CLEAR VIEW HV 05-14-2023 GUESTS: P.ODENDAHL,K.JORDAN S4S& G. JALOSZYNSKI 12TH ROCK - ORANGE COUNTY GIVES JOINT FUNDRAISER AT 12TH ROCK 5/17.

None

Episode Transcript

(00:01):
The views and opinions expressed in thefollowing program or those of the speaker,
and don't necessarily represent those of thestation it's staff, management, or ownership.
Thanks for tuning in to clear ViewHudson Valley on, your favorite local
iHeart radio station, proudly brought toyou each week by Accent Insurance Services,
an independent insurance agency helping clients likeyou save on auto, home and business

(00:22):
insurance. Visit Accent FG Insurance dotcom for more info. Hey, it's
Uncle Mike and joining me this morninginto studio. Or three gentlemen have been
here before from two different organizations,both of them I am excited about and
happy to have him back on.We're going to talk about where they've gone
since they were here last. Butbefore we get started, we always like

(00:43):
our listeners to have a little backgroundon the voices behind the microphone, So
I think I'm gonna start with PaulOdenole first from Simon's for Seniors. Paul,
I'll give a little bit about yourbackground and how you got involved with
Simon's for Seniors. Well, thankyou, Uncle Mike. So how I
got involved Simon's for Seniors was actuallya vision that came about a few years

(01:06):
ago when I helped a friend ofmine who was suffering with some memory issues
from lyme disease, and I hadgiven her one of the many simons that
I have purchased over the years toutilize it for a period of time,
and it made dramatic improvement in hermemory situation. And then she took that

(01:30):
to her holistic doctor and her medicaldoctor both to say, yes, the
simon is making a difference. It'smade a difference in my life. And
that combined with over the last severalyears teaching in the senior centers coming out
of COVID, I wanted to bringan activity to the senior centers where we
could have fun and be interactive andbring seniors back into a fun environment coming

(01:56):
out of what's happened with COVID.So that's what really was the vision that
started Simmons for seniors. And thesimons we're talking about is the disc with
the four colors on it, andit's a memory game. That's correct.
The four colors flash and you haveto repeat the sequences and that actually helps
people with memories. Right, that'scorrect. Carl. How about you?
How did you get involved little bitat your background and how you got involved.

(02:19):
So I've been in the wellness spacefor several years and I had the
pleasure of meeting Paul earlier last yearand he brought the idea of Simon's for
Seniors. I have aging parents aswell, and the concept of being able
to touch the lives of seniors reallymade an impact for me. So I
have a background in marketing. Wekind of got the website going. Paul

(02:39):
and I've been collaborating for some time, but it's been really awesome going into
the senior centers and seeing how theseniors light up when they're playing the game,
when they're competing, you see thattheir mind is working. And so
it's been such an honor to workwith Paul and we're excited to see great
things happen with Simons for Seniors.And by the way, I should have

(03:00):
started by saying, congratulations, you'vegot your five, O, one,
C three now, thank god.And you're a nonprofit, so now everybody
they need contributions, they need help. What's the website. It's Simon's for
Seniors and that's the number four inthe middle. Simon's for Seniors dot com.
Go on there once you hear whatthey're all about, You're gonna want
to try to help them. Andnow they are a nonprofit so you can

(03:22):
get a tax deduction, which seemsto be a big deal. Also joining
us from Twelfth Rock Greg Jealazinski,who was one of the founders, part
of the family, the couple offamilies that run that. Greg, I
didn't keep my promise, and I'msorry, but I will get out there.
That facility that you built out thereis fascinating to me. It's it's
a great facility to begin with,but what you're doing there is even more

(03:46):
important. Why don't you give alittle bit about your background and how this
whole came about. Yeah, absolutely, thanks for having me again this morning,
Mike. We will get you outthere to see it still in progress.
What we have there is an outdoorthrows facility, So we are a
USA track Field sanctioned throws facility,hammer, discus, javelin, and shot

(04:08):
put, and we run all kindsof programming there, archery programs and track
and field programs. But what kindof started is we just wanted to make
a difference in kids' lives and wesaw that um, the coaching standard was
not where we wanted it to beas as young fathers, my brother and
I and we just try to bringsomething different to the area. But it's

