It is my pleasure to introduce myself. I was selected by the Senior Center Board of Directors and Endowment Trustees at the Anchorage Senior Center as Legacy Planning Director on July 1, 2007. It is my personal goal to assist the Center members and other prospective donors, their financial planners and attorneys, to establish planned gifts to support the Center’s programs and activities.

The Center has an Endowment Trust Fund of $2,500,000± and it is my job to assist them with the goal to build the Fund to $10,000,000 with the interest from the Fund supporting Center programs, activities and operations.

My 20 years of experience include working with the Senior Services in Seattle, Washington, and managing the Leadership and Planned Giving Program for KCTS-PBS Public Television in Seattle. I also have extensive experience working with United Ways in Seattle and throughout the Pacific Northwest and Canada as well as with the United Way International in India, Hungary, and Russia.

I have traveled extensively in Alaska over the years and in the early 1970's and 1980's I consulted with a group of women in Fairbanks, who started a Women’s Center and with the United Way of Anchorage to establish a board training program. I also served on the Washington State Commission on Civil Rights and on joint projects with the Alaska Commission.

In my free time, I enjoy spending time with my husband, Ed Hutchinson, who is an oil painter at our studio and gallery at the Turnagain Arm Arts and Music Center. I am also an avid photographer. As a couple, we also enjoy fishing for Halibut, traveling and sampling the cuisine wherever we go.

Innovation is one of our trademarks as human beings. In order to make things happen, we need to become enthralled by something. I've been thinking about the innovative ways that Senior Center members and others give special gifts to the Endowment Fund. Here are some examples:

• Jackie Robinson, who is an artist and involved with the artists' group at the Senior Center, is proud of her Center Membership for 24 years. For the past several years, Jackie has given to the Endowment Fund a gift in honor of each year that she has been a Center Member. When I attended Social Hour last month and spoke about the Endowment Fund, Jackie gave me her special Endowment gift in honor of the many years that she has enjoyed and continues to enjoy the Center. I started thinking about what an innovative way to support the Endowment Fund with a gift in honor of the number of years that the Senior Center has been important in your and/or a family member's life.
• Annette Hathaway attended one of the Center's Special Event Luncheons. Annette asked me whether we would be interested in a gavel, which belonged to her late husband, Russell Hathaway Jr. At the June 1 Legacy Luncheon, the gavel was presented to Endowment Trustee Chairman, Hal Wolverton, with the following engraved inscription: "To the Endowment Trustees for Order and Understanding From Annette Hathaway In Loving Memory of her Husband, Russell Hathaway, Jr. 1934-2009."
• Robert "Bob" Brink, Attorney, who drafted the original Endowment Trust Agreement with the Anchor-Age, Inc. Board of Directors 26 years ago (now called the Anchorage Senior Activity Center), donated a cemetery plot at the Anchorage Angelus Memorial Cemetery Park. If you know of anyone who is interested in purchasing this cemetery plot, please let me know. The proceeds will benefit the Endowment Trust Fund. Others have donated cemetery plots as well in the same Memorial Park, with the proceeds to benefit the Senior Center Operating Budget. Please check with Cathy Lee, Center Executive Director, if you are interested in purchasing one or more of these plots.
• Stan Reitman, active participant in the Center's Fitness Program, called me and asked if the Endowment Fund had considered the possibility of having plaques engraved for the benches that are all around the Senior Center and by the side door, near the Fitness Center. Stan became the first Endowment Fund donor to have a plaque engraved which states: "For the Use and Enjoyment of Senior Center Members, Invitees and Guests In Memory of Jean B. Reitman from the Reitman Family - Husband, Stanley and Daughter, Candice (Candy)." If you or your families are interested in naming one of the other twenty-three (23) benches with an engraved plaque with a gift or bequest to the Endowment Fund, please let me know.
• Dan Cuddy, First National Bank Alaska Founder and President celebrated his 90th Birthday this year. In 2012, the Bank will celebrate its 90th Anniversary. An engraved plaque was added to the new "90+ Birthday Honorarium Donor Recognition Board" with the following inscription: "Daniel H. Cuddy, First National Bank Alaska, February, 8 1921.
• Eric Bennett has given Legacy Society and Memorial Gifts in loving memory of his wife, Glenda for five (5) years, including this October, which is the month of Glenda's passing and also Eric's birthday is on October 15. You could also begin to give an annual gift to the Endowment Fund starting in 2011. Eric's name is stitched on all three of the Legacy Society Donor Recognition Tapestries which hang in the Senior Center's second Reception area.
• Trish Kriendler, a Senior Center Social Hour Volunteer for many years, approached me at the Senior Center Open House with a great idea. She suggested that men and women sell their unused gold jewelry and donate the proceeds to the Endowment Fund. Trish describes these gifts as "the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow" as a wonderful legacy that you can give to the Endowment Fund.

