Welcome back from your Labor Day weekend. I hope you enjoyed yourself and are ready now that fall has begun. I want to introduce you to the newly retooled San Francisco Village newsletter.

We took your suggestions to heart and as your new editor and publisher, I am excited to report that you can now easily read and print our e-newsletter. And--in the spirit of innovation--you can now sign up for events even as you read!

New Technology Connects Us to Old Fashioned Care and Support, and the Activities and Interests We Enjoy!

Do your family or loved ones span across the country or maybe even across the globe? When we need to accomplish a personal goal, whether it’s managing the needs of an upcoming surgery or trying new activities, we most often turn to our inner circle of family and friends for help. When that network is fragmented or stretches across the country, it’s difficult to get the immediate support we need to handle life’s challenges. Tyze keeps you connected to loved ones and organizes the support you need. If you know how to use email and the Internet, you can use Tyze.

Think about what innovation really is. Take a company like OXO. They started by making Good Grips potato peelers and can openers, created by a man whose wife had arthritis and needed to have more comfortable tools for preparing food. Potato peelers and can openers are not new items. But the makers of OXO changed how we think about them and how we use them.

It’s only fitting that Fran Moreland Johns would become a successful journalist and author -- because her life and career have played out in a serious of adventurous chapters. From her first job at the Richmond (VA) Times-Dispatch to her current blog Boomers & Beyond (focusing on issues of interest to over-50 generations), Fran has enjoyed a path that frequently led her to rediscovery and reinvention.

Those in the so-called "senior" age group are far from averse to trying out the innovative devices (large and small) that seem to be popping up all around us with increased frequency. It's not just a world for the young equipped with nimble fingers and fast talk. That said, it's still true that suggestions and support come in handy.

Welcome to new Village members who I have spoken with or met and hope to see at our upcoming fall events. Thank you for joining our growing community. Becky Hayden, Lucy Howard, Joan Paddington, Michele Praeger, Treasure Seamster and Drew Wang.

Board member Eva Auchincloss is holding a garage sale to benefit the San Francisco Village. It will be on Saturday, October 2^nd at 3620 Lyon Street from 9-3PM.

Eva will be accepting donations on Thursday, Sept. 23^rd and Friday October 1^st. Click here for Eva’s wish list and details about this activity. If you want to volunteer to help, or have donations to give, contact Eva at 415-563-7519 or eva3auch@comcast.net.