Inside The Senior Alliance: Board Chair with Dr. Thomas Jankowski (Ep 1.24)
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In this episode, Jason Maciejewski, CEO of The Senior Alliance talks to Dr. Thomas Jankowski, Board Chair of The Senior Alliance. Dr. Jankowski is also the Associate Director of Research at The Institute of Gerontology at Wayne State University. They discuss how the Board of Directors of The Senior Alliance functions, and makes decisions on the various roles the Senior Alliance fulfills. They also talk about the different committees of The Senior Alliance and the Officers of the Board. The Senior Alliance is a large Area Agency on Aging, and this episode will give you behind-the-scenes insights into how the Agency operates and decides to function. And you can learn how you can become part of those committees and the board itself. Great information!
www.thesenioralliance.org.
Produced by Blazing Kiss Media.
Transcription
Jason Maciejewski: (00:00)
Welcome to Inside The Senior Alliance, a podcast exploring resources and issues in the field of aging. I’m Jason Maciejewski, CEO of The Senior Alliance, the area agency on aging serving western and southern Wayne County. Joining me today is Dr. Tom Jankowski, the Associate Director for Research at Wayne State University’s Institute of Gerontology and a member of our Board of Directors here at The Senior Alliance. Tom, welcome to the podcast.
Dr. Thomas Jankowski: (00:26)
Thanks, Jason. I’m glad to be here.
Jason Maciejewski: (00:28)
We’re thrilled to have you on today. And you’re a long-serving member of our Board of Directors, and so long in fact, that we don’t know the exact date you started serving as a board member. It predates my time at the agency, and we think goes back somewhere back like ’06, ’07, or something like that, right?
Dr. Thomas Jankowski: (00:46)
Yeah, yeah. I think around ’06 because I think that’s when I became Chair of the Advisory Council. Matt put me on the board.
Jason Maciejewski: (00:53)
Right, right. The Chair of our Advisory Council is a member of our Board of Directors. And you’ve had a lot of experience being on the Advisory Council, being a Board member. You’ve served as Chair of our Board for a few years now, and you just stepped down from that officer position. Could you talk about why you wanted to serve on The Senior Alliance Board of Directors to begin with?
Dr. Thomas Jankowski: (01:13)
Well, I didn’t actually set out to serve on the Board of Directors. You know, at Wayne State University part of our mission is community engagement. We like to be part of the community rather than sort of floating above the community as some universities tend to do. And so we’re encouraged to get involved in the community in our fields, and I’m a gerontologist — I study aging and older adults — so I mean, what more perfect organization would there to get involved in? So, I joined the Advisory Council and I just really fell in love with The Senior Alliance, and the people there, and the work that they do. I originally got involved out of professional interest and, you know, just trying to fulfill my duties to engage with the community as a professor at Wayne State. But, I grew to love being involved because it was a great way to serve the public. I felt like every day we have a real impact on real people’s lives. And also, you know, I have deep roots in this community. I was born in Dearborn, raised in Wyandotte, I’ve lived in Lincoln Park, and Westland, and Canton, so I have lived, except for the five years I spent in East Lansing, I’ve lived my entire life in The Senior Alliance planning and service area. And so I feel a deep connection and obligation to this area and its people, and serving on the board of TSA has just been one way to meet that obligation.
Jason Maciejewski: (02:36)
You’re certainly connected into the community, not only through where you’ve lived and you know, how you’ve approached your life, but also as Wayne State member of the Institute of Gerontology, and we really appreciate your dedication to our agency serving on the Board of Directors for such a long time. You’ve seen a lot. Our agency has evolved quite a bit. Could you talk about the role that the Board plays in the governance, in the setting of policy for The Senior Alliance?
