55 Plus of Rochester, #24: November – December 2013

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Savvy Senior: Get Paid for Being a Family Caregiver

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What Happened to the Media Hype About the Silver Tsunami?

Pension Decision: Lump Sum or Lifetime Income?

The Creative Energy of Quilting

PLUS Issue 24 24 November / December 2013

For Active Adults in the Rochester Area

Job Market

Local experts: Fewer jobs, lower salaries

The Invictas 1960s rock band continues to entertain

Volunteering Levels are at a 10-year high among 55-plus

Magnolia’s owner on hosting President Obama for lunch

MAN OF STEEL World renowed scultptor Albert Paley still pushing boundaries of metal art

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NO ENDOWMENT FEES means that many of our local competitors charge large upfront fees. You won’t have that expense at a Legacy community.

November / December 2013 - 55 PLUS

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55 PLUS - November / December 2013

55 PLUS

55

November / December 2013

CONTENTS

Got a story idea? editor@roc55.com

PLUS

20

22

11 Savvy Senior 6 CAREERS Real Estate 8 Financial Health 10

• Unemployed 55-plus people have harder time finding a job; if they get one, they often earn less

14 Long-Term Care 47 TRENDS Visits 48

• What happened to the hype about the so-called silver tsunami?

16 ROCK ‘N’ ROLL

•The Invictas continues to entertain

50 Q&A

Jean Klem, an 84-year-old Webster resident, has been a volunteer for 20 consecutive years.

20 HOSTING

• Owner of Magnolia’s recalls the ‘surreal’ experience of hosting President Obama for lunch

22 VOLUNTEERING

• Meet the volunteers at Pittsford Volunteer Ambulance • Volunteering is up

36

28 COVER STORY

• Man on steel: World renowed sculptor Albert Paley:

36 FITNESS

• Henrietta residents reaching new heights

38 HISTORY

• Fifty years after JFK assassination

40 ACTIVITIES

• Meet some tennis table pros

42 SERVICES

• Library, home-delivery style

44 CRAFTING

• Group shares creative energy of quilting November / December 2013 - 55 PLUS

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savvy senior

By Jim Miller

S

Get Paid for Being a Family Caregiver

ay you spend a great deal of time taking care of you mom. To get paid as a family caregiver, there are various government programs, tax breaks and family payment options that may be able to help you, depending on your mom’s financial situation. Here’s where to look for help.

$20,795 to be eligible. Her assets must also be less than $80,000 excluding her home and car.

To learn more see va.gov/geriatrics, or contact the VA office, or your local veterans service organization. For contact information, call 800-8271000.

State Aid

Uncle Sam may also be able to help if you pay at least half of your mom’s yearly expenses, and her annual income was below $3,900 in 2013 (not counting Social Security). If so, you can claim her as a dependent on your taxes, and reduce your taxable income by $3,900. See IRS Publication 501 (www. irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p501.pdf) or call the IRS help-line at 800-829-1040 for information.

If you can’t claim your mom as a dependent, you may still be able to get a tax break if you’re paying at least half her living expenses including her medical and long-term care costs, and they exceed 10 percent (or 7.5 percent if you’re 65 or over) of your adjusted gross income. You can include your own medical expenses in calculating the total. See the IRS publication 502 (www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p502.pdf) for details.

If your mom is low-income and eligible for Medicaid, you may be able to get paid a small amount by the state. In 15 states, Medicaid offers a Cash & Counseling program (see cashandcounseling.org) that provides an allowance that can be used for various services, including paying family members for care.

Many other states have similar programs for low-income seniors, even if the person receiving care doesn’t quite qualify for Medicaid. To find out about these options contact your local Medicaid office.

Veterans Aid In some communities across the U.S., including New York, veterans who are at risk of nursing home placement can enroll in the VeteranDirected Home and Community Based Services program, that allows veterans to manage their own care, including hiring and paying their own caregivers.

Also available to wartime veterans and their spouses, is a benefit called Aid and Attendance that helps pay for in-home care, as well as assisted living and nursing home care. This benefit can also be used to pay family caregivers.

To be eligible your mom must need assistance with daily living activities like bathing, dressing or going to the bathroom. And, her income must be under $13,362 as a surviving spouse — minus medical and long-term care expenses. If your mom is a single veteran, her income must be below 6

55 PLUS - November / December 2013

Tax Breaks

Family Payments If your mom doesn’t financially qualify for the government aid or the tax breaks, can she afford to pay you herself or do you have any siblings that would be willing to chip in? After all, if your mom had to pay for home care services, the costs would be anywhere between $12 and $25 per hour.

If she agrees to pay you, it’s best that you or an attorney draft a short written contract detailing your work and payment arrangements so every one involved knows what to expect. A contract will also help avoid potential problems should your mom ever need to apply for Medicaid for nursing home care.

55PLUS Editor and Publisher Wagner Dotto

Associate Editor Lou Sorendo

Contributing Writers

Deborah J. Sergeant, Ernst Lamothe Jr. Deborah Graf, Mike Constanza Beth Emley, Amy Cavalier Lynn Cuda, Colleen Farrell

Columnists

Jim Terwilliger, Susan Suben Jim Miller, Kimberlie Barrett Bruce Frassinelli

Advertising

Donna Kimbrell, Amber Dwyer H. Mat Adams

Office Manager

Laura J. Beckwith

Layout and Design Chris Crocker

Cover Photo

Chuck Wainwright 55 PLUS –A Magazine for Active Adults in the Rochester Area is published six times a year by Local News, Inc., which also publishes In Good Health–Rochester–Genesee Valley’s Healthcare Newspaper.

Health in good

Rochester–Genesee Valley’s Healthcare Newspaper

Mailing Address PO Box 525 Victor, NY 14564 Subscription: $15 a year © 2013 by 55 PLUS – A Magazine for Active Adults in the Rochester Area.

No material may be reproduced in whole or in part from this publication without the express written permission of the publisher.

Third class postage paid at Syracuse, NY. Permit Number: 3071

How to Reach Us P.O. Box 525 Victor, NY 14564 Voice: 585-421-8109 Fax: 585-421-8129 Editor@roc55.com

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real estate

By Kimberlie Barrett

A Great Time To Build A New Home

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Targeted Advertising 55 PLUS magazine had its distribution audited by the CVC. Here is a profile of our readers:

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• 59% keep 55 PLUS at least one month • 75% fall are between the ages of 55 and 74 • 61% are women • 74% report earnings of $50,000 and higher

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55 PLUS - November / December 2013

s I mentioned in part one of this two-part series, it’s now been a seller’s market for more than 18 months, which is a refreshing change for sellers who endured a real estate market that catered to local home buyers the previous six years. With the shortage of existing inventory comes a greater demand for new construction. This in turn creates a need for buyers to have professional and qualified agent representation to protect them throughout the entire process of purchasing new home.

Most real estate offices specialize in selling existing property so agents typically shy away from new construction. According to REALTOR Magazine’s Reader Profile Study of April 2003, only 3.7 percent of real estate agents specialize in new construction while 75.2 percent maintain that selling existing residential property is their primary business specialty.

In 1990, agency disclosure became mandatory in many states so that buyers and sellers understand who is representing them in a transaction and the fiduciary responsibilities of the real estate agents involved. Although still not required on new construction unless the purchase of a model or spec homes is being entertained, buyers of new homes need representation just as much or more than existing buyers.

Building a new home is a complicated and often intimidating venture that begins with a buyer trying to visualize an “unseen” home as well as work through the sales and building process. Historically buyers interested in building a new home have been forced to explore the process on their own or work with existing real estate agents who lack sufficient new construction knowledge and experience to properly represent buyers looking to build.

When buyers do not work with a real estate agent, the search process can take months, even years when

Part II

buyers get discouraged and decide to retire their quest for seasons at a time.

There are many advantages to building a new home and now is a great time to do so. My best advice is to interview real estate agents to make sure they are knowledgeable about local builders and understand the process of representing a new home buyer, new construction contracts, the building process and the cost of building. You want the best representation available to protect your real estate investment.

12 Advantages of Building A New Home 1 – Higher investment and appreciation in the first few years.

3 – Tax benefits through typically higher deductions.

4 – Maintenance relief. Fewer repairs.

5 – Builder and/or state warranties offer increased buyer protection.

6 – Buyer can select size of home to fit their family needs.

7 – Buyer can select their own floor plans. Newer homes have better layouts and architectural conveniences.

8 – Buyers can enjoy selecting their own cabinets, floor coverings, fixtures, etc.

9 – Better energy efficiency and more insulation.

10 – Buyer can select their own home site with practical and aesthetic features they want.

11 – Cleanliness.

12 – Current building codes and requirements.

Kimberlie Barrett is president, broker and owner of Magellan®, Inc. Real Estate & Relocation located on Monroe Avenue in Brighton. She has more than 31 years of experience serving the Rochester real estate market. For more information, contact her at Kim@1Magellan.com or 585-233-6111.

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9

financial health

By Jim Terwilliger

E

The Pension Decision: Lump Sum or Lifetime Income?

mployer-sponsored definedbenefit pension plans are quickly becoming a thing of the past, at least in the private sector. Most public employees are still covered by such plans, although a lump-sum option generally is not available.

For private-sector retirees who still have traditional pensions, many have the option of choosing 1) a lifetime stream of income or 2) a lump-sum payment that is intended to represent the present value of that income stream, based on life expectancy and a factor related to the time-value of money.

Making that decision is a huge one.

Once made, it cannot be reversed. The decision impacts the retiree’s financial picture for the rest of his/her life.

Close to home, Kodak announced in January 2012 that it was suspending the lump-sum option for its definedbenefit pension plan, pending the outcome of the Chapter 11 bankruptcy process.

Vested plan participants leaving the company were allowed to check a box if they wished to retain their rights to a lump sum if restored in the future.

Kodak indeed did restore the lump-sum pension option this past September, opening the door for many retirees and downsized former employees to now be faced with the big decision.

What to do?

In working with clients, we take a number of factors into account to help them choose the lump-sum vs. lifetime-annuity option that is best suited for their circumstances. Each situation is unique and requires a careful analysis. Some of the factors impacting the decision include: • The time-value-of-money factor that equates the lump sum with a 10

55 PLUS - November / December 2013

straight-life annuity stream.

• Other income sources, including Social Security benefits, other pensions, and income from continued full or part-time employment.

• After-tax spending goals/needs during retirement.

• Health and family health history.

• Existing investment accounts, IRAs, 401(k) plans, savings, CDs, etc.

• Anticipated inheritances — ballpark amounts and timeframes.

• Funding level of the employer’s pension plan and long-term financial strength and viability of the employer.

Shaky plans would tilt the decision toward lump sum.

One important consideration is that pension income generally is constant. The income stream does not change to keep pace with inflation.

Pension-income spending power will likely drop in half over a 20–25-year timeframe.

If the lump-sum option is chosen, the money must be removed from the plan. Here are some choices, similar to options available with a 401(k) plan:

Take the money and run Unless you are facing a catastrophic financial emergency, don’t even think of this option! This is clearly a last resort.

First, these assets are a key piece of your retirement nest egg. Second, if you take the cash outright, the distribution will be subject to income taxes at ordinary rates. Additionally, if you are under the age of 59-1/2, distributions generally are subject to a 10 percent early-withdrawal penalty, although the penalty is waived for distributions made to an employee who attained the age of 55 before leaving the company.

Roll over to a Traditional IRA This generally is the most attractive option.

Rolling over to an IRA carries with it no tax consequences if transferred directly from the pension plan to your IRA trustee. An IRA will offer you a wide choice of investments. But be sure to select your adviser and associated financial firm carefully. Doing so will make all the difference in the world to your financial health over the subsequent years.

Choosing the lump sum and subsequent IRA rollover does not prevent you from later electing a lifetime income option, perhaps at a higher income than offered initially by the employer pension plan, anticipating higher interest rates in the future.

How? By purchasing an immediate fixed annuity within the IRA. This is not to suggest that this option is ideal. But it does allow one to access the income option later through a commercial insurance company vs. the original employer pension plan.

Roll over to a Roth IRA This also can be an attractive option for the lump sum, depending on circumstances.

As with any conversion of pretax money into a Roth IRA, income taxes are payable on the conversion amount in the year of transfer. So, be mindful that such a rollover will have tax consequences. But once the money is in the Roth IRA, all income and appreciation are tax-free for life as long as certain conditions are met.

Choices are always good, but be sure to seek competent financial guidance before making your choice.

James Terwilliger, CFP®, is Senior Vice President, Financial Planning Manager, Wealth Strategies Group, Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Company. He can be reached at 585-419-0670 ext. 50630 or by email at jterwilliger@cnbank.com.

