Seniors from Forsyth County met state legislators as part of the annual Senior Day event at the Georgia State Capitol, hosted by the Coalition of Advocates for Georgia’s Elderly (CO-AGE), on Feb. 15.

Led by Senior Services Director Ruthie Brew, 30 senior residents enjoyed discussing issues with legislative delegates, watching floor debates in the House and Senate chambers and touring the historic site.

Local Forsyth County resident Vicki V. Johnson serves on the Georgia Council on Aging (GCOA), and she welcomed her neighbors to the capitol for Senior Day, along with GCOA Executive Director Debra Stokes.

“What a wonderful day we had meeting our legislators,” said Brew.

“The Forsyth County delegation was so friendly and approachable. It was the first time many of us had ever talked to them,” said Sherry Nemiroff, trip attendee.

Members of the Forsyth delegation who spoke with the seniors were State Sen. Greg Dolezal (27th district), and State Reps. Carter Barrett (24th), David Clark (100th), Brent Cox (28th), Rick Jasperse (11th), Todd Jones (25th) and Lauren McDonald (26th). They fielded questions from County seniors on a wide range of topics including taxation, transportation and elections.

This year CO-AGE identified four priorities for legislative action: increased state funding for at-home services to help seniors age in place, authorization for Teledentistry to bring improved access to oral health, lifting of prohibitions against Medicaid usage in assisted living and creation of a state-administered voluntary savings program for workers.

CO-AGE is a grassroots statewide organization open to all individuals and organizations, dedicated to advocacy with and on behalf of older adults. It operates under the administration of the GCOA, a state advisory agency comprised of volunteer members appointed by the governor, lieutenant governor, speaker of the House and commissioner of Department of Human Services.

For more information about CO-AGE or GCOA, contact Nikaela Frederick (404) 281-0430 or nikaela.frederick@gcoa.ga.gov

Header image: Debra Stokes, Rick Jasperse, Vicki Johnson, Ruthie Brew, Carter Barrett and Brent Cox at the Georgia State Capitol on Feb. 15, 2023.