Adams County Commissioners Sign Proclamation

(l. to r. front row) Tiffany Edwards, Area Agency on Aging District 7, Inc. (AAA7); Georgia Woolard, president of the Manchester Senior Club; Melody Stapleton, Adams County Senior Citizens Director; Tina Lightcap, AAA7 . (l. to r. back row) Bill Seaman,, Adams County Commissioner; Don Kirker, President of the West Union Senior Club and President of the Adams Senior Citizens Council; Eudora Stratton, representative for the Seaman Senior Club and Secretary of the Adams Senior Citizens Council; Helen Crawford, President of the Peebles Senior Club; John Cluxton, Adams County Commissioner; and Roger Rhonemus, Adams County Commissioner.

Pictured above are the Adams County Commissioners who signed a proclamation declaring May 2006 as Older Americans Month in Adams County. When Older Americans Month was established in 1963, only 17 million living Americans had reached their 65th birthdays. About a third of older Americans lived in poverty and there were few programs to meet their needs. Interest in older Americans and their concerns was growing, however. In April of 1963, President John F. Kennedy's meeting with the National Council of Senior Citizens served as a prelude to designating May as "Senior Citizens Month."
Thanks to President Jimmy Carter's 1980 designation, what was once called Senior Citizens Month, is now called "Older Americans Month," and has become a tradition.

Historically, Older Americans Month has been a time to acknowledge the contributions of past and current older persons to our country, in particular those who defended our country. Every President since JFK has issued a formal proclamation during or before the month of May asking that the entire nation to pay tribute in some way to older persons in their communities. Older Americans Month is celebrated acAdams the country through ceremonies, events, fairs and other such activities.

For more information about Senior Citizens Month call the Area Agency on Aging District 7, Inc. at 1-800-582-7277, or call Adams County Committee for Elderly at 1-740-773-3544.