Dunedin's Committee on Aging was presented with the prestigious Service to Seniors by an Organization Award at the Florida Council on Aging (FCOA) Conference. This is the 25th year the Quality Senior Living Award program has been held, where four individuals and two organizations are honored during a special luncheon ceremony at the conference.
The Dunedin Committee on Aging, nominated by the City of Dunedin's own Mayor R. Hackworth, was awarded the Service to Seniors by an Organization Award for the development of programs and plans focused upon improving the lives of the elderly, not only in the Pinellas community, but in the state and nation as well.
The 2006 Committee on Aging, chaired by Kelli Edwards is comprised of 12 other members: Roxanne Smith, vice-chair; William E. Hale, M.D.; Carol Howland, secretary; Rose Napp; Susan Reed; Sister Dolores Keller; Jane Huberty; Shannon Martin; Marie Grubin; Rosemarie DeCruzzi; Herbert L. Donald, alternate; Helen Brewer, ex-officio adviser; and Peg Cummings as the city staff representative.
Past work completed by this committee has included the receipt of grant support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to begin Interfaith Volunteer Caregivers, still a vibrant organization today; participation in the elder ready assessment that led to Dunedin being the first Elder Ready Community in the state; and an intergenerational focus that has led to the City of Dunedin's selection by the Administration on Aging (AoA) as a model livable community for all ages.
The active committee's leadership is also pivotal in developing other programs and innovative initiatives that improve the lives of the residents of Dunedin: Older Americans Month Annual Program, Caregiver Series, Essay Contest, Senior Hall of Fame, Communities for a Lifetime Action Plan, Inter-generational Programs, Quarterly Forums, Hurricane Preparedness Conference and monthly meetings.
The committee is fiercely devoted to: studying long range needs, developing and implementing plans, and promoting positive attitudes towards aging in order to fulfill its mission to plan, promote, coordinate and implement programs and services which contribute to the quality of aging in Dunedin.
For more information about the Committee on Aging or to learn how to become involved please contact Kelli J. Edwards MA, CMC at 727-787-6536 or Peg Cummins at 727-298-3272.