Agenda - 11-02-2017 - 4-a - NC Ann Johnson Senior Center of the Year Award – Robert and Pearl Seymour Center

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4 Our staff is made up of awesome professionals who provide community engagement.Two prime examples are the MAP-Master Aging Plan(ning) process, a year-long planning effort that includes the community in the development of a County-wide aging plan, including goals and objectives for the next 5 years, 1000 completed surveys, 5 workgroups made up of more than 100 plus individuals, 3-4 interns and staff involved; and trainings such as Project EngAge, a 13-week senior leadership program whose mission is to train older adults to become resource leaders for their communities.The Dementia Friendly Business initiatives is where team members meet and train local businesses by making them aware of needs of patrons with dementia and other special needs. A new staff member, an Employment Specialist, will coach and assist seniors in job/employment searches and strategies of re-entering the workforce. Our Mandarin and Spanish speaking staff have served as remarkable assets in making language barriers easier for both staff and participants. The Aging Transitions, social work team, works tirelessly making sure seniors are aware of services and programs that enhance many of their daily living needs including transportation, understanding Medicare, family counseling, financial assistance and more.Then there are the super dedicated administrative and operations staff who are considered the heartbeat of the center by making registrations, program marketing, surveys, staffing support, classes, special events, and many other facility, activities and policies are run efficiently and effectively,while providing excellent customer service to both clients and staff. Our programs are not only innovative, but trailblazers when it comes to many of the eclectic areas of interest we consistently tap into. Our offerings are well known through our bi-monthly listsery which we have over 2400 subscribers; growing Facebook Page where we have hundreds of followers; quarterly newsletter, Senior Times, distributed to 14,000; and timely press releases and in-house announcements (i.e., fliers, bulletin boards, verbal announcements, creative props, the Buzz Table, Program Advisory concierge table, sidewalk board, etc.). Forefront programs that hit the ground running and attracted many participants are the Brain Health Academy; Nature Walks with Ken Moore; Booming Night Series- evening programs for baby boomers, working adults, caregivers, and other mature audiences looking for an out of the box experience; Seymour Art and Jewelry Exhibits featuring our very own senior participants; Memory Café for individuals with mild to moderate dementia and their caregivers; Spanish Social Club, providing socialization and educational opportunities with Latino seniors;theatrical groups such as Prime Time Players and Village Revue, both who perform at the center and within the community; Chinese Choir which grew to over 30 members; Cinema Night at Seymour; Wall of Honor Recognition Program which features 16 veterans on a significant wall in the center;Ted Talks; Low Vision Support Group; Bus Riding 101, a program created by our Transportation Specialist to encourage and educate seniors on how to navigate within their community utilizing mass transit; and a Senior Housing Expo attended by over 200 participants. Of course, many of our successes would not be possible if it were not for our Program Advisory Committee, Seymour Friends organization, and a host of other co-partnerships within the county. It's a wonderful feeling to come to work each day knowing it will be different; someone's life will change for the better; there is always someone to talk to and many issues or concerns that our seniors may have will be resolved in a safe and fun environment of the Robert and Pearl Seymour Center.