Meeting with Anna Pier just after the Friday Soup’s On, 44-year-old David Seyms was full of enthusiasm for the weekly event, and for the many programs under his direction as part of his work as Executive Director of Vintage House.
Talk about the Friday Soup’s On. This is Sonoma, so of course we are able to offer wonderful soups, prepared by different chefs and restaurants. Today the Red Grape brought 10 gallons of tomato basil soup, and private chef Michelle Marie brought 10 gallons of lentil and sausage soup. She is also a pastry chef who had a shop in Santa Rosa, and she treated us to her snickerdoodles as well. About 150 guests sat down together, community style. The average is between 150-200. Everyone is welcome, no sign-ups, no cost.
Any other meals at Vintage House? We offer a weekly Wednesday dinner, prepared by in-house chefs. The point is to provide a place for connection. We only have space to seat 55, and it’s so popular that you have to sign up about a month ahead. It’s $20 for members, $30 for nonmembers.
When people age, they can find their world gets small, especially living on a fixed income. So eating out may not be available. And more important, here you’re in a “restaurant” filled with friends; the whole place is your community. We are offering an intentional community dining experience, trying to incentivize people to be part of a community.
What are other ways Vintage House helps people not be isolated? The My Ride program, offering rides to and from anywhere in the Valley for people who don’t drive any more. People call 48 hours ahead to request a ride. We do an average of 400 trips each month.
The logistics sound daunting. We have a full-time Volunteer Coordinator, Denise Collier, who arranges the schedules, coordinating our 70 volunteer drivers with people who need a ride. The drivers are all vetted and trained, and they volunteer everything – gas, time and wear-and tear on their cars.
Other programs you offer? Another of my favorites is Tech Help. You know, older people frequently struggle with cell phones or computers. And they are often self-conscious about this, and reluctant to keep asking younger family members or friends to help. They feel unwilling to encroach on people’s personal time. So they can get help here with no feeling of guilt.
This is also coordinated by Denise. We have about 25 volunteers who are mostly retired professionals from the tech industry. People schedule an appointment, usually 48 hours ahead.
How did Vintage House come about? It was the brainchild of Jerry Casson, who had worked in Sonoma County Health and Human Services, and saw the lack of those services for seniors here in the Valley. Vintage House was born at meetings Casson held in Burlingame Hall at the First Congregational Church. In 1987 they had a capital campaign, and raised one million dollars to construct this place. Work began in1988, on land leased from the City of Sonoma for $__ year. The doors opened in February 1989, providing services to anyone from the Valley over 55.
Does the center serve the Latino community? This is a challenge. They are definitely underrepresented, because we are location-based. We do have some bilingual drivers in the My Ride program, making possible rides for the Spanish-only speakers.
What are some other challenges you face? The number-one stigma is that many people think Vintage House is a residential facility.
How long have you been with Vintage House? I started work here as Operations Manager in 2022. Before that, I had been working with several different nonprofits, first for a year in southern California, then from here. My wife and I moved to Sonoma in 2008. I grew up in Santa Rosa, in Rincon Valley. My wife teaches first grade at the Kenwood School. I worked as Field Institute Director for the Point Reyes National Seashore Association, running about 180 classes a year. Then I was West Coast Director for Education for the Garden Conservancy, which manages gardens all over the country, including Filoli. They wanted me to transfer to the East, but we were settled here. I saw an ad posted on Craig’s List for the Operations Manager job at Vintage House, and the rest is history.
When and how did you become Executive Director? I started last August. When Stacie Morales retired, the Board invited me to take the job.
Goals? We want to offer the widest variety of classes possible, attracting new people, especially more men. This was Stacie Morales’ vision, to expand, include more classes, more things that men would enjoy. We want to make things new and exciting, intentionally scheduling to bring ‘a spark of life.’
Achievements you are pleased about? I just reported to the Board that in February 2025 there were 1600 registrations in classes, programs, lectures. In February of this year, there were 2900 registrations! We’ve nearly doubled the number of classes we offer. And I think word of mouth is helping too. We have about 1900 members, and an average of 200 people come in every day.
What did you want to be as a young man? I wanted to be a famous writer, living out in the woods, the next ‘great American writer.’ As a child, I wanted to draw and write comic books. Now I only write for fun, I do some journaling.
Where did you go to college? Humboldt State. I majored in English. It has helped me so much in communication. I see how many people do not know how to write.
How is it living in Sonoma? I love this town. I’m deeply invested here. We have two children. Our daughter is at Altimira Middle School, and will go to Sonoma High next year, and our son, who is at the Kenwood School, goes to Altimira next year. Sonoma is very localized. When we go anywhere, we always meet people we know. And we love it that it’s flat – we ride bikes everywhere. I ride to work. We love the Tuesday Night Market. What other town offers a safe place for kids to bike to and hang around?
A last thought about Vintage House? I love this place. The team. We had the Star Awards here. The volunteers whose work is not unseen, just unsung. Vintage House is a place where people want to have fun, and I get to be a part of that.
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