55+

careers

Job Market: Fewer Jobs, Lower Salaries

In a competitive market, unemployed 55-plus people have harder time finding a job; if they get one, they often earn less

By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant

W

ant or need a job? The Urban Institute reported last year that unemployed workers in their 50s were about one-fifth less likely to become reemployed over a three-year period than those aged 25 to 34.

Adding insult to injury, they “experienced steep wage losses” too, up to 21 percent lower, compared with only 7 percent lower than the younger age group, according to the Washington, DC-based non-partisan, economic and social research group.

Whether you’re looking for a new full-time job or just want to supplement your income and keep busy during retirement, it’s not impossible to get a job after 55. Despite the economy and the statistics, you can find employment.

“It’s about yourself,” said Luis A. Martinez, career coach at Getting

There, a career consulting firm in Rochester. “The way I coach people in being successful is not jumping into job markets but being who you are and doing what you’re good at.”

For those who hate their long-term careers, he suggests making parallel career tracks such as moving from being a marketing analyst to advertising and marketing professional, for example.

“You still are in the business and know the language but you don’t have to analyze data,” he said. “You can talk to customers and manage projects.”

He suggests that when applying for jobs, people 55 and older should “sell Martinez themselves on

social graces, knowing how to work with people, flexibility, and knowing how to dress. Don’t bring your age to the table, bring your ‘sage,’ your wisdom. Show you’ve already figured out what you want to do. If you ask younger folks, they just want to take whatever job that comes along.”

But stay open to changing. You may have a learning curve to overcome; however, your maturity can make it easier that what you think.

“Where there’s a will, there’s a way,” said Ellie Levy, owner of Bailey Personnel Consultants in Rochester.

“I tell people who don’t know enough about computers to go to their high school and take courses there.”

Levy suggested another way to tackle a learning curve is to seek temporary employment. Temporary employment agencies can also provide a means of obtaining supplemental November / December 2013 - 55 PLUS

11

income. Whether to fill in for an employee on leave or to bolster the workforce during a seasonal busy period, employers like using temps for the flexibility they offer.

“In today’s economy it’s difficult,” Levy said. “You may have to go parttime, contract or temporary to prove yourself and get in.”

In service industries, your people skills can be a great advantage over less experienced workers. Levy said that many retail companies hire older workers for their people skills, product knowledge and great work ethic.

Freelancing or consulting in your field may also provide you with retirement income and satisfaction. But keep in mind that you are the company.

You will need to do the marketing, tech support, billing, and every other facet of the business, in addition to making money. You may need a business license, liability insurance, and zoning approval, depending upon the type of business you wish to operate.

“It may be scary, but the Rochester Professional Consultants Network may help,” said Lynn Dessert, career coach and owner of Leadership Breakthrough, Inc. in Rochester who keeps a b l o g a t w w w.

Dessert elephantsatwork. com. “Check out a couple of its meetings. It offers a support network and they can get information as to whether this is a viable career opportunity.”

Some people want something totally different from what they had done before, but don’t know what it is. One way to determine what you want to do is to undergo a professional assessment from a career coach. Dessert offers assessments that help clients figure out what type of work they would really like to do.

“While going down that path of discovery, it’s then that those opportunities begin to appear,” Dessert said.

For example, a former human resources director might realize she enjoys time spent with her dog very much and working at an animal 12

55 PLUS - November / December 2013

hospital might be a great fit.

Consider seeking a paid position at a nonprofit organization or volunteering at one, since this may develop into paid work for you.

While interviewing, ask for a tour of the facility and ask a lot of questions about the company so interviewers infer that you view the screening process as a two-way street.

Consider that you may need to spruce up your skills or education. It’s never too late to learn.

“Employers are looking for a skill set and they’re not going to train at

that age,” Dessert said. “People think that’s a cost, but what you need to do is see ‘it’s an investment in myself.’

When you look at it like an investment, you can see that you need to put the investment in yourself.”

Levy also suggests that you spruce up your looks and attitude.

“Some come in at 55 and you’d never know it,” she said. “They’re perky and dressed well. Others come in and look 90. That’s part of the problem. Presentation is important.

Think young and stay young.”

Have Your Tried These Careers?

I

f you’re in the job market at 55-plus, consider these employment opportunities: • Customer service rep, retail, concierge, host/hostess, greeter.

Your maturity and experience can help you excel at these peopleoriented jobs. The flexibility you can offer also makes you a great candidate for these types of jobs, so emphasize you’re willing to take weekend and evening hours.

The odd hours, however, may not appeal to you and you’ll likely start out at a much lower rate that you’re accustomed to receiving.

• Delivery service (florist, catering, pizza, pharmacy, rural newspaper), local truck route driver, school bus driver. When dependability and trustworthiness count, you can be the company’s go-to employee. If you have a clean driving record and enjoy spending time on the road, consider these types of jobs. If you’re not issued a company vehicle, you will need to make sure you keep your vehicle running well. Plus, inclement weather can make this type of work stressful at times. Depending upon the type of job, the tips may help make up for the lower starting rate.

• Tutoring students, substitute teacher, corporate trainer (in your industry), youth mentor. All of these jobs drawing on your life’s

experience and education. Plus, your maturity is viewed as a great asset for this kind of work.

Working with younger people can be difficult if you can’t bridge the generation gap. The pay for education-based employment varies, but the fulfillment level is high.

• Healthcare field. As the Silent Generation and older baby boomers age, the demand for healthcare workers and the clerical positions associated with this field will rise. Many unskilled, semi-skilled and skilled positions will need to be filled to provide sufficient care. If you have empathy for people and like helping others, you may find work you enjoy in healthcare, even if you don’t have a background in anything healthrelated. Healthcare jobs can be demanding. CNAs, for example, spend many hours on their feet and many of the tasks they complete involve attending to another ’s personal care. Some jobs aren’t as demanding. A senior companion may provide light housekeeping, conversation and simple meal preparation. A receptionist for a healthcare company operates in similar fashion to a receptionist for any other industry. The differences lie mostly in privacy issues. The rate of pay varies widely, but helping others offers fulfillment.

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55+

trends

Bye-bye, Boomers Seventy-seven million no more? What happened to the hype about the so-called silver tsunami?

By Laura Thompson

B

aby boomers have ruled the world through strength in numbers, solidarity on social issues, and general willingness to stand up and be counted.

As we as a cohort age, the media as well as government have gone into frenzies, predicting everything from dire shortages in the Social Security program to a “silver tsunami” in the healthcare fields. Hospitals have been built, nursing home beds have been added, based upon the projected needs of 77 million to 78 million senior citizens.

But as I read the nightly obituaries in the local paper, I am startled into noticing that baby boomers, who enjoyed an early life survival rate unknown to previous generations, seem to be dying off early.

I first noted this among my friends and while reading my local obituaries.

Some evenings the local paper teemed with obituaries of those aged 40–60.

Personally, I have buried 10 friends in the last five years. The oldest one, and one of the more recent deaths, was 67. The youngest person was 46.

The median age was 53 years. Eight of these deaths were due to some type of cancer. One was caused by a genetic and inherited heart condition.

One was a suicide, and the cause of death of another is unknown, because he died in a foreign country with lax medical reporting.

These are the deaths I know of, among 14

55 PLUS - November / December 2013

the people from all my pasts that I still stay in contact with.

It was always assumed that the boomers, like the generations before them, would enjoy a longer life than their parents.

Statistics, however, do not bear that out.

Data from the most recent census of 2010 indicates a death rate among the 45–54year-old age group as just under 200,000 annually. For the 55– 64-year-old cohort, it tops 300,000 annually.

As for those aged 65–74, it runs at nearly 425,000 each year.

That’s a big chunk of the b o o m e r population, each and e v e r y year. And I strongly suspect our numbers

have dropped by several million in the past decade, because the data above adds up to 925,000 deaths in the cohort, annually.

So what’s with the boomer death rates?

Some say we have been our own worst enemies, and our bad habits and behaviors are catching up to us.

We smoked, we drank, we used illicit drugs. We engaged in hasty sex with strangers. We neglected our health and, as we aged, we lodged our increasingly hefty backsides into comfortable lowmovement office jobs. We played at the gym for a while, but as we grew gray we gave that up in favor of pizza, a DVD, and a cold beer. We’re fat now, obese even, and diabetes is epidemic among us.

I accept some of that as true. But I remain doubtful that we are causing our own cancer. Four of my friends did not smoke nor drink. Of the

remaining four, one was an alcoholic.

The others smoked lightly, drank socially. Nine of the deceased were at appropriate body weight, or less. The habits that kill us were not especially present in these friends, with one or two exceptions.

The Big C is hitting my cohort hard. While media and doctors love to pounce on bad personal habits as the cause behind this, the truth may be something else. Some researchers are pointing to above ground testing of nuclear weaponry, specifically the 100 bombs detonated in the skies over Nevada in the 1950s and 1960s. The radioactive fallout included strontium90 and iodine-129 as well as other known carcinogenics, and science now knows these materials drifted across the country, affecting children nationwide. Livestock, such as the cows that fed the American milk habit, were also affected. Municipal water supplies were similarly contaminated, although no one was testing for that at that time.

I have always said that cancer comes to my generation not only because we are those sloppy, careless baby boomers we are made out to be, but because our government and its close friend Big Business were careless and sloppy themselves. They wanted to create new weapons and chemicals, and put them to use in our environment, food supply, air and water, without first measuring the impact of these weapons and chemicals on humans. And now we are witnessing the result of that in the escalating cancer rates.

And then there’s the opt out factor.

Suicides cause more deaths than automobile accidents, perhaps for the first time in history. The suicide rates for men in their 50s have increased by 50 percent. There is wide speculation for the reasons behind this, such as the poor economy, lack of employment, age-related health issues, and easy access to pain killers. The generation that tuned in, turned on, and dropped out is dropping out in a more permanent manner when faced with aging.

We are leaving, one way or another.

And long before we expected to.

L o o k a ro u n d . N o t i c e y o u r friends. Spend time with them today.

Tomorrow, they may have left you. It’s hard to be the last man — or woman — standing.

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55+

rock ‘n’ roll

Blast from the past: Popular ‘60s rock band continues to entertain

By Ernst Lamothe Jr.

T

his is a love story. But not the kind that Meg Ryan made her money doing before she left the industry.

It’s a story of a band, The Invictas, who were jamming on stages two years before the world would know a London band called The Rolling Stones.

Herb Gross started the group in 1960 while attending the Rochester Institute of Technology as the lead guitarist and vocalist. His recruited his neighbors, Dave Hickey on the drums and his young brother, Bruce Hickey on the guitar. They were a plucky rock ‘n’ roll band that at that time called themselves The Furys.

After a year, he expanded the group to include Jim Kohler on bass, Mark Blumenfeld on lead guitar and re-branded themselves as The Invictas, inspired by both the Buick vehicle and the Latin word meaning invincible.

They also had to change their names 16

55 PLUS - November / December 2013

after an attorney told them that The Furies’ name was already taken by another band.

At that time, they were a bunch of college kids playing for the fun of the music, the women who would come to the shows and the exhilaration of being on stage.

They played at Tiny’s Bengal Inn, which was at the end of St. Paul Street in Rochester.

The funny thing is that Bruce Hickey couldn’t play with them because he was too young to get into the bar. But that little bar brought out inspiration for their No. 1 hit single.

One day they were playing a gig in front of 400 people in a place that the fire marshal would have shut down because it only had a 150-person capacity.

Gross saw two teenagers dancing provocatively to their music.

“I leaned over to them and asked them what they were doing? The

guy said ‘we are humping.’ Then I went home and wrote a song called ‘The Hump’ and it exploded,” added Gross.

That was because a Buffalo record executive saw the band perform and wanted to record the track. The guys then drove to Buffalo with 30 of their friends and cases filled with beer to create a rumpus atmosphere for the recording.

‘The Hump Song’ On YouTube, people reminisce about how much they loved “The Hump Song” and how they used to see the band in Rochester and Canandaigua during the 1960s. They also recount how the song became a huge No. 1 hit in Buffalo, where they recorded the track along with making the nationwide charts.

With the song soaring in popularity, the group toured with The Beach Boys, The Shirelles, The Young Rascals and Otis Redding.

“Parents hated the song but the kids loved it of course,” said Gross.

“One day we were at a show in Newark, N.J. and we were about to perform the song but the police told us that they would shut down the concert if we played the song. The next thing you know, we tell the crowd this and they were ready to riot. The police didn’t want thousands of kids going crazy, so they let us play the song.”

Dave Hickey, one of the original members, was destined to find a kinship with music. His mother played 10 instruments, was an Eastman School of Music graduate and taught the subject at Irondequoit Central School District. When it came to deciding his instrument, it all had to do with talent.

“I realized pretty quickly that I didn’t have the ear to play guitar,” said Dave, 66, of Brighton. “But I was fine with that because playing the drums is electric, especially when you perform live.”

