Commun ty Matters Rolla Presbyterian Manor
Alzheimer’s Walk raises nearly $30,000 Rolla’s first-ever Walk to End Alzheimer’s was a roaring success, raising more than three times its goal of $10,000. The Aug. 29 event at Lion’s Club Park drew 277 individual walkers on 40 teams, said James Schuenemeyer, walk coordinator for the Alzheimer’s Association in Washington, Mo. About 80 volunteers pitched in to set everything up. The walk raised more than $29,570. “I think the most successful thing was how the community rallied around the walk,” Schuenemeyer said. “It’s very impressive what we were able to do in our first year.” Walks are held in more than 600 cities in late summer and early fall. Schuenemeyer credits Joelle Freeland, marketing director for Rolla Presbyterian Manor, with bringing the event to Rolla. Freeland approached him about a year ago with the idea; she also runs a local support group for the association.
October 2015
Art is Ageless® Local artist to be featured in 2016 calendar Sophia deLaat taught art to California schoolchildren for 25 years, but she only recently discovered the art of gourdwork. Now, she’s having a banner year as a gourd artist. Two of Sophia’s works are winners in the Art is Ageless® system-wide competition. “Halleluia Angel” took honors in the mixed media/ crafts category, and her “You Are My Sunshine Music Box” won in the sculpture/3-D category. Winners were chosen from the top local entries at all 18 Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America communities. Both of Sophia’s pieces will be featured “Halleluia Angel” by Sophia deLaat. in the 2016 Art is Ageless calendar, along with the works of more than 50 artists age 65 and older throughout Kansas and Missouri. This was the first year Sophia has entered Art is Ageless. She has also been recognized as Missouri Gourd Artist of the Year for 2015-2016 by the Show-Me Gourd society, of which she is a member. In the gourd work tradition, all of the materials in the piece must be natural, not synthetic. So, many are carved, painted, and even burned, to create designs in the shell. “You’re working with this natural product and then you take it to the next level,” Sophia said. “Each gourd is so different. What you can do with them is just mesmerizing.”
“I wanted to bring awareness to the community about Alzheimer’s and how it affects the patient as well as the caregiver,” Freeland said. “They
Sophia said she created the angel using three different gourds. She used a woodburning technique to decorate the wings and embedded about 75 Swarovski crystals in the piece, giving it a luminescent quality. She made the music box for her daughter.
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