May 2009 AACOG Region Newsletter

The Alamo Service Connection (ASC), the Aging and Disability Resource Center for Bexar County, has scheduled its First Annual Spring Event on Monday, May 18, from 5:30-7 p.m. in the Rosenberg Sky Room, University of the Incarnate Word, 847 E. Hildebrand Avenue, San Antonio.

“This combined social and educational event is our way of introducing the ASC to providers, for-profit businesses and companies, and community organizations about the availability of sponsorships and memberships,” according to Mr. Neuman, ASC Steering Committee Chair. “A bulk of our federal funding ends this fall, giving various groups in the San Antonio and Bexar County area the opportunity to step in and support our nationally-recognized services.”

The ASC is the recognized community focal point for long term services and supports for older adults, people with disabilities and their families in Bexar County. The ASC website is www.alamoserviceconnection.org and the phone number (210) 477-3275.

From January 2008 to April 2009, the ASC answered 21,731 phone calls, had 95,293 website sessions, and sent out more than 30 eMail News Blasts and monthly eNewsletters to a constantly expanding email database now containing more than 1,200 names. In addition, a phenomenal 2,174,851 people befitted from the ASC Outreach program through fairs, presentations, training programs and other informational events. To sign up to receive the ASC News Blast, click here.

“We will be sending out print and email invitations to the Spring Event,” Neuman added. Businesses or organizations interested in ASC sponsorships or memberships should contact Martha Ramirez, Access and Assistance Coordinator, at (210) 362-5217 or mramirez@aacog.com.

Submit your nomination today for the 2009 AACOG Regional Awards. The deadline for submitting nominations is May 8, 2009!

Categories for nomination are:

Regional Citizen of the Year
Corporate Citizen of the Year
Community Project of the Year
Governmental Regional Project of the Year

Current elected officials and public sector employees are ineligible for nomination, unless directly involved in a governmental regional project.

These nominations are open to the public. Awardees will be recognized at the AACOG Board of Directors meeting on June 24, 2009. To submit your nomination visit www.aacog.com/award or contact Tiffany Harris, AACOG Community Relations, at (210) 362-5204.

A_P_T_033 This monthly feature in the AACOG Region Newsletter spotlights our AACOG Board Members. This month features Bexar County Commissioner Tommy Adkisson who has served on the AACOG Board since 1999 and was Chairman of the Board in 2005. He is also an active member of AACOG's Air Improvement Resources Committee.

Please tell us about your education and career highlights: BBA in Finance from the University of Texas at Austin; J.D. from South Texas College of Law in Houston; State Representative, 1981-1983; 1985-1987; Bexar County Commissioner, 1999-present.

What do you like best about your work as a Commissioner for Bexar County? I have an opportunity to improve the world however greatly or slightly, from the way it was when I was born into it and help cement the bond of credibility between the governing and the governed.

What is the best advice you’ve received working as an elected official? “Get a thick hide.” (Former Bexar County State Representative and my former boss, Bill Finck); “All public officials need advisors, not merely admirers.” (Theodore Sorensen); “Any jackass can kick a barn down, but it takes a carpenter to build it.” (Sam Rayburn)

What excites you about being an AACOG Board member? The opportunity to connect and collaborate over our regional issues with a dedicated group of elected officials from a variety of areas and backgrounds.

What do you enjoy doing in your spare time? I enjoy reading about innovative public policy as well as history. Enlightened public policy builds the future while our Texas history serves as a treasure trove of understanding the human story of the foundation of our State.

What would people be surprised to know about you? Some might be surprised that I dreamed of being an AAU or Olympic three meter spring board diver.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently awarded $1.73 million to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) for clean diesel projects and loan programs to retrofit existing diesel engines in school buses with emissions-reducing exhaust controls. This grant is a part of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (or Stimulus Act) funds, which are intended to create jobs, assist local economies, improve environmental quality, and protect human health.

This announcement comes at an opportune time for Central and South Central Texas, where the Councils of Government and Metropolitan Planning Organizations are currently engaged in an all-out, “Big Push” effort to meet the EPA’s air quality standards involving ground-level ozone. In these regions, the exhaust from diesel and gasoline engines and fumes from these fuels are major contributors to ground-level ozone, which, in addition to interfering with ecosystems, causes and exacerbates a number of lung-related ailments, especially for children, adults who are active outdoors, the elderly, and people with respiratory conditions.

