The Chenango County Senior Council successfully reformed with a full board and elected its executive committee. They will meet every two weeks at the Norwich American Legion, the next meeting is May 8 at noon. Pictured from left to right are Ellen Loughren, Erin Confer, Gladys Branagan, Richard Given, and Donna Given. (Photo by Rebecca Laibowitz).

CHENANGO COUNTY – At the latest senior council meeting on Friday, April 24, the Chenango County Senior Council successfully elected its executive committee including president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer. The council will begin meeting every two weeks.

“We want to help senior citizens enjoy the later parts of their life. Through entertainment, through shows, dances, but also just as important is we want to start getting better services for them in the county,” said newly elected Senior Council President, Richard Given. “We're just in the starting stages, and you know, we will grow,” he added.

He explained that a priority for him is helping improve access to dental care, and housing, as well as increasing public awareness of the programs available to seniors.

“I just want to see, what I wanted for my parents,” said Given.

Serving alongside Given as vice president is Patty Murray, Secretary Donna Given, Treasurer David Beardsley, as well as a board of dedicated volunteers and one representative from the Area Agency on Aging, Erin Confer, the agency's nutrition coordinator. There were eight members in attendance during the vote, no contests.

“It's a whole new experience for a lot of us, but we saw what was capable of doing from what the people prior to us did, and we're going to try to add to that and bring our own ideas,” said Mr. Given

While the council has limited funding right now, once they take care of certain tax paperwork, they'll be able to apply for grants and pay for the programs they want to offer seniors in the community. Something that was brought up, was a fall foliage trip which they'll begin researching the costs of so they can potentially sponsor one in the future.

At the meeting, their initial plans to get the council back up and running were discussed. While they figure out what seniors in the area want, and what they can offer them, the next thing that they'll be doing is setting up a table at the Chenango County Fair on Senior Day alongside the Area Agency on Aging.

Importantly, the council will begin gathering information on resources available in the county for seniors. Confer from the Area Agency on Aging said she would try to arrange guest speakers for future meetings from the agency and related organizations that offer services/resources for seniors, so that the council is well informed and can better serve senior citizens throughout the county.

When asked what he was most looking forward to Given replied “Just increasing the lifestyle of the elderly, ” adding, “the main thing is to get the information out to the people that need it. If you sit in a back office and wait for them to come, you can't be as effective as if you go there. It's in the plans, the executive committee want to visit different housings, and have community meetings to get the word out.”

At Friday's meeting, the council members decided to meet every two weeks going forward, to make progress on the initiatives they want to explore. Their next meeting will be on Friday May 8, at noon, at the Norwich American Legion. Those interested in joining are welcome to attend.