Senior Expo draws record crowd

The fourth annual Senior Expo set an attendance record Saturday as 350 people participated.

Counting vendors and volunteers, about 475 people participated in the community event. The Expo offered classes, free blood pressure and hearing tests as well as two rooms full of vendors at Central Arizona College in Maricopa.

Saturday morning started with a free Danish or a muffin and a cup of coffee to all attendees then it was off to visit the many vendors booth for advice and free items ranging from candy, first aid kits, cell phone powered cooling fans, hot /cold packs to even fidget spinners.

Classes began at 10:30 and lasted throughout the day and free pizza was served at noon.

Peg Chapados, event coordinator of the Senior Expo, has organized all four years of the event. She was a member of city council for six years before retiring in December. She was also vice mayor when leaving city council.

“I actually brought this to the city through Maricopa Seniors, which is a nonprofit that I am also involved in,” she said. “We said, ‘What if we had an event where we could put the resources directly into the hand of the people that need them.’ We could also offer some workshops.”

Chapados said she approached the city’s Age-Friendly Committee with the idea, and it took off.

“It has turned into this in four years,” she said, “We don’t have a lot of brick-and-mortar buildings here in Maricopa. It is nice to be able to bring the end user to one spot and have them have access to resources, organizations, volunteers, services and whatever.”

Chapados said the city’s estimates between 4,500 and 6,000 of the 52,000 residents of the city are seniors.

“We are starting to see an increase in our winter visitor population too and a lot of them are seniors,” she said.

Chapados added that the brisk number of seniors attending the event was completely anticipated.She said about 200 people pre-registered online before the event.

“We are hoping to reach as many people as we can today,” she said. “Next year – well my stint with the city is done so I’m not sure what next year is going to bring. We will see. This is a great event for the Age-Friendly Committee for the City of Maricopa, for all our exhibitors and all of our residents. I am hoping that they continue with it.”

She said Central Arizona College was generous to allow the event to take place on its campus as the Expo has outgrown City Hall where it has previously taken place.

“We have some great sponsors that bring this thing together,” she said.

Toward the end of the day, Congressman Tom O’Halleran (D-District 1) made an appearance at the event. He stopped to chat with vendors and attendees and allowed photographs to be taken with him.

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