In 2005, they opted to do another reunion with three of the original members: Dave Hickey, Jim Kohler and Herb Gross. Dave Profeta was added in 1980 and he remains the longest serving lead guitarist in the band. Gross was turning 60 years old at the time and he wanted to play with his boys once again.

Herb Gross started the group in 1960.

Spank, leader singer of The Invictas.

Band resurrects “I knew I wanted the band back together again, but I didn’t know if the guys would be up for that,” said Gross. “I called everyone and we started practicing to get the rust off.

We brought in three guys who were regular musicians who had never stopped playing, unlike Dave and I. After the first few rehearsals the regular musicians gave us a look like ‘this might not be a good idea.’ But we hung in there and practiced some more and we were ready.”

Dave Hickey said even more impressive than the fact the band found its musical groove and started performing is its members have remained close.

“It’s pretty amazing that we have kept it going for so long, but even more amazing that we are still great friends,” he said. “It’s rare for bands to stick because of personalities and egos. Herb deserves a lot of credit for keeping us together and never giving up. He just loves to perform and we

Dave Hickey on the drums.

November / December 2013 - 55 PLUS

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are great together.”

Jim Kohler, 70, is the jokester of the group. He often ribs other band members and excitedly says he woke up “on the right side of the grave this morning.”

He also says when asked about what the ‘60s were like, he said he remembers 1960 and 1969, but the rest of the decade is a little hazy.

“As you get older you have to do the things you want to do that bring excitement to your life. Age isn’t going to keep us from doing anything,” said Kohler, who attended East Rochester High School and now lives in Pennsylvania. “I have so many memories playing with these guys and they can’t take that away from me.”

Still, he wasn’t sure what to think when Gross called about getting the guys in one room again to play their music.

“I couldn’t believe he wanted to put the band back together again,” said Kohler. “We hadn’t played in one room in so long and I didn’t know how it would all turn out. I didn’t think it would happen, but I am so glad that it did.”

Since reuniting again in 2004, they have played for thousands at events, including this year at the George Eastman House, Corn Hill Festival and Wegman’s Concerts On The Shore. They also performed at the CMAC in Canandaigua with The Beach Boys as well as events at The Villages in Florida. They are known as one of the longest playing rock bands in America.

“We call our philosophy ‘Rock ‘til ya Drop,” said Gross. “Every member is 60 or older, but we all still have the energy.”

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55+

hosting

Sue Palermo and President Obama during his unexpected visit Aug. 22.

The Thrill of Hosting President Obama Owner of Magnolia’s recalls ‘surreal’ experience of the president’s visit for lunch

By Mike Costanza

S

ue Palermo rendered a special kind of service to President Barack Obama when he visited her Rochester restaurant last August.

“He had a crumb on his face,” the 57-year-old said. “I took a napkin, and said ‘Mr. President,’ and wiped his face.”

Obama appeared unexpectedly on Aug. 22 at Magnolia’s Market & Deli, the Park Avenue restaurant that Sue and Tony, her 58-year-old husband, co-own. The stop was part of a twoday tour of New York state that Obama undertook to unveil his new plan for 20

55 PLUS - November / December 2013

making college more affordable. He lunched at the restaurant with a group of University of Rochester students, some of their parents and professors before moving on to his next stop.

Though Sue and Tony are not used to serving officials from Washington, they have strived to make Magnolia’s the kind of place in which anyone can feel comfortable.

“I wanted it to be a place where people could have good food and enjoy themselves,” Sue said.

They entered the restaurant business just over 10 years ago, when Sue was working for a now-defunct

café and craft co-op in Spencerport.

“I learned a lot of the restaurant business,” she said.

When Sue spied an ad offering Magnolia’s Market & Deli (the original name of the business) for sale, the energetic couple decided to take a gamble on the Park Avenue establishment. Tony took a buyout from his job as a carpenter for Xerox, he and his wife cashed in their 401(k), and they bought the business. Along with the keys to the establishment came a few problems. To begin with, the cook, who had come along with the place, did not speak or write English. On top of that, few customers passed through its doors, though it served food, had three beer taps, and was open from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.

“You could count on one hand the amount of customers we had in one day,” Tony said. “We used to do a Friday happy hour with dollar pints, and you could only get maybe a dozen people in here.”

To n y a n d S u e c h a n g e d t h e place’s name, turned it into a straight restaurant, and reduced its hours in order to focus their energies and money upon those times when customers tended to frequent it. Even after the change, they had to put in 12 or more hours a day to make the business work.

Sue ran the restaurant and kept the books, while Tony worked a day job to help meet expenses and deferred to his wife on most business decisions. After his normal workday ended, he helped maintain the restaurant.

“The part that I could contribute is keeping the place up-and-running— making sure that the water goes down the drains and the electric works,” he explained.

Though they are used to working hard, Sue and Tony admitted that the stress of running Magnolia’s sometimes became nerve wracking, especially in the beginning.

“I lost 43 pounds in three months, because I was just working constantly,” Sue said.

Moreover, though Sue had spent as much as six years at the Spencerport café, she and Tony had much to learn about running their own place.

“There is no manual that tells

President Obama posing with the staff of Magnolia’s Market & Deli in August. On the right, he lunches with guests. you how to open [a restaurant],” Sue pointed out.

The couple persevered, and even took on more work. In addition to running their restaurant, they spent four years operating Magnolia’s at Wildwood Country Club, a food service business in nearby Rush.

Nowadays, Magnolia’s is a popular local establishment known for good food and drinks. Sue and Tony put in fewer hours these days, but still enjoy working with customers and their staff.

“She calls me ‘the mayor’ because I’m always talking to people, and she’s like, ‘there’s things to do here,’” he explained, chuckling.

Unfortunately, Tony was home recovering from a foot operation when a visitor arrived from Washington.

While visiting Rochester, Obama, on the recommendation of New York Sen. Charles Schumer, decided to lunch at Magnolia’s. Sue first learned that he planned to appear at the restaurant at around 12:30 p.m., when three members of the White House staff entered her place that Thursday afternoon. One of them, a young woman, approached her as she stood behind the counter.

“She said, ‘Hi, we work for the president,’” Sue explained. “I said, ‘OK,’ and she said, ‘President Obama.’”

The staffers then told her that the president planned to arrive within 45 minutes to lunch at the restaurant.

“I just came from behind the counter and said, ‘What do we need

to do?’” Sue said.

Secret Service agents checked Magnolia’s from top to bottom, and space was cleared for the president’s party. At the White House’s request, Sue stopped admitting customers for the time being, though those present could remain. At about 1:30, the president’s bus arrived from Buffalo, and he entered the restaurant accompanied by other staffers and Rochester Mayor Tom Richards. When asked what Obama was like Sue did not need to think about her answer.

Sue Palermo and her husband, Tony.

“Very calm, very friendly,” she said. “He does have a presence.”

Obama hugged her, gave her a kiss on the cheek, and then moved from table to table around the room, shaking hands and holding kids, Sue explained. He then sat down to lunch with his guests.

Tony accessed the digital cameras that watch Magnolia’s floor using his iPad, and called the couple’s relatives.

“I did a play-by-play on the phone of what was going on here,” he said.

After consuming half of a cheddar cheese sandwich on sourdough bread, a cup of Magnolia’s signature cream of tomato soup, a pickle and ice tea, Obama prepared to leave. Sue said he allowed her to wipe the crumbs from his face, but refused her offer to absorb the cost of his and his guests’ meals.

“You’re a small business owner.

This is how you make your living,” she said he told her. “If I ate free wherever that I went, they wouldn’t be able to pay their bills, would they?”

After posing for a few photos, he and his entourage headed off to Syracuse. Sue called the whole experience “surreal.”

In the coming years, the Palermos said they plan to enjoy more time with their four grown children, one of whom works for Magnolia’s as a cook, and five grandchildren. They have no interest in retiring.

“She loves to deal with people and I love to deal with people, and this is the perfect atmosphere to do it in,” Tony said.

November / December 2013 - 55 PLUS

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55+

volunteering

Giving Back Former business owners, lawyers, board members of national companies, housewives and a former CEO — they all volunteer at Pittsford Volunteer Ambulance

By Debra Graf

F

or many members of the Pittsford Volunteer Ambulance corps, retirement has a new name: “volunteer.”

The roster at the service is made up of nearly all volunteers, and most of the members of the suburban ambulance corps are over the age of 55, the oldest over 80.

Most have retired from their day jobs, and have found a niche for giving back to the community — dedicating their time and their lives to helping others.

“The members over the age of 55 fill a large void for the agency.

These are often members who have 22

55 PLUS - November / December 2013

been early retirees and are still very eager to get out and work,” says Chris Forsyth, director of operations, Pittsford Volunteer Ambulance. “They find that they become personally invested in the agency and its long term success.”

Pittsford Volunteer Ambulance (PVA) is a nonprofit organization providing emergency medical services to the Pittsford community, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

Not only do they provide an ambulance road crew, but they also have drop-in first aid and blood pressure checks, onsite emergency services for community events, educational programs, a loan

Gary Smith, 66, John Oberlies, 74, and Susan Burke, 56 (left to right,) are active members of Pittsford Volunteer Ambulance, an emergency medical services corps with more than half of its members over age 55. Pittsford Volunteer Ambulance was established in 1941 serving the town of Pittsford. Almost all of the 80-member corps are volunteers. cupboard providing canes, walkers, wheel chairs, crutches, and more.

“We have great volunteers that have been around doing this job for a long time and I think it’s a good opportunity to show that people of all ages can participate in this type of activity if they are interested,” says Gary Smith, 66, chairman of strategic planning, Pittsford Volunteer Ambulance. “We have all types of jobs that people can do. We have dispatchers, administrative positions, not all jobs are on the road.”

The ambulance corps at PVA is a basic life support corps made up of mostly emergency medical

technicians (EMT) who maintain two ambulances and one mobile medical vehicle. The severity of the injury dictates the response, but PVA is usually the first medical unit on the scene. If there is a need for additional resources, PVA relies on ambulance corps and, if necessary, paramedics from neighboring agencies, according to Smith.

“The majority of our members are EMTs,” says Smith. “There are different levels of care in emergency medical services, from a minimum certification of responding to emergencies (RTE,) to paramedics. We have paramedics in our corps but on our ambulances, don’t function as such.”

Medical and administrative training is required for all members that meet PVA corps, Monroe County, and New York state standards.

Members are also required to work a certain number of hours each month.

PVA answers about 2,700 calls per year, and averages six calls each day.

That is manageable for the 80 active volunteers of the corps, although they do utilize a few contracted personnel depending on the time of year.

“It’s a job that people really invest in, it’s all encompassing,” says Smith.

“But a lot of us in this age group are at the point in their careers that they have more time to do things. Middle age

Susan Burke, 56, provides emergency hands-on care on an ambulance at Pittsford Volunteer Ambulance, and is an assistant in the training department there. She has volunteered with the ambulance corps for three years. Burke is also a full-time open water scuba instructor. folks can provide a lot of stability.”

That is part of the draw for those in middle age or beyond — having the time to learn something new and challenging, the desire to provide community service, and the ability to bring a variety of personal skills to the job.

John Oberlies, 74, is the director of information at Pittsford Volunteer Ambulance, and is also a dispatcher there. Oberlies was formerly chief executive officer of Pluta Cancer Center in Rochester. He enjoys providing quality healthcare to residents, as well as actively volunteering in the community.

“Several of our 55-plus members a re c u r re n t l y i n d u t i e s a t t h e ambulance they never envisioned themselves in,” says Forsyth. “With their varying backgrounds and diverse life experiences, they diversify the agency and strengthen it. We have members over the age of 55 whom were small business owners, lawyers, board members of national companies, housewives, and several other jobs.

These people are vital to the continued success of our agency.”

Susan Burke, 56, is in her third year of service with PVA. She is an assistant in the training department, but is a fulltime open water scuba instructor.

“I enjoy having a few more skills to bring to the table, and can bring something to every situation,” says Burke. “I find being in the corps exhilarating.”

Burke says she followed in her grown children’s footsteps. They are also involved in emergency medical services and encouraged her to participate. Smith did the same thing. His sons, both firefighter EMTs, convinced their father who was formerly with Wegmans Food Markets, Inc., to join the corps. Smith has served as an active member in Pittsford for 21 years.

Longevity is common among crew members at PVA, some are founding November / December 2013 - 55 PLUS

23

members from its inception in 1941.

The group feels like a family, and some members are even married, working in the corps together.

Ed and Jan Kendrick were Pittsford High School sweethearts, class of 1965, and have served together at PVA for over two decades.

“When we are not on a call, it is very natural to sit around the dining room table chatting like family. So it is natural to serve as a couple as part of this family,” says Ed Kendrick. “We had totally separate professions before retirement, but now we share a common

profession as EMS volunteers.”

