Prime Timers got their start because of two unrelated situations. First, the Centennial Rotary Club was named as an “Innovative Club” during the 2016-17 Rotary year. And second, two different “single” friends of one of our members mentioned that they wished that they had someone with whom to attend social activities.
Our club’s innovative status led us to look for “big ideas” in community service. The club member thought a Senior Center would be a big help for her friends. And thus, a project was born. A committee was formed and members began the search for a location. After visiting many unproductive sites, they found the Streets of Southglenn Country Club clubhouse.
Several committee meetings later they decided to outline a plan and write a District Grant request. With the grant in hand, the kickoff was planned for the end of September at Koelbel Library with the hope of having 25 to 30 people attend.
Kick off plans included
- a free lunch planned for 70 (just in case)
- senior services vendors from the Alzheimer’s Association, TLC Meals on Wheels, South Suburban Parks & Rec., Arapahoe County Library senior services, and Bemis Library
- members of the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office there to talk about Senior Safety
We began our activities on the first Monday in October and were meeting 3 Mondays each month for 2 hours at a time. Free luncheons on the second Mondays and Game Days the other two Mondays + a Happy Hour once a month and a book club. Games were purchased from Amazon & ARC.
This basic schedule continued till the end of December when one of our member couples offered to find us an equal meeting place at a much lower cost. They succeeded!
The first Monday in January 2017 we moved to the Willow Creek Clubhouse #3 in Centennial at less than half the price . This allowed us to meet every Monday and have the Clubhouse all day long so we could have multiple activities during the day.
At the same time, the City of Centennial and the Senior Commission offered to partner with us and help us get the word out about our group to more people. They sent our calendars out to all the Next Door sites in the city and helped spread the word at their own events.
Fast forward to where we are today: Our Prime Timers have been a huge help to our Rotary Club by supporting some of our projects. The ladies have helped loom over 200 infant hats to be sent along with 200 receiving blankets we purchased to a hospital in Mfangano, Kenya where those supplies have run out. This group gets together on Game Days to talk and loom together.
Another Prime Timer, Christa, has knitted over 120 bells for the 100 decorated Christmas trees 
the Club is giving away this year. The ladies in both groups work at home on these projects as well as at the Game Days.
the Club is giving away this year. The ladies in both groups work at home on these projects as well as at the Game Days.
Happy Hour has proven to be another big hit. We gather at a different location each month from 4:00PM to 6:00PM for socializing and getting to know each other a little better. It has also been great for integrating our Rotary Club members with the Prime Timers as both groups attend and happily mix.Our group has sponsored a Health One “Step On” class for fall prevention and also “piggy-backed” onto the activities of others as well enjoying the ones we plan. We have participated in the “Spring Fling” put on by South Suburban Parks and Rec., attended the Lone Tree Arts Center production of “Evita,” and attended a class at Bemis Library.
We currently have 133 individuals on our E-Mail list and Club members have logged a total of 872 service hours supporting this labor of love through July 2017. Our Prime Timers continually tell us how much they like this program and how much it has been needed in our community. Now, it is about to get even better. A member of our Centennial City Council has proposed that they increase their support of our program to sponsor 2 our events each month and they are also going to start another group of the east side of Centennial with the same purpose in mind - to serve our seniors. We will collaborate with each other on large events. It is all good and we are so happy for our seniors.