Dr. Thomas Jankowski: (03:01)
Sure. I think our number one task as the Board is to hire the CEO. We hired you and instantly that was a great decision. But, you know, I think the mistake a lot of Boards make is getting too involved in the daily nuts and bolts of running the agency. That’s exactly what we hire the CEO to do. So, our job primarily is to hire the CEO to set sort of broad policy for the agency, not necessarily how the policy is carried out, but you know, what areas we want to be putting time and money into. So, we set the policy, we hire the CEO, we provide oversight. We make sure that we’re sticking to our mission, that the programs are accomplishing what they’re supposed to accomplish, and especially that the money is being spent and managed properly. I mean, we take our stewardship role very seriously because a lot of the money that we’re spending at the agency comes from taxpayer dollars and it’s our fiduciary responsibility to be good stewards of those funds and make sure that everything is being handled properly. And then I think another role for a Board member is to be a liaison between the organization and the community, so when I’m out there talking to folks and meeting with people, I’m also representing The Senior Alliance. So, it’s part of my responsibility to put the agency in a good light to educate people on what we do and to advocate for the kind of work we’re doing.
Jason Maciejewski: (04:35)
Yeah. So, I appreciate the ability to collaborate and work with the Board in a partnership way, helping out with my day-to-day activities, making that broader policy vision come to life and really appreciate the collaboration that we have, I think, between staff and the Board of Directors here at the agency. So the role is kind of high level. You know, we have a $34 million budget and you set the policy for that, you oversee the fiduciary aspects. In terms of individual duties, in terms of what a Board member actually has to do, could you talk about that for a minute?
Dr. Thomas Jankowski: (05:10)
Sure. You know, in the Board governance world, there are three legal duties of being a Board member. The duty of care, duty of loyalty, and the duty of obedience, and everything that we have to do falls into one of those. The duty of care means that you come to the meetings prepared. We are sent a packet of information before the Board meetings that includes all the financials for the month, it includes all kinds of background information on the things we’re going to be discussing. Frequently, the Board packet is 50, 60, 70 pages long, and it’s the responsibility of each Board member to come prepared and to have read and familiarized themselves with that material so they’re ready to discuss it and make decisions. So, that’s a big part of the duty of care. You have to make sure you’re doing your job. It’s something to be taken very seriously.
Dr. Thomas Jankowski: (06:00)
The duty of loyalty is that we need to stay loyal to the organization and to its mission. We need to make sure that we’re loyal to the rules that we have to follow. That also falls under the duty of obedience as well. Serving on the Board of an organization like The Senior Alliance, you really have to set aside your own personal interests and make decisions based on what is best for the organization. That’s why we pay a lot of attention to conflict of interest policies because all the decisions made by the Board have to be made with the consideration of what’s best for our organization, our programs, and the people we serve, regardless of what the individual interests of the Board members are, so we set aside those interests to pursue our duty of loyalty.
Dr. Thomas Jankowski: (06:45)
And then there’s the duty of obedience. We administer several government programs on a local level, so there are an enormous number of rules and regulations that we have to follow. And it’s important that the organization do that. So, the Board kind of oversees compliance with all of those rules and regulations, and that is not only, you know, the financial stuff, but we’re very concerned about the privacy of the people we serve and that their personal information is handled properly. We have an entire committee called The Compliance Committee that is just there to consider these issues having to do with the rules and regulations that we have to follow.
Jason Maciejewski: (07:25)
With the roles that the Board members play and the duties they perform on behalf of the agency, there’s got to be leadership, and on our Board of Directors, we have officers that play those roles. So, you’ve been chair of the Board, and again, a long-serving member of the Board. Could you talk about what the officers do and specifically how you approached being Chair?
Dr. Thomas Jankowski: (07:48)
You know, the Chair’s job is to run the meeting, and so that’s sort of the public face of the Chair is to make sure that the meetings run smoothly, that the business gets taken care of, and that everything is done in a proper way. But, you know, the chair has a lot of things to do behind the scenes too. As you know, when I was chair, we would meet every Friday and spend frequently an hour, an hour-and-a-half, sometimes two hours, just talking about agency business, what’s going on, what’s coming down the pipe, what problems are we dealing with, what issues do we have to solve, what opportunities might be coming. There’s a lot of consideration that has to go into such a large and complex organization with so many programs. And so this weekly touch-base between the Board Chair and the CEO is a good way for us to sort of keep track of everything.
