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OKLAHOMA CAPITOL --- The OKDHS Aging Services Division announces the 30th annual Oklahoma State Conference on Aging, “Older Oklahomans, Our Pearls of Great Value,” to be held May 3-5 at the Reed Center, 5800 Will Rogers Road, in Midwest City, just off I-40 east of Sooner Road.
Registration deadline for the three-day event is April 24.
The conference, one of the longest running conferences of its kind in the nation, features 50 workshops, nationally recognized experts in the fields of aging, special Senior Day activities and the presentation of the annual Achievements in Aging awards.
In recognition of the conference’s 30th anniversary, the theme “Older Oklahomans, Our Pearls of Great Value“ was selected. The pearl symbolizes the 30th anniversary.
Featured speakers include:
Gordon Deckert, M.D., who is David Ross Boyd Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and is serving his second term on the Oklahoma Board of Health. He is chair of the board’s Public Health Policy Committee and provided leadership in developing the first “State of the State’s Health” report to the people of Oklahoma in 1996.
Ralph Rouse, regional manger for the Office of Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Dallas.
Kathy Goff, Ed.D., is an internationally recognized author, educator and entrepreneur. Dr. Goff received the 2002 Outstanding Fellowship Award from Partnerships in Aging; was guest lecturer at the 2002 E. Paul Torrance Creativity Lecture Series at the University of Georgia.
Marla Sanchez, Ph.D., holds a doctorate in family relations and child development and is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst. Dr. Sanchez is an organizational development consultant to businesses, organizations and educational institutions in the areas of interpersonal dynamics, personality styles, human sexuality and family life education.
All Oklahomans aged 60 and older are invited to attend Senior Day activities on Wednesday, May 4. Senior Day is free of charge, however, registration is required.
This year, Senior Day activities will include an Oklahoma’s White House Conference on Aging event that will develop proposals for federal legislative initiatives related to aging in America for presentation at the White House Conference on Aging in Washington, D.C., set for October.
Traditional special events scheduled for Senior Day include the statewide spelling bee finals, an information fair focusing on how seniors can take better care of themselves, and the May meeting of the State Council on Aging.
The three-day conference includes a panel discussion, “The State of the State,” in which executives of the state’s health and human services agencies discuss current and future challenges faced by their organizations.
Panel members include Howard H. Hendrick, director, Oklahoma Department of Human Services; Rocky McElvany, deputy commissioner, Oklahoma State Department of Health; Rand Baker, Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services; Dr. Marie Bernard, chair of the Donald W. Reynolds Department of Geriatrics, University of Oklahoma College of Medicine; and Mike Fogarty, chief executive officer, Oklahoma Health Care Authority.
For more information or to receive a registration brochure, call Oklahoma Areawide Services Information System at 1-800-426-2747 or (405) 271-6203.
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