If the EPA determines next spring that the Alamo Region has failed to meet its air quality standards, consequences may not only be environmental and health-related, but economic as well. More stringent regulations could discourage new businesses, and the region’s federal highway funds could be at risk. Improving air quality and avoiding a “non-attainment” designation is an achievable goal, but to do so will take the concerted effort of governments, businesses, educational and other nonprofit organizations, groups, and individuals. To find out more about becoming an ozone action hero, visit www.ozoneheroes.com.

Retrofitting existing diesel engines in school buses with emissions-reducing exhaust controls is one way that school districts can play an important role in reducing ground-level ozone and improving air quality, while creating new jobs in the process. Application procedures for the monies just awarded to the TCEQ are not yet posted, but readers are encouraged to check TCEQ’s Texas Clean School Bus Program Web page for details in the near future. Also, for information on current, direct funding opportunities, visit the EPA’s Blue Skyways site.

Bexar County residents age 60 and over are invited to participate in two official and free Older Americans Month events on Friday, May 1, 2009—the Alamo Texercise Walk in the Park and the 4th annual Celebration of Seniors Ice Cream Social—at the Lion's Field Adult and Senior Center located at 2809 Broadway (at the edge of Brackenridge Park just south of Mulberry). The theme for this year is “Living Today for a Better Tomorrow.”

The percussion group Fascinating Rhythm will welcome participants, and the Alamo Texercise Walk—led by Commissioner Tommy Adkisson, Councilwoman Mary Alice Cisneros and Henry Cisneros—will begin at 10 a.m., and participants can choose to make either a half-mile or a one mile walk into Brackenridge Park and back. After the walk, there will be a light lunch provided by City of San Antonio Department of Community Initiatives. Ice Cream will be provided by Blue Bell Ice Cream and cookies compliments of Selrico.

A new feature—the City/County Services on Parade Fashion Show—will be a part of the program this year. Entertainment will includes dance performances by Ballet Folklorico Amistad from Salon de Mexico, the Karavan Dance Troupe, the Korean Dance Group, and Folklorico Boriken. The program sparkles with elements from widely diverse cultures, offering a range from music by the Renaissance Recorder Trio to the melodies and rhythms of the South Pacific by the Ukelele Ladies and Gents. Singer and guitarist Manolo Zaldivar will perform, and local songwriter Roger Chacon will provide renditions of his special songs. Masters of Ceremony for the two hours of entertainment—from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.—will be Doris Griffin and Patti Gunter.

Helpful information for seniors will be provided by Alamo Texercise, AARP, the Alamo Service Connection, the Joint Commission on Aging, the Social Security Administration, City of San Antonio Parks and Recreation, and AACOG’s Bexar Area Agency on Aging. Event sponsors include: AACOG’s Bexar Area Agency on Aging, AARP, Alamo Texercise, Blue Bell Ice Cream, the City of San Antonio Department of Community Initiatives, Humana, Nurses In Touch and Lion’s Field Adult and Senior Center.

For additional information, click here or call Bexar AAA at (210) 362-5273/5220 or Lion’s Field at (210) 826-9041.

AACOG's Alamo Regional Transit (ART) is pleased to announce the expansion of the Pearsall Bus Route effective April 15, 2009. By popular demand, new Pick-Up and Drop-Off locations have been added and several new neighborhoods have been included throughout the city limits of Pearsall. Although the service has been expanded, the fare of $1.00 per person per one-way ride has not increased.

Bus Route Maps and Schedules are available at City Hall or by visiting the new ART Pearsall Route website. Riders can also request additional stops along the routes if they are not able to walk from a scheduled stop to their desired location. All busses are equipped with wheelchair lifts and wheel locks while the bus is in motion. If you would like more information, call the ART Dispatch Office toll-free at 1-866-889-7433.

AACOG invites homeowners to attend a free Foreclosure Prevention Workshop on Saturday, May 2, 2009, from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. The workshop will be held in the Al J. Notzon III Board Room, 8700 Tesoro Drive, Suite 100, San Antonio, TX. Workshop sponsors include the AACOG Housing & Weatherization Department, the City of San Antonio Department of Community Initiatives, and the San Antonio Foreclosure Prevention Task Force.

