Vicki Brooks is the chairwoman for the Senior Life Fair, which will be from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday at the Harvest House at Flint Hills Christian Church, 1836 E. Highway 50.
What is the Senior Life Fair?
This is the fifth year for Senior Life Fair. We started it as a way to provide information and education to Seniors in the area. In addition to education sessions, we have lots of vendor booths — 32 this year — and we do door prizes, which is always fun. We also provide screenings like cholesterol checks, blood sugar checks and, if we have flu vaccine available, we will also be giving shots that day.
What are the education topics people will be speaking on?
Our first one is on sleep apnea. That is when people who snore really loud at night and might not be getting a full night’s rest because they have some sort of obstruction. We have a sleep lab at the hospital where we can test and see if they have sleep apnea. There is treatment with machines that people can do. Usually, it is the spouse who recognizes there is a problem going on.
Another session is called “Aging Gracefully” and Kathy Hamman who is an RN in the marketing and education department is providing that talk. She will talk about how growing old doesn’t have to be bad, how to avoid diseases and how to get the most out of your life as you age.
Our keynote address will be Kathy Greenlee, who is the acting Kansas Secretary on Aging and she is speaking on the current Kansas status of aging services and a looking ahead to the 2007 Legislative session.
What is the agenda for the day?
The screenings and vendor booths open at 8:30 a.m. At 9:30, is the session on sleep apnea; 10:30 a.m. is “Aging Gracefully”; 11:45 a.m. is our luncheon and we do have some entertainment. The keynote address will be at 12:45 p.m. This year, we are ending the show with a fashion blitz. The Villager will be providing women’s clothing and JC Penny is providing male clothing.
The models are all local people.
What age group is this fair aimed at?
We advertise that is open to all ages. So I don’t know if I can really pick an age. Obviously it is a senior life fair, so probably the majority of the people will be over the age 65. It is also open to care-givers.
When and Where is the event and what does it cost?
It is Oct. 25 from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Harvest House behind the Flint Hills Christian Church. There is no cost to attend the fair itself. The only thing we ask for is a $5 luncheon fee. There is also a small charge for some of the screenings. People can have blood pressure screenings and blood glucose done for free, but there is a small charge for blood cholesterol and the flu shots if we get those.
- If you would like more information on the Senior Life Fair call Vicki Brooks at 343-6800.