SPRYE SENTINEL
Vol. 7/No. 1 Winter/2017
 

  
From the Director's Desk  

Happy New Year to all! Could another year really have gone by so quickly?  2016 was certainly a fruitful one for SPRYE, with membership growing, new programs succesfully meeting the needs of members, and positive feedback being expressed on a regular basis. All of us at SPRYE have so much to be thankful for. The community has responded generously with time and money to ensure SPRYE's sustainability. Our volunteers graciously  provide services that are transformative for our members: rides, grocery shopping, grocery delivery reading, tech help, mail sorting, handyman help...the list goes on.  And we remain responsive to the varying needs of members with the introduction of a new associate member option. Please read more about it in this newsletter.   Members reach out often to express their appreciation for all that the volunteers do to enhance their lives,  and I want to pass that on to all who have supported SPRYE  in one way or another during the past year. We continue to thrive because of all of your input and caring. A heartfelt thanks to our many supporters and volunteers. May this year be one of growth and promise for all of us. 
  
Betti Weimersheimer
Executive Director
  
SPRYE welcomes
volunteers!
We especially need drivers. What better way to get to know your neighbors than to volunteer for SPRYE. Just two hours of your time each week can make a tremendous difference in the life of a local resident who can no longer drive. As SPRYE membership grows, we need to increase our volunteer corps. It's easy to get involved: call 481-5706 for more information.   
  
  
  Board of Directors
President
Barbara Brunner
Chair, Exec. Comm.
Tom Saunders
Vice President
Joan Feinstein
Secretary
Nancy Haneman
Treasurer
Gene Collins
  
Lisa Aaronberg
Valerie Barrett
Rozlyn Carvin
Richard Falanka
John Gray
Paul Hicks
Lee Katz
Ken Knowles
Kathy Lonergan
Dale Mintz
Katherine Moore
Isobel Perry
Martin Rogowsky
Hal Schwartz
Arthur Stampleman
Michele Thomas
Gil Weinstein
 
Executive Director
Betti Weimersheimer

Administrative Asst.
Margie McCabe
  
            Office:
    One Gateway Plaza 
        55 S. Main St.
          3rd Floor 
Port Chester, N.Y. 10573
Mailing Address: 
P.O. Box 748
Rye, N.Y. 10580
914-481-5706


















Sprye brochure photo   
Sprye Logo

Annual Holiday Party Festivities

 

It was a day for celebrating the holidays while meeting new people and reconnecting with old friends.  SPRYE's annual holiday party is always a popular event and was held again at Shenorock Shore Club on December 8th. The 56 members and volunteers who attended feasted on a three course meal and were happily entertained by Margie McCabe and her accompanist Madey Tiktin. Margie circulated print outs of the holiday songs she had chosen and the audience enthusiastically sang along with her in the spirit of the holiday season. The generosity of the attendees was exemplified by their donation of many bags and boxes of food for the Harrison Food Pantry. Board President Barbara Brunner delivered the food to the pantry that afternoon.
Entertainer extraordinaire Margie McCabe entertains the guests.


 
Some of the many nonperishable food items so generously donated by SPRYE members and volunteers for delivery to the Harrison Food Pantry.
Getting to know new friends at the gathering.

 
Board member Valerie Barrett, who helped arrange the luncheon, with  volunteer Emily Saunders.

 
Enjoying the festivities.

 

Katherine Moore Inducted Into Senior Hall of Fame
Katherine Moore holds up the special plaque she received in honor of her many years of volunteer work in Westchester County.

This year SPRYE Board Member Katherine Moore was one of four out of 58 inductees in the Westchester County Senior Hall of Fame to receive Special Recognition for her many years of volunteer work. The ceremony took place at the Westchester Marriott Hotel on December 2. Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino presented Katherine with the award. Katherine moved to Rye in 1952. She has always been concerned with the general welfare of the area's local and regional communities. She spent time volunteering at United Hospital, the Rye Free Reading Room and helped to found the Rye Arts Center, serving as its first secretary. She also volunteers and has held leadership roles with Osborn Library, Planned Parenthood, the Rye Mental Health Association, the Katonah Museum, Hope House, the Westchester Community Foundation and the Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting. 
Katherine was widowed a few years ago after more than 60 years of marriage. Though she has a supportive family and friends, she is well aware of the isolation and loneliness experienced by older adults who can no longer drive, live alone and may not have a family or support system to depend on. Her involvement with SPRYE has allowed her to address some of these unmet needs of older adults in her community. She has spent countless hours developing programming for SPRYE, and as a result, members have access to a myriad of social and educational programs that keep them connected by providing social outlets and exposure to new experiences and people. A mother of four, and a grandmother of seven, Katherine continues to volunteer every day. SPRYE is extremely proud and grateful to have her on its Board and as an active, participating member. 

 
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SPRYE News

New Option for Membership Available Now!!!!


The annual barbecue brings members together for good food, fun and social interaction.

To better serve our membership demographic SPRYE is excited to announce a new option for membership that will allow a greater number of local residents to participate in our social and educational programs. This new offering is available starting January 1, 2017.  For full details and a fee schedule, please click on the following link: http://www.sprye.org/membership.html

Regular sing-alongs with a piano accompanist at a member's home are one of the many programs offered by SPRYE.


