Saturday, September 24, 2016 • Page 1B
Speaker lineup set for Leader’s Senior Expo on Sept. 28 A local event that has fast become one of the most popular for those interested in senior-focused information will be held this Wednesday, Sept. 28, from 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. at the SPJST Lodge in the Heights. Along with free breakfast, free lunch and more than 50 local businesses that can answer almost any question about services or products, The Leader has also brought together a program of speakers that will give insight to questions about a variety of topics. The speakers, in order, will be: 9:15 a.m. – How to triple your success at Home. Emily Collins and Randy Bartosh. Randy Bartosh is an Occupational therapist and head
of a national research organization that collaborates with over 288 health care organization all over the country. and Collins leads the most successful program for reduction of readmission to hospital rates in the unites states 10:15 Cardiac Health for Seniors. Dr. Sunil Reddy, is board certified in internal medicine, general cardiology, echocardiography, and electrophysiology, and is a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society. His primary research
interests are in the field of atrial fibrillation & ventricular tachycardia. Dr. Reddy is trained in all aspects of cardiac electroReddy physiology. His particular clinical interests include complex catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia, as well as advanced device and lead management. 11:15 Planning for the Future and a history of Historic Hollywood Cemetery. Tom Snyder, is
vice president of Historic Hollywood Cemetery, a funeral service professional with 47 years of continuous service. Snyder He is a licensed funeral director, certified cremation specialist, certified crematory operator and former managing director of Service Corporation International. He is a nationally recognized industry speaker, presenter and contributor to all national industry publications and has served as a consultant and industry subject matter expert.
Giving never gets old
Tis better to give than receive for local residents By Betsy Denson betsy@theleadernews.com For Garden Oaks’ Lynda Spinks and Shepherd Park Plaza’s Dennis Woodward, it is truly better to give than to receive – a saying borne out by researchers at the London School of Economics who examined the relationship between volunteering and measures of happiness in a large group of American adults. According to them, the odds of being “very happy” rose 7 percent among those who volunteer monthly and 12 percent for people who volunteer every two to four weeks. Among weekly volunteers, 16 percent felt very happy—a hike in happiness comparable to having an income of $75,000 to $100,000 versus $20,000, say the researchers. Spinks, who retired from Stevens Elementary in 2008 after 36 years there, wanted to keep busy. After a trip to Colorado to admire the fall foliage, she started volunteering at First Baptist Church and also joined a retired teachers group which provides books for a chosen school each year. After Christmas of that year, she got a call from a former co-worker asking if she could volunteer to help fourth graders with math tutoring. Spinks said yes. “I taught fourth grade all my years except one,” said Spinks. “It’s a delightful age.” Spinks said that she loves getting to teach and not have to deal with disci-
pline issues, do paperwork or attend meetings. She also likes a smaller ratio, noting that when she was at Stevens at one time there were 1,200 kids, and no state mandated 22-1 ratio. Teachers hoped for 30 but could end up teaching 35-40 kids. “It really keeps me in the loop with what is going on,” she said. “I like to keep up with HISD and thoroughly enjoy seeing staff and teachers. I’ll do it as long as my co-worker needs me.” Dennis Woodward, who is a retired middle school teacher, is quick to tell you that he’s not retired. Roberts Tax Appeals is the company that he runs. Wife Colleen Roberts is the company’s senior property tax consultant and son Robin recently acquired his property tax consultant license. Their hard work, and the seasonal nature of the business, allows Woodward to indulge his other passion – volunteering. At Stevens, he puts in quite a bit of time in their garden, adding both hardy plants to create habitats, as well as those that attract hummingbirds and butterflies and also some citrus and vegetables. “I’m there to create an opportunity to for kids to learn,” he said. “Nothing could be sweeter than [introducing] kids to it. I need more native plants grown by local gardeners so as to increase the amount of habitat without costing much money. If locals grow them, then they are almost certain to be the plants I need.”
