Manor of the Plains Community Matters March 2021

Manor of the Plains

MARCH 2021

Inspired early in life, Dr. Sedley Hall dedicated his career to teaching others Most people can point to a certain person in their life who had a major influence on who they would later become. For Dr. Sedley Hall, who has lived at Manor of the Plains for the past seven years, it was a coach/teacher at his high school.

COVID-19 updates continue

“He was such a nice guy, and I wanted to be just like him,” said Sedley.

So, following a 10-year career in the Navy which took him to the South Pacific during World War II, Sedley Sedley Hall enrolled at the University of Nebraska, where he would go on to earn a bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate in education.

Sedley’s first teaching job out of college was at a rural high school operated by the State of Nebraska.

“The kids all came and lived on the campus of this high school—just like they were going to college—only they were 13 years old,” said Sedley. “They were great kids, but they didn’t know much about the world.”

The students’ overall lack of understanding was made painfully clear one day when Sedley was leading a few of them in basketball practice.

“I had the chalk out and was showing my boys a play when this one young kid raised his hand and said, ‘when we’re on the defense does that mean we have the ball or do they?’” said Sedley. “They were good at rodeo, but didn’t know anything about sports.”

Get the latest updates on visitation status, ongoing safety measures and PMMA’s response to COVID19 on your community website at ManorOfThePlains.org/ covid-19. Visitation status is updated weekly on Mondays and as needed as our COVID status changes. You can also send a message to any resident with the Art is Ageless® e-greeting cards.

Find a link on the COVID-19 update page.

Vaccine distribution has begun in our community. Every person who receives the vaccine will strengthen the protection for all residents, staff and the community at-large.

PMMA strongly encourages our families, employees and residents to carefully consider obtaining a vaccine for themselves as well as their loved ones. u

From those auspicious beginnings, Sedley went on to teach at the University of Colorado and Alma College in Michigan where he was a professor for 24 years—retiring in 1987.

Hall continued on page 4 Manor of the Plains | A PMMA COMMUNITY

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Sandra Schartz loves Manor of the Plains for its history When Sandra Schartz and her husband, Russell, moved to Manor of the Plains in 2016, the couple was already intimately familiar with their new surroundings – the community sits on the former campus of St. Mary’s of the Plains College where four of five of the couple’s daughters went to school.

On top of that, two of Russell’s sisters went to the high school that predated St. Mary’s back in the early 1950s.

Resident Sandra Schartz poses with a Christmas tree decorated with ornaments from resident Shirley Ballard’s personal collection.

“We have quite a history here,” said Sandra. “In fact, when they started building Manor of the Plains, we were still involved with St. Mary of the Plains and the Agency on Aging, so I was at the Presbyterian Manor quite a bit.”

The couple moved to the community when Sandra’s sight started to fail and Russell began needing more care. The two have been married since Thanksgiving Day 1957, a fact that was supposed to simplify things as the years passed but has instead added more confusion.

“My husband chose the date because he knew it was a holiday, but forgot it changed every year, so we’ve always celebrated two anniversaries—Thanksgiving Day and the actual date,” said Sandra.

In the nearly five years she has lived at Manor of the Plains, there have been many aspects of the community that Sandra has enjoyed.

“I like the people that live here and the staff has done a great job of keeping us safe from COVID-19,” said Sandra. “Yes, we don’t like the restrictions and all of that, but it’s for our own good and they do keep us safe—this too shall pass.”

Looking toward the future, Sandra feels the community will continue to be a place that will be able to adapt to her needs.

“Personally, I feel very safe here. As my sight gets worse, I know this will be a place where I will be able to get around—I think that is the main thing,” said Sandra. “The staff works for us as we grow older and require more care.” u

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Community Matters 620-225-1928 ◆ Fax: 620-225-3982 200 Campus Dr. Dodge City, KS 67801-2760 ManorOfThePlains.org

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COMMUNITY MATTERS | March 2021

is published monthly for residents and friends of Manor of the Plains

by Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America, Inc., a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization.

To submit or suggest articles: jvanhook@pmma.org John Van Hook, executive director

OUR MISSION: To provide quality senior services guided by Christian values.

PEOPLE GIVING TO PEOPLE

An update on how gifts are changing lives in PMMA communities

IN HER LIFETIME A donor's story

Recently, a longtime friend of PMMA, we’ll call her Agnes, was concerned about burdening her sister with financial decisions and responsibilities when she passes. In order to eliminate the burden for her sister, Agnes wanted to get all of her affairs in order now, but also wanted to accomplish her wishes of helping others. After sharing her thoughts with her advisor and visiting with PMMA’s regional development director, Patti Christen, Agnes was able to spare her sister the task and put her gift to work now.