Dr. Thomas Jankowski: (08:44)
And the Board Chair is in a lot of ways, sort of the most important public face of the organization when it comes to the community and when it comes to legal things. I mean, as the Chair of the Board, I was kind of the head of the organization – the CEO reported to me and a lot of the legal paperwork and things had to be signed by me. So, this was something that I took very, very seriously. And I would say as Board Chair, even when not much was going on, I probably spent 10 hours a week playing my role as Board Chair, so it’s a demanding but it’s also a very rewarding job as well.
Dr. Thomas Jankowski: (09:32)
The other officers are the Board Secretary, and the Board Secretary is responsible for making sure all the documentation is in order. Of course, the staff does the heavy lifting on that, so really the only thing the Board Secretary has to do is look over the documents and sign them. One of the things that makes being a TSA Board member much easier is the fact that we have a wonderful, very competent and very dedicated staff, and we can always count on them to, you know, like I said, do the heavy lifting, do the real leg work, and we’re just there to, you know, dot the I’s and cross the T’s and make sure everything was done properly. And it always was. So, it’s a pleasure working with the TSA staff as a Board officer.
Dr. Thomas Jankowski: (10:02)
Probably the most important Board officer besides the Chair is the Treasurer because the Treasurer is responsible primarily for overseeing the finances of the organization, and as you said, it’s a $34 million-a-year organization. There’s a lot going on financially. We have multiple revenue streams, we have multiple services and vendors and programs that we spend money on, and keeping track of that money is extremely important. As I said before, a lot of it comes from public funds, and so we have a particular fiduciary responsibility to steward that money, make sure it’s used in an appropriate and efficient and effective way, and I think everybody on the Board takes that responsibility seriously, and nobody takes it more seriously than the Treasurer who’s also the Chair of the Finance Committee. So when the board meets, the days that the Board meets, the Finance Committee meets an hour before the Board does and pours over those financial reports in great detail. We look at everything from balance sheets and budgets to the actual check register. You know, what payments were made in the last month and to whom. I know our past Treasurers have done an amazing job of just going over those documents with a fine tooth comb. And we ask questions. We say, “Wow, what’s with this check to Wayne County?” or “Why do we have three payments to this particular vendor?” And our Chief Financial Officer is there with questions and we don’t let ’em off the hook. We need an explanation for these things ’cause that’s part of our role as the ones who provide oversight. Again, our fiscal staff at TSA just does an amazing job, so they provide us with the information we need. When we call ’em on the carpet, they respond, and we’ve never been dissatisfied with the answers we get. And if we ask them to go back and get more information, then that’s what they do. But it’s all with the effort of making the best decisions possible for the agency and for the people we serve.
Jason Maciejewski: (12:07)
I think that’s one of the things about our agency that Board-Staff relationship that we really foster. We really want that communication. We want the information to be understood by everybody involved. At the end of the day, that’s a process that gives us the best decisions for the agency. So, we’ve talked about Finance Committee a little bit. You mentioned The Compliance Committee earlier. We have other committees. The Personnel Committee is an ad hoc committee. We have a Governance Committee, which you’re now the Chair of. So these committees, what role do they play? What do they do on behalf of the agency?