SPRYE is delighted to announce the marriage of members Arthur Stampleman and Cynthia Mackay in late December. The ceremony took place at Wainwright House and was attended by a small group of family and friends.  We congratulate them and wish them all the best as they begin their new lives together.

Arthur Stampleman and Cynthia Mackay are joined by five of their six grandchildren at their recent wedding.

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 Fall Prevention
Take Action, prevent falls, gain confidence.
  • Fall-proof your home. About half of all falls happen at home. 
  • Exercise regularly - Exercise is one of the most important ways to lower your chances of falling. Consider programs that improve your balance, coordination and strength. 
Please click on the links below for information about fall prevention and balance exercises.

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UPCOMING PROGRAMS: January - July 2017 

Please make sure to RSVP: 914-481-5706.  All programs are for SPRYE members and volunteers only. The monthly program at Wainwright House is open to the general public. Rides are available to all programs for members only. 
 
Friday, January 13 at 9 am:  Monthly current events discussion/breakfast at  Ruby's Oyster Bar, 45 Purchase St., Rye. Breakfast a la carte.
 
Wednesday, January 18 from 3-4:30 pm:   Dr. Samit Malhotra will be our guest speaker.  He practices Sleep Medicine in the Southern Connecticut region, specializing in the diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders. Dr.Malhotra is Board Certified in Medicine and Neurology, and received extensive training in Sleep Medicine at Stanford University and other institutions. He has over 16 years of experience in the medical field and has done extensive research in his specialty. His approach is to help patients identify the many issues that may be affecting sleep, and to offer solutions to such problems that may, or may not, involve medications. Wainwright House, 260 Stuyvesant Ave., Rye. Free.
 
Saturday, January 21: Saturday Night Out.  Time to be determined. Depending on interest and what is available in local movie houses, there will be an offering of movie and dinner. Please check with office if interested in attending.
 
Tuesday, January 31 at 11 am:  Docent led tour of  two exhibits: Towards Abstraction, 1940-1985: Brett Weston Photographs from the Bruce Museum Collection .  Throughout his nearly seventy-year career, Brett Weston (1911-1993, son of Edward Weston)  was obsessed with abstracted micro-images of reality as well as of cities and landscapes captured by a long telephoto lens that diminished the depth of field, thus flattening the image. Weston used a medium or large-format camera and contact printed on high-gloss paper directly from the negative, selecting his subjects carefully rather than manipulating in the dark room. The subjects, always from nature, became increasingly less recognizable as time progressed. "Paintings of Alfred Sisley, an important French Impressionist landscape painter."  He was born and spent most of his life in France, but retained British citizenship. He was the most consistent of the Impressionists in his dedication to painting landscape. Bruce Museum, Greenwich Ct. $6.
 
Wednesday, February 1 at 12 pm:  Chinese New Year lunch. Menu arranged by SPRYE member Frank Woo. Depart Rye at 11:15 am. Aberdeen Restaurant, 3 Barker Ave., White Plains.  Price to be determined.
 
Friday, February 10 at 9 am:  Monthly current events discussion/breakfast at  Ruby's Oyster Bar, 45 Purchase St., Rye. Breakfast a la carte.
 
Wednesday, February 15 from 3-4:30 pm:  Taro Ietaka , Director of Conservation and Land Stewardship at the Rye Nature Center will present his program (terrarium making) Making a Garden in a Glass.  All material provided.   Wainwright House, 260 Stuyvesant Ave., Rye. Free.
 
Saturday, February 18 -Saturday Night Out.  Time to be determined. Depending on interest and what is available in local movie houses, there will be an offering of movie and dinner. Please check with office if interested in attending.
 
Friday, March 10 at 9 am:  Monthly current events discussion/breakfast at  Ruby's Oyster Bar, 45 Purchase St., Rye. Breakfast a la carte.
 
Wednesday, March 15 from 3-4:30 pm .:   COME FLY WITH ME!   In 1981, Osborn resident Priscilla "Pat" Blum, a licensed pilot and aircraft owner, co-founded the Corporate Angel Network (CAN).  CAN is a not-for-profit charity that arranges free treatment-related travel for cancer patients, using the empty seats made available by 580 participating companies on board their corporate jet aircraft during routine business travel schedules.  Although Pat retired in 2000 at age 80, her idea and vision continue today.  With the help of volunteers, CAN arranges approximately 250 patient flights every month, almost 3000 per year. In 2015 Pat was honored by Women in Aviation at their 26th annual conference, and was inducted into their Pioneer Hall of Fame. In December 2016 she was honored to receive the Katharine Wright Award from the National Aviation Association. Wainwright House, 260 Stuyvesant Ave., Rye. Free.
 
Saturday, March 18 - In place of Saturday Night Out there will be a movie screening in the afternoon at the library.  Details and time to be determined.
 
Tuesday, March 21 at 6 pm: Dinner at Monroe College Culinary program in New Rochelle. More details to follow.