October is the month to admire the beauty that unfolds, when the trees, shrubs and grasses turn brilliant shades of red, orange and yellow colors. During this month, think about the innovative and lasting legacies that you would like to leave or the creative ideas you have to enhance and grow the Endowment Fund. Let's have a cup of hot apple cider, hot chocolate or a mocha coffee and share ideas about innovative legacies of love for the Endowment Fund. When you see me at the Senior Center, share your ideas. Or, give me a call on my mobile phone at 907-382-8786. I'm also reachable by e-mail me at asc-legacy@ak.net. With gratitude - Your Legacy Planning Director, Jan Knutson.

High Expectations Grow the Endowment Fund

"High expectations are the key to everything" is a quote from Sam Walton, entrepreneur and founder of Wal-Mart and Sam's Club from the book "Everyone Leads: It Takes Each of Us To Make A Difference For All of Us, compiled by Dan Zadra.

I was thrilled when Honora Drew, daughter of the late Leon Windeler, came to the Senior Center to personally deliver her father's bequest to the Endowment Fund. Honora said that her father "made waves in the world" and that he would want to be publicly recognized for this bequest. Leon was the "Founding Father" of the 90+ Birthday Luncheons. He celebrated his own 90th Birthday in 2000 with a party at the Senior Center. Leon had high expectations that everyone who was 90 years of age or older would want to come to birthday celebration gatherings at the Senior Center. Ever since the Senior Center has hosted 90+ Birthday Luncheons on a quarterly basis with the next one being on Thursday, Septebmer 15. We will honor the memory of Leon Windeler by placing a new engraved plaque on the 90+ Birthday Honorarium Board and pay tribute to him. Leon was a member of the Central Alaska Retired Teachers Association (CARTA), a retiree organization that meets monthly at the Senior Center on the first Saturday of the month except in the summer. CARTA is a Charter Member of the Legacy Society and for many years has also given an annual gift to the Endowment Fund.

"Let us be grateful to people who make us happy - they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom" is a quote by Marcel Proust, French novelist and essayist, in the book The Simple Abundance Journal of Gratitude by Sarah Ban Breathnach. As we look at the beautiful gardens all around the Anchorage Senior Activity Center during the glorious summer we have enjoyed, we are reminded of several special memorial dedications.

• One is the John Lower Memorial Garden, which was established in 2003. Catherine Lower, an active volunteer in the Senior Center Craft and Quilting Program, gives a gift each year to have new flowers planted in her late husband's Memorial Garden.
• Another is the Margaret Egan Sullivan Memorial Bench, installed in 2009 and dedicated by current Anchorage Mayor Dan Sullivan, son of the late Margaret & George Sullivan, Anchorage Mayor 1967-1982. This Memorial bench is located near the covered parkway at the entrance to the Senior Center. The late Mayor George Sullivan served as an Endowment Trustee until 2009, when he resigned due to his health condition. George Sullivan was a Charter Member of the Legacy Society and also left a bequest in his Will to the Endowment Fund.
• Stanley Reitman, Endowment Honorary Trustee and Legacy Society Member, called me and asked me about having a plaque engraved on one of the four benches in front of the Senior Center in memory of his late wife, Jean. The plaque states: "For the Use and Enjoyment of Senior Center Members, Invitees and Guests In Memory of Jean B. Reitman from the Reitman Family - Husband, Stanley and Daughter, Candice (Candy)"

If you and or family members would like to select one of the other three benches in front of the Senior Center and have a plaque engraved and dedicated with a personal inscription as a result of a Legacy Society gift of $1,000 or more, please let me know. Seniors often sit on these unmarked benches in front of the Center to converse with each other or wait for Anchor-Rides or others to pick them up under the Center's covered entrance parking area.