Dr. Thomas Jankowski: (12:39)
Oh, that’s a great question. You know, the big, major decisions are made in the Board meeting, but the real work gets done in the committees where we go over things in great detail and then the committees will report out recommendations to the Board. The probably number one committee is the Executive Committee because the Executive Committee consists of the Board officers plus a couple of other appointees, and they are – that’s the only committee that’s authorized to step in and make decisions on behalf of the Board. We don’t use that power frequently. In fact, we try not to use it at all. We’ve really tried to use it only in emergencies when we have an important decision to make but we don’t have enough time to pull the full Board together. But like I said, Executive – it’s only fixed role is to play a part in the review of the CEO and the hiring of the CEO because some of those things are just too difficult to do in a large body of people. But, we evaluate the CEO and then we make recommendations to the Board. But that’s only once a year, and for the most part, Executive just sort of waits in the wings in case something happens. But, it was always my strong preference that major decisions be made by the full Board rather than just the Executive Committee. I find that the best decisions are made when you get the most input from the widest variety of people.
Dr. Thomas Jankowski: (14:02)
Finance, as I said, really pours over those financial reports and goes over the money in detail. Compliance does the same things with rules and regulations. We set policies that have to do with compliance, we review those things. A number of our funders, different government agencies, do sort of an audit of our compliance and make sure we’re following the rules, make sure we’re keeping our quality up in terms of the way that we deliver services, and so there are a lot of obligations to me in that area, and The Compliance Committee is the one that gets into the details and then makes recommendations for major decisions on compliance to the Board.
Dr. Thomas Jankowski: (14:40)
Governance, which I’m now chairing, is the committee that sort of helps the Board to organize itself, helps set our bylaws. We’ve just finished a major rewrite of the bylaws. One of the things that we did in rewriting the bylaws was to institute term limits for Board members so Board members are limited in the amount of time they can spend on the Board. And so, therefore, we’re gonna be looking for – we didn’t have Board limits before and we had regular turnover, but I think we’re gonna have more regular turnover now, and so we’re going to need more community members to participate. And I really want to encourage people in the community who are interested in this to get involved. Governance also helps to identify and nominate potential Board candidates to the rest of the Board as well.
Dr. Thomas Jankowski: (15:27)
We have a Personnel Committee that meets when it needs to go over personnel policies. One of the things we pride ourselves on is not only taking really good care of the people we serve, but taking good care of our employees. We have some incredible, dedicated people whose hearts and souls are totally invested in their jobs and we want to make sure that they are treated well. And I think we’ve done a good job with that. I mean, we’re one of the Crain’s 100 Coolest Places to Work and the Detroit Free Press has rated us a great employer, and we want make sure that our employees are taken care of because they’re taking care of all these people in the community who are so important to us. And frankly, nonprofit work doesn’t pay quite as well as going out to work in the corporate sector, so a lot of the folks who work for us might be able to make a little bit more money somewhere else, but they’re here with The Senior Alliance because they’re dedicated to their job. We want do whatever we can to encourage them to stick around and encourage them to continue to give their best. So, that’s what the personnel committee does.
Dr. Thomas Jankowski: (16:28)
Then, we have a committee called the RFP Review Committee. That only meets once every three years to go over our vendor contracts for our Older Americans Act programs ’cause we hire outside firms to provide the services and we fund them to do that, and then we provide oversight to make sure that they’re providing the services that we’re paying them to provide. And these are things like home care agencies and transportation, you know, these are all services that we contract out for and the RFP Review Committee goes over those contracts every three years to make sure that we are hiring the right people to do this.
Dr. Thomas Jankowski: (17:01)
I also wanna mention the Advisory Council. It’s not really a ‘committee’ of the Board, it’s a separate body from the Board, but it’s something that all area agencies on aging are required to have. In fact, according to the Older Americans Act, the Advisory Council is really in a lot of ways more important than the Board. The Board is a legal necessity due to the fact that we are a 503C nonprofit, and so we have to have a Board of Directors to oversee the nonprofit agency. But the Advisory Council is stipulated in the Older Americans Act as the representatives of the community who are there to advise us on the best way to serve that community. So, and as I said, I started out as a member of the Advisory Council. The Advisory Council doesn’t control the money and they don’t make authoritative policy decisions, but they provide a lot of input to the Board and they sort of act as a conduit between the community and the Board in communicating the priorities and the needs of the people in the community, so that the Board can make sure that those priorities are met and those needs are being served. So I think that covers all the committees, doesn’t it?
