Commissioners proclaim Older Americans Month; Senior Center announces 55th anniversary celebration

Highland County commissioners David Daniels, Brad Roades and Terry Britton issued a proclamation in honor of Older Americans Month, which is observed each May, and heard plans for the local Senior Center’s upcoming during their Wednesday, May 7 meeting.

Accepting the proclamation were Area Agency on Aging District 7 Executive Director Jamie Herrmann and Director of Community Outreach Jenni Lewis; Highland County Senior Citizens Center Director Mechell Karnes and Executive Assistant Lin Packard; and Senior Center members Juanita Kelley, Cynthia Marks, Ruth Spendlove and Terry Walker.

Along with celebrating Older Americans Month, Karnes invited commissioners and the entire community to join the Senior Center at an upcoming 55th anniversary celebration, set for Tuesday, June 10 from 11 a.m.-1 p.m.

“We are getting ready to celebrate 55 years, and we're really excited about that,” Karnes said. “We were established in 1970, and our first five years, we were at the Highland County Fairgrounds in the Grange Building. We did start out with Title V funding, but we haven't had Title V funding since 1978.”

The Center is hosting this celebration because they were unable to host a 50th anniversary event due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The event will include a ribbon-cutting ceremony with the Highland County Chamber of Commerce, proclamations, refreshments and more.

“Everyone is invited, so the entire community, anybody that is interested in the Senior Center, or maybe they have been part of the Senior Center in some way, whether you're a business, commissioner, former commissioner, you're a member, you're a prospective member,” Karnes said. “We want you there at the celebration. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”

Photos and articles from the history of the Senior Center will also be on display at the event, Karnes said.

“I'm really proud to be part of the Senior Center’s journey,” Karnes said. “I’ve been there now almost 14 years, but it's just a small drop in the bucket for 55. We want to continue that legacy that Rosalie Morgan — she's passed, but she was the founder, a longtime director — and all the people that have put a lot of work and effort into this organization throughout the years, we want to continue that for years to come.”

As noted in the Senior Center’s quarterly newsletter provided by Karnes, other upcoming events this year include dining at Big Ernie’s Pizza May 20 from 4-9 p.m.; the “Laundry Soap Olympics” June 20 at 11 a.m.; the Healthy Halloween Senior Expo Oct. 7; and Turkey Bingo Nov. 1.

The Center also provides home-delivered meals to private-pay clients as well as those in the AAA7’s PASSPORT program, Monday through Friday, while weekdays also feature a number of fun activities for members and guests.

“A typical day at the senior center, you come in and they're playing cornhole, chair volleyball, the band is playing, the pool tables are going,” Karnes said. “We have art groups that meet. We might have the AARP meeting in the banquet room, doing taxes. The Ohio Department of Insurance comes down. They do Medicare counseling. Area Agency on Aging, they're in the center providing different services for people that need different resources.

“We’re a busy place. There's no place in the building you can hide, so we really enjoy our time together. I always say the Senior Center is where good friends gather, so that's kind of our unofficial motto.”

Roades thanked Karnes for the “great job” she does at the Senior Center, where his mother, Patty, is an active member.

“She enjoys all the friendships and relationships she’s made,” Roades said.

Lewis introduced commissioners to Herrmann, who has served as executive director of AAA7 since August, and explained the services AAA7 provides.

According to their website, “The Area Agency on Aging District 7 provides services on a non-discriminatory basis to help older adults and those of any age living with a disability live safely and independently in their residence of choice through services paid for by Medicare, Medicaid, other federal and state resources, as well as private pay. We are available to help anyone in the community learn more about long-term care options and what programs and services are available for assistance.”

‘Our services help support individuals who want to remain in their home,” Lewis said. “We have a lot of different programs, funding sources, that can assist them with that. We work with wonderful partners like the Senior Center to make that happen for individuals.

“Last year, in 2024, we served 681 individuals in Highland County, so we’re making a lot of difference for individuals, supporting their healthy living in their home and being safe, things like meals, transportation, personal care, a lot of great different programs to help support them.”

In addition to Highland, the following other counties are served by District 7: Adams, Brown, Gallia, Jackson, Lawrence, Pike, Ross, Scioto and Vinton.

According to their website, AAA7 “administers programs for the elderly funded by the state and federal governments. Federal funds under the Older Americans Act and the Health Care Financing Administration, as well as all state funds, are received through the Ohio Department of Aging. The Agency contracts with agencies and then channels funds through this network of service providers. These agency providers include senior centers, community action agencies, home health agencies, health departments, etc.” Herrmann said the AAA7 is advocating on behalf of organizations like the Senior Center that depend on this federal and state funding to provide essential services.

“We have a lot of challenges right now at both the federal and state level, because the Older Americans Act has not been reauthorized yet, and we have some serious concerns about the funding and some of the things that are potentially being proposed,” Herrmann said. “I’m going to be spending some time with Mechell at the Senior Center, and the work that they do is just amazing, and they get to so many individuals.

“We also understand that we're going to have to be probably thrifty and resourceful when it comes to funding and supplemental funding, trying to look for grants and opportunities to be able to continue to provide services. We’re looking for that, and we just want to make sure that we are recommitting to you all, that we are advocating at both state and federal level for these things, so that we can keep our local counties getting the services they need.”

Daniels thanked the group for remaining “engaged in this process” as state and federal budgets are being debated.

“We are heavily advocating at the state level for additional funding for the senior community services line item, which is non-Medicaid dollars,” Lewis added. “I know you all did the Healthy Aging Grant, so kind of helping with services like that. At the federal level, we’re really advocating for Older Americans Act. Those funds need to stay. There's more and more people that are going to need those types of services over the years, so we need more funding to be able to do that.”

Herrmann said that if commissioners can encourage the community to reach out to their elected officials in support of this funding, AAA7 would “greatly appreciate it.” Daniels suggested that the Senior Center should also have their members reach out because elected officials often “want to hear from people that are actually served by those programs.”

“We have a template letter we would be glad to share,” Herrmann said.

After hearing from both organizations, Roades read the proclamation recognizing May as Older Americans Month in Highland County.

For more information about AAA7, visit aaa7.org. The Senior Center website can be found at highlandseniors.com.

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