Welcome to a Special Edition of The Shoreline, on the even of our 2008 fundraising event Sail the Seven Seas. As our whole team works on "swabbing the decks and polishing the guardrails" we think back  to a decade when many of our clients were teenagers, just crossing the threshold  to their adult years.

 

Even though times were tough with the Great Depression, the prospect of a future bright with opportunity and the promise of security for all citizens was being heralded with FDR's New Deal. Lying just head, for what was to become known as the Greatest Generation, was the ultimate triumph of World War II.

 

We celebrate the accomplishments of this generation in the high style of a 1930's ocean liner. We acclaim their contributions which shaped the last half of the twentieth century. We extend our heartfelt gratitude for their years of family and community sacrifices and honor their commitment to excellence.

 

Today, North Shore Elder Services provides services to many from this generation. This is just a small payment in return for what they have given our society. Our Board, Staff, Vendor Agencies, and Volunteers cannot meet this commitment alone. We are dependent on the advocacy and leadership of our local legislators to secure funding for our programs.  And most of all, we count on support from the community.

We greatly appreciate the financial contributions of our event sponsors, the donation of auction items, and all the individuals who joined us as "passengers" to sail the seven seas with North Shore Elder Services.  Together, we are keeping our promise of life, made easier for thousands of elders, their families and their caregivers.

I wish you "bon voyage" wherever life may take you in the year ahead.

 

"We don't use amps, because we are the real thing," band leader Frank Hsieh said when we booked the Beantown Swing Orchestra to play our Sail the Seven Seas event.  Even with the average age of band members hovering around 23 these kids, ahem, professional young musicians know how to bring that big band sound.  

 

Saturday night they will even be recording music that may be used in the new romantic comedy, My Best Friend's Girl recently shot in Boston that the band was featured in.  The movie stars Kate Hudson, Jason Biggs and Alec Baldwin.