Pittsford Volunteer Ambulance also has an active exploring program for young men and women aged 14 through 20. This worksite-based education program helps demonstrate the many needs of PVA while teaching their primary mission of providing excellent emergency medical services to the community. Potential members can work on skills, take field trips, and even acquire community service hours.

Some explorer members continue on with emergency medical services, or return at later times in their lives,

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according to Smith. He says middle age is a perfect time to start, when it becomes easier to commit time to volunteering.

John Oberlies, 74, is the director of information and a dispatcher at PVA, and was formerly chief executive officer of Pluta Cancer Center. He says he joined the PVA because he wanted to be involved in providing quality healthcare in the community.

“Neighbors helping neighbors gives a good sense of assurance for people,” Oberlies, says. “Giving back to the community is just part of our lives.”

More on the PVA For more information about the Pittsford Volunteer Ambulance, located at 40 Tobey Road, Pittsford, 2-1/4x4-7/8StutterTillis.qxd call 585-385-2401 or visit www. pittsfordAmbulance.org.

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55 PLUS - November / December 2013

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55+

volunteering

Ken Cohen of Brighton has been volunteering at Lifespan for three years. The former college professor and psychologist said giving back has been a perk of retirement.

Volunteering is Up Senior volunteering is at a 10-year high

By Colleen M. Farrell

W

hen Ken Cohen retired from teaching college seven years ago at the age of 66, he knew he wanted to do something else with the next stage of his life.

He just wasn’t sure what that something was.

He connected with a couple of local charities but nothing seemed to really fit. Eventually, he found the right one through Lifespan, an agency that provides services to Rochesterarea seniors and their caregivers.

Lifespan took his reportoire of skills — Cohen is a licensed psychologist

as well — and found a home for his talents. For the last three years, Cohen has been a volunteer coach of A Matter of Balance: Managing Concerns About Falls. The eight-week course teaches older adults how to prevent falls to help them remain health and independent.

Cohen said his volunteer gig has been a great experience. Retirement, while it has its perks, can be isolating, the Brighton resident said.

“You need to be around other people and interacting with other people and it’s important for people to feel like they are doing meaningful

work,” he said. “Volunteering is a way to really fit all those bills. I think, for the volunteers, it’s a very sort of healthy quality-of-life thing to be doing.”

Seniors cite everything from boredom to having a passion to share their talents with the community as the motivation behind their interest in volunteering, according to Mary Beth Gueldner. She is director of Lifespan’s Retired and Senior Volunteer Program, or RSVP, which is an arm of the national effort of the same name which helps people aged 55 and up find volunteer opportunities.

Those opportunities include what Cohen does — teaching quality-of-life classes — to driving seniors to medical appointments, building houses for low-income recipients, and tutoring young people.

“We, just through being around life and work, have gained a lot of experience and a lot of wisdom and it shouldn’t go to waste,” Cohen said.

The benefits, particularly at a time when many nonprofits are struggling to make ends meet, are meaningful. The recipient organization can further its mission without stretching its bottom line, and the volunteer feels good about feeling useful and appreciated.

Plus, it’s a good way to make new friends.

Giving back “enriches your sense of purpose,” Gueldner said. “Having connections with other people is huge.”

Freed from the constraints of a career, and armed with years of experience, seniors are counted on to fill volunteer ranks across the country.

A report issued earlier this year by the Corporation for National and Community Service, a federal agency, found that senior volunteering is at a 10-year high. One in three volunteers is a senior agd 55 or older.

Rochester boasts the secondhighest percentage of people aged 65 and up who volunteer. Nearly 36 percent do so, according to a three-year study conducted by the CNCS from 2009-2011.

Jack and Janet Salzer are two of them. The Greece couple volunteers together and individually for various causes. Since Jack retired in 1986 from Eastman Kodak Co., he has amped up his service efforts. Janet, who November / December 2013 - 55 PLUS

25

worked at Kodak until she stayed home to raise her family, has always been involved in giving back. Their service started out mostly through their church, First Presbyterian, in Rochester. That’s where they started providing transportation to adults in need of rides to appointments. Jack, for instance, used to take a visuallyimpaired man grocery shopping. Now, he does the shopping himself and delivers the food once a month.

The couple attempted to figure out just how much time they spend volunteering, but it was difficult to tabulate.

“He’ll be driving and I’ll be driving at the same time,” Janet said.

A few years ago, Jack began tutoring students in the Rochester City School District. He said working with young people is energizing and Janet said it has led to long-lasting relationships with former students.

“We end up going to weddings.

We get to know all these different people,” she said.

The couple has also become involved with the Catholic Family Center ’s Refugee Resettlement

Rochester boasts the second-highest percentage of volunteers over age 65, according to a recent study. . program. They collect furniture and clothing to help families new to the area.

“Meeting these families — they are so lovely, the people. They call us Grandpa and Grandma,” Janet said.

“It’s very rewarding. You get a good feeling when you’re helping people.”

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Their work doesn’t end there.

The Salzers also volunteer through Rochester Global Connections, which provides services to international students and visitors. Earlier this month, they took two Chinese natives apple picking for the first time.

“And pumpkins! They went nuts over the pumpkins,” Janet said.

At Chrismas, the Salzers invite the students over to decorate their tree.

They count about 20 young people as their adopted grandchildren, Jack said.

“Working with young people keeps me young,” he said.

Janet also volunteers with the Greece Performing Arts Society, of which she is in charge of publicity, and sings in three choirs. She plays golf, too, but “not well.”

When some of his counterparts are sitting on a beach or travelling the world, Jack said that version of retirement is no fun to him.

“I get pleasure out of doing my volunteer work. It’s not a chore,” he said. “I’m 87 now and still plugging away.”

His wife agrees.

“When you’re our age, you don’t just need to sit around. So as long as we can keep going, we will.”

Want to Volunteer?

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55 PLUS - November / December 2013

Find out more about volunteer opportunities at these websites: • NationalService.gov • VolunteerMatch.org • Lifespan-Roch.org

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www.madisonplacecommunity.com Email: info@tra-mac.com • 585-392-2177 604 North Greece Rd • North Greece

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Manof Steel

Rochester sculptor Albert Paley has been pushing the boundaries of metal art for 45 years

By Amy Cavalier

C

hances are you’ve passed by one of world-renowned artist Albert Paley’s sculptures at Rochester ’s National Museum of Play or at the Rochester Institute of Technology.

There’s also a good chance you did not even realize what was right under your nose.

“There’s a tremendous creative force here and I think we don’t have many opportunities to see things like this or people like this,” said R. Roger Remington, Vignelli distinguished professor of design at RIT. “We know about it because we’ve read about Picasso and great artists and great sculptors, but having him here in our presence and being close to the whole process is such a valuable opportunity for everyone.”

Since coming to Rochester to teach at RIT in 1969, Paley has assembled a body of work that includes over 60 large-scale, site-specific sculptures in the continental United States, Asia and Europe and hundreds of private and public commission pieces. Using an amalgamation of materials and 28

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techniques, he’s transformed metal into everything from jewelry, candlesticks and tables, to ornate gates, fireplaces and sculptures up to 100 feet tall and 100 tons in weight.

“When new opportunities or new experiences would arise, I would take them on and then inadvertently I created the skills and the disciplines to do other things,” Paley said. “The drive was finding out what my abilities are or what my boundaries are or what it is all about.”

“Paley is one of the primary American sculptors,” said Bruce Beasley, a widely recognized and accomplished American sculptor based in Oakland, Calif. “His work is very vigorous and he’s a master at bending and shaping of the metal. He manipulates metal in a way that’s quite unusual and pretty exceptional.”

Known for his signature style of forging cold hard metal into soft, ribbon-like shapes, audiences around the world have been wowed by Paley’s portal gates at the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C.

“He is, without a doubt, the top person in the world,” said his wife Frances Paley, a metal and print artist herself. “Nobody can forge and form the way he can and that’s just a fact.

In the way he has evolved, no one can touch him.”

Children and adults alike are charmed and mystified by Paley’s 130foot long archway Animals Always for the St. Louis Zoo. His ceremonial archways grace major cities including Philadelphia and Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa, and he has permanent collections in major museums including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and Houston, and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

This year, Paley unveiled one of his most ambitious projects yet —13 sculptures on New York City’s Park Avenue — and he completed “Soliloquy,” the centerpiece of the Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester’s Centennial Sculpture Park unveiled in October. At the age of 69, there is no punch clock, no 9-to-5 schedule, no retiring for Paley. Art isn’t

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Albert Paley working in his studio in Gates.

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something he does to make a living.

“This is my life,” he said.

From class artist to the Smithsonian Growing up in Philadelphia, Paley gravitated toward the arts. Voted class artist, he worked in the art department at Gimbels department store in high school. Using $600 in war bonds, he enrolled at Tyler School of Art at Temple University in 1962. He likens becoming an artist to a monk taking a vow of poverty.

“When I realized, whether it was an epiphany or not, that this was the life that I wanted to lead, you were dedicating yourself to a lifestyle and dedicating yourself to a process that was not economically viable at all,” he said.

Majoring in sculpture with a minor in metal, Paley paid his way through

school working as a studio assistant.

“Because of that I had the keys to the school so when security would kick people out, I would work until two, three, four in the morning and use all the facilities, so I just worked non-stop,” he said.

In his senior year, Paley was chosen for a teaching assistanceship assisting professors and teaching at night and during summers. He continued teaching through his graduate studies.

By the mid-1960s, Paley had begun displaying his work at museums and art colleges and being featured in trade magazines throughout New England.

In 1968, using earnings from selling his art, Paley took a trip to Europe where he studied the techniques of European metal work and met famed jewelers and metalsmiths, including the Pomodoro brothers and Max

Reaching new heights: These four photos show the process from the drawing to the first cardboard model to the second cardboard model to the final installed piece... this is Languorous Repose which is located at 66th Street and Park Avenue in New York City.

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Frolich.

Landing a job as a professor of goldsmithing at the School for American Crafts at RIT in 1969, Paley said, afforded him the luxury of not having to compromise his aesthetic direction in order to make a living as an artist.

“It allowed me to be very idealistic and very much a purist about what I was about,” he said.

Remington was a faculty member when Paley began teaching at the college.

“I don’t think Albert has changed that much in terms of his way of working, his way of being,” he said.

“He’s always been a person of integrity.

I feel he’s always been a master at working with form, shapes and three dimensions, whether it’s a tiny piece of jewelry or a large architectural structure.”

55+ After four years at RIT, Paley went to teach drawings, 3-D design, goldsmithing and sculpture at SUNYBrockport. He and his wife met in 1974.

She was studying metal work at San Diego State University where he was giving a lecture.

“He was very well known even then,” Frances said. “He was only 30 years old but he was the top person in jewelry art form anywhere. We’re talking United States and Europe.”

His first public commission was for the Renwick Gallery at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in 1974 when he completed the Portal Gates. He then created the Paley fence at the Hunter Museum of Art in Chattanooga, Tenn. in 1976.

The Strong Sculpture in front of the National Museum of Play was his first site-specific sculpture in 1982.

Paley’s career has seen highs and

lows through the years. He has been the subject of multiple books and various films including “Albert Paley: Man of Steel” produced by American Public Television. An endowed chair at the College of Imaging Arts and Sciences at RIT, Paley lectures worldwide and at universities, museums and art forums in the U.S. on a monthly basis.

In 1995, Paley was the first nonarchitect to win the institute honors award from the American Institute of Architects.

In 2002, Paley was severely burned in a propane explosion. Paley spent one month in the burn unit at Strong Memorial Hospital. After undergoing multiple surgeries and skin grafts, and working determinedly through rehab, Paley healed, returning to his work.

“If he hadn’t been as close to the hospital as we were, it’s possible

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he would not have made it,” said Frances.

Made in Rochester Paley has four large public artworks on display in Rochester. In addition to his site-specific sculpture at the National Museum of Play, his 40-foot-tall “Genesee Passage” has been located outside the former Bausch & Lomb headquarters since 1996.

“Sentinel,” a 73-foot steel and bronze sculpture, has adorned the entrance to RIT since 2003 and in 2006, he created “Threshold” for Klein Steel’s services headquarters.

That only scratches the surface of Paley’s resume. And it’s all done right here in Rochester.

“There’s no other place like it in the country,” said Frances of her husband’s Rochester studio.

Paley’s studio was located on West

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Paley’s “Genesee Passage,” 1996, rises on the grounds of Bausch & Lomb headquarters.

Main Street from the early 1970s until 1985 when he moved to a 15,000-squarefoot studio on South Washington Street.

Three years ago, he moved into his current 40,000-square-foot workshop located off Lyell Avenue in Gates.