(04:29):
it's exploded into so much more.I mean, we have mentoring programs and
we're raising up young men and womento just be better in society, and
it's it's it's a phenomenal way toreach kids and their families through sports and
we're it's uh, we're starting toget some major national recognition, which is
pretty cool. Yeah, and asyou should because the programs that you have

(04:53):
there, you're addressing. It's interesting, both organizations are addressing issues that are
really facing our society today that peopleare struggling. The seniors have been neglected
and left behind, and so havethe children, you know, and it
all comes down to schooling really onboth and both sides. The schools are
a big part of this. Andunfortunately we went through COVID, which hurt

(05:17):
everyone. But we also have gonethrough a couple of generations with our kids,
especially where because of the economy andthe strains, both parents had to
work and the kids got to beeleven twelve years old, they were raising
themselves and some of the decisions theywere making they didn't have any parennial guidance
in making them, and they madebad decisions their kids, and I mean,

(05:40):
what did we expect was going tohappen? But anyway, now we're
at a point with both of theseorganizations where you are addressing those problems.
You're trying to make a difference,and you are making a difference and hopefully
it just keeps building. Greg yourorganization fascinates me because your brother and you
had very had a very successful businessand you made a determination that your kids

(06:03):
especially needed help and you were goingto do that for the entire community,
and that's why you decided to dowhat you're doing. Yeah, so we
had a yeah, very successful landscapeconstruction company. It was, yeah,
we were growing pretty well, butthis organization was growing right alongside of it.
And this it's way more important tohave a generational impact. That's why

(06:26):
I'm excited to be working with Simon'sfor Seniors because it's it goes from you
know, kindergarten all the way upto the seniors, and that's those are
the people were impacting and we wantthem to understand that they are valuable part
of the community as well. Sothis event we're doing here in a few
weeks is about that, getting everybodyinto the same space and seeing that we

(06:49):
want the seniors to understand that they'vebeen a part of what we're doing programming
wise, now that the standards theyset here in our community are huge and
we want them to be a partof that. So what we're doing is
about that, bringing families together,bringing the seniors there and getting them to
see that this is what's happening intheir community. I mean, I talked

(07:11):
to a woman that at the SeniorsCenter one of their events a few weeks
ago. She's been in the communityfor fifty some years. She was a
teacher, or she worked for thephone company, and she's just she was
speaking of the heartache of not seeingher grandkids and they live locally. So
just to be able to connect theseniors and young people and getting them to

(07:32):
hear the stories that I get tohear, you know, through through events
like these guys are running so itwe're excited for it. One of the
other missing links, if you will, has been between the senior community and
the kids. The kids don't knowanything about the seniors. The seniors unfortunately

(07:53):
now have become disconnected because kids todayare completely different than they used to be
with all the with all the cellphones and electronics that they use. Most
seniors, most seniors that I know, are almost afraid of electronics and don't
want them to do with it.So that makes a barrier right there.
So the fact that you guys haveteamed up and you're going to do an
event that's that's another component to thisthat I think is huge because it's going

(08:18):
to bridge that gap. I meanwith with Honor Flight. We had a
program called Generation Bridge where we broughtWorld War Two veterans into high schools and
sat them on the stage and forcedan assembly and let them tell their stories.
And these kids, when they walkedin there had their phones out.
They want to know part of this. And then when they started hearing the
stories, it wasn't something in abook. It was a living human being

(08:41):
telling the story. And some ofthe stories they told obviously weren't in the
books. And by the end ofthat first one we did that first presentation,
when it was over, the kidsdidn't leave. They were hanging around
by the stage to talk more tothese guys, hugging them and tell them
how great you know, thank youfor it, so it works. Let's
talk about the event real quick.We're gonna hit it a couple of times.

