The center is open weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and is open to all adults 55 and over. For more information on any of the programs below, call 704-875-1270. (Note: The center is closed Wed., July 4.)

FREE PROGRAMS

The following programs are FREE to all, no discount card required.

Ice Cream Social and Summer Fun Day, Thursday – July 19, 2012 1:00 – 3:00pm – Who doesn’t like ice cream and especially in the good ole summertime?? We’ll have ice cream and all the fixin’s and some fun activities for all to enjoy as well. So come on and enjoy. We’ll have sugar free options as well.

Movies and Popcorn – FREE – 2nd and 4th Thursdays at 1:00: Thursday, July 12 – Blindside; Thursday, July 26 – The Help. No need to register, just come and enjoy some popcorn and entertainment.

First Monday of the Month Birthday Bash, 10:30am–Entertainment; 11:30am – Birthday Bash Pot Luck Lunch. Everyone invited. Bring a dish to share for the pot-luck luncheon. Those with the birthday of the month will be honored. Free to all. Monday, July 2, 2012. Please pre-register 704-875-1270

Book Club – Second Friday Monthly – Book club is taking July and August off. Please come to the center on August 10 to receive the book for September’s meeting which will be on September 14th at 1:00pm

Knit/Crochet Club. We’ve had some donations of yarn lately. The club is really growing and more and more people are coming who have never knitted or crocheted before. Everyone is so friendly and helps all the newbies as well as sharing patterns with everyone. We continue to make prayer shawls, lap robes and baby hats to be donated to local charities. And this group has begun to create beautiful items for our Fall Craft Festival. All levels of experience welcome. Instruction available. Please bring your own needles and materials if you have them. Come and enjoy others who love this craft. – FREE Mondays at 1:00pm

SPICE Lectures (Senior Programs of Interest and Continuing Education) – Always free and open to the community – Snacks and Beverages available for a time of socialization after the lecture. Please pre-register at 704-875-1270 for all lectures/Walk-ins always welcome.

Lecture #1 – Rev. Claude Forehand, speaking on Laughter and Joy
Date: Friday, July 13, 2012
Time: 10:30 – 11:45am

Lecture #2 Mr. Arthur Bartlett – Topic: Legal Services for the Elderly of the Southern Piedmont
Date: Friday, July 27, 2012
Time: 10:30am – 11:45am

Out to Lunch Bunch – 3rd Monday Monthly – Monday, July 16, 2012 – 12:30pm. Please call 704-875-1270 for information.

Open Games Day – Free to all. –  1st and 5th Fridays Monthly – July 6 , 2012 – 9:00AM – 12:00PM Come join us for Cribbage, Scrabble, Chess, Checkers, cards work on a puzzle and more. Bring a friend, bring lots of friends. And if you have a favorite game, bring it as well.

Open Wii Bowling –  Fridays, 9:00- 11:00 FREE to all.  Learn how to bowl with the Wii Machine and exercise your body, mind and sense of humor. It is great for increasing your hand/eye coordination.

PROGRAMS WITH A FEE

The following programs have a fee, one for discount card holders, and the other for those who do not have an annual discount card. Remember, however, that you don’t need a discount card to come and enjoy our programs.

Easy Does It Strength Training Class – Time: 9:00am – 10:00am Mondays and Wednesdays. Keep your bones and your muscles strong using hand weights and exercise tubes. Improve your flexibility, blood pressure, range of motion, bone density, and posture. This class is on-going. Newcomers welcome.  Fees: $32.00 /month. $16.00/month with discount card

Tai Chi – Tuesdays at 9:00am at the Hut at Mt. Zion UMC, Cornelius Join Tai Chi Instructor Mike Gentile as he leads Arthritis Foundation Tai Chi, recommended for all older adults. Benefits include increased balance, coordination, and strength, all of which greatly benefit older adults. Fees: $30.00/month. $25.00/month with discount card

Line Dance Class – Thursdays at 9:30am. This class is for persons of all abilities who want to enjoy a good time of dancing for exercise and fun. Fees: $20.00/month. $10.00/month with discount card

Bingo – Tuesdays at 1:00pm – Two cards is the limit and we ask that you donate $2.00 per person to help with purchasing prizes, which you will get every time you win.

