Not a committee, but a group open to all the men of University Village, the Men's Club invites all residents (including the ladies) to their twice-monthly morning programs in Catalina Hall. On the second and fourth Mondays each month, a light buffet at 8:45 precedes the 9:00 meeting, speaker and questions – the program ends promptly at 10.
Initiated in 2007 by John Bardgette, Gene Motte and Blaine Shull, the first meeting boasted attendance of eighteen gentlemen. On February 25, when UVTO's own John Shields told the Trader Joe's and other retailing stories, one audience count tallied 155 men and women. Jim Norris, Villa resident, chairs a board of nine members who work together to engage speakers who are stimulating and entertaining. In coming weeks, pending board approval, these will include residents Fitz Fulton (2/22), Gene Motte (3/8), and Col. Jack Leaper (3/22); plus James R. Wilburn, the Dean of Pepperdine's School of Public Policy (2/8), Thomas Holeman, a retired undercover narcotic detective for LASD (4/12), and Mas Okui, presenting a history of his parents' life in Manzanar (4/26).
A roster, UVTO Men's Club Profiles, has been compiled to facilitate getting acquainted. It includes information about members' former residences, education, careers, interests and family – a useful resource in identifying common grounds for new friendships. All men, including newer residents, are encouraged to submit their profiles, and this directory is available to everyone. Just call Frank Bollinger, 3326, to obtain the roster, a profile form or e-mailed updates.
- By Peggy Perry -
It's February and Cupid will soon be pulling arrows out of his quiver once again. Just look around in the dining rooms, the mailbox areas, the gathering places. There's evidence everywhere of what love has become in these later decades, in this, our newest home. Marriages of sixty and more years are not uncommon, and those couples still hold hands. Shorter unions, of partners found after earlier losses, provide widespread joy. New, close relationships have developed – we rejoice, but don't want to delve this one too deeply! The world loves lovers, and this community is filled with them.
In these later decades, we relate and love at many levels, particularly in this place where many folks are still physically active and involved. Not long ago the statistical breakdown of gender at UVTO, calculated by scanning the 2009 Winter Resident Directory, was roughly 30% couples, 60% women alone and 10% men alone. Seven tenths of the folks here do not have a live-in, long-time partner to turn to for everyday companionship and emotional support. How do they, we, find day to day sociability?
Everywhere, but perhaps most of all in the dining rooms, we recognize "friend groups" together regularly. Deeply supportive friendships have developed among regular mealtime companions, whether men, women or mixed groups. Other folks request being seated with someone different every evening, a congenial way to make new friends. If you are one who usually "orders to go," do consider having meals in the dining room as a way of staying connected and expanding your horizons. If you regularly eat alone, or as a twosome with a spouse or friend, why not occasionally try a table for four? You'll have some delightful surprises, and new residents will feel welcomed and at home all the sooner.
After recent "norovirus" quarantines, even residents who socialize regularly have found it too easy to get into a habit of climbing out of bed later than usual, spending just a little longer with the Star or the Times or the Journal, lingering over one more cup of coffee. Wet weather can exacerbate the isolation – it takes less energy to stay dry and cozy, maybe still wrapped in a bathrobe, than to scurry to the clubhouse for breakfast, hear an afternoon speaker, enjoy an after-dinner program. So, shake out the cobwebs, folks. Keep walking, keep interacting.
And remember to love yourself. Did you know that if you use a pedometer to measure the steps you take, your activity level is considered sedentary up to 5,000 steps a day? How long is a step? The translation to distance walked is a little hazy, but a mile is 5,280 feet – does 'sedentary' imply walking about a mile a day? That's the distance from the gatehouse past Lakeview, around Villa Circle, and back down Campus Drive to the main entrance! Skip sedentary. Stay sociable, stay active. Keep on loving. Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!
- By Peggy Perry -
On February 11 nine healthcare professionals will be honored by the Ventura County Medical Resource Foundation – one will be Lois Friss, a Villa resident. Lois and Jerry were actually the first full-time Villa residents of University Village, moving in on July 2, 2007. But let's go back a few years...
When they met in the dining hall at Syracuse University, both Lois and Jerry were in school as recipients of New York State Scholarships. Their first date was dinner at a Chinese restaurant, and they still have the sugar cube wrapper from that significant meal. Married between their junior and senior years, Jerry completed his degree in Business Administration, and Lois earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. As newlyweds, they sold blood to buy groceries, though Lois had to run up and down stairs a bit to pass the blood pressure test before donating.
Jerry entered the U.S. Army, in the Military Police at 3rd Army headquarters in Georgia. His experience in security expanded, and he subsequently worked with guidance systems at North American Aviation and military security at Vandenberg Air Force Base in Santa Maria. Following his aerospace involvement, Jerry became an expert on computer systems for the management of physicians' medical practice, eventually leaving a private company, Intellectron, to work independently.
His expertise made his chairmanship of UVTO's Safety, Security and Transportation Committee a natural. Looking at issues 'globally,' Jerry believes the committee increased its awareness of campus security and how it works, and has recognized and pursued appropriate roles in working with management on broad security issues. Specific accomplishments include installation of the speed monitoring sign, repainted road markings, directional signs at the main entry and the popular handrail down the steps from the clubhouse to the lower patio area.
While Jerry was in the Army in Atlanta, Lois began her nursing career. Jerry enrolled in an MBA program at UCLA; Lois accepted a teaching position at the Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital School of Nursing. Earning a Master's degree and Doctor of Public Health at UCLA, her focus has been on policy and area-wide approaches to health care issues, as she worked for Riverside County Head Start, at Loma Linda University, and as a professor at USC. Also at USC, she volunteered as President of the Retired Faculty and was ombudsman for the Emeriti Center for retired staff and faculty. Locally, her focus is regional planning for public health efforts, in chronic disease management for seniors. Her award as Volunteer of the Year recognizes her work on the advisory committee of the Ventura County Area Agency on Aging and as chair of the county's Health Issues Committee.
Jerry and Lois have two daughters: Karen is a director of Eli Lilly in Indianapolis and has two children, and Leslie is a Nationwide Insurance claims manager. They have a passion for Native American pottery and for genealogical study of their families. We recognize their talents and accomplishments, and salute them both as February's Noteworthy Neighbors