June 2004

Member Profile:  Jacqueline Zimmer
Oh those darn chores! From housework to yard work, who remembers childhood chores with any fondness?
     Jacqueline Zimmer grew up in Lincoln, NE, raised by parents who felt an uncommon duty to lend a hand to those less fortunate. Thus, parts of Jacqueline’s early memories are filled with chores being done for Grace TouVelle, the widow who lived across the alley from her family. Said Jacqueline; “I’d visit her, go shopping—mostly for Hershey Bars and ‘spuds’—as she called them—fed her and even emptied her potty chair.”
     Unlike many who reach adulthood with a pledge to avoid such things, Jacqueline parlayed her chores into full-time employment. “Some people equate social service work with giving. To me, it’s not giving if you’re having fun,” she laughed. “Giving is what I do on April 15th!” Jacqueline graduated from the University of Northern Colorado in gerontology, one of the few places in the country with that program. “I didn’t know the word ‘gerontology’ at age six, but I knew that’s what I wanted to do with my life,” she said.
     The Oregon Association of Area Agencies on Aging and Disability (O4AD) was less than half its size (two full time people now) when Jacqueline took over as executive director in 1996. She had just finished a four-year job working for State Senator Tricia Smith. During that time, Jacqueline also served on the Salem City Council, ending with a term as its president in 1997.
     "ORS 410 is a landmark piece of Oregon law, the goal of which was to help seniors and disabled people stay in their own homes if they wish, by providing low-cost community services to them to keep them independent,” Jacqueline explained. “It costs three times more to have someone in a nursing home than to stay in their home,” she added.
     In the recent tax shortfall and budgetary squeeze, Oregon’s senior and disabled population has lost half its funding for “Project Independence.”
     Jacqueline is one of Oregon’s most highly regarded lobbyists. For that, she credits her network of community activists, upon whom she relies for much of the important work of education and grassroots advocacy. Jubilant that the state Emergency Board just restored partial funding for senior and disabled care cut by the legislature last session, Jacqueline is also gloomy. “We were able to get coverage restored for 4,000 people but there are many, many thousands still without.”
     There is a déja vu quality to Jacqueline’s life. As a girl, she would walk to Catholic school from home and view Nebraska’s State Capital directly across the street. She and former husband, Rick Stucky, bought a home a short distance north of Salem’s Capital Mall and their two girls, Kasey and Jasmine, also found it easy to access Catholic school from their Highland neighborhood home. Meanwhile, their mother walked or bicycled to work in the Capital, helping seniors.
     And the déja vu quality hasn’t been lost on the children either. Jasmine recently received a city award for voluntarism from the City Council, where her dad is now president. Kasey, in college, says “you tricked us” referring to the countless hours she and Jasmine would spend with mom and dad, doing volunteer things in the neighborhood—from staffing events to litter pickup. “You never told us that other kids weren’t doing the same thing with their families,” griped Kasey about her mom. “But weren’t you having fun?” Jacqueline answered with a grin.

TOP

Annual Membership Meeting

President Jim Dyer addresses the audience about the benefits of being a member of a cooperative.	General Manager Bob Speckman reviews 2003 and looks forward to 2004.	Leadership Youth Representative Rachel Knotts discusses the Leadership Youth Program.
Britni Davidson, Customer Service Representative, reviews her duties at Salem Electric.	Nick Reding, Engineer, talks about the causes of power interruptions.	Willie Ball, Energy Analyst, compares energy usage over the last 25 years

TOP

The Annual Meeting of the Board of Directors immediately followed the annual membership meeting. The board re-elected the officers pictured below (L to R:  Jim Dyer, President; Paul Ennor, Vice-President; Carl Beach, Secretary/Treasurer) for 2004-2005.  

TOP

AARP Driver's Safety Program

The American Association of Retired Persons Driver’s Safety Program is a two-day, eight-hour course (4 hours each day) of classroom instruction that refines existing driving skills and develops safe, defensive driving techniques for persons 55 and older. AARP provides trained volunteer instructors.

Three courses will be held at Salem Electric, 633 Seventh Street NW. The two-day courses will be as follows, with registrations being accepted starting Wednesday, August 11, 2004.

The cost is $10 per person, which will be collected on the last day of each course.
     For registration and information, call Helen Findley or Debbie Addison at Salem Electric, starting Wednesday, August 11 at 503-362-3601. Participants are requested to park along the street, leaving Salem Electric’s visitor, customer and employee parking available for normal business use. Participants should enter through the board room (gate), to the right of the main entrance in front of the building.

TOP

TOP

| Bulletin Index |