That’s just the tip of the iceberg as far as Woodward’s volunteering goes. He’s the volunteer league director for the Houston Flying Disc Society which is the governing body for the league. He built and maintains The Little Free Library in Shepherd Park which he says can always use high quality board books, early readers, and wonderful children’s literature. When it gets low, he visits MANNA and garage sales to stock it out of his own pocket. This fall, Woodward has also been busy with Interfaith Ministries-Refugee Services, helping families from Burma, Kenya, Iraq, Iran and Syria get registered for school. He drives to southwest Houston where many of the families live and takes them to their zoned school to sort out all the paperwork. He’s transported a group of mentally disabled people to church each week, signaling out one sports fan to take to Texans games. He’s volunteered at the Houston Area Women’s Center and driven out to the hotels by the Astrodome during Hurricane Katrina to bring home displaced Louisianans to stay with his family. He credits his mother, who used to care for AIDS victims, for his need to constantly give back – as well as the tragic murder of a pregnant woman he witnessed over 20 years ago. “There’s so much pain and suffering in the world,” Woodward said. “I want to look at something beautiful and give others the chance to do so too.”
Join us for lunch at this year’s Senior Expo sponsored by Harold’s Restaurant and Tap Room!
Restaurant | Bar | Terrace
350 W. 19th St. Haroldsheights.com
Defying those stigmas of age By Landan Kuhlmann landan@theleadernews.com
Photo by Betsy Denson Dennis Woodward shows Stevens Elementary student Juliana Acosta some interesting things in the school garden. Stevens is not Woodward’s only volunteer outlet. He also works with Interfaith Ministries and built a local Little Free Library.
To attend, all we ask is that attendees pre-register by calling The Leader at (713) 686-8484 or register on our website, www.theleadernews.com.
people skills, and that’s what it takes.’ Little did she know that the hiring was just the beginning of a new life and a new purpose. “Everyone needs to have a purpose,” she said. Central to Moore’s desire to stay in a field she had thought temporary (she had not planned to stay for more than a year) was predicated was on an aforementioned purpose of helping others start their business or move it forward using people skills The Leader’s former owner saw in her. That simple luxury and joy in having
As Carolyn Moore sits at her desk, the keys on her keyboard click-clacking away, one would have no idea that she was working a position - originally intended to be a temporary assignment - for more than 16 years. Neither would one get the sense that lifelong Heights resident Paul Coons, along with John Knox Church members Jonna and Dave Whatley are waiting out life’s hourglass. Moore, 76, is one of The Leader’s own sales representatives, a position she has held for more than a decade. Coons is a lifelong athlete who still pole vaults in the Senior Olympics in his early 70s, while the Whatleys (both in their 80s) maintain a weekly regimen of making time to hit the links and shoot a few rounds of golf. Right or wrong, today’s perception of the “senior citizen” is one of sitting in a nursing home or around their home or apartment simply waiting out life; but these seniors are among many defying such a stereotype. Photo contributed “We used to play five times a week, Lifelong Heights resident Paul Coons with his athletic weapon of choice—the pole vaulting but we still play now, stick. Coons, 72, has been participating in and the benefits are the Senior Olympics since he turned 50, and that you remain ac- says the competition drives him more than tive both physically anything. and mentally, plus the interaction with the people,” Jonna Whatley said. “Our handicaps something to focus on and look have gone up a great deal, but forward to each day after she it’s still just about being out rolls out of bed and pulls into there with people who are very The Leader’s offices spurs her to return day after day, more than accepting.” Moore, formerly of Cameron 16 years after the initial interIron Works (Cooper Industries) view. “I’ve seen too many people for 34 years, came to The Leader at the urging of a friend. Outside who went home to retire, and of her high school newspaper, they have no reason to get up Moore did not know how she in the morning,” she said. “I’m could contribute to the news- already putting my to-do list paper business, but the paper’s former owner took a chance on See Stigmas P. 4B her anyway, saying ‘You have
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