First impressions are lasting impressions, and the Hospitality Committee uses early visits with new residents to offer a warm welcome, lots of information and some practical support as new residents move into University Village.
On moving day, a committee member leaves a map of University Village, a Welcome to Our Community card and a Hospitality calling card. A phone call follows, then a visit in which the new resident receives a Hospitality bag overflowing with information about UV communication and services, the library and the store; opportunities at Cal Lutheran University; and contacts for
resources in Thousand Oaks and the surrounding area. Each month, Trader Joe‘s generously contributes bags containing coffee, cookies, snacks, oatmeal, and ingredients for a quick meal, perhaps pasta and marinara sauce – comfort and convenience for first days in this new home.
Sometimes the first conversation includes surprises. Jan Strawn, the efficient current chairman, tells of discovering that a new resident had lived on the same street, a couple of blocks away, and they had never met before. The chat also offers continuing contact – dinner in the dining room, where other introductions are made, and perhaps attending a first Town Hall meeting together.
These front-line greeters were first organized, in February 2008, by Mary Ann Bang and Ann Motte, who still serve. Committee members are selected for their friendliness, knowledge about our community and their innate gift of hospitality. They foresee a continuous opportunity, as UVTO people move out of their units and the next occupants arrive – hospitably welcomed and soon to become new friends. Council liaison Ken Warkentien says, "The committee is sincere, creative in its organization, very hospitable – their committee name really sticks."
Another granddaughter! That may not be the first impression Tammy Worley expects, but she knows that‘s how we have felt about her predecessors. She‘s charming, talented, and experienced in activities management and writing – perfectly qualified for this role.
Tammy was born and grew up in Oxnard, graduated from Chico State University and came home to this area. After two years as an insurance claims adjuster ("Not fun," she reports), she joined the Affinity Group, owners of the Good Sam Club. While writing a column for their newsletter, she became involved with members, one on one. When there was a position opening, she was invited to become their club activities director. From Ventura she ran a nationwide program of "Samborees," social gatherings of RV owners with activities built around local themes. The faltering economy took its toll, and Tammy left the organization – heading for UVTO.
Tammy‘s family includes her parents, who have retired to Maine, and two brothers and their wives and children. Oh, and Tammy‘s two dogs and a cat! She looks forward to matching faces to stories she has already heard about us – so welcome to our world, Tammy!
- By Peggy Perry -
GREEN is not just for St. Patrick‘s Day! "Going Green" has two parts at University Village: the resource conservation programs initiated by management and the efforts of residents. Mark Anderson, Director of Plant Operations, provides the following insights.
WATER IS ALWAYS A BIG ISSUE. In our semi-arid climate, water wise slope- and ground-cover plants do their natural bit to help control evaporation; recent rains have helped. Campus landscapers keep a close eye on weather and regularly reset
watering timers. A local conservation company will report soon on water usage in UVTO‘s pool, ponds, lake, sprinkler system and kitchen, plus how residents in selected units manage water. Improvement steps will be taken in common areas, and recommendations will be suggested for residents.
OK – let‘s get "it" out of the way first. Yes, it takes a long time for our circulation system to deliver hot water. While waiting, it‘s tempting to walk a mile or write a novel, but don‘t. Be patient, and use your hot water as soon as it arrives.
DID YOU KNOW WATER HEATS AND COOLS OUR HOMES? According to Mark Anderson, this is the most efficient, available method of temperature control. Three immense boilers heat water for this system – which is completely separate from the 'shower and sink‘ supply. When usage decreases, a boiler (or two) shuts down. It‘s OK to keep your thermostat set at a constant, comfortable temperature, without "green guilt," as this water is always flowing past your unit, ready for efficient heating or cooling.
OTHER "GREEN" PROCEDURES INCLUDE LIGHTING. Wherever practical, fluorescent bulbs have already replaced incandescent. LED units, available for almost every application, will be added over time, subject to resident response, complimentary or constructively critical.
RECYCLING, PARTICULARLY OF NEWSPAPER,
is the single, simplest way residents can help conservation efforts. Thousand Oaks collects paper, metal, glass and recyclable plastics in one container, so recycling is convenient. Cardboard, particularly packing boxes and corrugated sheets, are sorted and sold to a different recycler; stacking those items separately in your trash rooms, or curbside, is helpful.
So, GO GREEN! We
can conserve precious natural resources.
On her eighteenth birthday, Clara Knopfler‘s mother made her a magnificent cake - three slices of hoarded bread coated with marmalade. The month was January, 1945, and the place was East Prussia. They had survived Auschwitz-Birkenau, the Nazi concentration camp.
Clara was born in Transylvania and lived a comfortable, village life. Her father was a shoe manufacturer, and Clara dreamed of becoming a teacher. Life was pleasant until 1940 when Transylvania was occupied by Hungarians, Hitler‘s first allies in World War II. During her sophomore year in high school, her family was taken to Auschwitz. Her 19-year old brother was shot to death in front of her father, who later perished in a death march. In all, thirty-seven members of her extended family died.
Pepi Deutsch, Clara‘s mother, protected her daughter fiercely as they weathered months of hunger, cold, lice and savagery from their guards. They developed a habit of caring for each other that persisted for five decades, from Communist Romania to immigration to the United states in 1962 and in the new life they built here and enjoyed until Pepi‘s death at age 101 in 1999. Clara‘s biography,
"I Am Still Here” My Mother’s Voice is her tribute to Pepi.
Liberated from the camp in April, 1945, Clara recuperated and studied for school exams with the Christian friends who inspired her as they shared their books and class notes. She re-entered high school as a senior and passed the baccalaureate. At the University, Clara became a language and history major – she speaks seven languages and knows classical Latin! Here she met her future husband, Paul, who had also lost his entire family in the Holocaust. He received his degree as a pharmaceutical chemist; they married and had one son. Unfortunately, Paul lost his life at age 68 in an industrial accident in his own plant.
For thirty-two years Clara taught high school in the United States, primarily languages, but sometimes about literature in languages she didn‘t speak. She didn‘t speak Italian, but she taught Dante‘s The Divine Comedy; not speaking Spanish, she nevertheless taught Cervantes‘ Don Quixote. But Clara‘s life mission is to tell the story of the Holocaust. Through her book and lectures, she is still doing her part to insure that the infamy will never be forgotten or repeated.
Clara‘s son George, who lives in Thousand Oaks with his family, discovered University Village. Clara has traveled the world extensively and has spent much of the past two years with family and friends in Scarsdale, NY. But her story offers an insightful understanding of the human soul – the depths to which it can sink, and the heights to which it can soar. She deeply appreciates her University Village home and the friends of whom she is now a Noteworthy Neighbor.