NEWSLETTER December 2025

Hello everyone! Well, as we are winding down 2025, I hope all of you are

looking forward to a fresh start for 2026. Sometimes it’s good to reflect on

where we are in our lives and adjust what might need a bit of tweaking.

There is always room for growth and change might be difficult but certainly

not impossible. We are never too old to improve ourselves.

As a recap of the year, the Friends put on 30 food events this year. I would

rate most of them as a success and we couldn’t have pulled them off

without the help of some very dedicated volunteers! Our 30th event of the year

is on the 16th of this month when we gather together for our Ugly Sweater

contest and Holiday Social. Our plans for 2026 are for at least the same number

of lunches and special dinners and we hope to continue mixing things up

and trying new things in that department.

We have some bingo news. We will no longer have a pre-bingo lunch

offering. The intent and hope were that folks would come for lunch and stay

for bingo but unfortunately it did not pan out that way. Also beginning in

April, we will put on a bingo bash once a month. Currently we do it every

other month and will continue to do so with the plans for January and

March since that information is already published.

As you may be aware, the city bond failed to pass. As far as what the city

may intend to do, I have no clue. Personally, I voted for it but was skeptical

that it would pass as we were all hit with a big property tax increase this

year for the fire district. Back-to-back tax hikes was not an attractive

situation for most of us. That being said, and the city revenue shortfall this

year, the Friends are proposing a new program.

Memberships are falling behind and I started thinking about how to raise

more funds. We are proposing a Patron program. It’s still in the works but

basically as a Patron, donors would agree to support the Friends in our

endeavors by pledging a certain amount of money on a yearly basis. You

would receive a free membership (possibly for life), a free luncheon each

December where we would give patrons our statistics for the year and our

plans for the next year and several other parameters that are still in

discussion. Of course, all donations are tax deductible. So, keep this in

mind and please feel free to contact us with any ideas you may have or if

you think you might be interested in this program. We hope to launch it

early next year.

Wishing you and your families a very Merry Christmas and the Happiest of

New Years! See you in 2026!

Karen O.