(09:03):
It's coming up on May seventeenth.It's part of the Hudson Valley Gives,
which has done every year. Ithink the same date every year,
isn't it. Yeah, And Simonsfor Seniors and Twelfth Rock have teamed up
together. You're going to have anevent from noon to six that day at
Twelfth Rock with all kinds of activitiesgoing on to even enhance us a little

(09:24):
bit more so people understand what they'regiving to, right, is that the
purpose of this? That is thepurpose. And also I want to go
back to that point, Uncle Mike, that you just brought up with the
different generations. One end of thingsthat occurred when I first went to this
Middletown facility was some of the directorsthere went out and purchased Simons, and

(09:50):
when I came back to teach there, they were very excited to tell me
that they were utilizing the Simons withtheir grandchildren. So then I started to
think about bringing generations together and thatevent that Twelfth Rock came to support that
we had recently in Middletown. Whathappened there was when Carl and I went

(10:11):
to set the appointment for that event, some of the seniors that we met
with asked if we could bring youthin because they just had had an event
at the American Legion and at thatevent they had a dinner and they brought
youth in to have dinner with theseniors. So they started the thought with
us of can you bring young peoplein to also play to signmons with us.

(10:33):
So that's something we're currently looking atthe y MC. I think it
is facility in Middletown where they're goingto bring the seniors in the youth together
to play assignments. So that generationalgap and bringing the generations back together,
utilizing the sigmons and utilizing the sportevents at Twelfth Rock, I think is
very powerful and very important. Yeah, sure seems like it. What do

(10:56):
you so, Carl, you're you'rethe marketing guy here, you're spen on
this. Well, Um, thelast time we came, we talked a
little bit about the storytelling part ofit. Right, So, um,
bringing the kids and the seniors togethergives insight, right, gives perspective for
these kids which is severely lacking becausethey've been trained by TV and these mobile

(11:18):
devices. But when you when youbring those those those two groups together,
the synergy that happens where they nowget some wisdom and pearls of of of
knowledge from the seniors and and maybethe seniors even get a little bit of
insight into technology right using the simons. Sometimes seniors get a little frustrated because
it's a lot going on. Butwe've had some of the young folks come

(11:41):
and actually sit with the seniors,interact with them, and you have such
a much better experience. So helpingthem with their memories, even telling their
stories to these these these young people, it's it's really a labor of love
to bring them together and to sharetheir stories and to really bring community back

(12:03):
together because for two years we've hadisolation. Now we actually are able to
bring people back together. And youknow the other side of this too,
for the seniors especially, I'm thinkingat Twelfth Rock you probably don't attract a
lot of seniors there that's more ofa more of a youth oriented organization.
This may open your facility up tosome seniors that may realize that because the

(12:26):
best you know, seniors need exercise. Obviously, it's almost more important than
ever for the seniors to get outbecause most let's faces, the older we
get, the more sedentary we get, and we don't exercise, and that
just leads to a shorter lifespan.Really, so having them come to your
facility may make them realize that theycan do this, you know what I
mean, Yeah, for sure wedo. Actually, I mean, just

(12:48):
this pass throws ban. We hadan eighty two year old competing at the
master's level. So we do havesome people that are competing at the high
level. But one of the programsthat we're working with is the Still or
Sneakers program, and that's that's basicallyjust getting seniors out and active. I
mean pickle ball, you've seen it. It's starting to get huge here in
our area. And that's that's agenerational game. And I think for me,

(13:13):
it's it's like what Carl just hiton. For me, it's getting
families to understand that there's seniors inour community that might not have their grandchildren
around, that might not um thatcould be adopted families for these people and
for them to understand this, thiswould be a great place for them to
just come and enjoy being around familyagain, and it might not be their

(13:35):
biological family, but it could beyou know, local kids that are participating
and competing and that don't maybe theirgrandparents live across the country, and just
to be able to bring generations togetherand to share those stories is huge.
Yeah. One of the huge problemsthat's facing especially here in New York.
It is so expensive to live inNew York. Now, kids when they

(13:56):
get out of school and they gettheir first jobs, they can't ford to
live here anymore, and that endsup causing them to move to other parts
of the countries. And a lotof times the grandparents, especially at this
point in their life, their housesare paid for and they almost have to
stay here lack of a better word. So there is a separation that goes
on. And that's a great pointyou're making that you know, it's not

(14:18):
their grandkids, but it's kids liketheir grandkids, and they could have a
big impact on those kids lives aswell, while the kids have an impact
on their lives. So it reallydoes. It's a win win for everybody
involved here. Um, that's interesting. He had an eighty two year olds.
Okay, he's a he's a numberone, he's the American record holder
right now in the discus. Wow. He competes in every one of our

