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OKLAHOMA CAPITOL --- As part of the annual Oklahoma Conference on Aging this year, a White House Conference on Aging Event has been scheduled for 9 a.m., May 4, 2005, at the Reed Center in Midwest City.
At least once a decade, Congress, speaking through the mandates of the Older Americans Act, requires older Americans, aging advocates, professionals in aging services and lawmakers to re-examine the state of aging in our nation.
To meet this mandate, events are held throughout the nation to solicit input from the grassroots groups. At the Oklahoma conference, a panel of gerontologists and aging advocates will present issue papers on selected concerns within state communities.
The session will provide time for public discussion and comments, and participants will vote on a priority ranking of the draft proposals. Additional discussion and comments will be accepted in writing for 10 days following the event.
The position papers, draft resolutions and comments will be forwarded to the policy committee of the 2005 White House Conference on Aging to be held in Washington, D.C., Oct. 23-26.
Bill Anderson, Norman, will serve as moderator of the Oklahoma White House event. Anderson is a retired educator and chair of the Oklahoma Alliance on Aging and immediate past chair and a current member of the Oklahoma State Council on Aging.
“This White House Conference event is an opportunity for concerned Oklahomans to have a voice in supporting, improving and creating federal programs that will affect all older persons for the next ten years,” Anderson said. “To give all interested Oklahomans an opportunity to have input into this important process, members of the public are invited to draft resolutions and, time permitting, to present those resolutions for priority ranking at the Oklahoma event.”
Those wanting to submit draft resolutions to the Oklahoma event, or wanting more information about the event or about the State Conference on Aging, May 3-5, should: Go to http://www.OKDHS.org under Extra! Extra! Extra. Also find a link to get to the conference registration information; call the Aging Services Division of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services at 405-522-3073; or stop by the Aging Services offices at Shepherd Mall, Entrances B or C, Suite 40, 2401 NW 23 St., Oklahoma City.
Sponsoring the Oklahoma White House Conference on Aging Event and the State Conference on Aging are AARP Oklahoma; Pfizer; Johnson and Johnson; Oklahoma Area Agencies on Aging; Oklahoma State Council on Aging; National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare and Allergan Pharmaceutical.
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