For 44 years, our nation has paused to honor older Americans during May. During this special month, the ongoing contributions of our older citizens are highlighted with a national proclamation issued by the President of the United States and activities and events planned in communities across America.

In Cayuga County, Older Americans Month is celebrated every year on Senior Citizen Day at the May meeting of the Cayuga County Legislature. This year's Senior Citizen Day is scheduled for Tuesday, May 22, at the Emerson Park Pavilion on Owasco Lake.

Join us for “Lunch with the Cayuga County Legislators” at noon. Then at 1 p.m., the legislative meeting will honor the Cayuga County Senior Citizens of the Year (there are two this year). There will be a reception immediately following the awards, then the legislature will continue on with its meeting.

Reservations for the noon May 22 Senior Citizen Luncheon must be sent to the Cayuga County Office for the Aging, 160 Genesee St., Auburn, N.Y. 13021 by Friday, May 11. The cost is $8 per person. Please include your name, address, telephone number and number of persons attending. Make checks payable to the Cayuga County Office for the Aging.

The theme for Older Americans Month 2007 is “Older Americans: Making Choices for a Healthier Future.” This theme encourages us to think differently about health and long-term care, and work together to rebalance and modernize our current systems so that we may adequately plan for and address the needs of current and future generations. Older persons are entitled to live lives of dignity and independence through:

€ Streamlined access to information as well as to home and community services, including information that will enable people to plan ahead for long-term care

€ Information about cost-effective prevention practices and activities that will improve health and quality of life and reduce risk of disease, disability and injury, and

€ Innovative, affordable and flexible options of care and support that will provide an array of choices about how and where to live

The Older Americans Month concept and this year's theme is developed and promoted by the Administration on Aging, an office of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It urges people of all ages to seize upon the occasion of Older Americans Month to plan, promote and participate in activities during May and throughout the year that reflect the tenets of the national theme.

We must all work together to ensure that every older person in this great country is treated with dignity and respect and moreover, has the opportunity to make the choices they desire to enjoy a healthy and rewarding future.

Janet L. Taylor is an Aging Services specialist for the Cayuga County Office for the Aging.