Treasurer\u2019s Report<\/strong>: by Marty\nErickson \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thought for the Day<\/strong>: Jane Madden\nread about kindness and all its possibilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Friendship<\/strong>: Jane Madden sent get\nwell cards to Fran Person, Gerry Jarvis and Donna Quesnell. She also\nsent cards to the families of Jale\u2019 Hansen, Jacqueline Duncan and\nFloyd Neubauer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Health<\/strong>: Fran Person had the\nmembers fill out a questionnaire that was prepared by WSSRA\u2019s \nHealth Service Committee. The purpose of the survey is to develop a\nbaseline of where members are with respect to a number of health\nissues and concerns. Information from the survey will be used to plan\nfuture committee activities with a focus on meeting the\nhealth-related concerns and challenges expressed by the membership. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Foundation money<\/strong>: Jeanie\nAnderson explained that during our January Board meeting, motions\nwere made to give a $1000 each to Cascadia Tech Academy, Vancouver\nSchool District Foundation and Battleground School District\nFoundation. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n February Program<\/strong>: Mina Milligan\nreminded the members that the February luncheon will feature Maria\nHeckinger, who will be talking about her book, Beyond the Third\nDoor<\/em>. She encouraged members to bring a friend. Jeanie\nAnderson reminded members to tell callers if they are bringing\nsomeone so they can be included in the lunch count.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lunch was served<\/p>\n\n\n\n Committee to Elect<\/strong>: Loretta\nBabbitt is on the Committee to find new candidates for next year, and\nasked for help from the general membership. Jeanie Anderson said this\ncommittee needs to include the President, a board member and a\ngeneral membership. Voting is in April, and installations of new\nofficers in May. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jeannie Anderson also informed us that\nMarci Maxwell will be bringing will bring Pam Francis, our current\nWSSRA President, to our March meeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Program<\/strong>:\nKorri Nelson, certified fitness coach, presented a program entitled\nBody,\nBrain, Balance and the Fitness Factor. What you can do to reduce your\nfall risk, move easier and feel better<\/u><\/em>.\nShe stated that her thoughts concerning fitness have changed as she\ngrows older and better understands the process of aging. The\nfollowing is information that she talked about:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Korri\nNelson led us through some exercises and answered questions. She\nworks at Prestige Senior Living Bridgewood, 11700 NE Angelo Drive,\nVancouver WA 98684.360-254-4666, cell phone is 360-356-2203. She will\nbe presenting a class Friday, January 24th<\/sup>\nfrom 4-5 on Ageless Grace which is\na cutting-edge brain fitness program based on neuroplasticity that\nactivates all 5 functions of the brain – analytical, strategic,\nkinesthetic learning, memory\/recall, creativity and imagination – and\nsimultaneously addresses all 21 physical skills needed for lifelong\noptimal function. The program consists of 21 simple exercise Tools\ndesigned for all ages and abilities. These exercises, based on\neveryday movements that are natural and organic, focus on the healthy\nlongevity of the body and mind. The 21 Tools are simple to do at\nhome. The movements are designed to be performed seated in a chair,\nyet they can be done on a bed, standing near or behind a chair, down\non the floor, or standing. Almost anyone can do them, regardless of\nmost physical conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n January\nBirthdays: <\/strong>Jane Madden handed out\npresents and led Happy<\/em>\nBirthday<\/em> to those born in January. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Door prizes:\n<\/strong>Loretta Babbitt drew numbers for\ndoor prizes. There were four winners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Retirement<\/strong>:\nJeanie Anderson and Dr. Burke will meet with school employees on\nFebruary 12th<\/sup>.\nThen they will join with the Retirement Committee at Elmer\u2019s\nRestaurant at 9:30 AM. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dates to\nRemember<\/strong>: \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Adjourned at 1:35\nPM.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mina Milligan,\nSWWSRA Secretary\t<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nThought\nyou would enjoy the following article about Irma Slocum<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I<\/strong>rma Slocum is a Vancouver treasure. At 99, she\u2019s seen the landscape around her evolve from rolling farmland to suburban housing and strip malls. She\u2019s watched her five children and dozens of grand and great-grandchildren play and grow on her Felida farmstead. She\u2019s been a quiet model for women\u2019s empowerment. And she\u2019s done it all with a thread of music weaving everything and everyone she loves together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Irma and Hazel Hershey got married\nin a double wedding in 1941. Photo courtesy: Irma Slocum\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Born\nIrma Hershey in 1921 in Parker, South Dakota, she and her family\neventually moved to Mitchell (yes, home of the famous Corn\nPalace<\/a>)\nand it was there that she met her future husband, Bill Slocum. Irma\nwas playing piano in the music practice room at the high school when\nhe knocked on the door. She knew who he was because they had history\nclass together, but they\u2019d never spoken. She wasn\u2019t allowed to\nhave boys in the room with her, so she didn\u2019t let him in, but they\ntalked for a bit at the door before he handed her a poem and\nskedaddled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The\nfarm boy and girl began a sweet courtship and eventually got married\nin 1941 in a double wedding with Irma\u2019s sister Hazel and husband\nLoren Wheeldon. Irma was in college at Dakota\nWesleyan<\/a>\nat the time and planned the whole wedding because her sister was\nteaching in Bismarck, North Dakota. They thought the idea of a double\nwedding sounded fun, so they went for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon\nafter, Irma and Bill\u2019s lives were changed by World War II. In 1943,\nBill joined the Army and Irma wasn\u2019t one to be left behind. She\nsaid, \u201cAfter Bill went off to war I joined the Women\u2019s\nArmy Corps<\/a> because\nI felt so bad that all the young men had to go, so if there was\nanything I could do to help shorten the war, I would do it.