There are 13 full-time employees, the most he’s ever employed. Nearly 350 people tour each year in addition to numerous fundraisers held at the studio, according to Jennifer Laemlein, studio director.

“He works long days,” said Laemlein. “He has no qualms at all about rolling up his sleeves and getting in there. He’s also a perfectionist, so when he has an idea in mind, we have to make sure we meet his expectations.

He’s very hands-on with every aspect “Threshold,” 2006, is installed at Klein Steel company.

Albert Paley has four works on display in Rochester. His Memorial Art Gallery piece recently installed plus the piece destined for RIT in November will bring his total sculptures in Rochester to six. (Photos

by Bruce Miller.)

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of this business.”

At the studio, towering sculptures draw visitors inside to where Paley’s lamps are perched on desks, combining art and functionality. Several massive gates grace the large open space and sculptures rest seemingly precariously on stands. Each piece represents a different type of material or technique or demonstrates Paley’s visions of shapes and form.

Inside Paley’s work space, models made of cardboard and a variety of other materials are spread across various stations. Laemlein turns one of the models over to reveal that the base is a repurposed cardboard.

“If he’s looking for something representative of a shape, he’ll use

55+ “Sentinel”, 2003, is on campus of the Rochester Institute of Technology.

chopsticks, dental floss, spray cans, or even repurposed box materials such as materials that one would find in their home recycling bin,” said Laemlein.

“He doesn’t get a lot of uninterrupted work time here, so a lot of his design work happens during off hours. We’ve gotten sketches on napkins.”

Paley begins the process with a series of drawings that then go into cardboard models. Next, a metal model is created to work out the structural engineering and the joining of the steel. That model, or maquette, becomes the basis for fabrication.

Some of Paley’s sculptures are made of painted steel while others are made of Corten, an atmospheric corrosion-resistant steel patented by U.S. Steel.

“Sometimes it’s stainless steel, sometimes it’s bronze. Sometimes we use patina, sometimes we paint it,” he said, glancing around his studio at the various mediums. “You can see a lot of glass here. I do sculptures with

glass or steel or I carve wood or stone, so that varies.”

‘A treasure’ in Rochester Nan Miller, owner of Nan Miller

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Gallery at 3450 Winton Place, has represented Paley’s work including candleholders, coffee tables, lamps, small to medium size sculptures and maquettes of his larger monumental pieces for about seven years.

“He’s not just a passing, everyday artist,” she said. “He has a reputation.

He has credentials. He’s in museums and he has monumental pieces all over the world. He’s a treasure to Rochester and it’s a real feather in Rochester’s cap to have been able to have kept him here.”

On the studio floor, Paley is involved in every stage of the process.

Two techniques are utilized in creating the sculptures. Forging involves traditional blacksmithing techniques, where a bar of steel is heated and shaped with hammers or by pulling it or compressing it.

“This is a hot, physical, laborintensive process,” said Laemlein.

Paley also uses fabricated metal techniques in his sculptures. Patterns are sent out to steel suppliers which use various cutting methods including plasma cutting, laser cutting and water jet cutting, depending on the materials’ thickness and the desired aesthetic Paley is designing for.

Day-to-day operations work like any other business, with organizational meetings to make sure projects are staying on budget and schedule.

Laemlein communicates with clients and staff on the floor while studio

This sculpture, from 1982, is at Strong Museum.

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foreman Jeff Jubenville, an employee at the studio for 27 years, conveys Paley’s vision to the metal workers on the floor.

“We have understandings with very few words really spoken,” Jubenville said. “I can understand what he wants with few words spoken.

When he is at the studio, he has to switch gears like 12 times a day. If you can’t keep up with that you’re in trouble.”

The difference between a regular business and an art studio is that Paley’s sculptures are not mass- produced.

Sculptures can range in price from $250,000 to $3 million. It is important to stay on budget and schedule, and to meet clients expectations while planning for a unique design that has not been fabricated prior and may have unforeseen challenges, said Laemlein.

“Albert never does anything half-way, so everything that’s done is 150 percent, which means there are demands on people, financial demands, emotional demands,” said Frances. “It’s intense.”

Malcolm Holzman, a partner of Holzman, Moss, Bottino Architecture in New York City, has worked with

Paley on four projects, including several gates for the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Sewanne: The University of the South in Tennessee, and the central branch of Howard County Library System in Columbia, Md. “I think anything that makes architecture richer is a good thing,” Holzman said. “I view the things Albert has done for the buildings that I have designed in that vein. He has added something to them that the architecture alone could not provide.

It enhances the architecture and it also makes it a richer environment for the people who use it.”

Reaching new heights “What I’m doing now is different than what I was doing 30 years ago and it changes because you develop different skills and abilities,” he said.

“There’s an evolution.”

This year, Paley landed one of his most high-profile exhibits yet in New York City’s Park Avenue district. He also unveiled “Soliloquy.”

For 16 years, the large-scale works of world-renowned artists have been temporarily on display on the medians of Park Avenue which run over the subway tracks. Made possible through

a partnership between The Fund for Park Avenue’s Temporary Public Art Collection and Public Art Program of the City of New York’s Department of Parks and Recreation, artists can apply or be chosen for the opportunity. Close to three years ago, Paley was selected for the series.

“I have thousands of sculptures that have never been realized so I went into my archives and there were pieces that I always wanted to do that I never had the opportunity to do so I figure now is the time,” he said. “I took the various drawings and photo -montaged them into various sites and that is what I presented to the committee.”

Asked to provide six pieces, Paley developed designs for 13 sculptures within 10 days. Traditionally, the Park Avenue Temporary Art Collection features three artists a year. Due to the magnitude of Paley’s proposal, the duration of the exhibit was extended to six months from June until November of this year.

“Paley’s is the 22nd exhibition we’ve done since the formation of the sculpture committee in 1999 and it’s certainly one of the most ambitious exhibitions we’ve had in terms of the

Albert Paley Waxes Poetic Paley on vulnerability: “To challenge yourself, you have to go into new realities that you haven’t experienced. You create a problem where you paint yourself into the corner and the problem is how do you get out of the corner Ultimately that creates innovation.”

— from the video series “Paley on Park Avenue: New York City” produced by WXXI (interactive. wxxi.org/paleynyc)

Paley on inspiration:

“The inspiration for the work is kind of difficult to figure out, because obviously it’s based on everything, my own sensibilities plus what I’ve 34

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experienced along the way.” — from “Meet the Artist: Museum of Glass on Albert Paley” (www.youtube. com/watch?v=gsgI74niiOo)

Paley on creating: “The art process is a very dynamic one. It deals with introspection. A lot of it is self-realization. I don’t know what I am capable of doing until I do it and the process allows for that.” — from Albert Paley on the Memorial Art Gallery’s “Soliloquy” (http://mag.rochester. edu/centennial-sculpture-park/ about-artists/albert-paley/)

Paley on art today: “Now if you get a master ’s degree or bachelor’s degree in art you’re more likely to be hired in industry because now the key word is innovation and creativity and this is what allows breakthroughs in companies. The art process is one that allows you a different type of perspective to problem solve in a different way that allows things to happen. So now people with fine arts degrees have an edge over people, which is a total transformation that has happened.”

For more on Paley, visit www. albertpaley.com/

55+ number of pieces, size and scope,” said Jonathan Kuhn, director of art and antiquities for New York City’s Parks Department.

Ranging from 15 to 21 feet tall and up to 40 feet long, with the heaviest weighing over seven tons, Paley’s 13 sculptures were unveiled in June between 52nd and 67th streets on Park Avenue. The process from start to installation is the subject of “Paley on Park Ave: New York City,” a six-part series produced by WXXI.

High-level sponsorships Before Paley’s studio could build the Park Avenue sculptures, he had to find sponsors to fund them, each of which retails at $300,000 to $800,000. When the exhibit closes in November, eight of the 13 pieces will be permanently installed in sponsors’ collections. Sites include public parks in Lincoln, Neb. and Leawood, Kan., university art programs and private collections. The five remaining will be sold or potentially go on exhibit at a sculpture park.

“Cloaked Intention,” a 20-foot-tall, 4 ton weathered steel sculpture built for the Park Avenue project, was sponsored

by RIT and trustee emeritus Ann Mulligan, a distinguished professorship in contemporary crafts at RIT. Slated to be installed on the campus in a public gathering area surrounded by Center for Integrated Manufacturing Studies and the Golisano Institute for Sustainability and College of Health Sciences, “Cloaked Intention” is the second Paley sculpture at RIT. Efforts to bring public artwork by renowned artists like Paley, Henry Moore and Jose de Rivera started nearly a decade ago, according to RIT’s senior vice president of finance and administration and treasurer James Watters.

“The campus has a very corporate feeling,” said Watters. “That came through in the surveys. We wanted to make it more of a university feel with gardens, public art, landscaping and public spaces that were very inviting as well as a lot of other things, as far as new housing, and pretty much a full transformation of the campus.”

Paley’s most recent sculpture “Soliloquy” was installed in September

and open on Oct. 13. With the mission of the project being “Connecting People with Art,” Paley said the title “Soliloquy” is reflective of the individual transformation which occurs from viewing art, reading books, listening to music, attending plays or opera, or pursuing education or training, among other experiences which create an individual’s vision of the world.

The 25-foot-tall, brightly painted stainless steel sculpture will anchor the Memorial Art Gallery’s Goodman Street entrance, joining over 20 other sculptures on display outside the gallery. Paley’s “2000 Millennial Bench” has been reinstalled on the University Avenue side of the campus.

Paley has helped turn the notion of art from a private object to a public celebration, MAG Director Grant Holcomb said in May when awarding Paley with the 2013 Eastman Medal, presented by the University of Rochester.

“Albert Paley has recast our understanding of metal as a medium,” said Holcomb. “A true master artist, Albert Paley has not only reshaped what it means to forge iron into art but has also demonstrated a vision that has altered our appreciation of sculpture and architecture.”

Man behind the steel Often called a perfectionist, Paley admits there is competitiveness in his nature.

“That’s one of the reasons I was drawn to metal because it’s probably the most difficult and most resistant material as far as physical material and control and to develop that kind of refinement takes a huge amount of discipline, skill and demand,” he said. “It’s a challenge so I get extreme satisfaction out of that.”

His wife Frances has a degree in metal working as well as psychotherapy.

She’s managed art programs at RIT. Her fine art prints apply digital techniques to original photography to give the image deep emotional impact. Frances’ office is located at her Paley Studios.

It’s clear their home is one of two artists, she said.

“Everything is exactly chosen and I really mean that … where everything

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is placed … what it is,” she said.

“Everything.”

In all actuality though, Frances said, the man of steel is a real gentleman.

“He’s humble,” she said. “This guy is not about ego stuff. He really likes to work.”

Paley said he finds his best inspiration being present and living in the moment.

“It’s strange, even though a lot of thought goes into this, I really function in the present tense and I always try to,” he said. “I’m doing exactly what I want to do. After all this time, if I wasn’t doing what I wanted to do I’d be very frustrated.”

R e t i re m e n t i s n ’ t i n P a l e y ’ s v o c a b u l a r y. W h e n p re s s e d , h e responded, “You mean when you die?”

“Say you had a child. When do you stop being a mother? If you’re alive and you think and you feel, when do you stop thinking? When do you stop experiencing things? When do you stop being emotional? When do you stop being sensitive? When do you stop engaging?” Paley questioned.

“There’s no such a thing. When you think of a job as a job … but this isn’t a job. It’s who I am. So when do I not become who I am? When I’m dead.”

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fitness Al Grieco of Henrietta never thought he would be running competitively until he enlisted at the National Senior Games.

“I became hooked,” he said.

Here he is last year at the Ohio Senior Games, a qualifier event for the 2013 National Games, which took place this summer in Cleveland.

Top Runner Henrietta resident, 63, discovered competitive running later in life.

Today he is one of the top runners in the U.S

By Ernst Lamothe Jr.

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l Grieco was ambivalent about running. While he was someone who was always interested in exercising, he viewed running as more of a means to end. As in means to run down a soccer ball and score or steal a ball from his opponent.

Then last year, he heard about something called the National Senior Games. He missed competition and wondered if this would be a good outlet for his energy. But the last viable option he thought was running, especially considering the wear and tear he already placed on his knees through a lifetime of sports and 36

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activity.

“I didn’t know what I wanted to do, but I knew that the Senior Games peaked my interest,” said the 63-yearold Henrietta resident.

The Senior Games, a 19-sport biennial competition for men and women over age 50 with more than 10,000 people participating, is the largest multi-sport event in the world for seniors. Some core sports include archery, badminton, bowling, cycling, gold, horseshoes, pickleball, race walk, swimming, track and field and tennis along with team sports in volleyball, basketball and softball.

