November 1, 2005 > Fremont Senior Commission makes a difference

"We want to be proactive," said Senior Citizen Commission Chair Eugene Roth as he watched ten seniors from Parkmont Convalescent board buses for a trip to the movies. A choice between "The Legend of Zorro" and "In Her Shoes" was waiting for the seniors, but more than that, this was a chance to get out and have a fun afternoon. "The Senior Citizen Commission wanted to participate in Make-A-Difference Day, so we brainstormed and decided we wanted to do something for the underserved seniors of our community," said Marty Fraga, Vice-Chair of the commission. "We asked the convalescent home to survey their residents and find out what they wanted to do." They said they wanted to go to a movie. With 10 volunteers and 10 wheelchair clients, off they went to the Cinedome 8 Theater in Fremont.

Contributions from local businesses and the movie theater underwrote the outing. Members of the commission including Gilbert Yee, Marty Fraga and Elaine Nagel were among the volunteers traveling with the seniors. Chair of the Make-A-Difference Day sub-committee, Tim Tam was waiting at the theater to welcome the group. "We hope to do it again," said Fraga. The outing was supported by Theresa Yin, D.C. and Fremont Ladies Investment Club and Cinedome 8 Theater.

Roth explained that the Senior Citizen Commission is one of many groups in city government to "do the front end work for senior citizen matters that eventually end up at the city council." He added that they want to be an active group, heavily involved in senior activities. The commission is divided into smaller committees that take on various tasks such as the Make-A-Difference Day activity. Another task is a "donor tree" that will be in the senior center. Brass leaves will be engraved with the names of donors to raise revenue for the senior center.

"We want the public to know that there is a body that can represent them and resolve issues with or for seniors." The Senior Citizen Commission is both a resource and a conduit for communication with the city. Issues can be as diverse as reporting the lack of time allowed to cross a street using the electronic "walk" sign of a traffic signal. The commission meets in a public meeting at 9:30 a.m. on the third Friday of every month at the Fremont Senior Center. Members of the Senior Citizen Commission include Mary D. Pantoja, Milton J. Rose, Sayed I. Inamdar, Elaine Nagel, Robert Ahrenkiel, Avtar Khera, Timothy Tam, Eugene Roth, Chair, Bahadur Alikhan, Gilbert C. Yee, Charlene Lahar, Susan TenEyck, Marty Fraga, Vice Chair.