Wayne County Senior Forum set for Oct. 21 in Wooster

The annual Senior Forum, a half-social/half-informational event for area seniors, has been streamlined a bit this year. The hope is attendees will have a chance to do more at the daylong event than they have in the past.

The Senior Forum, which will take place Oct. 21 at Wooster’s Greystone Event Center, is designed for seniors aged 55 and over to give them something to do to be social and to have a good time.

Originally put on by the United Way of Wayne and Holmes Counties, the Wayne Senior Service Network took it over this year

An educational event, the Senior Forum is designed to connect seniors in the community with local resources. The day’s festivities will include speakers, vendors, door prizes, bingo and a complimentary lunch for attendees. The goal is to benefit Wayne County seniors as well as those from surrounding areas.

“It’s basically people who serve the county and plan different events,” said Lindsey Baumgartner, branch director for the Orrville YMCA. “They plan different events for seniors. They’re doing pretty much the same things they were doing beforehand, but they just changed the format a little bit. The attendees will get a bag with details about the day and will be able to go around to any vendors that sign up. It’s kind of like a health fair. You go around from table to table and find out about as many things as you can.”

In the past, the various vendor booths would be running while other things were going on, such as presentations by guest speakers, so people attending the Forum sometimes had to prioritize what they wanted to do, hear and see. This year things are set up so everyone can hit everything they want without worrying about overlap.

“It would create a lot of noise and confusion,” Baumgartner said. “It’s really just something fun, nothing super-serious, but we want everyone to have as much opportunity as they can.”

Baumgartner said year-to-year tinkering like that is not uncommon. The event is tailored to the needs of its guests, whose feedback helps provide insight into what the seniors want, need and are hoping to do, not just what the planners think they need and are hoping for.

Part of the Forum this year will be dedicated to the vendors. In the other half, attendees can play bingo, eat lunch, hear speakers and presentations. Baumgartner said there also will be a musical component, including a performance of the national anthem and another group that will perform — no details were available — and prizes.

From the planning side, the Forum is a cherished event. The people involved in putting it on enjoy it every bit as much as the guests do.

“We love it,” Baumgartner said. “The majority of the people in the network aren’t doing their jobs because they make a lot of money. They enjoy doing things with seniors, giving back to the community, things like that. The fact that we get to do that at the same time is really fun. The seniors are thankful we have something like this for them to do.”

Baumgartner said the vendors will provide a little bit of everything. The YMCA, which she works for, is a part of that too. There will be vendors for senior fitness and social activities, various insurance groups and different after-care facilities and similar operations, among other things.

The Wayne County Care Center will be represented, along with the Alzheimer’s Association, all the way down to local restaurants. Baumgartner said Dunkin has been among the vendors in the past.

“It’s really open to anybody,” she said. “As long as they have something to market.”

Baumgartner stressed the importance to community members of having an event such as this one. It not only gives seniors a chance to get out and mingle a bit with their peers, it also offers a chance for them to find and learn about things they might never have considered.

With many things for the aging to have to consider and even worry about as they get older, having a chance to visit and learn from various people and businesses who might be able to help them ease their navigation of later life is invaluable.

“It’s huge,” Baumgartner said. “I can say from experience working at the Y during COVID, they didn’t have all the social interaction they needed. They didn’t have stuff like this, and when they did finally have it, their health drastically increased, and that included their mental health. Our mental health is just as important as our physical health and needs to be looked after. Specifically it is so important for the seniors to have something to do that’s good for them and that’s what this is.”

Baumgartner said the Forum has room for 300 attendees and by Sept. 15, somewhere around 200 had already registered.

“The Wayne County Senior Services Network and I are looking forward to meeting our clients at the 2025 Senior Forum,” said Jenifer Hartzler, events chair of the Wayne Senior Service Network. “Bring a friend, make a reservation and come enjoy the day.”

The Senior Forum will take place Oct. 21 from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Greystone Event Center (50 Riffel Rd. in Wooster). RSVP by calling the United Way at 330-263-6363, option 1. Deadline to register is Oct. 1.