\u201d After\ncompleting basic training in Iowa and administration school in Texas,\nIrma was sent to Fort Dix in New Jersey. She stayed there for two\nyears, hopping from job to job before landing as a typing teacher for\nreturning veterans. While Irma held down the fort stateside, Bill\nserved as a corporal in the South Pacific before he was injured. He\nwas awarded a Purple Heart before eventually heading home to her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Irma\nand Bill were both talented musicians, so their next step after the\narmy was a natural one. Irma said, \u201cWe decided to go to Juilliard<\/a>\nafter the war because I\u2019d heard it was such a great school for\nmusic. I never dreamed I\u2019d get to go, but then the G.I.\nBill<\/a>\ncame along and we were both accepted.\u201d Irma studied piano while\nBill studied vocal performance and their first child, son David, was\nborn in 1947 while they were living in New York.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After\nleaving Juilliard in 1948, Irma and Bill briefly moved to Portland to\nstay with Bill\u2019s oldest brother Art and his family. They settled in\nVancouver when Bill was hired on as the Choir Director at St.\nPaul Lutheran Church<\/a>.\nThe couple\u2019s daughter Julie was born in 1949 while they were living\nin town, with siblings John, Becky, and Beth following once they\nestablished roots on a beautiful piece of land on Salmon Creek, which\nthey called Bonny Slope Farm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Initially,\nIrma wasn\u2019t too sure about Vancouver\u2019s mellow vibe. She said, \u201cWe\nwere used to a wide variety of activities while living in New York.\nSoon after moving to town, we held a concert and the audience was\novercome with joy. This was the start of our musical journey in\nVancouver. Bill organized and led several musical groups starting\nwith a small group of madrigal singers. Then he formed a group called\nthe Choraleers in 1953, which practiced at the old Clark\nCollege<\/a>\ncampus. Eventually, it evolved into a larger choir called the Brahms\nSingers<\/a>\nin 1963.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bill\nserved as the Brahms Singers Director until his retirement in 1985\nand from there, the choir grew and evolved, eventually becoming the\nVancouver\nUSA Singers<\/a>\nin 1993. While all this was going on, Bill also performed as a tenor\nin operas and solo performances, was featured as the \u201cWand\u2019ring\nMinstrel\u201d<\/a>\non KPOJ Radio in the 1950s, was a private voice coach and taught\nmusic throughout Vancouver and Portland before retiring in 1975.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lest\nyou think it was all about Bill, Irma had a hand in things every step\nof the way. She shared, \u201cI was involved in each of these musical\nendeavors and I also taught piano lessons for many years. I helped\nstart a piano club that is still going today. I eventually taught\nmusic and kindergarten in the Evergreen\nSchool District<\/a>.\u201d\nShe toured with the Brahms Singers throughout the United States,\nCanada, and Europe until finally retiring in 2008 at age 87. She\nremains one of their biggest fans and has been known to write\nthoughtful notes to the singers after performances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Irma\u2019s\ncommunity involvement hasn\u2019t been limited to music. She and Bill\njoined the First\nCongregational United Church<\/a>\nwhen they moved to Vancouver, which she says \u201cwas a compromise\nbetween Bill\u2019s Lutheran upbringing and [her] Methodist roots.\u201d\nShe quickly became an important part of the church community, and up\nuntil recently, could be found sitting on a special stool in the\nentry, greeting everyone as they entered services each Sunday. In May\nof 2016, the church suffered serious damage due to arson<\/a>,\nand Irma has been active in supporting fundraising efforts to\nrebuild.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Irma\nsums up life in Clark County best, saying, \u201cVancouver was a\nwonderful place to raise our five kids. We loved it. It has changed\nso much over the years. It has gone from a small quiet little town to\na sprawling city with all kinds of activities. It\u2019s been a good\nplace to call home for the past 72 years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n If\nyou\u2019re lucky enough to know Irma Slocum (or be her granddaughter,\nin my case), you might just catch a snippet of her playing the piano\nin her living room, with a view of her little farmstead and Mount\nSaint Helens beyond.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Jeanie Anderson called the meeting to order at 11:32 AM, followed by the flag salute. There were 23 members present: Marty Erickson, Annette Eickson, Loretta Babbitt, Mina Milligan, Margaret Snitlzer, JaneMadden, Wanta Filbin, Kathy isignoli, Gerry Jarvis, Renie Shannon, Barbara Kelly, Klaras Ihnken, Maryann Sawyer, Jeanie Anderson, Sherry Boose, Larayne Anderson, Linda Bannon, Colleen Baron, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":915,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-908","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-meeting-minutes","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wssra-units.org\/southwest-unit30\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/908","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wssra-units.org\/southwest-unit30\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wssra-units.org\/southwest-unit30\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wssra-units.org\/southwest-unit30\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wssra-units.org\/southwest-unit30\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=908"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.wssra-units.org\/southwest-unit30\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/908\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":916,"href":"https:\/\/www.wssra-units.org\/southwest-unit30\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/908\/revisions\/916"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wssra-units.org\/southwest-unit30\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/915"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wssra-units.org\/southwest-unit30\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=908"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wssra-units.org\/southwest-unit30\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=908"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wssra-units.org\/southwest-unit30\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=908"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.wssra-units.org\/southwest-unit30\/files\/2020\/01\/Jan-speaker-Korri-Nelson-addressing-posture-and-balance-225x300.jpg\")
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