Jason Maciejewski: (18:12)
Yeah, I think you’ve covered all of ’em. The Advisory Council, I believe, is covered in another podcast as well if people want to learn more about serving on that body. One of the things that’s not specifically mentioned in that community list because it’s not a formal committee anymore is The Programs Committee, which doesn’t exist because we now do program presentations at every Board meeting where we’re highlighting different programs that the agency offers to inform the Board about them rather than just a committee. So, programs is a regular part of our Board meetings, but what other regular items appear at a Board meeting for you to consider?
Dr. Thomas Jankowski: (18:45)
Well, of course, there’s always the financials, and our Chief Financial Officer stands up and gives a presentation to the full Board, just like he does in the Finance Committee. We don’t go into as much detail, but anytime that there is something unusual or anything notable, anything that stands out, that’s always discussed in the full Board as well as the Finance Committee. And then the Board is the one that makes the ultimate approval of budgets and expenditures and things like that. So, finances are probably, you know, one of the most important part of the Board meetings as well.
Dr. Thomas Jankowski: (19:21)
Another important part is that we have our ACLS representative come and give an update on what’s going on in Lansing. ACLS is the body in Lansing that oversees the area agencies on aging in Michigan. In the terms of the Older Americans Act, ACLS is the state unit on aging. And so we, part of that, you know, I talked about the duty of loyalty and the duty of obedience, we have to maintain our obedience to the guidance that comes down from Lansing because they oversee our expenditure of the Older Americans Act dollars; they distribute the money to us and they make sure that we’re spending it properly. So, that’s for the Older Americans Act programs, and so we always have a representative from Lansing who shows up and tells us what’s going on, and that’s always very helpful.
Dr. Thomas Jankowski: (20:12)
We always get a CEO update. Our CEO, you, stands up and gives us a sort of a point-by-point of what’s been going on in the last month, what we can expect to see coming down the pike, what progress have we made on initiatives, just an update on everything that’s going on. And I have to say that it has evolved into a very rich, I mean, there’s a lot of information, but it’s all very critical information and it really has helped us to make better informed decisions to know, you know, the nuts and bolts of what you’re dealing with. It really helps quite a bit. So, that CEO update is a really key part of the meeting as well.
Dr. Thomas Jankowski: (20:52)
You mentioned programs, programs are so important, and it’s so important that every board member understand what each of our programs do, and we found that we were having a Program Committee meeting and then covering the same ground on the Board. So, we just decided to just – the committee of the whole is sort of the Program Committee. The whole Board considers programs and policies having to do with the administration of programs, and we get regular updates on what’s going on with many of the programs, in particular Meals on Wheels. We want to know how that’s going because we serve thousands of people. The MI Choice Program, the Medicaid home- and community-based waiver program, that’s so critically important to so many people in need in both financial and health need that we need to keep that program running smoothly. And then, we get on an annual basis, we have directors and managers of programs present to the Board to just give us sort of a review of programs, reminders on what they’re doing, because like I said, the organization is so large and complex and we have so many dozens and dozens of programs that it’s good to get updates and reminders so that the Board keeps a handle on all these things. We talk about personnel and, you know, compliance issues and policy issues as well. And whenever there’s a problem with a vendor or a challenge that we’re facing, those issues are always discussed thoroughly at the Board meetings as well. We try to keep the Board meetings to two hours, but sometimes we go over, and I don’t think anybody minds because it’s important that we take care of business. And sometimes that takes a little bit longer than we’d like.
Jason Maciejewski: (22:32)
And sometimes we come in a little under, but more often it’s at the two hour mark.
Both: (22:36)
Jason Maciejewski: (22:37)
So, you’ve talked a lot about what goes on at Board meetings and how we do our work here. Board members can choose to connect and contribute to our mission in a variety of ways other than just doing the formal activities of being a Board member. Could you talk about those opportunities?
