October 2021 issue

The Guelph/Wellington Seniors Association
A non-profit organization based at the
Evergreen Seniors Community Centre
http://www.gwsa-guelph.ca
Ross Knechtel - Webmaster
Directors & Officers
Brian Smith—President
tba — Vice-President
Roger Stevens — Treasurer
Tonie MacInnis — Secretary
Directors
Pat Gage
Ken Fugler
Wenda King
Teresa McKeeman
Ross Knechtel
Adam Rutherford
The Sentinel Team
Carol Croft — Adminstrator, Printer
Linda Green — Editor, Printer
George Hughes — Printer
Bill Shephard, Ray Miller — Part-time
Assistants
All of the above GWSA members
are Volunteers.
GWSA Community Support Services Staff
Emma Whittaker — Manager
Audrey Bishop — Administrative Assistant
Margaret Iutzi — Move Well Co-ordinator
Molly Roberts — Eat Well Co-ordinator
Paula Frappier — Outreach Co-ordinator
All others working for CSS
are GWSA Volunteers
City Staff
Adam Rutherford — Program
Manager
tba — Customer Service Clerk
Tonie MacInnis — Recreation Program
Director — Senior Services
Becky MacDonald — Recreation
Co-ordinator — Volunteers
Jocelynn Desroches — Chef
Janice Walls — Assistant Cook
Don Harris — Facility Maintainer
Lorne Wollis — Cleaner
Harvinder Marjara, Nathan Luck, Mary
Loudoun — Customer Service Clerk II
Lynne Briggs — Manager of Recreation
Services
E S C C
A City of Guelph Recreation Facility run in
partnership with the Community Services Department
of the City of Guelph and the Guelph/
Wellington Seniors Association
683 Woolwich St., Guelph, ON, N1H 3Y8
Tel.: 519-823-1291 / Fax: 519-823-8972
Hours: 8:30 am to 4:00 pm M-F
(closed Statutory Holidays)
Read The Sentinel on our website,
www.gwsa-guelph.ca
ISSN: 0383 817X
A MESSAGE FROM THE GWSA
BOARD
It is October, and the glory of the year! Recent weeks have been a hive
of activity at the Evergreen Centre, and we can now celebrate and enjoy
the splendour of autumn. Volunteers have filled over 2800 envelopes
with new membership cards, IPP ACCESS cards, and welcome letters,
ready for everyone eager to return. The Sentinel volunteers worked
countless hours printing membership cards, and personalizing and
folding welcome-back letters. We are thankful to many GWSA
representatives, including dedicated directors, who have been largely
living at the Evergreen Centre for weeks. The IPP Co-ordinator has
gained special popularity by helping members with their documentation.
For the Board, it has been reassuring to see so many people finally
getting back to what they like doing in person, rather than through the
frame of a flickering screen.
Many members were pleasantly surprised to find out they still
belonged because membership expiry dates were extended by more than
seventeen months. Be sure to come by and pick up your membership
envelope which includes your extended renewal date.
So far, about twenty groups have returned to in-person play, and many
participants are thrilled to being active with their friends again. Over
fifty new members joined this past month, and we even have some new
groups starting soon. If you would like to start a new activity group,
there is a proposal form you can use on the Activities page of the
website. We also have existing groups looking for leaders. Think about
what brings you joy and how you can share your passion with others.
Everyone is reminded that you must register in RecEnroll for all your
activities and trips, and some groups already have waiting lists. We ask
everyone to be patient as we work within current capacity limits for
each room, making scheduling unusually tight for a while. The City staff
deserve a special thank-you as they have devoted considerable extra
time with the Program Committee getting activities launched in
RecEnroll. This is an amazing and dedicated team and the City of
Guelph is consistently supportive of the GWSA.
You may be interested that the Travel Committee has just unveiled a
‘Festive Holiday Trip to Niagara Falls’ for December. Remember to
register early to make this work. You can get all the details online and in
this newsletter. The Book Nook has reopened and is available daily
from 9am until 1pm. Maybe it is time to bring those returns back and
trade them for intriguing new reads! Starting October 22, the GWSA
Community Support Services will be offering a “Those Were the Days”,
series of story-telling workshops through eight virtual sessions on
Friday afternoons. You can get the details in their online blog post.
Lots of members enjoy gathering in the Evergreen Restaurant. We
think you will like the refreshed space, flexible seating arrangements,
and the new electronic menu. Efforts are being made to re-open the
Evergreen Dining Room with reduced seating and menu (‘grab and sit’
or ‘grab and go’ options) as soon as October 4. Information will be
updated on the website whenever things change.
With new provincial legislation, the City of Guelph is now requiring
everyone to present Ontario Proof of Vaccination each time they enter
(Continued on page 4)
NOTE: Disclaimer—The Sentinel and the GWSA do not necessarily agree
with or support statements in the Sentinel made by advertisers, or submissions
by writers (no political or religious topics please).
T S - O 2021
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