Seniors Prepare for the Future

The inaugural Engaging Aging Wellness Wednesday Health Fair met its objectives, by any relevant metrics.

Held recently at Wesley United Methodist Church, the free event brought together 27 vendors from a broad range of businesses that provide a variety of services for Marco Island’s seniors. There, they encountered a steady stream of residents who came, saw and gained knowledge potentially important to their health and well-being, both today and in the future. 

Eileen Carlson, of Marco, was there with her husband Richard. She came away armed with valuable information. 

“I'm over 80, and so it's time to start thinking about what services are available in case an emergency arises,” she said. “As one of the vendors here was telling me, you can't just one day decide, ‘Oh, yes, I'd like to go to such-and-such facility. You really have to have planned that ahead of time and made a reservation because otherwise, you end up not having a choice. You just have to go wherever there's a bed for you if that's the direction you want to go.”

Engaging Aging Wellness Wednesday was the brainchild of Amanda Avery and Kathleen Stoller, co-owners of Marco Island Downsizing Solutions, Susan Riesenbach of SKR Home Health Care Solutions, and Melissa Weigle, Senior Care Authority of Southwest Florida, both located in Naples. 

Their motivation to create the event was a desire to increase knowledge of important services, such as their companies, among Marco’s seniors and their caregivers. Engaging Aging included vendor presentations and demonstrations, including Line Dancing by Boot Scoot Angie, raffles, free beverages and snacks and a raffle to benefit the Marco Island Food Bank. 

Avery said she and her three colleagues worked hard to get the word out in advance of the event and the turnout showed those efforts were effective. 

“It’s proof, seeing the flow of people who’ve come through,” she said. “It's been a steady flow of people since even before we opened at 10 (minutes) to 10 (AM) this morning. “We put this together in a very short period of time. We've learned a lot about how to do things differently next year. It's a very special feeling. We're getting a lot of positive feedback about all the vendors and the information that's being provided.”

A sampling of the diverse roster of vendors includes financial planning, legal, hearing and medical services, wellness, exercise, dance and beauty purveyors and much more. 

Carlson was impressed by the assortment of vendors and by the event overall. 

“I really didn't know what to expect,” she said. “I think it's very well done and the vendors are friendly and helpful and there's no pressure. You just walk around and talk to the different people and see what services they offer. And so it's helpful.”

One of the vendors was Kelly Willenborg of Marco, director of musical outreach for the Alive Inside Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to improving the quality of life of seniors through music and building relationships with younger generations. 

She was impressed with the fair. 

“Knowing that it was the first of its kind on Marco Island, and with the number of vendors present, as well as the variety that they had, I really felt that they did a great job addressing the needs that we have, given the different age demographics that we're servicing here,” she said. “I really thought it was a great show, not only from the vendors, but we had steady traffic for most of the event as well. It was certainly worth my time.”

Dennis Sparks, managing funeral director at Marco’s Hodges-Josberger Funeral Home, was also a vendor. 

“We decided to take part in the event to just get the word out about pre-planning service, to meet other providers in the area, and to see how we could benefit the community with making advanced decisions,” he explained. “I think that the event has been great. We've had a good turnout, and it was well-planned, well-organized, and lots of different people came out to promote their businesses.”

Attendee John Saint Sauveur, 81, endorsed the importance of being prepared. 

“Absolutely,” he said. “You never know when something's going to come out of the blue and hit you, right? And no matter how healthy you are or how active you are, something unexpected can put you out of business.”