Volunteer of the Month
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Featured Class
Watercolors
Date: January 29, 2026
Time: 9:00 - 11:00 am
Length: 8 weeks
Cost: $8.00 members
$8.00 non-members
Instructor: Ernesto Almada
Location: in one of our rooms
Description: The Watercolors class continues with our 'seasoned' Instructor Ernesto Almada. While he may be a new instructor here, neither art, nor teaching is new to him. Ernesto is an Art major and has spent 33 years in the school district as a bilingual tutor. During that time he worked with an after school program. During that time he taught young students art skill, but teaching adults would be no different. He had several students who earned awards in local art shows.
Featured Activity
T.O.P.S.
Time: Tuesdays 8:30 - 10:00 am
Cost: members
non-members
Location: Sun Room
Description: For anyone who has tried to lose weight, you know how hard it can be. Well you don’t have to do it alone. T.O.P.S. or Taking Off Pounds Sensibly is a group dedicated to helping others shedding some pounds. TOPS is a national organization with regional groups that meet. TOPS does not sell food or have one stop meal plans. They help you reach your weight-loss goals by focusing on health and providing you with the tools, information, support, and accountability for YOU to lose the weight. TOPS can't do the work for you. You only get out of TOPS what you put into it. At the meetings there are private weigh-ins before they start, then members share challenges, successors, or goals. This is followed by a brief program as well as awards to the best losers (that’s a good thing), contest winners, and members who’ve reached their goal. Our group meets here at the Center every Tuesday at 8:15 a.m. Everyone who wants to take off or keep off pounds is welcome. Come visit and find out what they are all about. Their motto is “As intelligent persons we will control our emotions and not let our emotions control us.” Of course this carries over to our eating habits. They hope to see you there. And less of you every time thereafter!
Voluteer Recognition 2015
By: Mike Sylva
This years theme for our Volunteer Recognition Luncheon was Volunteers Plant the Seeds of Kindness, and our volunteers would put the Huntington Gardens to shame with the amount of seeks they plant. Yet while volunteers took center stage, it is also for all our sponsors who do so much for the center as well.
Our Volunteers of the Month from July 2014 - June 2015 were : July - Terri Long, August - Bonnie Hubers, September - Linda Nix, October - Diane Kassotis, November - Junior Carrillo, December - Carol Rosales, January - Aneta Giltner, February - Don Harper, March - the Kitchen Crew (Virginia Kauztman, Don Clay, Marge Booth, Joan Breiten, and Rosetta Love), April - The Food Program Crew (Junior Carrillo, John Henry, and Marty Martinez, May - Dave & Judy Borgshatz, June - Betty Snyder. Each were presented with small tokens of our esteem, personalized pots with Aloe Vera plants in keeping not only with our plant theme, but also our drought consciousness. Each volunteer of the year also received commendations from the political dignitaries.
However, the highlight came with the announcement of the Volunteer of the Year. Tears came to Pennys eyes when she began talking about Dianne Kassotis. Penny described how Dianne stepped up big this year when she took over the Travel Office, going from a one day a week volunteer to 5 days a week.
Wed like to thank all the volunteers, including those that could not make the awards ceremony, for their constant and unwavering desire to help improve the center and the lives of others. Without them, the Center would not be what it is today. Special thanks go out to the many sponsors of the event, especially Title Sponsor, the San Manual Tribe of Mission Indians, without whose generosity, this event would not have been possible.
