WESTLOCK – Seniors continue to make a difference in our communities and were in the spotlight June 5-11 as people came together across the province to celebrate Seniors’ Week.
Alberta has recognized the significant contributions of seniors since 1986 and many municipalities including the Town of Westlock and Westlock County, declare a week to celebrate them each year. Westlock and District Family and Community Support Services (FCSS) joined several groups and agencies to put the focus on seniors including Alberta Health Services, the Aspen Primary Care Network and the Voices For Westlock and District Seniors (VWDS), a local group that began about eight years ago.
“It was formed because we saw a need for seniors in the area to have a voice,” said FCSS program coordinator Maureen Schiller, noting sub-committees comprised of Westlock Drop-In Centre seniors and other volunteers were created over the past several months to help with Senior’s Week events, some of which included sessions on managing medications, fall prevention, day support program information and a senior’s resource fair. “We have a lot of seniors in Westlock and it’s important to acknowledge them and make them feel special (during Seniors’ Week).” “They’re pioneers, they contribute to the community and a lot of them are great volunteers.”
One of the events, held June 7 at the Canadian Tractor Museum, was a session on retiring from the farm. Pam Kawulych Westlock WECAN Depot coordinator and co-cordinator of the event, said there is a need for seniors and all generations to learn about retirement and how to plan for it.
“We just wanted seniors or people that are going to retire to understand that you just don't retire, you have to have a plan so that it ends up being a happy retirement,” she said noting it often involves financial, mental and physical preparations. “I felt that it was an important session to have and to support because a lot of the people who use WECAN are retired farmers. They volunteer, they also participate in the program and they find a lot of value in it.”
Another part of retiring from the farm includes staying active in and connected to your community, which can be done in a number of ways, she noted including through hobbies and volunteering your time, among other things. “WECAN is a part of that, you can volunteer there, you can be part of the program which promotes fresh fruit and vegetables and frozen meats with low preservatives,” said Kawulych. “All the people that you were connected with are still farming and you're not … we all felt that it's important to keep your connections and develop new ones and we're just trying to help farmers go through the process and be aware of what it all includes.”
Michelle Rigney, a lending coach from Agriculture Financial Services Corporation in Westlock, was one of several guest speakers at the session and spoke about farm transition planning and how finance is an important part of that, as well as some of the common mistakes that happen during farm transition planning and some tips on things to focus on for those thinking of retiring and putting together a succession plan.
“It should be talked about early and often and every farm is different, depending on the people involved and their future plans,” said Rigney. “There just needs to be so much communication all the way along with the different generations … there really needs to be a formal plan put into place with all the experts involved necessary,” she explained noting things like legal requirements, tax insurance and other areas that need to be considered. “The better planned you are and the sooner you start that process, the smoother it can be for the transition itself.”
Kawulych noted the resources and information available to participants and said they wanted people to walk away from the session feeling more prepared.
“(It’s about) having connections with different people in the community and laying out a plan for their retirement so they actually enjoy their retirement,” she said.
