A crowd of approximately 500 senior citizens attended an Expo at Kittanning Township Fire Hall yesterday sponsored by State Representatives Donna Oberlander and Jeff Pyle, and Senator Joe Pittman.
An estimated crowd of approximately 500 senior citizens filled the Kittanning Township Fire Hall Wednesday morning for the annual Senior Expo.
According to State Representative Jeff Pyle, he said the crowd is one of the largest turnouts for the event.
“When I pulled in, about two minutes after 10, they were four across from the door into the first row of the parking lot. That’s just a whole mess of people!” he said.
The Senior Expo is sponsored by Pyle, State Representative Donna Oberlander, and State Senator Joe Pittman.
“For a rural community, these are important events because it brings seniors into a one-stop-shopping opportunity to get some real services that they might not otherwise be aware of,” Pittman said. “So, I think it’s a success. The vendors make it work because if we don’t have the vendors, we don’t have the opportunity for the seniors to get the information needed.”
Pyle gave credit to the staff of all three politicians who led in the organization with vendors and seniors.
“I know Donna Oberlander is a big part of this event too. Her staff works very hard with Jeff’s staff, and my staff, to make this all come together. It’s good team effort and I’m glad we do it every year,” Pittman added.
“We’re a rural area where seniors don’t generally have knowledge of these existing services, so bringing them all to one place, put them up front where they can walk up and ask questions – what do you do, how does this work – it’s got value,” Pyle said. “Armstrong is an aging county. We’re giving people tools that they can use and making this available to everybody.”
Pittman said he observed people visiting various booths and asking a lot of questions.
“I know they’ve gotten leads on their health insurance and related services. That that really can make a big difference in their lives. If we don’t bring it all together, like Jeff said, they may not get that information.”
“It’s harder for those individuals with mobility issues,” Pyle added. “If you notice, there were guys with mobility aids here. This brings it all in one place…makes it convenient for them.”