The Department of Gerontology's Annual AGE Virginia Awards will take place on Friday, April 11th from 6:00 pm until 9:00 pm at VCU's Siegel Center.

More information will follow with ticket cost and opportunities for event sponsorship.  To submit nominees for our Commonwealth Award (an older adult who personifies optimal aging), ACE Award (Excellence in Advocacy and Community Engagement in Gerontology) or the TIME Award (Theoretical Innovation and Maintaining Evidence-Based Practice in Gerontology), please email [email protected] with your name/contact information, the nominee's name/contact information, and a brief description of qualifications.  

Optimal Aging:

Joseph "Papa Joe" Covolo, Jr. is a man who is happily spending his retirement years

in constant service to others locally and abroad. Much of his activity is in the

 local community.  He is a weekly reader in his grandson's preschool class, and

a reader and room helper in Clover Hill Elementary (which is pretty impressive since

he no longer has grandchildren who attend there). He has a 30 year volunteer history

with the Girl Scouts as well.  He is now the assistant troop leader for his granddaughter

Madison's troop. He helped lead the troop on a trip to Washington D.C. this past

 summer and also helped set up and house the troop at his vacation home on the Chesapeake

Bay for their "camping trip" in the middle of a rainstorm the previous year.

Joe loves to share the joy he receives from his trips to Honduras as part of a 15-member

Friends of Barnabas (FOB) medical mission team.The Brandermill Community Association

newsletter reported last spring upon his return from his 28th trip "to the poverty-riddled

Central American mountain region, where many children have never been treated by

 a doctor or a dentist..." "Papa Joe contributed his layman's specialty-soothing

 the little ones who were shy or frightened. Lately he has added a new skill to

his repertoire: fingernail painting. "Using my vast experience with my granddaughter

Maddie," Covolo says, "I really mastered the art and had many a satisfied customer."

 "We left smiles on little faces, and hope in their parents' eyes, " Covolo says.

 "Most of all, each of us left a bit of our heart in the little communities in the

mountains. We gave a lot of ourselves, but we bring back so much more, and we are

richer for the experience." Joe is also active in many ways at Brandermill Church,

including volunteering in the nursery for the Mothers Of Preschoolers (MOPS) group

that meets there.

He has an absolute love for people (especially kids) and shows it in everything

he does," says his daughter Stephanie Hancock.  "At almost 75 years old (you wouldn't

know it) he continues to give, give, give... always helping others."

Congratulations Graduates!

The Department of Gerontology has graduated 7 with a Master of Science in Gerontology

as well as 9 with a Certificate in Aging Studies.  Congratulations Annette Clark,

Jennifer Pryor, Abigail Solomon, Raleigh Stephens, Christy Mitchell, Tuula Ranta

 and David Monday who are Master of Science in Gerontology graduate and Deanna Flora,

Mildred Matherly, Elizabeth Harvell, Margaret Vaccaro, Lesley Smith, Catherine Floroff,

William Coleman, Osama Shoair and Rachel Seidman who are Certificate in Aging Studies

students.

Students from the VCU Department of Gerontology recently participated in the Mayor's inaugural Centenarian project.  What better way to showcase Optimal Aging than to interview older adults who have lived for a century (and longer). 

Catherine Tolton was born on June 25, 1912.  Throughout her life, she has been a true caregiver; as a nurse, as a mother of ten and and as grandmother to 33 and great-grandmother to 26.  At 100, Mrs. Tolton continues to enjoy Scrabble, socializing and reading.

Mrs. Tolton personifies Optimal Aging in her positive reflections upon a lifetime of caregiving and her current activity and enjoyment of life.  Mrs. Tolton's "glass half full" approach to life and aging and her longevity are supported by evidence-based scholarship on attitude and aging.  Quite simply; accentuating the positive and eliminating the negative.

And speaking of optimal aging, let's look at authors Tom Wolfe and Tom Robbins; 81 and 76, respectively.  Writing.  Traveling.  Lecturing and receiving awards for their works.  Both have called Richmond and Virginia home during their lives. 

Robbins was recently awarded the Library of Virginia's Lifetime Achievement Award, an honor bestowed upon Wolfe in 2007.  Both continue to author notable works and remain on the cutting edge of the literati.

What Vintage Virginians inspire you?  Catherine Tolton?  Tom Wolfe?  Tom Robbins?  Let us know who you would like to spotlight in "Optimal Aging" by emailing [email protected].  

Jamela Davis plans to continue working full time and participating in volunteer activities.  She would like to continue to pursue career and volunteer opportunities in aging related fields that will allow her to utilize her professional writing experience and business administration background.

Charlotte Arbogast 

Following graduation, Charlotte hopes to continue her efforts on aging policy and advocacy. While Charlotte is still searching for the right opportunity, she plans to use her academic training and public administration experience to work on behalf of older adults throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia.

 Sadashiv Aggarwal