July 2019 Meeting

July’s meeting was held at Cloverdale Funeral Home’s event center and was co-sponsored by Debra Browning from Keller Williams Realty, Devin Fahrner from Finance of America, and Debi Grant from Caring Transitions. It was catered by Olive Garden, so naturally we ate roughly twelve million breadsticks. There was a full pasta bar, too, so I mixed some meat sauce with some alfredo and ate it with chicken and sausage and I’M NOT SORRY.

Aaron was out of town this month (possibly on vacation, possibly on a secret government mission), so VP Jackie Smith took over for him. We introduced a couple guests to kick things off, then went right into the announcements.

We were uncharacteristically light on announcements this month, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t important! Kathy Lacina told us about the Idaho Health Continuum of Care Alliance’s Annual Conference coming up on Thursday, August 9th. Check out the flier on our calendar for more information on that. Jackie also told us about the ongoing efforts to get a categorized member directory completed. She also read us a message from one of our scholarship recipients from Caregiver of the Year that really reminded us all of the positivity we spread in the community.

After the announcements, our sponsors got a chance to introduce themselves. Debra Browning kicked things off by telling us about her work in real estate, specifically with the elderly around the Treasure Valley.

Following Debra, Debi Grant talked about Caring Transitions, and how they help with downsizing and dealing with estates after a loved one passes.

Finally, Devin Fahrner from Finance of America talked to us about reverse mortgages (pardon, HECMs), and worked to dispel some myths around the product.

Our education this month was courtesy of Mark Wight. He gave us a presentation on the Veteran’s Aid and Attendance Benefit, and veterans’ rights in general. Specifically, that legally only attorneys can apply on behalf of a client, and that they cannot charge to do so. He gave us some other information on VA benefits that had to do with veterans and Medicaid and the various benefits available to them, and the unfortunate reality of scammers and predators that go after them. He also cleared up a few scenarios in which a client may or may not still be eligible, because this may surprise you when dealing with the government, but it’s pretty confusing.

He also offered us all a free copy of the book he wrote about getting real about death and disability.

Mike Briggs also jumped up at the end to give Mark a shout out about his services for veterans, but it was likely because he had no guests or announcements this meeting and hadn’t spoken yet. Ha!

After the education there were a couple more announcements – one about a new organization for home care companies and one from the Alzheimer’s Association about their upcoming walk.

There were also door prizes! A $40 Village Cinemas gift card and two $10 Dutch Bros cards were given out, as well as a spring flower arrangement.

It was a great meeting, and we’ll see you all again in August!