Directors letter – October 2022
Sno-Valley Senior Center is so excited to welcome two new staff people!
Mik Little joins us as the new Hyde Shuttle driver. He lives in Duvall and has experience driving heavy equipment like dump trucks and flatbed trailers but also provided transportation for people at a treatment center. He is friendly and willing to help. Mik joins Lorri Engbaum as a driver so if you ever need a ride in the valley, definitely call the Hyde Shuttle at 206-727-6262.
At the time of printing this newsletter, we hope to offer the Community Dining chef position soon to a candidate but it is not confirmed yet. Look forward to an update soon.
Chef Jennifer is retiring mid-October, after training our new chef, to enjoy being a grandparent. But she wanted to remind you all that it is important to reserve your meal in advance but just as important to cancel your meal if you can’t come. Recently we were sold out of chicken salad croissants because we just order what we need. We turned people away that day, but then six people were just no shows. That means that we had leftover food and people who wanted to eat couldn’t because we thought the sandwiches were sold. So please cancel if you can’t come.
On a personal note, I am planning to retire in June of 2023. I promoted Kira Avery to Assistant Director and have been mentoring her in the duties of a director. I will be out of the office but working from home in November. I will care for my sister in Colorado who is terminally ill and prepare our condo in Arizona for rental. I’ll be back in December. Then from January to June, my hours will reduce to 20 hours per week. All this puts more burden on staff so we plan to hire a part time program coordinator to assist Kira soon. This person will help schedule and support all the programs we have here!
I really want to thank you for contributing and supporting the Sno-Valley Affordable Senior Apartments. Together, we will make the world better for seniors who will now be able to stay in the community they love. 185 donors gave $172,500. Along with a grant for $50,000 from the Norcliffe Foundation, we are at $222,500 and so close to our goal! We have asks in to other private foundations and we will still be open to donations from individuals until construction begins next summer. But YOU, your pledges and gifts made it happen. I am so proud of our community and grateful for you!
We applied for our final funds from King County and the State of Washington in September. Our applications brag on your generosity and support of this project. We are mostly funded so these government grants will get us to the finish line. They have indicated their support so we are hopeful. We will know for sure if we are fully funded by the end of December. We will then continue work on permits and the final closing in April, then we can break ground in summer 2023! There is more information with architect drawings, budget and timeline on our website at https://snovalleysenior.org/about/affordable-senior-housing/
As always, feel free to contact me by e-mail at lisay@soundgenerations.org . I rarely check voicemail but if you leave a message at reception, I’ll get it. Thank you for being part of the Sno-Valley Senior Center family. Lisa