Agnes made a gift from her donor advised fund for the benefit of the Good Samaritan Program - a program she has supported and appreciated for more than 30 years. She wanted to see the gift in action while she was living. Thanks to Agnes, so many residents have the assurance of the PMMA mission of quality senior services guided by Christian values.

“I’m so thankful for the blessings I have received in my lifetime. It’s my obligation to share it with others. And, I’m so glad my sister doesn’t have to worry about this when I die,” said Agnes, 84. (not her real name to ensure her anonymity)

Spring 2021

(continued)

BETTER TO GIVE THAN TO RECEIVE

by Barbara J. Braa, CTFA, MBA

“It is better to give than to receive.” Why does this old saying still ring true? Isn’t it because the gift giver takes pleasure in seeing their gift in action? That pleasure may cause a donor to give too much.

Sometimes donors give too little, cheating themselves out of the pleasure of giving because they fear running out of money and don’t know their true capacity to give or their giving options.

In the old days, frugal folks made gifts from items at hand, like a quilt from fabric scraps or a dress from flour sacks. Today, a knowledgeable, trusted advisor can help you develop a gift giving budget and help you explore alternative methods for your charitable giving. You may find your ability to give during life may be more than you think!

Barbara J. Braa, CTFA, MBA

If you were taught to never touch your invested assets you may be surprised to learn there are strategies to help maximize your donations by using those investments. For example, a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) is a tax-advantaged way for those over 70

½ to

donate IRA dollars directly to charity and avoid taxation on the IRA withdrawal. Or, you might benefit from donating appreciated non-retirement assets, like stocks and mutual funds and when you transfer those assets directly to a charity, neither you nor the charity pay capital gains taxes on the appreciation.

Seeking advice on a charitable budget and/or utilizing one of the strategies above may help you increase your gift giving ability and your pleasure in seeing your donations in action. Plus, if you budget your donations correctly, you won’t need to revert to giving or wearing a flour sack dress or shirt!

The information in this article is not presented as personal financial or legal advice and should not be relied upon as a substitute for obtaining advice specific to your situation.

Please seek advice from a trusted financial, tax or legal advisor.

Barbara J. Braa, CTFA, MBA is a Vice President & Relationship Officer with Central Trust Company in Lawrence, Kansas. Contact Barbara at 785-865-1065 or Barbara.Braa@centralbank.net.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: 316-685-1100

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DEVELOPMENT@PMMA.ORG

Manor of the Plains Art is Ageless® exhibit and reception features senior artists Local senior artists will be celebrated March 11 through 17 at Manor of the Plains as the community hosts its annual Art is Ageless® exhibit and continues to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Art is Ageless® program.

Works will be on exhibit at the community for residents only. The Art is Ageless exhibit will be held

virtually for friends of the program on the community’s Facebook page, Facebook.com/ManorOfThePlains.

Winners will be announced on Facebook.

Art is Ageless is a trademarked program of PMMA (Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America). The program offers senior artists the opportunity to share and display

their artwork and reaffirms the agelessness of human creativity.

“It’s inspiring to see the beautiful pieces these seniors have created,” said John Van Hook, executive director. “The joy it brings to them and others is wonderful, and that’s something we want to celebrate and share with the entire Dodge City community.”

We respect the privacy of residents and ask that you respect their privacy, too.

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If your photograph, video or Snap includes residents who are not a relative, don’t post it to social media.

The first Art is Ageless calendar was published in 1981, featuring art from Presbyterian Manor community residents. Since then, the program has expanded to include a juried art competition open to all seniors age 65 and older.

Winning pieces at the community level move on to a masterpiece level judging to determine which pieces are featured in the annual calendar and note cards.

For more information about Art is Ageless, visit ArtIsAgeless.org. u

Manor of the Plains | A PMMA COMMUNITY

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200 Campus Dr. Dodge City, KS 67801-2760 RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

Hall – continued from page 1 Following retirement, Sedley continued to teach, but this time it was on an island south of Hawaii where he worked with collegeaged kids who didn’t know a lot about American history.

To overcome language barriers and basic levels of understanding, Sedley began implementing more theatrical approaches to his teaching.

“I used to get up and act out and if they all started laughing, I knew they understood what I was talking about,” said Sedley. “It was quite an experience.”

Nearing his 100th birthday later this year, Sedley attributes his long life to eating healthy and having a wonderful family which included his five children and wife of 72 years, Betty Ann. u

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COMMUNITY MATTERS | March 2021