(14:39):
eighty two yep, drives from Connecticutfor every meet. Yeah. We have
a bunch of seventy year olds thatare competings in their sixties. Wow.
Yeah, that's good news, isreally good news. And you know the
other thing too, the thing withTwelfth Rock, and we talked about it
when when when you did the showwith me. It has a religious base

(15:01):
to it. It's not a religiousorganization, it's not anything like that,
but it has a religious base toit. Your family is very religious and
and that drives a lot of theI'm trying to take the right way because
I don't want to give people thewrong idea. But at the same time,
it's a basis for a discipline,I guess is the best thing to

(15:22):
use, right Is that the bestway to subscribe it? Yeah? Yeah,
So it's it's funny because you godown the road of it is a
religious or not, but everybody hasI mean, these guys have a reason
for why they started Simon's for seniors. We have a reason for doing what
we're doing. And if you don'thave a reason for doing what you're doing,
then then there's a problem, youknow. So we're trying to just

(15:43):
get kids understand that faith can bea reason that you're doing stuff and the
reason why you're doing things for peoplecan be your faith. And there's not
a problem with that, you know. Well, no, no, it's
definitely not a problem and it works. It's very effective and your your organization
and this facility proves that. Um. But you're right, there has to

(16:04):
be a why for everything, andif you don't have a why, then
you're just wandering aimlessly through through life. And that happens to a lot of
people. And you hear a lotof stories when people do finally find that
why, that their life turns around. So it's important that we, you
know, we talk about that.M Paul and and Carl. You've got

(16:26):
another event real quickly, we'll talkabout coming up on May ninth, which
is before this. We should talkabout that real quickly. At Health First
over in Newburgh in the Target Plaza. It's a wellness program, a wellness
program that was originally founded in theFive Boroughs and now is part of the
Hudson Valley Health First. And theylearned a little bit about at another event.

(16:52):
Simon's for seniors and they work withseniors, so they were very interested
and excited to hold an event attheir facility and New bur so we're going
to be holding the event there andalso back to the May seventeenth event.
We are so grateful to be withTwelfth Rock because what you were just discussing
previously is a good point. Weare marketing director here. Carl just started

(17:15):
reaching out yesterday to the senior centersin the Hudson Valley to make them aware
of the event on the seventeenth,and some of them have the opportunity with
bussing the bus seniors to this event. So I hadn't thought about it,
and this is another great thing thatoccurs when you're in the studio. But
I've got to make sure that Gregand I are on the same page with
letting these seniors if we truck webust them in like we hope to do

(17:38):
with these directors, having these seniorsunderstanders more activities that are available in the
Hudson Valley at a location like TwelfthRock, because one of the facilities that's
bussing people in or sending people hasa very active community in pickleball, so
to know that there's more than pickleballavailable for the seniors. I see on

(17:59):
the fly you've got archery, basketball, Cornwall's going to be giveaways, obviously,
the Simon games are gonna be there. You're gonna have food on site.
It's going to be a great afternoonfor everybody to be there just to
enjoy themselves. I think it's reallyimportant to see this facility at Twelfth Rock
because we can describe it until wepul coat hangers, but until you see

(18:21):
it, it really does. Youknow. It really is amazing what you've
built there. And the other thingthat you'll notice when you're there is they're
constantly building. They're not stopping.They've got a lot more stuff in the
works to get this to where youand your brother and your family want it
to be. Yeah. Yeah.The whole idea for this day is it's

(18:42):
an open house. I mean Stuarts. Stuarts has donated a whole bunch of
hot dogs and ice cream, Sundaykits and all kinds of stuff. So
we're just basically have all the activitiesopen so people can see what we do
here on a regular basis and theycan come and go as they want stay
as long as they want. Andjust my son has a fitness business called

(19:03):
Fitness for Focus M. A wholebunch of his clientele are coming and that
would be great to have them inthe space as well. So there their
instructors. I know they're actually sohe has a fitness program for people with
disabilities, okay, and so theynormally work out on Wednesdays, but instead
of their workout, they're going tocome to this event. So it'll they'll

