The Buzz - Foothills Center
Foothills Community Center is a nonprofit gathering place keeping the local community young at heart. We produce a printed monthly magazine (The Livewire), a weekly e-newsletter (The Spark) and now this podcast (The Buzz). Learn about our wide range of activities and events, meet our members, and learn how you can support our important community resource.
Episodes
David Belcher started what was the Friendship Brigade during the COVID-19 pandemic as a way to stay in touch with people the community. Now called Friendship Bridge, the concept is spreading across the country, with kids and adults of all ages creating and sharing hand-written greeting cards with senior groups. Friendship Bridge meets at Foothills Community Center on the first and third Thursday of every month from 1 to 3 p.m. The ...
Stephanie Snitily, Regional Immunization Coordinator with the Chelan-Douglas Health District, discusses the vaccines available to help adults over 50 stay healthy as they age.
Shannon Port, Second Chance Thrift Shop manager, discusses a number of topics, including the need for paid employees and volunteers, donation quality and how items are priced.
The Thrift Shop is located at the rear of the Foothills Community Center Building. It is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays. Donations are accepted 9 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. on weekdays in Suite D, on the right side of...
The Chelan Public Utility District (Chelan PUD) has revamped their discount program, increasing the amount to 25% and greatly expanding who will qualify. Cathy Melton, Customer Service Program Analyst for the PUD explains who will qualify and how to apply.
You can apply for the program at https://f-cc.link/cpudpromise.
Frankie Fitzjarrald has been teaching line dancing classes for over 30 years in Arizona and Wenatchee. Her classes at Foothills Community Center (FCC) are extremely popular, with up to 40 people per class. FCC members can join her classes at no additional cost.
Zaylie Doll, Jaylee Hix and Isabella Schultz, sophomores at Eastmont High School, are competing in the upcoming Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) competition in Spokane in the event management category. They decided to create an intergenerational event at Foothills Community Center called Petals & Pals that allowed Eastmont students to visit the Center and build flower bouquets with the members. Thanks to assistance fro...
Nick Davis is a lifetime Wenatchee Valley resident and the son of orchardists. He recently become involved with the Foothills Community Center and is fired up about helping us as an ambassador and fundraiser.
Darlene Backlund moved to the Wenatchee Valley in the fall of 2024 to be closer to family, but that hasn't slowed down her passion for staying fit. She has won hundreds of race walking competitions around the world, and most recently won the USATF Masters Half Marathon Race Walk in the age 80-84 category in Santee, CA.
Darlene joined Foothills Community Center to build her own network of friends and quickly become involved in our W...
Stevie Knemeyer, Director of Sales at Colonial Vista Senior Living, gives a tour of their penthouse suite. The 10,000 sq. ft. living quarters was the home of the founders, Carl and Betty Campbell. The Campbells were pioneers in developing the modern concept of retirement living communities and brought this concept nationwide.
The staff at Colonial Vista have kept the penthouse intact with it's original colors and patterns... it's li...
The Coloring Group is one of the newest activities that has started at our community center. It's one of our most diverse groups with people of all ages and abilities coming together to work on their art skills and socialize.
Carol Prag started the group about a year and a half ago, and since then it continues to grow. Carol is from Leavenworth and is a retired business owner. She became involved in art activities over the years as ...
Mary Jinneman was one of the founding members of the ping pong group at the Wenatchee Valley Senior Activity Center. At age 99, she still has a pretty mean serve! She enjoys playing ping pong to keep active and socialize.
Unfortunately, during the COVID-19 pandemic and closure, our thrift shop needed extra space and took over the Golden Apple Room where the ping pong tables were stored. We won't have room to host the group again unt...
Bella Martinez has been a volunteer in our Senior Nutrition program for four years. She originally came to us through the Transitions program in the Wenatchee School District, but she enjoyed volunteering for us so much that she came back to help us on her own time.
For more information on the Wenatchee Valley Community Transitions Program, visit wenatcheeschools.org/transitions/
Dr. Steve Kaster has been a member of our board of directors for over 12 years and is also an active volunteer in our senior nutrition program. Hear what he has to say about our new name change, building expansion needs and suggestions to help seniors stay in control of their health.
