NY State Aging Association Welcomes local Director to its Board of Directors

The Association on Aging in New York elected three Area Agency on Aging Directors to its Board of Directors at its Leadership Institute in October:  Julie Allen Aldrich (Monroe County), Ken Genewick (Niagara County) and Cathy Mackay (Cattaraugus County). Each will serve a two-year term beginning in January of 2015.

Leadership Institute is a strategic planning session established to advance aging issues and develop public policy objectives for the coming year for the Association on Aging in NY and its members, the state's 59 mostly county-based Area Agencies on Aging. It also provides the Association's Board of Directors with an opportunity to meet and conduct Association business.

In addition to adding three new members to the Board of Directors, the Association membership elected Andrea Fettinger (Fulton County) as Board Treasurer and Patty Bashaw (Essex County) as Board Secretary. At the same time, Patricia Sheehy (Putnam County) and Ann Marie Maglione (Orange County) were re-elected to the Board of Directors.

"We're grateful to those who continue to serve on the Board of Directors of the Association on Aging in New York. A special thanks to outgoing Board Member Debra Sanderson, Director of the Chenango County Area Agency on Aging, who contributed so much to the Association," said Mike Romano, President of the Board. "We welcome the new perspectives of our three new members and expect that their leadership will be invaluable as we navigate the changing landscape of long term services and support in New York State."

Mike Romano, Director of the Oneida Office for Aging and Continuing Care, and Holly Rhodes-Teague, Director of Suffolk County Office for the Aging, will begin year two of their first term as President and Vice President of the Association on Aging in New York Board of Directors.

"I'm delighted to be a newly elected member of the Association's Board of Directors," said Cathy Mackay, who is Director of the Cattaraugus County Department of the Aging and NY Connects. "It's important work advocating for New York's 59 offices for aging. We need to ensure they have adequate funding to meet the growing demand for home and community-based services for New York's aging population, and the Association is a driving force behind making that happen."

Making a difference in the quality of life for seniors in New York State is center stage at the Association. The mission of the Association on Aging in NY is to support and enhance the capacity of New York's local Area Agencies on Aging and to work in collaboration with the aging network to promote independence, preserve dignity, and advocate on the behalf of aging New Yorkers and their families.

New York State's 59 Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs) were established under the Older Americans Act of 1965 to respond to the needs of Americans age 60 and over and do it by being the "go-to" for home and community-based services, such as home delivered meals, homecare, adult day services, legal services, personal emergency response systems, transportation, and health and wellness initiatives. Their goal is to make it possible for aging Americans to live independently and with dignity in their homes and communities for as long as possible.

From the Association on Aging in New York news article "Aging Association Welcomes Three New Members to its Board of Directors"