Ageism hides in plain sight by Kathy Sporre, CSA

I recently attended a Marketing and Membership Committee meeting for our senior center in Fergus Falls, Minnesota, that had on the agenda changing the center’s name to something ageless—something without senior in it or any other word that might be viewed negatively by those ages 55 years and better. The premise for changing our name was that people known as Baby Boomers, born between 1946 and 1964, are simply not identifying with the word senior. We feel a name change is a strategy we could use to attract the younger older adult, starting at age 55, and increase our membership. It’s a strategy many centers across North America have already tackled.