After doing his research on the

games, Grieco went to a high school track with a friend who timed him in the 100 meters. He remembered looking at his time and thinking “not bad.” Grieco went one step further and went online to check out the results of the previous Senior Games and found that his time would have netted him sixth place. His intrigue grew.

“It made me think that this was worth a try,” said Grieco. “I didn’t know what to expect, but I knew I was interested now.”

But by the time he learned of the games last year, he was too late to register for the New York state competition so he looked west on a

map and made calls. Ohio was less than four hours away and they had a later entry date. Grieco trained for two months prior to the games and competed in three events. He won a gold in the 200-meter race and followed that with silver in the 50 meters and 100 meters. Having won three medals there, he was able to qualify for the National Senior Games, held every two years.

“I became hooked,” he said.

After Ohio, he immediately began training for the nationals, although they were a year away. He lifted weights at the Jewish Community Center and ran track at Rochester Institute of Technology to prepare.

Figuring to compete in the next level, he added help — Grieco hired Ken Rasmussen, a Rochester Institute of Technology track coach. Having never run track and field before, he found there was a steep learning curve, from the proper stance before the gun sounds, to head and arm movements during the race.

“I basically had no technique,” added Grieco, who worked with Rasmussen a couple of nights a week.

“There is a lot to be said for working with people who have experience and can tell you what to expect in a track meet. It is more than just running straight.”

Rasmussen agreed that he had to

start from the bottom when teaching Grieco basic running technique. But he also said because he was already in good shape and an eager learner, things worked out pretty well.

“He was a natural athlete so that helped and he gave everything he had into training,” said Rasmussen, 61, who also coaches track at Edison Tech High School. “Running is about getting your legs to move up and down as quickly as possible and having the right technique with your arms to keep you driving forward.”

The training worked. This June, he won the silver in the 50 meter and 200-meter events at the New York State Senior Games in Cortland, along with a bronze in the 100-meter and 400-meter. The following month, he participated in the Ohio State Senior Games winning first place in three events. He was then ready to compete in the ultimate National Senior Games in Cleveland this summer, competing in three events. Having qualified there for the finals in the 50- and 200meter events out of a field of about 40 runners, Grieco placed eighth in both races and 10th in the 100-meter.

In all three races, new national senior records were set.

Some would think after having so much early success and training so hard, he would have felt down about not winning a medal in any event.

They would be wrong.

“I get goose bumps just explaining to people how exhilarating the experience is. You have thousands of people cheering for you so the atmosphere is electric,” said Grieco.

“Plus the people who compete are just a good group of guys who want to stay in better shape and support each other. Everyone tries their hardest and nobody is an egomaniac, not even the people who set records.”

In addition to tangible hardware he won in previous races, he began seeing his body morph into a stronger, fitter and healthier person. Eating nuts, vegetables and smaller portions throughout the day gave him a boost he never had before.

“Before I started competing, I would wake up and feel old,” said Grieco. “Now my body feels great, I weigh 175 pounds which was my weight when I graduated from high school and I can lift more weight now than I could ever in my life. I don’t have a lot of body fat and I don’t look like your typical 63-year-old.”

He wishes more people understood the positive impact the games have on the senior population. It gave him and others a new lease on life and a chance to feel young again.

“I really want to get the word out and encourage people to consider making this part of their lives,” said Grieco. “There is a whole exciting world out there that people are missing.”

Rasmussen hopes others get motivated by Grieco’s story and understand the importance of keeping in shape at any age, let alone when you get into your golden years.

“A lot of people give up running when they get to their 50s, 60s and 70s,” he said. “But it’s a wonderful sport and a great way to stay active and maintain the body you want.”

How It Got Started

Winners hold ribbons at The 2013 National Senior Games 200-meter awards presentation this summer in Cleveland. Al Grieco is on the far left.

In 1985 in St. Louis, MO, a group of seven men and women formed the original leadership for what was initially known as the National Senior Games Association to promote healthy lifestyles for adults through education, fitness and sport. Two years later, they held the first National Senior Olympic Games with 2,500 competitors. Today, more than 10,000 people from all over the country come participate.

For more information about it, visit www.nsga.com.

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history

The End of the Innocence

JFK assassination 50 years ago shook people to emotional roots

By Lynn Cuda

S

ome events are so big that the details are frozen in time and permanently etched in our brains.

I remember, as a very little girl, my mother recalling exactly where she was, with the rest of our family (I wasn’t born yet) when she learned that Pearl Harbor had been attacked, Sunday, Dec, 7, 1941.

It was a cold sunny day when she and Dad switched on the car radio and heard the fateful news. News that made them pull over to the side of the road, just to get their breath and take it all in, because they knew that meant we were destined to enter World War II. 38

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“I felt fear and I felt worry. Here we were, just starting out really, with your two sisters, aged 4 and 5, and now I knew we would be at war. A sense of panic just swept over us. I think we drove home in complete silence,” she would tell me, year after year, when the subject came up.

For my adult-children, now in their 30s, their day was 9/11 and the dawning of a new age of terrorism, a day marked by an unthinkable homeland attack, and, like 60 years earlier, also by planes.

But for me, and probably most of you reading this 55 Plus magazine, it will always be Nov. 22, 1963, the day we grew up and cried, not for

ourselves, but for our president and our country.

I was 13. Junior High was a blissful time of bike riding, school dances, and all the endless adventures that come with adolescence. It was a Friday, lunchtime was over and we were in our social studies class with our favorite teacher, Mr. Fletcher. He was a tall, youngish man with a crew cut who made history come alive for me and many others. He was the teacher who actually had the confidence and dedication to come to school with a Mohawk haircut and face paint just to help us better understand the Iroquois.

He even had had the nerve to

wear a small red, white, and blue “JFK” button to school on his lapel, something discouraged back then, since teachers weren’t ever supposed to reveal their political preferences.

But Fletcher, the Irishman married to a nurse and father of six children, made no secret that John Fitzgerald Kennedy was his hero.

So, that day, just when we were all starting to think about our upcoming Thanksgiving break from school, it seemed a bit odd when, right in the middle of his class, there was a knock on the classroom door. Our music teacher, obviously upset, came in and whispered something in Fletcher’s ear, and then left.

Reduced to tears To our complete shock and amazement, Fletcher cradled his head in his hands and sobbed. There was no other sound in our classroom. All 26 of us were fixated on what was unfolding before us. What in the world could make this giant of a man cry like this?

And then after what seemed like an awfully long time, he lifted his head and said softly, “Something awful has just happened. Our president has been shot, and ... ” The door opened at that moment; it was the music teacher again. She immediately waved us all up and out of the room and down the hall to her large music room, complete with grand piano, where, for a reason that wasn’t quite clear to us yet, she led us in the “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” followed by other patriotic songs.

We noticed teachers, along with the principal, huddled together out in the hall, and next thing we knew, we were being let out early, though it was already close to our regular dismissal time.

We learned that our 35th president had been assassinated at approximately 12:30 p.m. Central Standard Time in Dealey Plaza, Dallas, Texas and was pronounced dead by 1 p.m. (2 p.m.

EST).

With the official announcement from the White House at 1:33 p.m. and that shaky, emotional statement

by Walter Cronkite, the CBS newsman who, we all knew, was the “most trusted man in America,” it all became so real.

When he read from that paper, and kept putting his black reading glasses on and then off, we felt his sorrow and choked up right along with him.

I often wondered why we were released early on that Friday, knowing that now that most likely would not, or could not, happen. But back then we were in the Cold War, and that first hour or two after the assassination, everyone was in a totally confused state, much like on 9/11.

Was this some kind of coordinated attack? Would something else happen?

Lyndon Baines Johnson, then vice president, took the oath of office aboard Air Force One at 2:38 p.m. as Jackie Kennedy, still in that blood stained pink two-piece suit, looked on.

Spirit-less holiday Our Thanksgiving that year was part of the darkest, dreariest, saddest string of days we ever experienced.

It was as if everything moved in slow motion. How appropriate that we only had a blurry black-and-white television then, because everything over the next few days was truly only black and white. It was like all the color had drained out of us, except for that pink blood stained suit … that I am guessing we all remember.

The local radio stations played only a somber mix of patriotic songs and classical music. Parents cautioned their children not to play noisily outside.

It was not uncommon to see people crying on the street. Churches quickly opened their doors for community prayer.

Most shops and businesses closed right through Monday, with no school Monday. Television showed us the minute-by-minute drama as it unfolded, beginning with that famous Cronkite announcement. That was followed by the hunt and arrest of 25-year-old Lee Harvey Oswald, and his subsequent murder by Jack Ruby on Sunday played out live, right on television.

After that, it was state funeral and then burial on Nov. 25 in Arlington National Cemetery.

All television coverage for those four days was totally devoted to the assassination and its aftermath.

The images I have never forgotten are, besides Jackie’s blood stained clothes, the funeral procession to the Capitol with the six gray horses and the one black rider-less horse who appeared wild and angry; and the appearance of young John-John saluting his slain father alongside his mother. She was dressed in black with her face bscured by a heavy black veil.

But most of all, I remember dear Mr. Fletcher, our favorite teacher, who could not shield us from his personal pain that day, and, in doing so, taught us something else: empathy.

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activity

Left to right are: Roger Haidvogel, Don Young, Horace Byfield and Ray Mack of the Genesee Valley Table Tennis Club. All four of the athletes have competed in local, state or national table tennis tournaments in their age classes, and some have returned with gold medals.

Still Serving After All These Years Some of these sportsmen play table tennis 20 hours a week

By Mike Costanza

T

op-rated amateur table tennis player Ray Mack took up the sport while attending Monroe Community College back in 1969, when he spied other students playing in the game room.

“They had fancy paddles and they looked like they knew what they were doing,” said the 62-year-old member of the Genesee Valley Table Tennis Club (GVTTC).

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Mack quickly immersed himself in the sport, and went on to win gold medals at the national level. Nowadays, the retired Kodak employee is one of the top 15 table amateur table tennis players in the country for the 60-to-64year-old age group.

“Within seniors, I’m in the top 1 percent,” the Gates resident said.

Mack is just one of the GVTTC members who have continued to play

the sport well into the time when some people wouldn’t think of picking up a table tennis paddle.

“We have people who are actually in their 80s,” said Roger Haidvogel, the club’s 59-year-old president.”

Haidvogel and the other GVTTC members who spoke to 55-PLUS play in the club’s classic league, which is reserved for its top players. Mack also coaches the club’s junior players

— some GVTTC members are as young as 8 years of age. The club meets at the Rochester Sports Garden in Henrietta.

Though anyone can smack a table tennis ball over a net, official USA Table Tennis (USATT) matches are played by strict rules, according to Don Young, who at 75 is the oldest player in the classic league. That starts with the equipment used. Official paddles can be of any size or shape, but must be flat, rigid and covered with rubber on both sides — red on one side and black on the other. The rubber covering’s composition is up to the manufacturer and player.

“There’s 1,000 different rubbers with different types of characteristics,” Mack said.

In like manner, the table’s playing surface must measure 2.74 meters (just under nine feet) long and 1.525 meters (just over five feet) wide, and stand 76 centimeters (about two-and-a-half feet) from the floor.

Then, there are the rules of play.

For example, the person who is serving must throw the ball into the air as straight as possible to a height of just over six inches or more, without making it spin, before striking it.

Serves and returns can take many forms, based upon a player’s strategy, the angle and speed at which the ball is returned, and how it spins.

“This ball can spin up to 150 times a second, and it can spin in several different directions,” Mack said.

A good player can send a ball over the net with a “pendulum,” “windshield washer,” “tomahawk,” or other colorful-sounding swing.

“A ‘tomahawk” is when you’re coming around outside the ball,” Mack explained. “It’s kind of like a curveball from a baseball player.”

Such skilled moves give table tennis the kind of competitive feel that continues to attract players like 64-year-old Horace Byfield.

“Each person you play has a little different way of hitting the ball,” explained the Rochester Products retiree, who began playing the sport as a 10-year-old in his native Kingston, Jamaica. “I enjoy the fancy shots.”

Those “fancy shots” can also help you stay in shape. Byfield, Mack and the other players admitted that they’ve slowed up a bit down through the years, but lauded the exercise they gain through playing table tennis regularly

— Haidvogel plays about 20 hours a week.

“You’re standing 10-12 feet away from your opponent, eyeball to eyeball,” Young said. “It’s a very energetic sport.”

Being able to knock one past your opponent can also bring national recognition. All four of the GVTTC athletes have competed in local, state or national table tennis tournaments in their age classes, and some have returned with gold medals. Young, for example, has taken top honors in his age class at New York State’s Empire

State Senior Games several times, and Haidvogel and Mack recently returned from the National Senior Games in Utah with a gold medal for doubles play in the 60–64 age group (doubles teams compete in younger player’s age group).

