The Chronicle A monthly newsletter published by The Men’s Club of Sun City Center for its members The purpose of The Men’s Club of Sun City Center is to provide and promote charitable community service, cultural, social and civic interest, and to cooperate with other clubs and organizations in the best interest of Sun City Center. May 2020 Established in 1963 Volume 28, Number 5 After many years of stellar service to our club, John and Linda Bowker have advised us that they will no longer be able to handle reservations for Men’s Club meetings. Club President David Floyd said, “We are extremely grateful to John and Linda for the many long hours they devoted to recording the hundreds of monthly emails, phone calls and direct communications concerning the monthly reservations; they will be a hard act to follow.” Your Board of Directors reached out to our membership to see if there is a volunteer or volunteers interested in taking on the position and Mike Albanese, former Vice (Reservaons ...connued on page 2) Because of the uncertainty that the Community Association’s Community Hall will be open in May, the May luncheon, which is our annual Ladies Luncheon will be postponed until June and most likely modified. The Board will be discussing how we can perhaps expand the Ladies Luncheon concept to more of a community recognition event in June for our members to celebrate coming out of quarantine. Please note there will be no luncheon in May. I think most of us felt back in March that self- quarantining would end in late April, but due to the continuing uncertainties. I think the quarantine I think will at least run through May, hopefully not longer. As time goes by, we all know a quarantine starts to get old and we are tempted to begin to restart our normal activities. I urge all of you to stay the course and continue quarantining in order to not only protect ourselves, but our loved ones, friends, and neighbors. The number of Covid-19 cases in Hillsborough County continues to rise. Our Zip Code, 33573 which includes; Sun City Center, parts of Ruskin and Apollo Beach, and the southern part of Riverview, has less than 20 cases reported at the time of my writing this column. We pray that this low number continues as Sun City Center is a high-risk community. Quarantining seems to be working for us. The Men’s Club Board hopes to have the club up and running on June 1 st . We would like at that time to begin scheduling events and activities for our membership and return to normalcy. We will keep you advised of this. When we open, we will need volunteers to help with the luncheons and other special events. Please consider volunteering to help the Men’s Club. Our Lifeline will most likely need some more VIPs to help with the servicing The GAVEL A report from your President David Floyd Mike Albanese to Take Over John and Linda Bowker “Retire” from Club Reservation Management Linda and John Bowker stand in front of a plaque dedicang the Community Informaon Center to John. Bill Hodges Photo Mike Albanese
Transcript
The Chronicle A monthly newsletter published by The Men’s Club of Sun City Center for its members
The purpose of The Men’s Club of Sun City Center is to provide and promote charitable community service, cultural, social and civic
interest, and to cooperate with other clubs and organizations in the best interest of Sun City Center.
May 2020 Established in 1963 Volume 28, Number 5
After many years of stellar service to our club, John and
Linda Bowker have advised us that they will no longer
be able to handle reservations for Men’s Club meetings.
Club President David Floyd said, “We are extremely
grateful to John and Linda for the many
long hours they devoted to recording the
hundreds of monthly emails, phone calls
and direct communications concerning the
monthly reservations; they will be a hard
act to follow.”
Your Board of Directors reached out to our
membership to see if there is a volunteer
or volunteers interested in taking on the
position and Mike Albanese, former Vice
(Reservations ...continued on page 2)
Because of the uncertainty that the Community
Association’s Community Hall will be open in May, the
May luncheon, which is our annual Ladies Luncheon will
be postponed until June and most likely modified. The
Board will be discussing how we can perhaps expand the
Ladies Luncheon concept to more of a community
recognition event in June for our members to celebrate
coming out of quarantine.
Please note there will be no luncheon in May.
I think most of us felt back in March that self-
quarantining would end in late April, but due to the
continuing uncertainties. I think the quarantine I think
will at least run through May, hopefully not longer. As
time goes by, we all know a quarantine starts to get old
and we are tempted to begin to restart our normal
activities. I urge all of you to stay the course and
continue quarantining in order to not only protect
ourselves, but our loved ones, friends, and neighbors.
The number of Covid-19 cases in Hillsborough County
continues to rise. Our Zip Code, 33573 which includes;
Sun City Center, parts of Ruskin and Apollo Beach, and
the southern part of Riverview, has less than 20 cases
reported at the time of my writing this column. We pray
that this low number continues as Sun City Center is a
high-risk community. Quarantining seems to be working
for us.