Hand and Foot Card Game – Wednesdays at 10:00am – This card game, based on Canasta, is easy to learn and very addictive.  Fees: $2.00/day. Free with discount card

Pinochle – Thursdays – 11:00am – Fees: $2.00/day. Free with discount card

Mexican Train – First and third Thursdays every month. 10:00am – Bring your lunch – Fees: $2.00/day. Free with discount card

Bid Whist – Tuesdays 12:30pm –  Fees: $2.00/day. Free with discount card

Greeting Cards and Paper Folding Techniques – with Beverly Terry.  Make your own greeting cards using a variety of paper folding techniques under the expert tutelage of instructor, Beverly Terry. Beverly has been teaching for many years and is the owner of her own shop in Cornelius called Terryfic Times. Thursday July 26, 10:30am – 12:30pm $10.00 per person and all materials are included. As always, please pre-pay and pre-register. (704-875-1270)

Monthly Luncheon – Enjoy a healthy lunch and gather with special friends. Friday, July 20, 2012, 11:30am – 1:00pm MUST Pre-register and pre-pay -704-875-1270  Fees: $8.00/ $4.00 with discount card

Lunch at Tenders Fresh Food every third Wednesday of each month from 11:00am –4:00pm. This month it is Wednesday, June 20, 2012.  A percentage of all the proceeds for that day are donated to our center. Invite your friends and neighbors to help with this great cause.

MORE INFORMATION

More information about the center: www.cmseniorcenters.org or call 704-875-1270. You also may email the director northmeckdirector@cmseniorcenters.org

Jack Hart sits in his favorite Windsor chair - one he purchased from the Habitat ReStore for $15 and restored. (Christina Ritchie Rogers / CorneliusNews.net)

By CHRISTINA RITCHIE ROGERS
DavidsonNews.net

CORNELIUS – In his living room Jack Hart has a comfortable recliner, a lovely couch and an artisan table, but his favorite piece of furniture is a small, wooden Windsor chair he bought for $15 at the Habitat ReStore in Cornelius. It was in pieces when he got it, and he meticulously repaired it using only clamps – the way it should be done, he said.

That chair is just one of the many pieces of furniture Mr. Hart, 93, has repaired and restored over the past seven years. A World War II veteran and former engineer, he began volunteering at the Habitat ReStore in Cornelius in 2006 as a merchandise repair expert and has logged more than 3,500 volunteer hours since. This week, he was named Home Instead Senior Care’s North Carolina Senior Volunteer of the Year for his work with Our Towns Habitat for Humanity.

“He is so positive and so passionate about Habitat, and everything he does for Habitat he does to the Nth degree,” Resource Development Director Tammy Cox said.

Mr. Hart first went to the ReStore in search of a distraction – something to lift his spirits after his wife, Sara, died. He cared for her around the clock in their Huntersville home for five years as her health declined, and when she died he became very depressed, he said. What he found at the ReStore was more than just a distraction – he found an extended family.

“Those people there are so compassionate and so sweet, I can’t think of anywhere else I’d rather be,” he said. “Last year I took no sick days because I wanted to be with my friends.”

Since starting as a part-time merchandise repair volunteer in 2006, Mr. Hart has increased his hours and now splits his time working in the Cornelius and Mooresville ReStores. He also has traveled to Guatemala three times on Habitat for Humanity builds.

The Guatemala projects are a lot of work – volunteer builders begin around 6 a.m. and work until 4 p.m. – and Mr. Hart is by far the oldest Guatemala volunteer. He and the other volunteers help to rebuild and repair homes damaged by floods, hurricanes and other deterioration.

“You’d be surprised how much 24 people can get done in a day,” he said.

But what really stands out in Mr. Hart’s mind are the “bright smiles” from the children and families they help. His experiences in Guatemala have been eye opening, and help to keep life in perspective, he said.

“It just tears your heart out to see how they have to live,” he said. “You see how others are suffering and how rich we are. All they want is a roof, something to eat an a happy family.”

Earlier this year Mr. Hart was unable to return to Guatemala for a fourth time because of his health, but he kept the perspective he gained in Guatemala – no matter how bad his health, he reminds himself of how much he has and how fortunate he is, he said. And he hopes to recover with enough time to return to Guatemala in November.

Mr. Hart’s fellow Guatemala team members and other ReStore coworkers visited him while he was in the hospital, and have remained a support system for him during recovery.

“There isn’t anything in the world he wouldn’t do for us and we would do anything for him,” Ms. Cox said.

But Mr. Hart hasn’t let his recovery slow him down – he remains focused on his volunteer work, and still works four days a week at the ReStores.

“I try to not look inside but look out and see what needs to be done,” he said.

In 2011, Mr. Hart and his family started the Our Towns Habitat for Humanity Jack Hart Foundation with $10,000. Over the last year, the fund has grown to more than $40,000 from donations in his honor from his friends, family and fellow volunteers.

