Seniors’ Council to host educational event

The Seniors’ Council of Douglas County, in collaboration with Aging Resources of Douglas County and Douglas County government, is cohosting a daylong educational event entitled Vintage & Vibrant 2023: Exploring the Latest Trends in Living Well & Aging Well. Our signature event will be held on ursday, Sept. 28 from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Parker Arts, Culture and Events (PACE) Center, 20000 Pikes Peak Ave in Parker.

Vintage & Vibrant 2023 is specically designed to entertain, inform and intrigue an older adult audience. Our program will include two engaging keynote speakers, multiple informative breakout sessions, three interactive activities, numerous event partners, morning refreshments, lunch, guest bags and door prizes.

Your $10 registration fee covers it all, with scholarships available if needed.

We begin the day with a continental breakfast and our morning keynote speaker Jeanne Nott, 2022 Ms. Colorado Senior America. Jeanne’s philosophy of life is “… have a sense of humor and enthusiasm! It will add years to your life and life to your years.” Her positivity will energize us and set the stage for the rest of the day.

During lunch our keynote speaker is Dr. Carson Bruns, associate professor at the University of Colorado in Boulder. He will share his fascinating research on converging nanotechnology and biomedical engineering on the skin to create a new wave of “tattoos” that strive to keep us healthier. You’ll de nitely be intrigued!

Vintage & Vibrant 2023 would not be possible without the support of our cohosting organizations Aging Resources of Douglas County (ARDC), a local nonpro t organization providing a wide variety of services to our older population, and Douglas County government, currently conducting a comprehensive Older Adult Initiative, as well as our event partners. agement. Beautiful and wonderful words of life that separate us from those who would rather operate through a demolition zone, using words to tear others down, and worse, doing it intentionally.

And now meet our Platinum event partners: Visiting Angels - Littleton, Seven Stones Botanical Garden Cemetery, Centura Health, the Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG) and Bridgewater Castle Rock. Each of these partners focuses on enhancing the lives of older adults in their own special way. Be sure to visit their tables at the event to learn more about their fabulous organizations.

To review our complete Vintage & Vibrant program, meet the rest of our event partners and register to attend, please visit www.douglas.co.us and search for Vintage & Vibrant.

Online attendee registration begins Aug. 1, but seating is limited so register soon!

Our regular general meeting on ursday, Sept. 7 from 10-11:30 am will feature Jayla Sanchez-Warren, director of the Area Agency on Aging. She will speak about the results from the Community Assessment Survey for Older Adults. Learn how the survey results might impact the services and opportunities available for older adults. e meeting site is the Douglas County Miller Building, Conference Rooms A and B, 100 ird St. in Castle Rock. e meeting is free and open to the public.

Seniors’ Council of Douglas County aims to educate and engage older adults. For up-to-date information about Seniors’ Council visit Facebook and our website at www.douglas.co.us and look for Seniors’ Council.

So, let’s use the rest of this column to focus on what those beautiful and wonderful words of life are, and how we can use them to foster an environment of love, grace, unity and compassion.

I am not sure about you, but this has been a very deliberate and intentional movement or change in my own life. I was de nitely a little looser in my language and word choices in the past — anyone reading this knows who I was and also knows who I have become, can validate that. I intentionally keep a word bank, a word bank that is top of mind and heart. A word bank that includes words like love, grace, kindness, gentleness, goodness, mercy, justice, forgiveness, passion, compassion, patience, faith, hope, encouragement, excellence, praiseworthy, joy, happiness, pure, powerful, positive, courage, strength, endurance, gratitude, humility, motivation, inspiration, success and so many more. selection. ese moments never fail to make her smile.

It’s been said that you can’t trust people who don’t curse. Or, that people who curse are smarter than those who don’t. I am fairly sure both of those were created by someone who loved to curse. How about you, do you feel smarter, funnier, stronger when you use swear words? Or are you a little ashamed or embarrassed at times? I would love to hear your story at gotonorton@gmail.com, and when we can use the beautiful and wonderful words of life instead, it really will be a better than good life.

Michael Norton is an author, a personal and professional coach, consultant, trainer, encourager and motivator of individuals and businesses, working with organizations and associations across multiple industries.

“It brings me just a ton of joy to see people enjoying it and enjoying the space,” Monson said. “I think it’s also enriched my kids’ love and appreciation for literature because they get so excited about nishing a book and passing it on.”

Monson built her library in 2017 and registered it with Little Free Library, a Minnesota-based nonpro t that aims to increase access to literature by providing blueprints and guides to build community libraries, as well as mapping registered libraries across the country.

Hundreds of little free libraries have popped up across the Denver metro area as their popularity proliferates. Monson said she was inspired to build her library after visiting others with her 11-year-old twins Tommy and Luci, who are avid readers.

“I really believe in the importance of building community and connection for wellness, so I thought it was a great way to build community shortly after we moved to Golden,” she said. “So it was their love of reading and my want to build community that made it happen.”

Since the library is on a bike and walking path, it’s not accessible by car, so Monson took advantage of the unique environment by adding a bench, a slide and fairy gardens around the library to make it an inviting spot for visitors.