The Men’s Club Board hopes to have the club up and
running on June 1st. We would like at that time to begin
scheduling events and activities for our membership and
return to normalcy. We will keep you advised of this.
When we open, we will need volunteers to help with the
luncheons and other special events. Please consider
volunteering to help the Men’s Club. Our Lifeline will
most likely need some more VIPs to help with the
servicing
The GAVEL
A report from your President
David Floyd
Mike Albanese to Take Over
John and Linda Bowker “Retire” from
Club Reservation Management
Linda and John Bowker stand in front of a plaque dedicating the Community Information Center to John.
Bill Hodges Photo
Mike Albanese
The Chronicle Page 2
President for District Operations has stepped forward to
assume the role. Mike is not unfamiliar with the role,
handling some of the reservation functions in the past.
As you know, reservations are made both by phone and
by email. The reservations manager will have a
dedicated phone line installed in his house (at club
expense) along with an answering machine to capture
incoming reservations. The reservations manager will
have to record those phone reservations and will also
have to monitor incoming emailed reservations and
collect information from members.
Reservations for regular luncheons are captured on an
Excel spreadsheet, organized alphabetically and provided
to the reservation clerks in advance of each
meeting. The manager is also responsible for providing
an accurate count of the number of reservations to our
Steward on the Monday before a meeting.
Reservations for couples’ luncheons arrive generally by
mail or are collected at meetings. As you know, these
reservations are paid for in advance, so the reservations
manager also collects checks for the event and turns
them into the office for deposit. It is the reservations
manager who makes table assignments for the event.
(Continued from page 1)
Reservations...
Club Has Volunteer Opportunities in
Health Care and Lifeline Programs REMINDER
All Club Activities are cancelled
during the month of May
including:
Our Monthly Meeting
2nd Monday Health Seminar
Health Care Support Groups
Lifeline Support Activities
The Men’s Club thrives in this community because of the
many members who volunteer their time and efforts to
ensure that our many projects succeed. Each time a call
for volunteers goes out, we hear from so many of you
answering that call. Well, here goes another call, but a
little bit different this time.
Two of our most vital activities are the Men’s Club
Lifeline and our Men’s Club Health Projects. Bob
Sullivan and Vince Lopez are doing an admirable job
leading this effort. However, the Board of Directors has
decided it is time to get them some help.
We are looking for members to serve as assistants to the
Vice Presidents to take off some of the load of Bob and
Vince’s shoulders.
For Lifeline, we are looking for someone who would
help with the marketing effort, making presentations to
community groups and otherwise engaging in outreach to
promote this vital community service.
For Health, we are looking for someone who would
assist Vince in organizing and directing next year’s
Health Fair as well as assisting in our liaison with our
various support groups.
If you are interested in learning more about either of
these volunteer activities, reach out to President David
Floyd or to President-Elect Bruce Fraser.
Though our Lifeline Office is formally closed right
now, we need to say thanks to Nellie and Mike Brock
for holding down the fort and taking care of a few
issues that have popped up.
If you are a Lifeline subscriber and have a problem,
you can still call our office at 633-7091.
The Chronicle Page 3
The IRS suspected a fishing boat owner wasn't paying proper wages to his
Deckhand and sent an agent to investigate him.
IRS AUDITOR: "I need a list of your employees and how much you
pay them".
Boat Owner: "Well, there's Clarence, my deckhand, he's been with
me for 3 years. I pay him $1,000 a week plus free room and
board. Then there's the mentally challenged guy. He works
about 18 hours every day and does about 90% of the work
around here. He makes about $10 per week, pays his own room
and board, and I buy him a bottle of Bacardi rum and a dozen
Budweiser's every Saturday night so he can cope with life. He
also gets to sleep with my wife occasionally".
IRS AUDITOR: "That's the guy I want to talk to – the mentally
challenged one".
Boat Owner: "That would be me. What would you like to know"?
A WORD FOR YOU NON-RENEWING MEMBERS
Every year the club deletes the names of members not renewing their membership. This normally occurs in mid-March. This year since we did not have meetings in March and April, we extended the deadline as many members often wait until the last moment and pay at the April meeting. Due to the COVID-19 virus we deleted the names on April 22nd this year.