The workshop will be a valuable opportunity for homeowners to meet privately with representatives from area banks, mortgage companies, lenders, the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development officials, and certified housing counselors to discuss and learn about mortgage assistance and options available to homeowners to prevent foreclosure. Besides mortgage lenders and certified housing counselors, homeowners will also have the opportunity to visit with non-profit housing counseling agencies.

Free parking and refreshments will be available. Seating is limited so for more information or to reserve your seat call Mayra Rivero at (210) 362-5282.

On Thursday, May 28, 2009, from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m., AACOG will host a 3-hour Notary Law and Procedure Seminar for current new and non-notary participants that would like to receive their Texas notary public commission.

Dixie Lucey, Director of Education for State Notary Commission in Austin, TX will teach the seminar at AACOG's Al J. Notzon III Board Room, 8700 Tesoro Drive, Suite 100 (first floor), San Antonio, TX 78217. The cost of the seminar including the course manual is $150.00 per person. The state application and bond fee for non-notaries or those who would like to renew their commissions is $105.00 for a 4-year term.

The course will cover:

The state application and renewal process
Acknowledgement and oath procedures
State record keeping requirements
Certifications and protests
Affidavits, Jurat’s and verifications
Overview of changes in notary laws from the 81^st legislative session
Liability protection
Answers to your notary public questions.

“Notary public training protects the notary and the public from liability and protects the long term validity of documentation,” says Dixie Lucey, Director of notary education. To register for the seminar contact:

Dixie Lucey, Director of Education, State Notary Commission
PO Box 10141, Austin, TX 78766
dixielucey@prodigy.net | Phone (512) 497-2253

The State Notary Commission is an educational organization founded in 1990 to promote and enhance the education of notary publics statewide.

As part of the national movement to promote the "Aging in Place" Initiative, which is aimed at helping older Americans remain in their communities, the San Antonio region has been selected to host one in a series of national workshops sponsored by MetLife Foundation, Partners for Livable Communities, and the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging. The workshop will be co-hosted by AACOG's Alamo & Bexar Area Agencies on Aging, the City of San Antonio, and the WellMed Charitable Foundation.

The workshop will be held on Thursday, June 11, 2009, from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center, 1300 Guadalupe Street, San Antonio, TX 78207.

The local discussion will complement the dynamic national conversation taking place on aging and will highlight the creative work already occurring in the region to make it a first-rate place for all age groups. This workshop is a unique opportunity for local leaders to begin looking at the region and to hear how other communities have begun to create livable communities.

In preparation for this, local leaders are calling for strategies to help strengthen "Aging in Place" services. Workshop speakers and panelists will focus on assets already in place and how they can be improved, particularly health and wellness, social integration, planning and mobility. For more information on this workshop contact Debbie Billa at (210) 362-5240 or visit www.aginginplaceinitiative.org/SanAntonio.

AACOG will sponsor a one-day newly elected officials workshop on Tuesday, June 30, 2009, from 8 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (Registration from 8-8:30 a.m.) in AACOG’s Al J. Notzon III Board Room, 8700 Tesoro Drive, Suite 100, San Antonio. The workshop will cover such topics as the duties and responsibilities of elected officials; introduction to city government; roles of the mayor and council; budgeting and financial management; and legal issues such as open meetings; open records, purchasing and conflict of interest. There is a $5 charge for this workshop. To register, call Cora Kimble at (210) 362-5243.

AACOG would like to invite all local government representatives and purchasing staff to a free workshop to introduce attendees to the State of Texas Cooperative Purchasing Program. The workshop will be held on Thursday, July 23, 2009, from 9 to 11 a.m. in AACOG's Al J. Notzon III Board Room, 8700 Tesoro Drive, Suite 100, San Antonio, TX 78217.

Attendees will learn about the benefits and resources available to program members, as well as how this program can help them save time and money. The workshop will also allow attendees to get acquainted with the state's new TXSmartBuy online purchasing system. The presentation will be given by Charlene Rendon, State of Texas CO-OP Program Coordinator - a certified Texas purchaser. For more information, contact Charlene at (512) 463-3336 or charlene.rendon@cpa.state.tx.us.

The AACOG Region Newsletter is compiled and distributed monthly
by Tiffany Harris, AACOG Public Relations.