Though medals are welcome, just the chance to match their skills against other club members helps bring these players to the table day-after-day.

“I like the camaraderie,” Byfield said. “At the end of the day, we’re all friends.”

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November / December 2013 - 55 PLUS 130301 HearUSA NYS Ad_55Plus Rochester_4.75x7 to run 11-1_02.indd 1

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services

Home Delivery Ada Mackay (left) is visited by Liz Barry (right) from the Monroe County Public Library. Mackay is blind so she appreciates the audio book club books.

Libraries in Monroe County deliver books to people in hospitals, senior facilities and even to their homes

By Ernst Lamothe Jr.

A

ngie Vullo lives in Hillhaven, a skilled nursing home in Webster. She has many interests, one of them being an avid reader. However she had no means of getting to the library. That’s when the library stepped up.

The Monroe County Public Library Outreach program comes in many forms. They organize visits to hospitals and nursing homes where people can request books if they can’t make it to their local library.

“Before my son used to go to the Irondequoit library every week and get me books,” said Vullo, 83. “When I found out that the library could come here, I was excited. I couldn’t believe they offered this service for people, 42

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especially if you are a shut in.”

In addition, there are mini mobile libraries off site located throughout the area in places like St. Ann‘s Community.

The sites provide an array of books that people can check out. The books are refreshed every other month. Library employees also extend their outreach to assisted living units or apartment complexes for low-income people with disabilities.

The newest outreach program involved creating large print book discussion kits intended to get seniors affectively involved in reading.

Elizabeth Barry, who oversees the outreach program, spearheaded the book discussion kit program. There are 13 large print kits, which includes

four large books, four audio CDs for those who are blind and eight large print talking point guides.

“Senior citizens often face social isolation when they no longer have the opportunity to interact with each other,” said Marjorie Shelly, Pittsford library director. “Having large print discussion guides will provide the impetus for discussion and engage the minds of seniors as well and draw them together. Many of them are lifetime readers who miss the interaction that book club groups gave them.”

The program started last year, but was in the planning and researching stages before that. It all began one day when a gentleman at a nursing home was having a conversation with Barry,

who oversees the program. He found it frustrating that large print books were not available so Barry began talking to library colleagues. She worked with Friends of Library groups, the Monroe County Lions Club as well as New York state, which provided matching grants.

“People don’t really donate large print books so there was a void. And with book clubs being so popular now, those people were being left out,” said Barry. “Now they can discuss books with friends and it really is a service that was necessary. Just because people are losing their sight doesn’t mean they are losing their minds.”

As an employee of the Monroe County Public Library outreach program for the past 24 years, Barry has seen her role morph from operating the book mobile around town to targeted initiatives to help seniors.

The personalized services help the library to focus on the needs of the community. One of the older programs that still brings Barry joy is the in-home delivery service for members of the community who are unable to visit a library due to age or transportation limitations.

Materials available for delivery include regular print books, large print books, VHS and DVDs, books on tape or CD and magazines. The loan period for materials is six weeks.

Liz Barry from the Monroe County Public Library (left) visits Angie Vullo while delivering books.

“If a senior wants the latest Danielle Steele novel then we do whatever we can to get them that book,” said Barry. “We believe that you shouldn’t be penalized from reading the best books just because you can’t get to the library. Not everyone has someone that can drive them to the library, but that doesn’t mean they should stop having to read.”

The library also offers remembrance kits that help those seniors suffering

Large Books Available Here is the Monroe County Public Library partial list of the large print books kits available for the book club discussions.

• “Caleb’s Crossing” by Geraldine Brooks: At age 12, Bethia meets Caleb and the two forge a secret bond, with Caleb eventually becoming the first Native American graduate of Harvard College • “Calling Invisible Women” by Jeanne Ray: Clover is crushed by the realization that neither her husband nor her children ever truly look at her.

Then Clover wakes up one morning to discover she’s invisible.

• “Garden Spells” by Sarah Addison Allen: When a stranger moves in next door, Claire’s carefully tended life quickly begins to run out of control.

• “I Feel Bad About My Neck”

by Nora Ephron: A candid, hilarious look at women who are getting older and dealing with the tribulations of maintenance, menopause and empty nests.

• “Gone Girl” by Gillian Flynn: On Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter — but is he really a killer?

• “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” by Rebecca Skloot: Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor black tobacco farmer whose cells — taken without her knowledge in 1951 — became one of the most important tools in medicine.

• “Life of Pi” by Yann Martel: After

from Alzheimer’s disease. It features memory exercises to stimulate the brain. Barry said she hopes to be doing this for years to come.

“This has been a wonderful experience bringing services to those who need it the most,” she said. “I’ve been doing it for 24 years and I still love it. It always makes me happy to see the thrill in someone’s face when you help them get something they didn’t think was possible.” the sinking of a cargo ship, a solitary lifeboat remains bobbing on the wild blue Pacific. The only survivors from the wreck are a 16-year-old boy named Pi and a hyena.

• “The Forgotten Garden” by Kate Morton: At Cliff Cottage, on the grounds of Blackhurst Manor, Cassandra discovers the forgotten garden of her grandmother’s book, and is able to unlock the secrets of the beautiful book.

• “The Greater Journey” by David McCullough: The enthralling and inspiring story of the adventurous American artists, writers, doctors, politicians, and others who set off for Paris.

• “The Help” by Kathryn Stockett: Three extraordinary women whose determination to start a movement of their own changes a town, and the way women — mothers, daughters, caregivers and friends view one another.

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crafting

The Comfort of Quilts Quilt groups converge to share creative energy

By Beth Emley

T

he art of quilting, for many, may be a favorite hobby or just another way to express creativity.

But for Marcia Birken, of Brighton, the hobby was a lifesaver.

Birken is a member of the Genesee Valley Quilt Club, a veteran quilting organization with 400-plus members and over 75 years of history. The group’s latest event was its biannual show in late May at the Rochester Institute of Technology’s Gordon Field House.

Birken, 62, a retired RIT math 44

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professor, was diagnosed with cancer in 2007 and the illness reoccurred in 2010. She attended her first quilting class in 2007 and hasn’t looked back since.

“What got me through was the camaraderie there,” Birken said. “They (club members) want you to succeed and they want to help you to succeed.

This is a good place to be.”

Also a photographer, Birken said while photography is a solo activity, quilting is definitely a group pursuit.

“Once I joined, there were so many people to help me,” she said.

She described quilting as a refreshing change from academic life, which was often stressful and competitive.

Since beginning quilting, Birken said she’s made at least 10 “bigger project” quilts plus several other smaller baby quilts that took less time.

Birken said quilting allows her to combine her love of photography with quilting. She said her quilts are more “visual” or “modern” since she is interpreting rather than just making blocks. That way, her thread is like a paintbrush.

One of her quilts has a “Grand Tetons” theme with individual blocks sewn together, each in its own pattern.

The quilt portrays the road to California in the late 1700s and early 1800s.

Another of Birken’s quilts is called the “Dancing Log Cabin.”

She said the quilt was created after slicing fabric a certain way and then putting it back together.

Birken said she has also made what’s known as an “electric quilt” with computer software that allows the quilter to manipulate patterns one only sees while standing at a distance.

It takes three to four months to make a large quilt but only a few weeks to do a smaller one, she said. Her sewing machine isn’t large enough for some projects, so she often has fellow quilter Joyce Blowers perform what’s known as “long arm” quilting with a larger sewing machine.

Birken said she feels a sense of accomplishment when she goes to a quilt show and sees her quilts displayed. She brought two of her creations to the most recent show.

“It’s so much fun at the show when you can stand back and see it all,” she said.

Patching a plan together Birken’s future projects include making her first grandchild a baby quilt that she designed herself with the electric quilt pattern. She also plans to attend quilting classes at a venue in Auburn, where she will Pat Berardi, president of the b e i n t e r p r e t i n g Genesee Valley photographs and using them in her Quilt Club. quilt patterns.

Though retired, Birken said she’s “never been busier” with quilting.

Variety is the “spice” of quilting for Pat Berardi. For Berardi, 74, of Penfield, it’s all about branching out and trying new styles when it comes to her pursuit of quilting.

Though essentially a contemporary

of varying styles and sizes — some only 20 by 13 inches and others 72 by 40 inches.

In memory of loved one

art quilter, the president of the Genesee Valley Quilt Club said she sometimes does traditional quilting too.

“You don’t have to be in any camp,” she said.

Berardi’s adventure in quilting began after her retirement. She had done some sewing before, and decided to try quilting after she saw an advertisement for a class at Patricia’s Fabric House in East Rochester.

She started off by doing traditional quilting and then experimented with other styles.

Like Birken, it’s the support from other quilters that keeps her going.

“I love the club and the people in it,” she said.

Berardi recently became interested in silk quilting. That type of silk is known as “Dupioni silk” and said it is “nubby with a rough texture and not too slippery.”

She likes the fabric because “it reinforces and it doesn’t ravel. You can treat it like cotton.”

Added Berardi: “When you work with silk, it has a wonderful shine.”

Quilting is a prolific hobby for Berardi, who has made 100 quilts

Some of those projects are truly a labor of love, such as the quilt she made in memory of her brother, who died two years ago.

She gave the memory quilt to her sister-in-law and nephew. “I think that brought a lot of joy to them,” she said.

Other projects are memorable just because they were a challenge. Berardi remembers the first art quilt she made in a class. An art quilt, generally speaking, is one typically displayed on a wall as an art object rather than used to cover a bed.

“I came home with pieces after each of the classes,” she said. “I took them out and finally put them together.” Berardi said the project was just a small hanging quilt but it was “beautiful.”

There are some quilters who make everything by hand but “98 percent” are produced on sewing machines, she said. Some she gives away; some hang as wall art, and some she sells “if someone approaches me.”

“I love to surround myself with quilts. I’m very fortunate I’ve found quilting,” she said. “You need something that’s yours.”

B e r a rd i ’ s h u s b a n d i s a b i g supporter of her hobby and gives his input and opinions when she’s in the November / December 2013 - 55 PLUS

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“Quilting is in and it’s a worldwide interest,” she said. “It’s big in Japan and Europe and the Middle East.”

The Genesee Valley club meets monthly and often attracts over 200 members, Blowers said.

“Our membership spans a wide range of ages with the majority of members over 60 years old and quite a few in their 70s, 80s and even some in Quilting as a hobby their 90s,” Blowers said. “As a result, Avon’s Joyce Blowers, another many only live in the Rochester area club member involved in publicizing part of the year.” the group’s latest show, said while She said the group attracts an quilting is a hobby that began long ago, older crowd mostly because meetings  it shows no signs of slowing down. are held in the daytime when younger midst of creating something new.

“I wouldn’t be where I am without him,” she said. She said her own personal goal is to keep up her involvement in the club.

“When you walk in the room, the energy just hits you,” she said. “We call it our addiction because it’s better than cigarettes or drugs.”

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Marcia Birken, 62, a retired RIT math professor, attended her first quilting class in 2007 and hasn’t looked back since. people are working. There are a few younger people who are able to work around their schedule to be involved.

Quilting can get expensive, so it may also appeal more to older people who don’t have the financial responsibilities of raising a family.

In addition to creating quilts for their own interest, the club donates over 350 quilts a year, Blowers said.

Those “comfort quilts” go to about 25 different community agencies that distribute them to cancer patients, children in need, and battered women shelters.

Blowers said while some quilting groups have come and gone, the G e n e s e e Va l l e y Q u i l t i n g C l u b remains.

“They’ve moved along but we’ve stuck it out,” she said.

Meetings are at 9 a.m. on the second Thursday of every month at Temple B’rith Kodesh, 2131 Elmwood Ave., Brighton.

The group conducts its business first and then turns it over to a showand-tell with projects, followed by lunch and a speaker or workshop.

Those interested in more information about the club can email the group at admin@gvqc.com.

For more information on the club, call Martin at 394-6332.

long-term care

By Susan Suben

The ‘New” NYS Partnership Plans

T

he NYS partnership longterm care insurance has been in existence for 20 years.

Its expressed purpose is to encourage individuals to take responsibility for their care should they become ill. In return, the partnership plan makes Medicaid eligibility concessions to policyholders.

The original partnership plan, known as a total asset protection policy, offers three years of nursing home coverage or six years of home care or assisted living coverage or any combination of the two. Home care and assisted living benefits are 50 percent of the selected nursing home benefit. If you exhaust the benefits of the policy and still need care, you can apply for Medicaid without having to spend down any of your assets.

Currently, an individual would have to spend down to approximately $14,200 in order to apply for Medicaid; the approximate spend down for couples is up to a minimum of $75,000 and a maximum of $115,000.

