The whiff of pronto pups is gone, the stacks of informational bulletins dwindled to three manageable bundles and the lights were finally extinguished on the Minnesota Senior Federation booth at the State Fair.
A total of 88 people helped staff the booth throughout the 12 days of the fair, while more than 8,000 separate pieces of information were discussed and handed out to passers-by. About 1,125 people registered for the free trip to Laughlin, Nev., and 795 of those registrants signed on as trial members of the Senior Federation.
The Federation was pleased to host several invited guests to the booth, each bringing a specific topic of interest or expertise to an array of public policy issues and concerns of social justice. Most notable guests were former St. Paul mayor, George Latimer, who visited with a number of fairgoers; Rhonda Whitenack, answering questions from her work with the Social Security Administration; and Barb Fonkert of Homeland Security talking about natural disaster preparedness.
Many fairgoers commented on the attractive look of the booth - we went out on a limb and rented a few spiffy items. Most visitors zeroed in on the request each staffer wore on his or her T-shirt, “Ask me about justice for seniors.” That question got asked and answered over and over again as visitors brought individual and sometimes very personal concerns to our booth. Of particular interest was the one-page, “cheat sheet” on legislative issues the Federation is pursuing at state and national levels with an accompanying position statement on: Medicare reform, prescription drug costs, health care, income security, pensions, affordable housing, property taxes, transportation, long-term care, and home- and community-based services.
If you missed picking up a copy of this easy reference guide, contact us at 651/645-0261 or and ask for the State Fair Position Paper on Issues.
I helped set up last year’s Senior Federation booth. We hauled in 1x8-foot planks, coffee cans and yards of blue polyester, along with a scrap of carpet and cobbled together an exhibit. It looked okay, but most of us determined we could look a bit more appealing while maintaining the grassroots nature of this organization. We included a new State Fair exhibit as one of the items on our Wish List 2007 and...ummmm, we’re still looking for a donor. How about you?
Contact me at 651/783-5006, 877/645-0261 ext. 5006 or .
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