Each Fall, I watch the wild and wily geese begin to migrate south. They fly thousands of miles in a perfect "V" formation. As each bird moves its great wings, it creates uplift for the geese that follow. Formation flying is 70 percent more efficient then flying alone. The Endowment Fund and the Anchorage Senior Activity Center are flying together to make a positive difference for all of us involved with the Center and for future generations. Let's fly in formation and have high expectations for the growth of the Endowment Fund. Come fly with me as your Legacy Planning Director and give me a call on my mobile phone at 907-382-8786 or via e-mail at asc-legacy@ak.net about the legacy that you would like to leave to the Endowment Fund.

With gratitude - Jan Knutson

Legacies Endure-Create Your Legacy with a Gift or Bequest to the Endowment Fund

"Generations have held the Endowment Fund Center close to their hearts for over 25 years. These legacies will endure for many more generations. One way to create a legacy to the Endowment Fund is with a distribution from your Individual Retirement Fund Account (IRA.) That is the legacy that I'm leaving to the Endowment Fund with a financial distribution from my IRA each year." An Anonymous Endowment Fund Legacy Society Donor.

An Individual Retirement Account (IRA) is a retirement plan that provides tax advantages for retirement savings. If your have an IRA and are 70 ½ years of age, you must make an annual financial distribution from your IRA, which can be made as a tax-free gift to a non-profit organization of your choice. 2011 is the final year in the federal tax regulations that you can make a tax-free gift from your IRA, preferably to the Endowment Fund of Anchorage Senior Activity Center (ASAC.) If your spouse is 70½ or older, he or she may also make a similar tax free contribution to the charitable organization of his or her choice. Of course, we hope that you will consider the Endowment Fund as you think about the enduring legacy that you and/or your spouse would like to make by December 31, 2011. Please check with your Financial Advisor or Accountant on how you may transfer your IRA distribution to the Endowment Fund. The Endowment Fund of Anchorage Senior Activity Center is a non-profit tax-exempt organization. Our tax number is 92-0086821 for your tax deduction purposes.

If you don't have an IRA, but would like to make a financial gift to the Endowment Fund, you can make this gift in payments over time - either monthly, quarterly and/over several years. Several Legacy Society donors had a payment plan and appreciated making timely payments. You may also fulfill the vision of the Endowment Fund by leaving a bequest in your will as an investment in the future of the Senior Center for generations to come.

"Appreciation is a wonderful thing, it makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well" is a quote of François Marie Arvuet, better known as Voltaire, a French writer, historian, and philosopher. I want to express my appreciation to Endowment Trustees, Anne Campbell and Pete Weimer as the Chairwoman and Vice-Chairman of the Trustee Development (Fund-Raising) & Marketing Committee. This Committee recommends long-range and annual goals for the Fund in conjunction with me as Legacy Planning Director. Anne is the Account Executive for Alaska Business Monthly Magazine and has been very helpful by introducing me to businesses as financial and in-kind sponsors for Legacy Special Events and 90+ Birthday Celebrations. Pete, who is retired from the Army Corps of Engineers, has introduced me to civic organizations such as the Lions Club and the Pioneers. Both Anne and Pete are very willing to respond to any questions or suggestions that you may have for growth of the Endowment Trust Fund. Anne's work telephone number is 276-4373 and her mobile phone 223-8134. Pete is often at the Senior Center, so you may talk with Pete in-person or reach him on his home telephone number (907) 562-5647.

By including the Endowment Fund in your Will and/or making an IRA distribution gift or a financial gift of $1,000 or more, you become a Legacy Society Member of the Endowment Fund. You may do this as an individual, family, retiree or civic organization and/or as a business. Learn more about establishing or building upon your Legacy gifts and/or bequests by contacting me, you're Legacy Planning Director, when you see me at the Anchorage Senior Activity Center or by calling me on my mobile telephone at 907-382-8786 and/or e-mailing me at asc-legacy@ak.net. Let's have a cup of coffee or tea and talk about your desire to leave an enduring legacy. With appreciation, Jan Knutson, Legacy Planning Director