We attended the 49th annual U S C O convention which was held in Cobourg this year
on August 27, 28, 29, 2007. Registration took place on Monday morning followed by the opening ceremonies which started at 1:00 p.m. President Marie Smith extended a warm welcome to all.

The invocation was given by Reverend Nancy Lester, Minister of Trinity United Church. Mayor Delanty, Lou Rinaldi M.P.P. and Rick Norlock M.P. welcomed us to their
City of Cobourg. President Art Field brought greetings from National Pensioners and Senior Citizens Federation. President Marie Smith took time to introduce all of our executive members together with R.C.M.P. Officer Garth Mitchell.

Our first speaker of the day was The Honourable Jim Bradley, Minister of Tourism,
Minister Responsible for Seniors who spoke on issues concerning all seniors including
Elder Abuse. President Marie Smith extended her thanks for his mention of her input on Elder Abuse.

Marie Smith spoke at length on the subject of Elder Abuse – and has contacted many
of our clubs to keep them up to date on the work done on the “Seniors against Victimization” project.

Our next speaker was Krista Rutledge – Health Promoter.
The main theme of her presentation was “how to prevent a fall.”
She said that seniors are injured at home more than any other location. Don’t let the fear of falling prevent you from being active. Inactivity creates an even greater risk of falling.

We then continued to work on the resolutions until dinner time. At 7:30 we had a choice of four workshops to attend: Application of Cosmetics 2- Emergency Response 3- Waste Management and 4- Container Gardening.

At 7 a.m.on Tuesday we attended Field Representative, Executive and Zone Presidents meeting which is always very informative.

We started back with a hymn and the credential committee interim report of 8 Field Reps, 11 Executive, 125 Delegates making a total of 144 total voting. We had 9 visitors making a total of 153 in attendance.

Our next speaker was Catherine Turner of Johnson Inc. Catherine spoke on their Home & Auto program and their new air miles program. They also have MEDOC travel insurance. Catherine held a draw for a nice blanket.

At 9:00 a.m. we carried on with the resolutions. Our next speaker at 9:30 a.m. was Patrick Brown – Personal Injury Lawyers- who spoke on car accidents and law suits – what claims are available to those who are hurt in a car accident.

At 10:00 a.m. we had VON exercise, SMART (program for seniors.) Everyone felt so refreshed after these exercises. You can request an instructor to come to your area – phone Senior Secretariat office in Toronto – or your local VON program.

At 10:30 a.m. our speaker was Diane Urguhart who spoke on Income Trusts. Diane gave a long presentation on Investors Protection for Seniors and White Collar Crime.

We carried on with the resolutions until our next speaker at 2:00 p m. Catherine Kaye who spoke on homelessness. Catherine stated that there are 150,000 people without homes and have nowhere to go.

In the past there has been a “Homelessness Study” in Simcoe County in which our president Marie Smith was involved. We sincerely hope that more can be done in this situation to help these unfortunate members of our society.

We continued on with the resolutions until 4:15 p.m. Our banquet was at 6:30 with our guest speaker Reverend Timothy Hayward. He gave an interesting presentation containing a poem describing changes in society over the years – some parts quite humorous – it certainly held our interest

Our entertainment for the evening was the “Cold Creek Cloggers”. This very energetic group gave all present a good 30 minutes of toe-tapping pleasure. Their costumes were very attractive and they certainly were a pleasure to watch.

9:30 a.m. Wednesday morning elections were held. George Sitak was the only new member voted to the board.

Workshop reports were given between elections as follows: Application of Cosmetics: The cosmetician explained various ways of looking after your skin. Emergency Response: This presentation covered emergencies like forest fires, floods, chemical issues, and risks and hazards faced by residents of Ontario. Container Gardening: This type of gardening is completely different from ordinary gardening. Container plants will be good over winter and can be replanted in the spring, Waste Management: How to recycle your trash

10:45 a.m. Completion of the agenda, dismissal of committee and adjournment.
Ending of a very successful and enjoyable convention

Submitted By: Isabel Richardson, Field Rep of Zone 11