If you had not renewed your membership by paying the dues the May Chronicle will be your last issue.
Dues help fund our events and support our community projects. Knowing our budget limitations is very important for our planning purposes,
Non-members cannot not make a luncheon reservation or attend the luncheons.
If you are unsure if you paid, you may contact Jon Lehr at 813-260-3058 or simply mail your payment to our office at 1002 Cherry Hills Blvd.
DEPARTMENT
D E L I N Q U E N T D U E S
Men’s Club Board Goes Hi-Tech, to Convene Virtual Meeting Via Zoom
Undeterred by the current Stay-at-Home orders, the Board
of Directors of your Men’s Club will hold its regular May
meeting on Monday, May 4. However, instead of
convening face-to-face in one of the Community
Association’s conference rooms, this meeting will be
different. The May 4 meeting will be convened via the
Zoom videoconferencing software.
Zoom is one of several video chat programs that have
blossomed during the current health crisis. It allows real
time interaction among participants using video-equipped
computers or smart phones. Even the SCC Community
Association has used it for community meetings.
At its May board meeting, directors
will be considering whether format
changes are in order for our
monthly meetings when they
resume in June or July. Look for a
report in next month’s edition of
The Chronicle regarding any
changes which may be proposed by the Board.
The Chronicle Page 4
By Pamela Varkony
Chronicle Contributor
Those of us who live in Sun City Center or Kings Point are either members
of the Greatest Generation, 75 and older, or members of the Baby Boom,
55 to 74. No matter which generation we’re in, we’ve been through many
national milestones, from war to assassinations to terrorism to recession.
And what we know, what our experiences and our values have taught us
is that we always come out on the other side stronger and more
determined. It is that hard-won wisdom and grit that made America an
industrial giant after WW II, healed the racial divide of the 60’s, and saw
the Freedom Tower rise on hallowed ground in New York.
That strength and wisdom is now standing us in good stead as we face
down COVID-19 by being willing to make the sacrifices necessary to keep
our families, friends, and communities safe.
Someday, soon, we will gather again and celebrate having
survived one more milestone.
Pamela Varkony and her husband Zsolt
are residents of Sun City Center. She is an
award winning writer and speaker. In 2017
she was named a Pearl S. Buck
International Woman of Influence. Zsolt is
a member of our Men’s Club.
The Chronicle Page 5
Have I got a test for you!
A crook will tell you that you can get a free DNA swab test to determine if you have the virus or other diseases. However, to be eligible for the free test you must provide the crook your Medicare information. Once armed with the Medicare number, the crook can bill Medicare for thousands of dollars of services never provided. You have your free (but worthless) test and the government is on the hook for untold dollar paid to the perpetrator.
Moral: Don’t be fooled by offers of free medical services and provide your number only in connection with actual services delivered by bona fide providers.
COMPILED BY ART SMITH, EDITOR IN CHIEF
I can cure you!
You get an email offering a coronavirus vaccine or access to critical medical equipment The offer is enticing and there is easy access to the site which asks for your credit card information. Sadly, however, the product or serum never arrives or is defective when delivered.
Moral: Be wary of email offers during a crisis, no matter how good they sound. ‘If the scoundrels are not stealing your money they might have other nefarious schemes, such as
You’ve Got Mail
The email compromise scam is a fast-growing type of phishing scam in which fraudsters impersonate others to trick victims into sending money. The scam relies on sophisticated techniques in spoofing (making fake emails and business documents look convincing) and spear phishing (researching a mark to launch highly targeted attacks). Scammers might also use malware to infiltrate a computer networks and access email exchanges about financial matters. This form of fraud can pay off: Victims of these scams reported nearly $1.3 billion in losses to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) in 2018, almost twice the total from the prior year.
Deputy Jeffery E. Merry Jr.
From the Department of Treasury:
If you receive calls, emails, or other communications
claiming to be from the Treasury Department and offering COVID-19 related grants or stimulus payments in exchange for personal financial information, or an advance fee, or charge of any kind, including the purchase of gift cards, please do not respond. These are scams. Please contact the FBI at www.ic3.gov so that the scammers can be tracked and stopped. Fraud involving payment of Federal taxes should be reported to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.
Moral: Be skeptical of any callers who use the term Covid19 in any phone call. Chances are very high that you are being scammed.
