MY Neighbors 2021 Annual Report
September 2021
Due to continued public health concerns regarding Covid, the MY Neighbors Annual Meeting took place via Zoom on Monday, September 20, 2021. This annual report is based on the minutes taken by our Recording Secretary Jennie Boyd Bull who does a superb job of maintaining written records of our decisions and actions.
At the annual meeting, Diane Creek, Director of the Toe River Health District, presented an update on the public health situation in our district. With over 540 COVID new cases in Yancey County in August, Covid 19 remains an urgent public health concern. There have been “breakthrough” cases among immunized people but these cases tend to be less serious. Blue Ridge Regional Hospital in Spruce Pine is full, and the staff are exhausted from caring for so many sick patients over such a long period of time. Yancey is one of only three counties in the state of NC that does not require students and teachers to wear masks and numerous cases have been reported in local schools.
Creek said she believes that the current protocols used by MY Neighbors--mandatory masking, ventilation within vehicles and physical distancing-- make our system as safe as possible during the Covid era. She reminded participants that flu shots are now available and urged people to get them.
We remain thankful for the excellent work that Diane Creek and her staff are doing during this difficult public health situation.
Volunteer Committee Report
The Volunteer Committee--Bill Schultz, Bill Watkins and Chip Poston—continues to orient Volunteers. While some of our 75 Volunteers have been inactive during the Covid era, 46 Volunteers filled at least one service request in 2021. Some have filled dozens. Others like Florence Yaffe spent hours putting together the MY Neighbors Newsletter. Pat Robinson continues to deliver flowers to many of our Members around the county.
As of early September, MY Neighbors Volunteers have filled over 425 requests in 2021. 53% were for transportation and 27% were for grocery shopping and delivery. Our drivers have driven over 13, 200 miles. Thanks to the AMY Wellness Foundation we are able reimburse our drivers at the rate of .56 per mile.
The Covid era has been a challenging time for our Volunteers due to changing safety protocols. However, our Volunteers have been fantastic in their flexibility, courage and willingness to continue to support our Members during these uncertain times. We remain deeply thankful to them.
Since August of 2020 we have oriented 14 new Volunteers. We are always looking for more, especially from the Jack’s Creek and Cane River areas. Word of mouth is our best advertising, so please tell your neighbors.
Finally, the Volunteer Committee recognizes Charlie Hodshon, Kurl Robinson and Robert Johnson, our Volunteers who passed away since the last annual meeting. We miss them greatly and are thankful for their service to MY Neighbors.
Events Committee and Newsletter Report
The Events Committee consists of Gordia Robinson (chair), Florence Yaffe (newsletter), Ellen Denker, Pat Robinson, Carol Sasek, Susan Horne and Nancy Watkins.
Florence Yaffe reported that the focus of the Events Committee is to develop community. Pre-COVID, the committee hosted social and birthday gatherings, but has been unable to hold in-person events since the spring of 2020. We hope to resume community events in early 2022. Ellen Denker continues to send birthday cards to all Members. The committee also delivered Halloween packets and Thanksgiving dinners to Members.
The MY Neighbors Newsletter is now published six times per year. Florence thanked Nancy Wood, Bill Idol, Margot Atuk and Brownie Faucette for help with the newsletter. Beginning with the next edition we will mail a copy to all Members (instead of the email edition). Florence Yaffe seeks writing, art, photos, recipes, and poetry from our Members for the newsletter.
Treasurer's Report
Our Treasurer Nancy Watkins was unable to attend the meeting but sent a summary statement covering the period from June 2020 through July 2021. During that period our total income—from donations and Membership Fees—was $5965.50. We provided $1100 in Membership Fee waivers.
Our expenses were $4,122, with the largest being $1,960 for our supplemental insurance for volunteers, $462 for marketing, $425 annual dues to the national Village to Village Network, and $369 for our web site and Club Express software.
Thanks to the generosity of the AMY Wellness Foundation we continue to reimburse our volunteer drivers for mileage. As of late August, we have issued quarterly checks to our drivers totaling $7245.42. Our thanks to Bill Schultz for writing these grants and being our liaison to AMY Wellness for securing these funds.
Carol Sasek’s facilitation of $15,000 seed money from a real estate sale during MY Neighbors’ formation was also gratefully acknowledged.
We continue to be grateful to Nancy Watkins for keeping our finances in order and writing the checks.
Call Managers Report
Call Manager Coordinator Bill Schultz reported that Call Managers volunteer for a four-hour shift weekly, totaling over 200 hours a year.
He thanked current Call Managers: Rachel Swinney, Anne Maren-Hogan, Gay Rose, Nancy Watkins, Margot Atuk, Steve Powell, Julie Spitzer, Jennie Boyd Bull, Paul Lundquist, and Bill Schultz. Chip Poston is a sub, Steve Buettner is a new Call Manager in training, and Sheila Crane is trained as a seasonal resident Call Manager. Call Managers meet periodically by Zoom or in person for support and information sharing.
Technology Update
Head of Technology Paul Lundquist explained the Volunteer Self-Signup feature, which enables Volunteers to receive a weekly email with open service requests and directly sign up for services themselves. Volunteers who are interested should contact Paul to access this feature. Paul emphasized the Club Express software and Google Voice phone are the major technical aspects for MY Neighbors. MY Neighbors is collaborating in a new program within the AMY Library system to facilitate internet access to our underserved Members.
Membership Committee Report
Chair of the Membership Committee Penni Powell reported that MY Neighbors currently has 89 active members, including 12 new Members in 2021 and 4 pending. Word of mouth is the primary source of attracting new Members. Karin Rolett and Nancy Watkins are also members of the committee. Lisa Schultz, Julie Spitzer, and Bill Watkins conduct interviews with prospective members. Five former Members have relocated in the past year, either out of the area or to assisted living: Brownie Faucette, Fuller McLeod, Marcia Bailey, Carol Clark, and Lola King. Penni closed by sharing the names of former Members who have died since MY Neighbors began: Enid Alley, Dan Buchanan, Jenifer Morgan, Liz Golibart, Robert Repoley, Donna Jean Dreyer, Larry Marcum, Jean West, Ferrell Wilson, Edwin Horhorouney, Joan Horhorouney, Donna Gilliam, Pauline McKinney and Alice Johnson. We remember them fondly and miss their presence among us.
Social time-- The meeting concluded with social time, during which participants shared memories of some of our deceased members.
The MY Neighbors Board:
Chip Poston, Chair Bill Schultz, Call Managers
Karin Rolett, Vice Chair Jennie Boyd Bull, Recording Secretary
Nancy Watkins, Treasurer Paul Lundquist, Technology
Penni Powell, Membership Gordia Robinson, Events
Steve Powell, Medical Advisor