Meetings

PREVIOUS MEETINGS

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2023

Trinity Lutheran Church (2700 Fulton St E, Grand Rapids 49506).  8am – 10am

Join us on Tuesday, October 24th for our scheduled monthly meeting. We will have Ashley Doyle, Support Services Coordinator at Senior Neighbors, sharing insights on Senior Technology Literacy Programs and how you can offer these services to your community.

Please remember to bring your annual membership dues of $35 with you to the event. Your support ensures that we can continue our mission of identifying and assessing the needs of the older population in Kent County and strengthening the network of services designed to address those needs.

Join us on Tuesday, September 26th, from 8:00 AM to 10:00 AM for our board-sponsored pancake breakfast!  Mark your calendars and save the date! The focus of this meeting will be networking so bring your business cards and be prepared for a fun morning of engagement and connecting with others who serve older adults in the West Michigan area.

We're holding a special drawing during the meeting, and you could be the lucky winner of a $20 Gift Card! To enter, please remember to bring your annual membership dues of $35 with you to the event. Your support ensures we can continue our mission on identifying and assessing the needs of the older population in Kent County, and strengthen the network of services designed to address those needs.

See you there!

TUESDAY, APRIL 25, 2023

Our next meeting is Tuesday, April 25 with networking at 8:00am and our main program to begin at 8:30am.  Our breakfast sponsor/5 minute presenter will be Erica Chapin from Deaf & Hard of Hearing Services.  Our main topic is The Aging Population & the Caregivers and Workforce Supporting Them.  We will hear from Stan Stek from the Kent County Board of Commissioners and Luke Meerman, who is a republican member of the Michigan House of Representatives.  Both of them will provide a legislative update on this topic.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28

Hestle Yang from Right at Home is our 5-minute presenter and breakfast sponsor.

Overview of Main Presentation

Please join us as we discuss the LGBTQ+ community within the older adult population. Historically, this population has faced less acceptance of their LGBTQ+ identity, leading to unique struggles and mental health concerns that are important to be aware of. However, as recognition and acceptance has improved, this is a population that continues to exist and thrive! We hope to discuss the unique challenges facing this community and various ways that we can offer support for this specific population.

Our Presenters

Dr. Nicole Buozis, MD

Currently a second-year psychiatry resident at Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services. She obtained her MD from Central Michigan University College of Medicine and is interested in geriatric psychiatry as well as women’s mental health and the LGBTQ population. 

Dr. Richelle Payea, MD

Currently a fourth-year psychiatry resident at Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services. She obtained her MD from Central Michigan University College of Medicine and will be starting a fellowship in geriatric psychiatry at Pine Rest later this year. 

TUESDAY, JANUARY 24

Our next meeting is Tuesday, January 24 at Trinity Lutheran Church (2700 Fulton St E, Grand Rapids 49506).  

8:00am – 8:30am – in-person networking

8:30am to 10:00am – in-person meeting

Our next meeting's topic is "Know Before You Go."  Johnna Adair, Licensed funeral director with the Neptune Society will be speaking about the importance of pre-planning your funeral/cremation and the steps that take place after someone passes. She will explain the time frame, Veteran Benefits, Irrevocable contracts for Medicaid and more. Catherine Jacobs with Warner Norcross + Judd LLP will then follow up with explaining what a Funeral Representative is as well as what legal documents are no longer valid for survivors.  Our 5-minute presenter is Mikayla Fankhauser from Renew Mobility.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 22

Our next meeting is Tuesday, October 25 at Trinity Lutheran Church (2700 Fulton St E, Grand Rapids 49506).  

8:00am – 8:30am – in-person networking

8:30am to 10:00am – in-person meeting

Our 5-minute presenter/breakfast sponsor is Covenant Living of the Great Lakes.  Our main presentation will focus on The Resources Veterans Need to Know. 

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 25

Our next meeting is Tuesday, October 25 at Trinity Lutheran Church (2700 Fulton St E, Grand Rapids 49506).  

8:00am – 8:30am – in-person networking

8:30am to 10:00am – in-person meeting

Johnna Adair from Neptune Society will be our 5-minute presenter breakfast sponsor. Following this, we will hear from Liz Barnett with the Area Agency on Aging, who will present information on agency resources and the Kent County Senior Millage, new initiatives and other funded programs. Molly Murray, with Great Lakes Financial Insurance Agency, will present on Social Security and Medicare Enrollment. Molly has a great story in that she is a retired professional who returned to the work force in this new role.

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27

We are returning to “meeting season” again for the Council on Aging of Kent County.  Our next meeting is Tuesday, September 27 at 8:30am at Trinity Lutheran Church (2700 Fulton St E, Grand Rapids 49506).  This is our board-sponsored pancake breakfast so come hungry!  The focus of this meeting will be networking so we will not plan on gathering earlier like we have in past meetings.  Bring your business cards and be prepared for a fun morning of connecting with others who serve older adults in the Kent County area.

Tuesday, April 26, 2022 

For those attending in person at Trinity Lutheran Church (2700 Fulton St E), networking with breakfast will take place from 8:00am to 8:30am. The meeting will be called to order for everyone at 8:30am and those on Zoom will be let into the meeting at that time. Our breakfast sponsor and 5-minute presenter is Jan Amato from Emmanuel Hospice. Following this, our main program presentation will focus on Legal Decision Making Options for Older Adults. Our two presenters are Catherine Jacobs, Senior Counsel of Warner, Norcross + Judd and Kortney Post, Guardian Monitor of the Kent County Guardianship Program.

Here are the meeting details:

January Meeting – Tuesday, March 22, 2022

Trinity Lutheran Church

2700 Fulton St E

Grand Rapids, MI 49506

8:00am – 8:30am – in-person networking

8:30am to 10:00am – meeting (in person and Zoom)

If you are planning to attend in person at Trinity Lutheran Church, please RSVP via this link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050B4FA8A728ABFF2-council1

If you are interested in joining our meeting via zoom, please email webmaster@coakc.org and we will get you signed up to receive future meeting announcements.

Tuesday, March 22.

This will again be a hybrid meeting. If you are attending in-person, our networking time is from 8:00am to 8:30am and breakfast will be provided by our 5-minute presenter - The Oaks of Belmont! Our meeting will begin at 8:30am for those in person and on Zoom. Roxanne Dudicz, CPA and Deb Keith of CPA for Seniors at Rivertown Finance will give a presentation on Daily Money Management for Seniors including tax tips, role of daily money managers, impact of dementia on finances, money management for low-income seniors and guarding against financial exploitation.

Tuesday, February 22, 2022

Networking and breakfast (provided by our five minute presenter - The Medical Team - Hospice) will start at 8:00am. The meeting itself will begin at 8:30am.

Our main presenter is Mary Hui-Wee from Pine Rest. 

Tuesday, January 25, 2022

We are excited for the opportunities we have ahead with the Council on Aging of Kent County, including our first meeting of the year. We are going to make our first attempt at a hybrid meeting. We know a part of our group does include networking, which is difficult to do virtually. We also know that our members may not always be able to meet in person for a variety of reasons. We hope the hybrid option is successful to engage as many of our members as possible. We will have an opportunity to share group updates and announcements. At 9:15am we will receive a 2022 Medicare update from Bob Callery, Regional Coordinator of the Michigan Medicare/Medicaid Assistance Program (MMAP).