Thursday, March 30 at 1 pm: Paul Tramontozzi, who is a Rye resident and Certified Financial Planner, will give a presentation on "Tech & Retirement" featuring research by the MIT Agelab. For the next generation of retirees, one question will trump all others: How do you add life to longer lives? As people live longer, and spend more time in retirement, the challenge will be to get more out of those years. How do you find a rewarding second career? How do you stay close with friends and family? How do you maintain independence and mobility? How do you embrace new experiences? Please join us for this information session. Rye Free Reading Room. Free.
   
Tuesday, April 4 at 11 am:  Trip to The Fordham Museum of Greek, Etruscan and Roman Art located in the William D. Walsh Family Library. The collection was donated by Fordham alumnus William D. Walsh and his wife Jane, longtime benefactors of the University. It features more than 260 antiquities dating from the 10th century B.C. through the 3rd century A.D. The collection spans several periods, Mycenaean, Villanovan, Classical Greece, Geometrical, Archaic Roman, Imperial Roman, Republican, Etruscan, South Italian.  Fordham University, Bronx. Followed by lunch at Mario's Restaurant on Arthur Ave. Museum is free, price of lunch to be determined.
 
Friday, April 7 at 9 am: Monthly current event discussion/breakfast at  Ruby's Oyster Bar, 45 Purchase St., Rye. Breakfast a la carte.  
 
Wednesday, April 19 from 3-4:30 pm: ARCHITECTURE FROM ABOVE AND BELOW:  Gail Harrison Roman, PhD, has been actively involved with the Rye Arts Center for nearly thirty years. She has taught at Vassar and Columbia, her work has been published internationally and she has curated exhibitions at major museums and universities.  She will help us examine selected distinctive types of urban structures in terms of technical, stylistic, and historical nature and value. Wainwright House, 260 Stuyvesant Ave., Rye. Free
 
Saturday, April 22: Saturday Night Out.  Time to be determined. Depending on interest and what is available in local movie houses, there will be an offering of movie and dinner. Please check with office if interested in attending.

Tuesday or Thursday April 25 or 27th - Possible afternoon tea service at a local tea house. Details to follow.
 
Tuesday, May 9 at 12 pm:  Lunch at Saltaire in Port Chester. Details to follow.
 
Friday, May 12 at 9 am:  Monthly current events discussion/breakfast at  Ruby's Oyster Bar, 45 Purchase St., Rye. Breakfast a la carte.
 
Wednesday, May 17 from 3-4:30 pm:    ARE WE ALONE?  According to astronomy professor and SPRYE member Dinah Moche, astronomers consider life beyond earth to be a very real possibility. Hear about the top new astronomical discoveries and exciting 21st century space missions; see spectacular space photographs, and decide what you think. Dinah Moche, PhD is Professor Emeritus of Physics and Astronomy at Queensborough Community College of CUNY.  She is an award-winning author and lecturer whose 27 books have sold more than ten million copies in eight languages. Wainwright House, 260 Stuyvesant Ave., Rye. Free
 
Saturday, May 20: Saturday Night Out.  Time to be determined. Depending on interest and what is available in local movie houses, there will be an offering of movie and dinner. Please check with office if interested in attending.
 
Tuesday, May 23- Trip to Audubon Center in Greenwich, Ct. Details to follow.
 
Thursday, June 8 from 6-8 pm: Member/Board barbecue at the home of Roz and Joe Carvin, Rye Brook. 
 
Friday, June 9 at 9 am:  Monthly current events discussion/breakfast at  Ruby's Oyster Bar, 45 Purchase St., Rye. Breakfast a la carte.
 
Tuesday, June 13 at TBD :  Trip to a museum. Details to follow.
 
Saturday, June 17: Saturday Night Out.  Time to be determined. Depending on interest and what is available in local movie houses, there will be an offering of movie and dinner. Please check with office if interested in attending.
 
Wednesday, June 21 from 3-4:30 pm:   "From Classical Music to Broadway -from Borodin to Kismet - A Fascinating Journey." A presentation by Ed Pressman, an Adjunct Professor at Westchester Community College (WCC) in the Mainstream Program where he teaches History and Current Events. He is a member of the Board of Collegium at WCC and teaches American history, classical music and musicals of Broadway, focusing on how they reflect the American narrative. He is a graduate of Columbia College and retired from the paper industry in 2009. Wainwright House, 260 Stuyvesant Ave., Rye. Free.
 
Friday, July 14 at 9 am:  Monthly current events discussion/breakfast at  Ruby's Oyster Bar, 45 Purchase St., Rye. Breakfast a la carte.
 
Saturday, July 15: Saturday Night Out.  Time to be determined. Depending on interest and what is available in local movie houses, there will be an offering of movie and dinner. Please check with office if interested in attending.
 
Wednesday, July 19 from 4-6 pm:     A repeat of the popular Cruise to Nowhere. Details to follow. 
Tell your friends about SPRYE. We have many services to offer that can make a difference in the lives of older adults in the community who want to remain active, independent and socially connected.  We now can help with grocery shopping/delivery, mail sorting, and home tech help.