Announcing Changing Faces and New Faces
Changing Faces
Thank you to long-time volunteer Tela Skinner for leading the Art of Aging/ Art of Dying program for so many years! And introducing new program co-leads Deb Cipolla and Michele Duncan King.
In January 2016 Tela Skinner, Mary Ruhl, Lane de Moll, Gloria Gostnell, Claudia Johnson, Kathleen Moore, Kathie Hightower and Paula Sansom gathered to discuss this question: What is the thing you fear most, and love most, about aging?
The group chose to take the conversation into the community, starting the Art of Aging/of Dying discussion series under the umbrella of the Hoffman Center – quickly realizing it is two big related but distinctive topics.
The Art of Aging: how to stay active and engaged, find community and purpose, be proactive towards our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health as we age. To age in place in a way that works for us. And, The Art of Dying: what we need to have in place for the end stages and for death, from paperwork and rituals to important spiritual and emotional preparation to decisions about what happens to our bodies.
Over four years AoA/AoD volunteers presented 100 programs, some peer led, others with outside experts. They also hosted This Chair Rocks, local original music and performance on aging. While the 2020 schedule was waylaid by Covid, AoA/AoD discussions continue in the Wonder Garden every Tuesday, and we are looking to Zoom presentations and discussions in future until we can fully gather again.
Beginning in July, 2020, we welcome volunteers Michele Duncan King and Deborah Cipolla who stepped in as new Co-Leads for this series! Michele and Deb look forward to building on the group’s strong foundation by continuing to offer opportunities for meaningful discussion, education and enjoyment to the community.
We all shout a big THANK YOU! to Tela Skinner for her deep sense of service, being program lead, tackling the lion’s share of scheduling/hosting meetings, organizing all of the communications, and keeping us on track.
New Faces
We welcome our newest board member Manzanita resident, Kathryn Stock.
Stock discovered the Hoffman Center several years ago through its Writing Lounge. “I felt the welcoming atmosphere immediately,” she said. “Here was a group of people really dedicated to writing and pleased to encourage the writing of others, regardless if they were a beginner or a published author.”
Born in Mimico, Ontario, Stock would have been the sixth generation of her family to live there had her parents not moved to the United States when she was a child. She retired from Nike after a 26-year career in Supply Chain operations.
Stock and her wife Deb Tinnin enjoy time spent with family and friends, travel, and living in Manzanita. She is an avid reader, dedicated family historian and sometime writer.
“I firmly believe in the mission and vision of the Hoffman Center,” she said. “I would also hope to be a part of visioning what the Hoffman will mean to this community in the next five to 10 years.”
“We are thrilled to have someone with Kathryn’s skills and passion for the arts join us,” said Hoffman Board President Mary Roberts. “Her involvement will be important to the Center as we look to and plan for the future.”