“Out of everyone I’ve met, he has had the most impact on me as a person,” Ms Cox said. “He’s family.”

The lake draws some retirees to Davidson. A designation as a Certified Retirement Community would be a sort of "seal of approval" that the area is suitable for seniors. (David Boraks/DavidsonNews.net)

This is latest in a monthly series of articles prepared by Davidson Committee on Aging on topics of interest to seniors.

By CAROLYN COOK

In 2008, the N.C. General Assembly created a Certified Retirement Community Program to be administered by the state Department of Commerce. It’s a community development program for towns that want to attract retirees as an economic and community development strategy.

The program designates a town as having a quality of life that the older community desires. The potential benefits for making a town attractive to retirees is substantial: accumulated wealth brought into the area, developers attracted to build affordable housing and senior facilities, existing retirees remain in the community.

Texas has been very successful with Certified Retirement Communities (CRCs) and estimates that each retiree household that moves to the state creates 1.5 jobs (www.topretirements.com). The GO TEXAN Certified Retirement Community Program has been in place since 2006 and is currently updating information on the impact of CRCs on member communities. The town of Cuero, Texas, has had its CRC designation for two years. Randall Malik, the Executive Director for the Cuero Development Corp., credits his town’s newly-built assisted living and adult daycare facility to the active marketing of Cuero as a Certified Retirement Community.

EVALUATION

To be considered for certification, a local government must submit an application to the Department of Commerce’s Community Development Division. The town is evaluated on criteria important to retirees: affordable cost of living, low taxes, low crime rate, quality medical care, recreation, educational and cultural opportunities, and a welcoming community. Size of the population does not deter certification, nor does a rural or urban setting. The lack of affordable senior housing is also not an issue because, if certified, developers could be influenced to build. The designation has a five-year life, after which communities must seek re-certification.

GUIDELINES

The Department of Commerce has established qualifying criteria for a Certified Retirement Community. Communities must:

• Be located within 30 miles of a hospital or emergency medical services (does not have to be within the city limits).
• Gain support of churches, clubs, businesses, media.
• Establish a retiree attraction committee which must be in place for 6 months before the town can apply for certification. Applications are received twice a year in January and June/July, and several months are needed for review.

That committee:

• Assesses the community and submits a report to the Department.
• Sends representative of committee to state training meetings conducted by the 21st Century Communities program.
• Raises funds necessary to run the program, organizes special events and promotes and coordinates the program with local entities.
• Establishes a community image, evaluates target markets and develops a marketing and public relations plan designed to accomplish the purpose of the program.
• Develops a system that identifies and makes contact with existing and prospective retirees who will provide tour guides when prospects visit the community, invite prospects to special community events and maintain continual contact with prospects until the prospect makes a retirement location decision.
• Remits a $10,000 application fee to the 21st Century Communities program. If Davidson does not receive certification, the $10,000 will be returned.
• Submits the completed marketing and public relations plan designed to accomplish the purpose of the Program to the Department of Commerce.
• Submits a long-term plan outlining the steps the community will undertake to maintain or improve its desirability as a destination for retirees.

Communities selected for certification will be included in state-level marketing and technical assistance programs, find networking opportunities and be eligble for grants to support their programs.

WHAT’S IN IT FOR RETIREES?

When retirees look for a retirement community, most of the vetting has already been completed by the state of North Carolina’s certification process. The retiree can rest assured that the town will be welcoming and have a minimum level of facilities and services.

At this time, Lumberton, is the only Certified Retirement Community in North Carolina and was developed in 2010. Connie Russ is the Downtown Development Coordinator/Retiree Recruiter for Lumberton and was instrumental, along with her committee, in developing the certification program for North Carolina.

WANT TO KNOW MORE?

Visit these websites for more information on becoming a Certified Retirement Community:

N.C. Department of Commerce web page on Certified Retirement Communities

City of Lumberton

TopRetirements.com

Fear of falling can be just as dangerous as falling itself. People who develop this fear often limit their activities, which can result in severe physical weakness, making the risk of falling even greater. Many older adults also experience increased isolation and depression when they limit their interactions with family and friends.

“A Matter of Balance” can help people improve their quality of life and remain independent. It’s designed for seniors age 60 and over to reduce their fear of falling and increase their activity level.

Participants learn to set realistic goals to increase activity, change their environment to reduce fall risk factors, and learn simple exercises to increase strength and balance.

This FREE program will be taught at North Mecklenburg Senior Center every Monday and Wednesday 10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., May 9 to June 11, 2011.  A workbook is provided and refreshments are served. Please call the Senior Center at 704-578-1270 to register.

Space is limited and pre-registration is required.