Bay County Department on Aging Senior Olympic Games kicks off June 1
Press Release - For Immediate Release
Bay City, Mich. — Now on its 30th anniversary of
promoting physical and mental health for Bay County seniors, the Bay County
Department on Aging will sponsor the 2017 Senior Olympic Games June 1 through
June 16.
Debbie Keyes, Program/Event Manager for the Department on
Aging, has been involved in the games for 25 years now and said the event has
grown from a day-long event to over two weeks long during the time she has been
involved.
“I encourage people to come out and see what it’s all
about,” said Keyes. “It’s a blast – just the spirit of comradery, fellowship
and health through activity.”
This year’s theme is “Sharing the Olympic Spirit.” The
mission of the Olympics is “Promoting fellowship, physical and mental health
through activities for adults 55 years plus.”
“With almost 25 percent of our county’s citizens aged 60
years or older, events like this are crucial to providing our seniors with fun,
rewarding and healthy activities,” said Bay County Executive Jim Barcia. “I
want to thank our staff, volunteers and community sponsors for working so hard
to put on such a worthwhile program.”
The Olympics will open with a Kick-off Breakfast on
Thursday, June 1 at 8 a.m. in the Bay County Community Center gym, 800 John F.
Kennedy Drive in Bay City. The Awards Ceremony and Banquet will be on Friday,
June 16 at 4 p.m., also in the Community Center gym. Menus for all the meals
offered during the course of the Olympic Games are in the registration packet.
There is also a calendar of all the events for easy reference.
Barcia, who plans on attending the kick-off breakfast as
well as the closing ceremonies to assist in awarding medals, said he is looking
forward to seeing the turnout this year. “I encourage our seniors to
participate – those who do well in our games have the chance to move on to
represent Bay County in Senior Olympic games on the state as well as the
national level.”
Keyes said some of the biggest draws during the two and half
weeks of games are the card tournaments. “Bay County is definitely a
card-playing county for sure,” she said. “Some of the largest tournaments are
euchre and smear, but we also have a great turnout for the golf and fishing
tournaments too.”
“This event is all about keeping our seniors engaged, active
and out there doing things they are passionate about,” said Keyes. “It’s about
having a good time.”
Other events include a bicycle ride, a shuffleboard
tournament, putt-putt golf, a walking tour and a bowling tournament, among the
other activities and meals.
Early registration is due by May 30, 2017. For more
information on how to register, or to volunteer during the events, call the
Department on Aging main line at 989-895-4100 or call toll-free at
877-229-9960. Packets are also available at the Department of Aging offices on
the second floor of the Bay County Building located at 515 Center Ave. in Bay
City.
The cost for early registration is $7 for Bay County
residents and $10 for non-residents. After May 31, the cost to register is $10
for residents and $14 for non-residents.
The event is sponsored by the Bay County Community Center,
McLaren Bay Region, Spring Valley Golf Course, Buoy 18, Financial Edge Credit
Union, Monitor Lanes, Riverside Activity Center, Canteen – Fairgrounds, Bangor
Rail Trail, Frank Anderson State Park and the Bay City State Recreation Area.
The
Department on Aging would like to offer a special thanks to COPOCO Credit Union
for their help to defray the costs for the medals.