(19:25):
you know, thirty plus um individualswith disabilities in there, and there people
will be there as well. Andthat's another component. That's another part of
our community that is kind of leftout with disabilities. There there there people
don't think about. You know,it's funny. It's funny. I have
a gentleman that calls on the morningshow that I do who's blind and he

(19:47):
brings up all kinds of uh scenariosthat he says, you know, he
was fortunate he had a career atIBM, but and it once he retired,
he wanted to work part time andit was almost impossible. As soon
as they found out he was blind, they didn't want to hire him.
And we were talking about you wantto hear something really funny. We were
talking about the the new cars thatthey're coming up with the drive themselves,

(20:11):
and he's like, you know,I think that's not a really good ideas
because you've got to get to apoint where blind people will buy these cars
that can drive themselves. He says, is that really a good idea?
You know, he was laughing.He's I don't want to do that,
and I never thought about that.But truly, you know, if they
bring these self driving cars to apoint where you could have a blind person
operating one of those, which Idon't think self driving cars are a good

(20:33):
idea to begin with. I mean, to me, that whole scenario is
it either has to be all selfdriving cars or none. You can't mix
the lady putting their lipstick on orthe guy shaving, but in the car
that's driving itself, because that thatartificial intelligence can't anyway. But that's great
that that's another component that's going tobe at this event that both maybe the

(20:56):
seniors and I'm certainly that the youngerpeople aren't exposed to very often, and
they need, you know, theyneed to understand that somebody with a disability
can function just as well as theycan, and I think that's a great
thing that's going to happen there.And we were just discussing that uncle Mike
in a board meeting that we're aboutto expand in start events in the Nashville,

(21:18):
Tennessee area, and also in southernCalifornia. We're about to start events
there with Simon's for seniors with twoboard members and two of the thing or
three of the things that came upwas I started a couple of years ago
playing with that Simon with my eyesclosed, because you can follow the sound

(21:40):
pattern. Also, not only isit the color of the light or the
particular pattern seeing visibly the light,but you can hear the sound is different
of each color. So I startedto challenge myself with my eyes closed to
follow that pattern, so both hearingimpaired or eyesight impaired can utilize this.
And then our community in Southern Californiabrought up the point that it was very

(22:03):
important that it is no language barrier, so we also don't have a language
barrier, and utilizing this particular electronicdevice to help people with not only memory,
but also bringing him together and enjoyingthemselves in a fun activity as Seniors.
So again the event that we're talkingabout, I'm here with Greg Jelazinski

(22:26):
from Twelfth Rock, Carl Jordan,and Paul Odendell from Simon's for Seniors,
and they've gotten together for this eventon May seventeenth, part of the Hudson
Valley Gives event, which happens thatday. I think it's the same day
every year if I remember right,and that's a fundraising event. But these
two organizations have taken it beyond thefundraising because they're going to be able to

(22:52):
you know, as Greg explained,it's going to be an open house for
Twelfth Rock. You'll be able tostop in there and see what that facility
is all about. But the SeniorSimons for Seniors people will be there explaining.
They'll have their the Simons games there, but they'll be able to explain
what their purpose is, what they'redoing, and how they can affect and
help the senior community. So again, it's May seventeen, from noon to

(23:15):
six at the Twelfth Rock facility.What's the address of Twelfth Rock, four
forty Mount Hope Road, Middletown,New York. So, four forty Mount
Hope Road, Middletown, New Yorkum and you guys will be there with
them. Now, do you havea you don't. Do you have an
address for address? The nonprofit addressat this point for Simons for Seniors is

(23:40):
in Bloomingburg, Okay, so inBloomingburg, New York. And what's the
website it's Simons, Simmons swore thenumber four four Simons the digit for seniors
dot com and Twelfth Rock what isthe website for Twelfth Rock dot org?
Twelfth Rock dot org and h andagain I want to thank the sponsor.
That was another good point you broughtup. Greg. You've got Stewarts that

(24:03):
is assisting us on that day,and we just had an event in Middletown
where Panara assisted us on that day. So as we continue to grow organizations
that are sponsoring us like Hudson ValleyCredit Union and these other organizations that are
assisting us with fundraising or batteries forthe Simons or food for these events,