Dr. Thomas Jankowski: (22:54)
Absolutely. I, as Board Chair, I really highly encouraged all members of the Board to make a donation to TSA, a financial contribution. I mean, it’s a nonprofit, and we are there to support the organization. One way that we can show our support is by ponying up a little bit, kicking in, and so to me it was very important that all Board members contribute something. And it didn’t matter so much the amount. I mean, some of us are professionals, we’re financially comfortable, and we can afford to give a little bit more; others are retired, maybe on a fixed income, and they have limits to what they contribute. As long as they gave something, I was satisfied. It’s just a way for a Board member to demonstrate their commitment and their loyalty to the organization.
Dr. Thomas Jankowski: (23:44)
We also highly encouraged everybody to volunteer. There are – TSA has so many different volunteer opportunities and, you know, while Board service itself is a volunteer activity, it’s good to get out there among the people that we’re serving and deliver some Meals on Wheels or show up to represent the agency at an event, you know, work a table at a health fair. There’s a lot of things that Board members can do as volunteers, and I really encourage people to do that. And, you know, frankly, it’s fun and it’s rewarding. I love delivering Meals on Wheels. It’s always the highlight of my day when I volunteer to do that. And so I highly encourage Board members to volunteer their money and volunteer their time to the organization.
Dr. Thomas Jankowski: (24:27)
The third thing they can do is advocate for TSA when they’re out in the community talking to folks. And I do this all the time. You know, one of the struggles that we have as an area agency on aging is, well, first of all, there’s a whole segment of our economy, the non-profit sector, who kind of flies under the radar. We’re out there doing incredible work, helping people in all different kinds of ways, and we’re invisible to most folks. You know, the same is true for The Senior Alliance. We provide these literally life-saving services. We allow people to stay in their homes and in their communities rather than having to go into a nursing home, and to me, that’s a critically important thing that we do, but unless you’re touched by The Senior Alliance, there’s a good chance that you don’t know that much about it. So, I think it’s incumbent on us as Board members to get out there and talk up The Senior Alliance, let people know we’re here, let people know what we’re doing, let people know what services are available to their friends and family who might need them. So, donating, volunteering, and advocating, I think those are the three most important ways that Board members can connect the agency and the community and contribute to the mission of The Senior Alliance.
Jason Maciejewski: (25:33)
Yeah, so it’s really a great opportunity for Board members to out and do a lot of volunteering, as you pointed out. When I’m out in the community and talking to people, I do encounter individuals who I get into conversations with about becoming a Board member, and we talk a lot about, you know, the functionality of it and committees and things like that. But, what advice would you give to somebody who’s considering joining a nonprofit Board, whether it’s ours or any other one?
Dr. Thomas Jankowski: (26:01)
I guess the first piece of advice is to search yourself and make sure you’re doing it for the right reason. Don’t think that this is a resume-building activity, something that’s goning to make you look good. That’s not the right motivation for joining a nonprofit Board because it’s a lot of work. It’s a totally volunteer activity. You don’t get paid. Every once in a while, we get a cup of coffee or a bagel at breakfast in a meeting, but that’s the extent to which we get ‘paid.’ So, you really have to do it for the right reasons, and the right reasons are you would like to see the community that’s served by the organization continue to receive those services and programs that they need, and that you want to give back to your community. So I’m very interested, you know, as I said, I’m a gerontologist – I’m very interested in older adults and the challenges they face, and a real good practical way to get involved on a local level was to join the Board. I would say, especially with The Senior Alliance, because we have the Advisory Council if anybody’s listening saying, “Hey, The Senior Alliance sounds like a great organization. I’d like to get involved. Maybe I should join the Board,” I would say before thinking about joining the Board, join the Advisory Council. We are always looking for Advisory Council members. We’re required by the Older Americans Act to have 50% or more of our Advisory Council members be age 60 or older, so if you are an older adult interested in helping your peers who are receiving these programs, join the Advisory Council. We would love to have you.
