THE OLDER CROWD:

There’s an old saying that if you don’t know where you’re going, any road will lead you there.

At its Aug. 15 meeting, the Costa Mesa Senior Center board of directors decided where it’s going by unanimously adopting a strategic plan for the period 2007-09.

The plan, the center’s first, identifies six goals:

The senior center board authorized development of the plan about a year ago. I was privileged to lead a steering committee consisting of seniors, staff and board members who worked with the help of a well-qualified facilitator to produce the end product.

The process involved the use of questionnaires completed by members, staff, and the board addressing strengths, needed improvement (weaknesses), opportunities and threats. Early on, the committee and 10 senior members who had previously attended focus-group meetings participated in a forum to discuss the results of the group questionnaires and to further clarify results. At the meeting, individuals were divided into groups and asked to identify trends prevalent in the data collected. The purpose of this exercise was twofold: to allow individuals who participated in completing the questionnaires to review results, and to provide an opportunity for input and clarification of issues. Those of us who worked over the last year to get to this point recognize, as does the board, that we are not finished. We have only prepared a road map for future growth and success in achieving the Costa Mesa Senior Center’s mission: to maximize the quality of life among the older adult population of Costa Mesa and surrounding communities.

The center seeks to provide programs that will promote dignity and self-esteem, foster independence and self determination, facilitate social interaction and involvement in community life, and dispel stereotypical and negative myths about aging.

The strategic plan and a PowerPoint summary presentation of its content will soon be available on the center’s website at www.cmseniorcenter.org.

UPCOMING EVENTS

The weekend of Sept. 2 and 3 we will be selling ice cream at Bob’s Old Fashioned Ice Cream stand at the Orange County Marketplace. Please bring your family and friends as it is a good fundraiser for us.

Oct. 1, the Boys and Girls Club of the Harbor Area and the Costa Mesa Senior Center will be having their first 5K Generational Walk at Fairview Park on Placentia Avenue in Costa Mesa. Registration will begin at 7 a.m. rain or shine and the walk begins at 8 a.m.

We plan a fun event for all, while raising funds for two worthy causes. After the walk entertainment is planned for adults and kids; prizes and hamburgers and hot dogs will be served by the Harbor Mesa Lions Club. Please help support us by signing up as a walker and getting your family and friends involved.

To learn more about our Generational Walk in the Park and to register, please visit the website www.genwalk.org.