In addition to the spend down requirements, there are also transfer of asset rules known as the “look back” period and “penalty” period. According to the law office of Bertine, Hufnagel, Headley, Zeltner, Drummond and Dohn, “when an individual applies for Medicaid, Department of Social Services servicing the county in which the applicant resides will look back at the individual’s records for a five-year period to determine whether any gifts were made. “ “If any gifts were made during the look-back period, a penalty period will be imposed and the individual will be ineligible for Medicaid benefits for the duration of the penalty period.

The length of the penalty period is always measured in months and it is calculated by dividing the amount of the gift by the average monthly cost of nursing home care for the area in which the applicant lives.”

Currently, there are three NYS

partnership total asset protection policies for which there are no lookback or penalty periods. There is the original partnership plan known as Total Asset 3/6/50 as well as Total Asset 2/4/50 and Total Asset 100.

Total Asset 2/4/50 offers two years of nursing home care or four years of home care/assisted living or any combination of the two. Home care and assisted living benefits are 50 percent of the nursing home benefit.

Total Asset 100 offers four years of coverage and reimburses 100 percent of the nursing home benefit for any level of care.

In order to encourage more individuals to plan for their care and keep the premiums affordable, the NYS Partnership introduced two Dollar for Dollar Partial Asset Protection policies.

These policies protect assets equal to the amount of benefits paid. For example, if your policy paid $200,000 of benefits then $200,000 of your assets would be protected. Any assets above that amount would require a spend down for Medicaid eligibility.

Dollar for Dollar 50 offers one and half years of nursing home care or three years of home care/assisted living or any combination of the two.

Home care and assisted living benefits are 50 percent of the nursing home benefit.

Dollar for Dollar 100 offers two years of coverage and reimburses 100 percent of the nursing home benefit for any level of care.

The Dollar for Dollar plans are appropriate for individuals who have a “fixed” financial picture. In other words, you have a limited asset base that will remain the same or decrease over time. For example, your house may be your primary asset and there are no anticipated inheritances.

The total asset protection plans are recommended if you are still accumulating assets and their amount exceeds the benefits protected under a dollar-for-dollar plan.

It should be noted that although the partnership plans protect assets, they do not protect income. Once you apply for Medicaid, income rules have to be adhered to.

Many individuals shied away from the partnership plans because asset protection did not apply if you moved out of New York state. The benefits were always portable but not the asset protection. However, as of June 2012, NYS has established reciprocity with approximately 40 other states that allows for some asset protection. If you purchase a total asset protection policy and relocate to a reciprocal state, your assets will be protected according to the dollar for dollar asset protection guidelines.

Other valuable inclusive features of the partnership plan are a 5 percent compound inflation factor, free case management and respite care for primary caregivers. One carrier has recently introduced the option of 3.5 percent inflation. Home care can come from an agency, independent caregivers who are properly licensed/trained or certified or even friends or neighbors depending upon the carrier.

The partnership LTCI policies are unique. In addition to the protection the benefits provide, policyholders who exhaust their benefits have access to Medicaid and can protect all or most of their assets. This is not available with the non-partnership plans, and generally speaking, partnership policies cost less.

The NYS partnership policies should be given serious consideration if you are thinking of purchasing long-term care insurance. Visit the partnership website at www.nyspltc. org for more information.

Susan Suben, MS, CSA, is president of Long Term Care Associates, Inc. and a consultant for Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Company. She can be reached at 800-422-2655 or by email at susansuben@31greenbush.com.

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visits

10 Things to Do in Dutchess County Culinary Institute of America offers great meals at affordable prices.

By Sandra Scott

D

utchess County is located midway between Albany and New York City on the east side of the Hudson.

The county was named for the wife of James, the Duke of York. The river, rolling countryside, and quaint villages offer a plethora of things to see and do.

It is easily accessible by car and train.

1

Franklin Roosevelt: Learn about the man and the Roosevelt years starting with the 20-minute film, “Rendezvous with History” in the Henry A. Wallace Visitor and Education Center. When FDR took office in 1933 unemployment was at 25 percent. Roosevelt promised the American people a “New Deal” that focused on the “Three Rs” — relief, recovery and reform. He created a plethora of “Alphabet Agencies” such as the CCC, WPA, FHA and 48

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many other entities that created jobs and made life easier for the poor.

Roosevelt said of Springwood, his beloved home, “All that is within me cries out to go back to my home on the Hudson River.”

2

Eleanor Roosevelt: Visit Val-Kill, Mrs. Roosevelt’s lovely home tucked in the woods overlooking a pond and stream. It is very modest considering she was called “First Lady of the World.” She had a tremendous impact on her husband’s presidency. She said that, sometimes I acted as a spur even though the spur was not always wanted.” Watch the video about the lady who had a $25,000 bounty on her head by the Klu Klux Klan. Mrs. Roosevelt said, “prevent human misery not avenge it.”

3

Walkway: Kudos go to whomever came up with the idea to turn an old railroad bridge over the Hudson River into a walkway. The railroad bridge was built in 1889 and was in service until 1974. Through the cooperation of public and private groups the Walkway Over the Hudson Historic Park opened in 2009 making it the longest footbridge in the world. A kiosk with storyboards near the parking lots tells the story of the Walkway and explains that the Hudson River flows two ways for 150 miles — from Manhattan to Troy — as the river changes with the tide.

Art: Vassar College is home to the free Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center. The Cesar Pellidesigned Art Center is an interesting juxtaposition to Vassar ’s Gothic buildings. While not vast in size it has a comprehensive selection of art

4

with one room devoted to the Hudson River School of Art. The Hudson River Schools of Artists Romanized the beauty and grandeur of nature. The museum’s works range from Greek sculptures to pottery from the Han periods to Picasso’s artwork. And as a special treat there is a lovely sculpture garden.

5

Wineries: Enjoy the rural splendor by traveling the Dutchess Wine Trail. One must-do stop is Millbrook Winery where the vineyard has labels indicating the kind of grapes are being grown. On a tour learn how the owner designed unique devices that allow more sun and air to reach the growing grapes.

The former farm barn now houses the gift shop, tasting room, and wine making facility. Many wineries have become artsy destinations. This is true of Millbrook where they frequently host jazz groups and feature Art in the Loft Exhibitions.

6

CIA: The Culinary Institute of America has an excellent international reputation and is more than a place to get a college degree.

Visitors can take a tour, dine at one of their restaurants and participate in classes for food enthusiasts that range from demonstrations to wine tastings to a variety of cooking classes. The CIA was founded in 1946 in New Haven, Conn., to provide culinary career training for World War II veterans and moved to its current location, which was the St. Andrew-on-Hudson, a former Jesuit novitiate. The CIA has 2800 students at the Hyde Park campus but they also have schools in California, Texas and Singapore.

Old Rhinebeck Aerodome.

7

Gilded Age: Only a Vanderbilt family member would refer to the Vanderbilt Mansion as “Uncle Freddy’s Cottage on the Hudson.” Frederick Vanderbilt was one of the wealthiest Americans having made his money in the railroad business. Even though the mansion is elegant with imported furniture, Italian marble fireplaces,17th-century Florentine tapestries, and more, it was “modest” in comparison to some of the other Gilded Age mansions but then it was mainly a spring and fall getaway home. The American Beaux-Arts mansion is a glimpse into the days of the Gilded Age before taxes.

8

Old Rhinebeck Aerodome: The Aerodrome is a living museum with one of the largest collections for historic airplanes offering airshows with dogfights and plane rides.

The museum also features early cars and motorcycles.

When conditions are right the 1909 Bleriot, the oldest flying Val-Kill, Eleanor Roosevelt’s lovely home tucked in the woods aircraft in the United States, overlooking a pond and stream.

takes wing. Learn about Harriet Quimby, the first licensed American female pilot and other fascinating tales from the land and air.

9

Nature: Sprout Creek Farm, outside of Poughkeepsie, is the “everything” farm, run by two nuns of the Sacred Heart order who were gifted the property. The working farm is an educational center, summer camp, and a market for the cheese they make from their freerange goats and cows. Visit the Beatrix Farrand Garden, near the FDR estate, which has the ambiance of the “Secret Garden” and where visitors can take a cell phone tour. Or wander the 185-acre Innisfree Gardens near Millbrook that blends Japanese, Chinese and American garden styles.

Plus there are many nature trails to explore including The Poet’s Walk near Red Hook.

10

And more: Enjoy a narrated boat tour of the Hudson River on the “Mystere” which used to sail out of Brewerton.

Tee off at one of the several golf courses. Lift a pint in the bar at Beekman where the argument began that led to the Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr duel. Or, dine at the Terrapin Restaurant in what was once a church. Check out the unique shops and antique mall in quaint Rhinebeck. For more information check Dutchesstourism.com or call 800-4453131.

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By Ernst Lamothe, Jr.

Jean Klem, 84 The Webster resident has been a volunteer for 20 consecutive years for organizations like Meals on Wheels and Visiting Nursing Services Q. Why did you decide to volunteer?

A. I worked as a telephone operator for Frontier for a long time.

After I retired, I was home for one month. Then I said to myself ‘is this all there is to life — just staying at home?’ After that, I knew I needed to do something more and then volunteering just came to mind. At first being a widow, it was a good use of filling my time. It was a great reason to wake up in the morning after you retire. Then I just fell in love with it.

Q. Where are some of the places you have volunteered?

A. I worked for the Center for Missing and Exploited Children on Lake Avenue in Rochester. Then when it came to Meals on Wheels, I began as a driver and delivered meals .I used to tutor at School 19 in the city. Now I volunteer at Visiting Nurse Service of Rochester and Monroe County. They really do a good job at helping people who are homebound and don’t have any options. It makes me happy to help.

Whenever there is a call to volunteer, I am ready to do my job.

Q. You work a great deal with the Meals on Wheels program. How does it make you feel after you have delivered a meal?

A. It makes me feel like I have done something to help people who really needed help. I get emotional sometimes because I do have a soft 50

55 PLUS - November / December 2013

heart. When you deliver meals, people want you to sit down and talk to them because they don’t always have someone that they can talk with. They sit down and they tell you about the days when they were younger. They show you some of their possessions. Even though we can’t always stay with them for a long time because we have to deliver meals, even spending a little time with them makes them happy and makes me happy too.

Q. Why do you think you keep volunteering?

A. I love the people at Visiting Nurse Services. They treat you like you’re one of them instead of just a volunteer. They’re friendly, they give me hugs and we all laugh together.

Going there every week, gives me a feeling of warmth, a feeling that you’re accepted. When you’re in with a group, you feel like you’re a part of the family Q. What advice do you have for other senior citizens who retire?

A. It does make life worthwhile.

I have always been active since I was a kid working back on the farm planting crops. I had no electricity, no running water and no telephone.

You always found a way to keep busy and maybe that is why I always keep busy now.

Q. When you look back did you ever see yourself volunteering for this long?

A. There is no way I saw myself doing this for 20 years. I thought it would be something that would just fill a little bit of my time. Then the more I did it the more I found it rewarding. There is something about lending someone a hand that reminds you about all the times people have helped you out too.

Q. What are some of the activities that you do?

A. My husband served in World War II mostly in Guam and the south Pacific. I got to Honor Flights. They fly people to Washington D.C. to see the memorials. I get sentimental when I see veterans who are in wheelchairs. In my spare time, I like to work around the yard. Planting flowers and pulling weeds is what I do. You never seem to get rid of enough of the weeds. I also like to go with friends on bus trips to Washington D.C., New York City and Canada. Sometimes it is day trips and sometimes it is over a weekend.

If you are interested in volunteering for Meals on Wheels, call 585-787TEAM (8326) or complete an online application at www.VNSnet.com

From Our Hearts To Yours.

Introducing the HeartMatters Cardiac Rehab Program.

St. Ann’s Community is proud to introduce HeartMatters, a new evidence based program that was developed in collaboration with Cardiologists and Cardiothoracic surgeons including Rochester General Hospital Chief of Cardiology, Gerald Gacioch, M.D. and St. Ann’s Chief Medical Officer, Diane Kane, M.D. HeartMatters provides the region’s best program for patients with cardiac conditions such as heart failure, myocardial infarction and post cardiac surgery (i.e., CABG, valve replacement).

We recognize the uniqueness of each individual and will work with you to develop a plan of care that will improve your quality of life and reduce the likelihood of readmission back to the hospital. You and your family will receive the knowledge necessary to better manage your condition after returning home.

For more information or to learn how to preplan a rehab stay, please call 585-697-6311 or visit stannscommunity.com.

The HeartMatters cardiac rehab program is available at: St. Ann’s Community, Irondequoit and St. Ann’s Care Center, Cherry Ridge Campus in Webster.

Caring forThe Most Important People on Earth

HeartMatters Cardiac Medical Director, Gerald Gacioch, M.D. and St. Ann’s Chief Medical Officer, Diane Kane, M.D.

Supported by a grant from Greater Rochester Health Foundation

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