Dr. Thomas Jankowski: (27:32)
We have people on the Advisory Council who range from caregivers who were caring for someone who was receiving TSA services and they got interested in the organization and joined the Board. We have former officeholders, public officeholders, who saw the kind of services that TSA was providing in their communities and wanted to help. There’s a role for every type of person on the Advisory Council, and I would highly encourage folks who are interested in Board service to join the Advisory Council first. And then, if you serve on the Advisory Council for a couple years and you’re ready to take it to the next level, then absolutely. I would say if you’re interested in joining a nonprofit Board to realize that there’s gonna be some work involved. This isn’t a casual involvement. This isn’t just show up for a meeting one hour a month and you’re done. There’s a lot of material to go over, there’s a lot of responsibility, there’s a lot of homework, you have a lot of material to read, a lot of things to consider, a lot of numbers to look at, and it’s not something to be taken lightly. So realize that if you’re considering joining a non-profit board, it’s going to require some time and effort on your part. Honestly, I have found it to be one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done. I enjoy my service on TSA Board. I go home afterward feeling good that we have made positive contributions to the lives of real people living in our communities. I mean, I am helping my neighbors, and that really makes me feel good. And so I would encourage anyone to get involved in whatever local non-profit is doing the kind of things that you like and that you’re interested in and that you would like to see continue.
Jason Maciejewski: (29:09)
So you mentioned that satisfaction of service that you get from being a Board member. Are there other things that you get or take away from being a member of The Senior Alliance Board of Directors that, you know, impact other aspects of your life?
Dr. Thomas Jankowski: (29:22)
Well, I’m in kind of a unique position because I’m a gerontologist. I study aging and I work with older adults all the time. So, I couldn’t even list all the ways that my involvement with TSA has sort of enhanced my professional life as well. But really, it’s way more than that. Even if I had nothing to do with older adults professionally, just by my involvement in the Board, it feels like a wonderful way to give back to my community in general. I mean, I’m very much in the camp that if you can, you should do something to help other people. And this is just a wonderful way to do that. I have met so many folks through just through networking and talking and going to functions having to do with TSA that I feel my involvement in TSA is a microcosm of my involvement with my community. And it’s just a very rewarding experience, and I can’t imagine not being involved.
Jason Maciejewski: (30:20)
Well, Tom, I want to thank you first of all for not only serving on our Board but being Chair. Coming into the role as the CEO of the agency, you’ve been of great assistance to me. And those meetings that you mentioned earlier that we have every Friday, you started that with Tamara Kiger, the previous CEO, we’ve continued them and they’ve been, I think, a really great benefit, not only for me personally but for the agency as a whole to really build that collaboration and communication between those of us working on the staff side and the Board. And just thank you for your long service as a member of our Board. And I know we’ve talked, and I suspect that even though when your time as a Board member comes to an end, you’re still going to be involved and engaged with the agency, and we really look forward to continuing that relationship. But, thank you for sharing your insight and thoughts about what it’s like to be a Board member at a nonprofit agency. Thanks for joining us today.
Dr. Thomas Jankowski: (31:09)
My pleasure, Jason. Yeah, you’re going to have a real hard time getting rid of me.
Jason Maciejewski: (31:13)
That’s okay. We really enjoy your insight and having you around. With that, if anyone has questions about services or programs The Senior Alliance offers, you can call us at 1-800-815-1112 or email us at info@thesenioralliance.org. Information about our agency or the programs and services we offer can be found on our website at www.thesenioralliance.org. And on Facebook, we can be located by searching for The Senior Alliance. And finally, our Twitter handle is @ AAA1C. I’m Jason Maciejewski. Thank you for listening to this episode of Inside the Senior Alliance.
Speaker 3: (31:53)
Inside the Senior Alliance is a production of The Senior Alliance and Blazing Kiss Media.