BC OAPO Convention 2004

-Wil Holland, President BC OAPO -

The OAPO of BC will be holding its annual convention in the Seniors Centre in Sicamous on June 14-16, 2004. Convention 2004 will be hosted by OAPO Branch 89 Sicamous with leadership by Darryl Duncan, 1st Vice-President of the OAPO.

More than 125 seniors are expected to attend, the majority being voting delegates from OAPO Branches located throughout the province.

Convention 2004 will deal with 67 resolutions that have been put forward by the Branches. These resolutions will be discussed, amended where necessary, and acceptance or rejection will be decided by the delegates. The finalized resolutions are then sent to the appropriate provincial and federal government departments for their study and action. Some resolutions will apply to both governments.

A major area of concern for seniors is health care as indicated by the presentation of 21 resolutions to the province on health issues and 7 to the federal government. Seniors are very obviously concerned with more than just funding of the health care system. Other resolutions are concerned with housing, poverty, transportation problems, crime and safety, education, and taxation.

Guest speakers are Margaret J. Priestly Birrell, executive director with the BC Coalition of People with Disabilities, and mike Vanderbeck from the Seniors Bureau in Vernon. Margaret Birrell will provide background information about the BC Coalition of People with Disabilities and how OAPO can work more closely with this organization.

Mike Vanderbeck will speak about the falls prevention program. Falls account for 65% of injuries among Canadian seniors and are estimated to cost Canadians 2.4 billion dollars annually, of which one billion are direct health care costs. Studies suggest that falls are often preventable and that health promotion interventions can reduce or eliminate high risk behaviors or risk factors that may be present in the home or in the community.

The Scholarship Society of the BC OAPO will also be reporting and accepting funds for presentation of scholarships to worthy students of gerontology. Elections will take place for the President and Treasurer's positions.

However, there will also be some fun time with a reception in the early evening of Monday, June 14 with a banquet and special entertainment taking place on the Tuesday evening. Darryl Duncan and members of Branch 89 Sicamous are hard at work to make Convention 2004 most successful for both work and play.