SJA's Prime Timers:
A New Name, A New Focus
May 29th, 2001

Emerging from two recent organizing meetings at St. Joan of Arc is the PRIME TIMERS. The PRIME TIMERS is the “55 and over group”, repositioned to better serve the needs of this group and the parish. Its tag line is: “-- 55 and over, having fun, serving others --”.

Julie Madden, Staff Liaison, and Norine Larson graciously led the first general meeting of about 25 people on May 14. The attendees brainstormed about how the “55 and over group” fits into the parish, what activities this group might like, and a good name for the group. The consensus opinion was many people in this age group at SJA are looking for more social, service, and learning opportunities. Also, the group needs a new identity. The name PRIME TIMERS was chosen. And finally, a steering committee composed of Julie, Mary Ahler, Tom Gorzycki, Jerry Hartlaub, Trish Hartlaub, and Natalie Roloff volunteered to generate some plans for the entire group to consider.

The motivation for this meeting was to explore ways the “55 and over group” might grow beyond the few current social events. Many members of this generation are active leaders and contributors to the mission of the parish. However, it was believed that a new group identity and SJA program might further harness their energy for their fulfillment and for the community.

At the May 29 steering committee meeting, the PRIME TIMERS launch plan and activities plan was further developed. A proposed web page was assigned to a member. A request to tackle the Sunday morning church parking problems was accepted. Various service activities were reviewed. SJA receives many requests for help and the requests are generally kept in a file. The notion of a service activities list publicized and maintained by the PRIME TIMERS seemed attractive.

Julie Madden, staff liason

A late June steering committee meeting is scheduled to put more flesh on the plans. You can anticipate many more social, service, and learning opportunities targeted for those 55 years and older. Watch for the PRIME TIMERS launch during an upcoming Sunday in fall.

If you’d like to help, contact Julie at 612.823.8205 ext. 228 or jmadden@stjoan.com. Stay tuned!

Jerry Hartlaub has been an SJA member for 8 years. He has 2 children and one grandchild and works at Medtronics.