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There were many things Pat didn't know how to handle, from using a computer to understanding financial information to obtaining insurance to getting a job.
The Manheim woman decided to head to the Lancaster County 50plus Expo at the Lancaster Host Tuesday. There she could get much of the information she needed under one roof.
"Everyone's been very helpful here," Scrocco said.
Although this is Scrocco's first venture to the expo, Ray and Rae McDonald of Lancaster have attended before.
"I like to get the free candy," Ray joked.
But all joking aside, the McDonalds said they keep coming back for the free health screenings, such as for osteoporosis and blood sugar, and for the seminars.
"This is the best one yet," Ray said.
Judy Dillon and Kathy Morrison of Penn State Hershey Medical Center said it was a good day for them. "We've gotten to talk to a lot of people," Dillon said. "People are very much interested in doing risk assessments."
Donna Anderson, president of On-Line Publishers — which hosts, along with the Lancaster County Office of Aging, the annual Lancaster County 50plus Expo — said there was a "nice, steady crowd" at the expo Tuesday.
"There are more boomers here every year planning for their retirement, and that's a good thing," Anderson said.
New this year at the expo is RetireSafe, a nonprofit grassroots advocacy and educational organization, with its Listen campaign.
The Listen campaign, according to RetireSafe president and chief executive officer Thair Phillips, is one way for seniors to get their voices heard in Washington.
Prior to the expo Tuesday, about 1,400 people at various senior expos and online at retiresafe.org had been surveyed about their views on health care reform.
"We contacted the White House about starting the Listen campaign," Phillips said. "To their credit, we sat down with the senior advisers. Although they couldn't get involved, they were very interested in the results."
Phillips said the organization would head to Capitol Hill today and Thursday to get members of Congress to focus on the survey results and common-sense observations Phillips has heard seniors comment on.
"(Seniors) finally have a voice in this important discussion. We know that older Americans feel that they have not had anyone who really listened to them and represented their views," he said.
For more information, call the county Office of Aging at 299-7979 or e-mail aging@co.lancaster.pa.us.
