Member Spotlight

Thea Luiten
If you see someone in Capitola wearing a giant Trestle Hat at a fundraising event, it’s probably Thea! Her signature hat is as bright and cheerful as she is — a true symbol of her energy and dedication.

Thea joined MCSC in 2005 and is know for her ability to organize amidst commotion and coordinate team effort. Her community involvement includes her 30 year commitment to the Wharf-to-Wharf race where she anchors the First Aid booth at the finish line; assisted by a team of student nurses. She has been a team leader and coordinated the California Begonia Festival Nautical Parade for 15 years.

Thea’s desire to help others extends beyond the MCSC. For 25 years, her energetic personality felt right at home working within ‘controlled chaos’ of an Emergency room at Dominican Hospital. She has helped train the next generation of healthcare professionals as a nursing instructor for 10 years at Cabrillo College. Recently retired, active in the gardens, she now designs in “up-cycling” giving new life to empty glass bottles, broken sea lass and repurposed smashed tin cans). At MCSC, Thea helps to coordinate the annual Garden Boutiques. Her volunteer team creates fresh flower bouquets for sale at the MCSC monthly breakfast. Thea’s passion for community shines through everything she does.

Stay tuned for news about the October 2025 Scarecrow Harvest Boutique. Thea is already busy planning; will be reaching out for volunteers to help make it a creative and joyful event.

Terri Lesniak
This month we honor Terri Lesniak as our member of the month! You just can’t see Terri heading your way and not get a smile on your face! She is a beaming light of sunshine and always has a warm and embracing hug for her friends. She is one of the warmest and most sincere people we can hope to meet. Terri has been a member of the center since 2021. Even though it has only been four years, I couldn’t imagine the place without her now! She recently directed the Choraliers show “Name That Tune 2”, assisted by Lois Williams, and co￾choreographed the dancing with Wanda Kocina.

She is a great team player and works well with all the members of the cast to ensure a fun experience and a great show! Terri not only directed and choreographed but also sang and danced in the show! The Show was a great success. There were 130 people in attendance. It seems with each show we get more and more people in the audience. The word has gotten out about the quality of the shows, and the talent of the entire cast. We are grateful to her for putting in so much of her personal time and providing nurturing support to all around her to drive towards that success.

In a recent conversation with her, Terri expressed that one of the best parts of being in the Choraliers is how much fun they have. You can tell she really loves it. She laughs and shares her joy easily. Her loving positivity is contagious! If you see her congratulate her, not only on the show, but for being such a wonderful addition to MCSC. Thank you, Terri, for everything you do !!

Alice Yerkes
Alice is one of the very first members of MCSC joining in 1974. She is currently living at Aegis and is no longer able to participate in the center’s activities but remains very active in her new surroundings & stays current with the MCSC newsletter.

She will be 99 in June! Alice was born in Northern California and was lovingly adopted by a caring family when she was 2 years old. She grew up in San Jose and graduated from San Jose Sate University with a degree in elementary education. She taught in Los Gatos for several years and married her husband, Gerhart when she was 45.

During the WWII years, she grew a victory garden at her home. She and her husband moved to Felton before buying their home on Pinetree Lane. Their backyard bordered on New Brighton State Park so she enjoyed the company of many critters who visited her.

Alice was very active at the Center. She was a member of the Choraliers, Ukulele Club and many other groups over the years! Alice started playing violin when she was 12 and still plays today. She joins Banjos the Bay every month when they play at Aegis. She can play any song, remembers all the lyrics, plays by ear and never uses sheet music!

Alice has brought joy by sharing her talent with our community and says that music and animals have been the most important things in her life. Thank you Alice, for ALL your gifts and the many years of sharing them at MCSC. 

Emily Troutner
This month we are highlighting Emily Troutner. She has only been a member for a little over a year now, but she has really dived in and joined the club. She started in the office helping with MySeniorCenter initial registration and has continued to help us on many projects and articles for the newsletter.

She has arranged for special speakers and always helps with the folding of the newsletter. If we have a special project, she is one of the first people we think of to help! She is working closely with the gift shop to create advertising and still finds time to participate in weekly activities such as Qigong, Senior Stretch, and the Crafters.

Emily brings a positive energy to the center; she is always smiling and has been a great promoter of our center externally. We are happy she has joined us and appreciate all she does. If you don’t know her, you should. She will brighten your day.

Emilie Holder
Emilie has been an active member of the Center since 2022.  When she joined, she was volunteering in the kitchen and enjoying the Friday Night dances.  Recently, Emilie stepped up to start helping at the reception desk.  She then graciously agreed to start running our Breakfast service!  She has just completed her second breakfast and what a wonderful job she did!  Emilie was the driving force behind organizing the volunteer luncheon, which was a huge success and very appreciated!  Not all our volunteers were able to make it; hopefully, we can do more of these events in the future! 

If you don’t know Emilie, she is a quiet force of nature.  Besides the wonderful work she does here, she is very involved in her Church as well as the Biking Community and organizes huge events for them.  Have you heard the saying, ”If you really need something done, give it to the busiest person you know!”  Emilie certainly proves that right!  It is amazing all the things she signs up for and does successfully.  Her organizational skills are amazing.

We are very grateful she has put so much of her effort into making MCSC successful.  When you see her give her a big Thank You!  We couldn’t survive without people like her, willing to do just about anything.  Thank you, Emilie!