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QualityCare for Quality ofLife
He has been president for two years and was a past president a few years ago.
“I was also secretary, treasurer, and first vice president,” he said.
The Lions Club has two big fundraisers every year. One is a pancake and sausage breakfast for Sugar Camp Days at Bendix Woods Park. It was held last month.
“I am in charge of getting it coordinated and getting food ordered,” he said.
The second biggest fundraiser is during Hometown Days the last weekend in July.
“It’s a big community event, and we have a food booth there,” Macias said.
The Lions Club also awards two scholarships to New Prairie High School students.
“Our scholarship program is set up as an essay about community service. We don’t know the names of the students and so we pick a winner based on that. Then we got to the high school to meet them. We feel that is the most fair,” Macias said.
The Lions Club also assists with the caring and sharing program for underprivileged children in the New Prairie school district at Christmas time.
“We also give to the Leader Dogs program and a cancer organization,” he added. “I have a box in my store for eyeglasses.”
He was also fortunate enough, he said, to be nominated and receive the Melvin Jones Award. He also was awarded the W.P. Woods Award from the state Lions organization.
“Each club can do that,” he said of the nominations.
The Lions Club has about 20 members of which 12 are active.
“We are always looking for new members,” Macias noted.
Macias said he gets great satisfaction from helping those in need.
“This is the way I was brought up,” he stated.
A small business owner, he is married to Jan, his wife of 44 years, and they have four children and 12 grandchildren. He also is a board member of North Liberty Church of the Brethren. He also operates the church’s sound system.
He also helps New Prairie Little Leagues teams.
“We get the high school baseball team to work with us, and we make a donation to the team,” Macias said.
“In the summer, the high school girls basketball team helps us, and we make a donation to the them.”
He has been a 4-H leader for 20 years. He is a member of the St. Joseph County Ag Team.
“We teach people about ag and will have Ag Days March 31 to April 2 at the county fairgrounds,” he said.
Vote Jason Banicki for city clerk of South Bend
When I made the decision to run for South Bend’s city clerk, I saw the opportunity to help advance the city for the next generation. I am pictured with my nephew and want to make South Bend a place where he wants to stay for his whole life, instead of leaving the area like many of the people I grew up with did. While the city clerk is not a policy-making position, I can make process and technology changes leading to greater efficiency in administrative tasks benefitting all city offices.
According to the current clerk, it takes nine hours to generate the meeting minutes from a three-hour meeting. I would look to immediately upgrade the computer hardware and software used in the clerk’s office so we can use any of the high-quality transcription programs available to create meeting minutes in a matter of minutes instead of hours. This would free up time for activities, like improving the closed captioning and adding chapters to the meeting videos that are published on YouTube. We could also try and publish the council and committee meetings as podcasts to give people another option to keep up with what is going on in city government. When I talk about fresh ideas, modernizing technology is just the start of changes I want to bring to get the clerk’s office moving forward. My goal is to increase transparency through creating a more efficient and user-friendly clerk’s office. I will also work to improve the effectiveness of communication between city governmental offices. I genuinely believe I am the right person to give the South Bend clerk’s office the fresh start it needs and ask for your support and vote on or before May 2.
I may be reached at JasonBanickiForCityClerk@gmail.com.
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Joanne Schloss is the key to Habitat for Humanity in St. Joseph County
Joanne Schloss is a dedicated volunteer who has spent her life giving back to her community.
Originally from Chicago, she began volunteering early in her life. At the age of 12 she was volunteering at a senior home doing occupational therapy with arts and crafts.
Throughout her life, she has volunteered at various places, including literacy programs, education programs for adult education, nature centers and more.
In 2010, Schloss moved to South Bend. She began volunteering with St. Joseph’s Habitat for Humanity in 2018, helping with accounting and various other tasks.
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When COVID hit in March 2020, Habitat for Humanity had to shut down many of its programs, especially those involving repairs on the interior of homes. However, when they reopened in August 2020, Schloss came back to the organization, where she has played in integral role of their new Aging in Place Program.
Habitat for Humanity is known for its homeowner and housing programs, specifically providing new homes for families who make 80% or less of the area median income. During the pandemic, Habitat for Humanity shifted its focus to repairing roofs of homes, and Schloss became an important primary communicator for the program.
“If you’re in an apartment, for sure, every year your rent grows, goes up. And so it’s really hard for seniors, especially to see them going through this, their basic necessity of living, going up and up and up.
“And that’s when they can’t do the repairs. And the home becomes dangerous, uncomfortable, whatever it may be, you know, and this is the home they wanted to stay in for the rest of their life. So we’re they’re coming to us in a vulnerable point,” said Schloss.
She plays a crucial role in the Aging in Place program, helping seniors who cannot afford home repairs to remain in their homes. She emphasizes how difficult it is for seniors to see their cost of living go up every year, making it hard for them to afford necessary repairs.
Ric Oswald, a mortgage specialist with Habitat for Humanity, explains how Schloss is the key to the program and deemed her the Aging in Place coordinator. She communicates with families who are brought into the program.
“The thing I love about this program is I’m a senior helping seniors, and that means a lot to me.
“What I want them to know is that through the initial inquires, I’m with them every step up of the way,” said Schloss.
She emphasized she is there for them with any questions or concerns. One can tell she is truly passionate about helping seniors in any way she can.
“You can hear it in her voice every day that she talks to our families she’s brought into the program. She comes in twice a week, and is ‘on call’ essentially, to help us get through the rough times,” said Roswald.
Schloss is a professional volunteer who has dedicated her life to giving back to her community. Her work with Habitat for Humanity’s Aging in Place program has been crucial after the pandemic, as she has helped over 47 seniors remain in their homes by ensuring they receive the necessary repairs. Her selflessness and passion for helping others is an inspiration to us all.
Those interested in volunteering for Habitat for Humanity in St. Joseph County can contact the organization through hfhsjc.org or at (574) 288-6967.
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