News Release

North Carolina Conference on Aging a Success in Charlotte

September 29, 2003

Charles F. Longino and George L. Maddox at the 2003 North Carolina Conference on Aging

Over 450 people attended the second annual North Carolina Conference on Aging, making it an even bigger success than last year's conference. This year's conference took place in Charlotte on September 10-12.

The Conference theme was "Facing the Challenges of an Aging Society: Today & Tomorrow." Plenary sessions included the opening session "Challenges Presented by An Aging Society" presented by Charles F. Longino, Jr., PhD, of Wake Forest University; a summary of AARP's new "Beyond 50: A Report to the Nation on Independent Living and Disability" presented by Elizabeth Clemmer, Associate Director of AARP's Public Policy Institute; and the closing plenary session "Retirement Security in an Aging Society: A New Challenge" presented by Yung-Ping Chen, PhD from the University of Massachusetts.

The closing session also featured a Town Hall Listening Session conducted by the US Administration on Aging and hosted by the Assistant Secretary on Aging, Josefina Carbonell.

A new feature included in this year's conference, which received high marks on the evaluation reports was the inclusion of a Film Festival sponsored by Terra Nova films. Look for this popular feature in future conferences.

Several awards were presented at the Conference, including the Division of Aging awards.

The final conference program with abstracts, as well as photos from the Conference will be available on the NCCOA web site.

The North Carolina Conference on Aging is a administered by the UNC Institute on Aging, and is a collaborative effort supported by representatives from gerontology programs in the state, AARP-NC, the NC Division of Aging, the NC Association of Area Agencies on Aging, the NC Association on Aging, and the Governor's Advisory Council on Aging.

Next year, the NCCOA will be produced as a joint conference with the Southeastern Association of Area Agencies on Aging conference October 16-20, 2004 at the Sheraton Imperial in the Research Triangle Park. Watch the NCCOA web site for details.