John and Linda Tarvin were there in the beginning, and they
don’t want to see it lost. They have worked tirelessly to keep the
Centennial Recreation Center Senior Center open, and for their
efforts were honored Dec. 17 with the YMCA Award, which recognizes
significant service to the senior center. The presentation occurred
in the Senior Center Cafe, during the lunch hour.
John and Linda Tarvin were there in the beginning, and they don’t want to see it lost. They have worked tirelessly to keep the Centennial Recreation Center Senior Center open, and for their efforts were honored Dec. 17 with the YMCA Award, which recognizes significant service to the senior center. The presentation occurred in the Senior Center Cafe, during the lunch hour.
The Tarvins have given extensively of their time, organizational skills and expertise in photography to the center, making an effort to keep the financial needs of the operation in the public eye.
The major contribution they made was the production of a video, “An Aging Friendly Oasis,” intended for marketing the center, that explains the goals of the center relative to the seniors that it serves: nutrition, programs, enrichment, entertainment and support services. The video features Linda interviewing Susan Fent, then director of senior programs and services. (Christine Skeen serves as the current director). Every day for two months, Linda interviewed and John filmed.
An absolutely professional effort resulted in shots of local seniors in action at the center: exercising, eating, playing, working at computers, painting, knitting and participating in other crafts and thoroughly enjoying time spent with others. Interviews of various individuals firmly established that fellowship ranked first among what was most important to them, followed by lunch – “wonderful food” – the facility itself and the friendly, outgoing staff and volunteers. One woman, a regular visitor, described her experience at the center as “an outgoing free gift of love.” John said that they enjoyed making the video – it was in their area of hobby interest, photography; he and Linda also had a lot of fun interacting with the seniors.
Linda and John, both members of the Senior Services Committee, arranged for seniors to be photographed by the Morgan Hill Photography Club and also staged the protest against possible loss of funding for programs and services that occurred in front of the center in June.
As a member of the City Task Force for Sustainability of the Senior Center, John, along with Morgan Hill officials, will present funding requests for the center to the Morgan Hill City Council Jan. 22. He said that although the Mt. Madonna YMCA saved the senior programs last year with a one-time $25,000 grant, this won’t happen again.
“My major concern is about the funding,” John said, “The funds have to be raised in order for the senior center to continue as it is today.” One solution, he added, is for all Centennial Recreation Center members’ dues to be raised $1. This action would eliminate the senior center deficit.
Linda advocated making an effort to bring “young” seniors, those in their early 60s and still working, by offering evening programs that would engage them. Mentioned was a bocce ball court. She observed that the sport is more social than strenuous and that men and women could compete on an equal basis. Problem – money for court construction. Other options to attract young seniors include evening bridge and poker groups.
“It is a work in progress,” John said, “We need to broaden involvement and are making an effort to learn what the community wants. And we will continue to work on funding.”
The Tarvins have lived in Morgan Hill since 1979. John worked in communications and defense electronics; Linda was an elementary school teacher. In 1988, they opened a print shop, identified as 1993 Small Business of the Year, which they operated for 20 years.
So, how did the interest in the senior center develop? Both had parents who volunteered in their communities. And both are charter members of the CRC and the senior center is part of it. John said that their interest grew with the reality of their own retirement and an interest that included support of the organization.
“I like to see older seniors, who have had tough times, enjoying each others’ company, he said. “They like to talk and every one has a story – a good story.”
Born in North Carolina, John met Linda, a Texas native, at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas, when they were members of the same freshman English class.
Linda laughed, “Yes, we were both E.E. majors. He was electrical engineering and I was elementary education.” Married following their junior year, a 45-year commitment to date, John and Linda have two adult kids and three grandchildren.
Linda loves the color purple, second to the grandchildren, and if you see a slender woman, wearing one of a large hat collection, on a purple bike, meet Linda. John is a big guy, a self-defined “geek,” with a firm, but quiet sense of authority. Both are avid photographers and really like road trips, which are documented on a blog, Buzzardbait.org. According to the blog, it is the home of two old buzzards – “Linda is the pretty one.”