As part of our Meet the Board Members series, Russ Alman interviews Erin Cass, who holds the Director A position. Erin has worked with many nonprofits in the Wenatchee Valley in a variety of roles and currently operates her own business called Health Aging. Listen to this episode to find out more about Erin's vision for the Senior Center.
Russ Alman talks with Lydia Agidius, Program Director, from her hotel in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Lydia is chaperoning a trip as part of our Travel Program to attend the 2025 Balloon Fiesta. Lisa Blair, Executive Director, outlines our upcoming Big Giving Week coming up in mid-October. And watch the podcast to find the Secret Word -- the first person to email Russ at russ@wenatcheeseniorcenter.com with the word will receive an earl...
This interview was conducted on August 8, 2025, prior to the announcement of our Renaming Contest that ran from August 15-31 and before we officially started The Buzz. However, we still wanted to share this with you as part of our series of interviews to meet our board members.
Jim Tarbert was elected chairman of the board earlier this summer has also acted as the head of our building expansion committee. He is one of the key reason...
Mandy Ketcham, CDP is a dementia support specialist for Highgate Senior Living. According to Mandy, over 80% of the population is directly affected by someone with dementia, yet the condition is widely misunderstood.
Mandy is hosting a workshop at the Wenatchee Valley Senior Activity Center on Friday, September 26, 2025. The seminar will provide hands-on learning, practical insights and valuable take-away opportunities to help parti...
The first of our series of interviews with WVSAC board members. Marco Martinez is now in his second year serving on our board of directors in one of the at large positions.
Russ Alman interviews Mary Fran McClure, volunteer coordinator of the Wenatchee Valley Senior Activity Center's Sunday Dances. The dances are held from 2 - 4 p.m., feature local live bands, and are open to the public for people of all ages.
Popular Podcasts
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and current events with intelligence and humor. From the border crisis, to the madness of cancel culture and far-left missteps, Clay and Buck guide listeners through the latest headlines and hot topics with fun and entertaining conversations and opinions.
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by Audiochuck Media Company.
DISGRACELAND is an award-winning music and true crime podcast about musicians getting away with murder and behaving very badly. Jerry Lee Lewis's 5th wife? Dead. Sid and Nancy? Both dead. Why? Because musicians are insane, and insane things happen to them. Why did we lose Amy Winehouse at 27? Was Debbie Harry really abducted by Ted Bundy as she claims? Is Patti Smith not just the "Godmother of Punk", but also the "Original True Crime Girl"? What really happened the night of the Jay Z nightclub stabbing? What do the Diddy indictments truly reveal? All these stories and more, on artists from every genre and their true crimes, in our massive 260-plus story archive. The Dead, the Stones, Johnny, Willie, Frank, Kurt, Courtney, Gaga, Lana, Taylor, and too many to name. DISGRACELAND is music history come to life through audio storytelling as you've never heard it before, with revealing facts: yes, assassins are the real reason the Beatles quit touring—reclaimed myths: no, Mama Cass didn't die from choking on a ham sandwich––and constant reckoning between art and artist––all told through the lens of true crime. This is the podcast for the self-proclaimed "Disgos", the musically obsessed and the true crime heads; the outsiders, the independent thinkers who know that the best history is the history that gets buried. DISGRACELAND is where host Jake Brennan tells the stories they didn't want told. The kind you'll end up telling someone else. Get ready to uncover hidden truths and buckle up for truly edge-of-your-seat storytelling. New, fully scripted, sound-designed episodes are released every Tuesday. Bonus chat-style episodes where Jake responds to voicemails, texts, and emails from Disgos hit on Thursdays, and "Rewind" episodes from our archive drop on Sundays. DISGRACELAND is not a journalistic podcast. It's an entertainment podcast inspired by true events. Certain dialogue and scenes are dramatized, as is common in scripted entertainment based on real stories. Sources and credits for each episode are available at www.disgracelandpod.com. To unlock ad-free listening, exclusive content, and connect with your fellow Disgos, go to www.disgracelandpod.com to become an All Access member. Rocka Rolla.