sunshine before summer is over.
Seniors and persons interested in the B.C. Old Age Pensioners convention in the Princeton/Similkameen Branch of the OAPO June 11-13 should know that the event was very well attended with 12 B.C. OAPO board members, 40 delegates and 22 non-voting visitors.
Jennifer Coburn was re-elected as president for two years as well as Betty Bolton, secretary and Marg Seward on finance.
Alice Edge, a member of Council of Senior Citizens Organizations (COSCO), was the keynote speaker on the Tuesday.
She spoke on addiction of seniors regarding abuse of alcohol and misuse of prescription drugs and gambling addiction and treatment of these abuses. A workshop was held later.
On Wednesday speaker Sylvia Phifer of COSCO gave a workshop on pensions, tax options, and involuntary separation of seniors.
A form ISO-1811 for involuntary separation is available at the local Service Canada office.
In the afternoon guest speaker, Dr. Mary Ann Murphy from the gerontology department of the University of B.C. emphasized how important it is to have well trained nurses taking care of the aging population in our hospitals and care facilities.
Each year our local OAPO Branch 93 provides a bursary to a local student taking training in the field of gerontology nursing.
Next year the local branch of the Old Age Pensioners Organization Branch 93 will hold the BCCAP convention in June 2014.
In 2014 the local OAPO Branch 93 will celebrate its 40th year.
This year’s convention in Princeton/Similkameen was great and our delegates came away with a better understanding of how important it is to attend these conventions and represent our OAPO Branch 93 for our local community as a whole.
There will be no monthly meetings for the OAPO Branch 93 in July and August.
The next meeting will be on Thursday, Sept. 12 at 2 p.m. at the Seniors’ Activity Centre. New members are always welcome to attend so we hope to see some new faces at the September meeting.
Please note that the Seniors’ Centre will be closed for two weeks in mid-August. The volunteers need a much deserved rest.
Until next time remember: our lives begin to end when we remain silent on issues that really matter — Martin Luther King.