(24:25):
it's it's been great. We've beenvery grateful. Yeah, really all the
seniors listening to us. You heardGreg say there's going to be hot dogs
at ice cream there saying, youknow, maybe it's a senior you don't
get the hot dogs. Wait aminute, I'm a senior. I'm going
for it. And we also wantto thank I mean, we have our
great volunteers. Shout out to Darafrom Emery and Webb. She's been awesome

(24:47):
at the events helping out with theseniors. So we're also always looking for
volunteers to come and support and alsospend some time with these amazing seniors that
we get the privilege to work with. But sponsors are always important, obviously,
and you're going to grow that list. They're they're going to continue to
get on board, and there's andpeople who maybe you thought about being involved

(25:08):
as a sponsor, but you didn'tquite get there yet. This is your
perfect chance to go out and seewhat they're all about. You know,
maybe the next event you will bea sponsor. Who knows, but come
out and check out what's going onand h and be part of it and
hopefully next year we can read yourname off as one of the sponsors.

(25:30):
We only got a few minutes leftfrom both of you, so I guess
Paul, I'll go to you first. What's what's your goal? Now?
Now you've you've gotten a nonprofit andyou are growing us Simon's for seniors.
What's next? I think next wetalked about this at a recent board meeting.

(25:52):
UM really looking at building some typeof an ambassador program. So it
seems to be very easy to getinterest in supporting the seniors with these simons,
which is actually a great thing,and finding senior centers or additional or

(26:14):
the different living organizations are living facilitiesthey have out there, forgot exactly what
they call them, but the differentliving facilities they have for seniors out there.
I was at one recently called WoodlandPond, they were interested. One
called Landing at Pikeepsie they were interested. So finding the facilities or the senior
centers is not that difficult. Buildingvolunteers and ambassadors is going to be really

(26:37):
the next big step and finding peoplethat really have a heart and supporting seniors
and helping them and engaging a moreactive lifestyle and also bringing more dignity back
to the seniors. So the boardmembers we have currently are very focused on
that, and a good part ofthe board is reaching that in your age,

(27:00):
so they see the need for moredignity and more respect for the seniors,
and there's a lot to seniors wantto give back. I think Greg
experienced that when he came to visitus. So when he came to visit,
he had a wonderful conversation as hementioned earlier with one of the seniors.
I had several conversations with seniors Ihadn't met before. So they just
want to have the opportunity to telltheir story, receive some dignity for the

(27:22):
life that they've lived, and theyhave a lot of wisdom to give to
a younger generation. Absolutely, Greg, how about you. What's what's the
what's the vision now for Twelfth Rock? What's next? Oh? What's next
is we're entering into a major capitalcampaign to get the facility finished, but
we keep running programming. We havesome cool connections developing with some national level

(27:45):
throws camps now, so we're tryingto just pour into those relationships and we're
just we just keeping inviting people tocome and see. I'm walking a couple
of gentlemen there tomorrow and that's that'sthe biggest thing. That's the huge part
of this event is just come andsee. If they If they come and
see, then um, you geta better picture than looking at the website
for sure. So it's twelfth Rockdot Org is the website, UH Seniors.

(28:11):
The digit the number four h Simonsfor Seniors dot com and that's the
number four in the middle, Simonsfor Seniors dot com. UM, Greg,
Paul, and Carl. Thanks somuch for coming out. It's always
a wait to see you guys again. It's May seventeen, from noon to
six at the Twelfth Rock Facility,four forty Mount Hope Road in Middletown.

(28:33):
I'm gonna make a big effort tobe there myself and uh maybe I'll finally
get out and see the facility togive me the excuse to be out there.
Right. But thanks so much forcoming out. I wish you a
lot of success on the event andpeople listening. Hudson Valley gives as there's
a purpose for that. Both ofthese organizations need help financially and uh,
we'll appreciate it if you get involved, not only financially but as volunteers as

(28:57):
well. Thanks so much, guys, We'll talk to you real soon.
Thanksico, Mike, thanks for havingus. Thank you. I hope you
enjoyed this week's episode of Clear View. Hudson Valley and I want to remind
you that all the episodes are availableon a clear View. Hudson Valley Podcast
available at iHeartRadio dot com. I'mUncle Mike, and if I don't see
you out and about, I'll catchyou on the radio. Have a great

(29:18):
week, everyone,