Board of Supervisors seeks community’s help identifying centenarians; will host event in the virtual setting

August 13, 2020

SOLANO COUNTY – The Solano County Board of Supervisors needs the community’s help in identifying centenarians living in our community for recognition at an upcoming Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday, October 6 as part of the 14^th annual centenarian commemoration celebration.

“Centenarians are beacons of light and hope living in our community,” says Erin Hannigan, District 1 Supervisor and Chairwoman of the Board of Supervisors.  “We look forward to recognizing these individuals, honoring their significant contributions to the community, and learning a few secrets to living to 100 years of age and beyond.”

For the past 13 years, the Solano County Board of Supervisors has recognized and honored centenarians by hosting a special in-person commemoration event as part of their Board of Supervisors meeting.  This year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic emergency, the Board is moving the commemoration ceremony into the virtual setting, recognizing centenarian through a series of unique and personal video vignettes – all while being live-streamed during the Board of Supervisors meeting.

“We’re encouraging centenarians and their caretakers to capture and submit a 1-2-minute video of themselves sharing a bit about their amazing life story,” Hannigan says.  “County staff will compile the videos into a presentation that will be shared with the Board and live-streamed during the meeting.”

To date the Board has honored more than 180 centenarians in Solano County, the oldest of them, Marie West, reached super-centenarian status in January, 2011.  Super-centenarians are those individuals that who have reached the age of 110 years or older, which only occurs at a rate of about 1 in 7 million people – with an estimated 60-70 super-centenarians currently living in the United States.

Working in cooperation with the Senior Coalition of Solano County, the annual Centenarian Commemoration is a way to capture and share the stories of some of Solano County’s oldest residents, bringing attention to some of the issues facing the senior population.

The 14^th Annual Centenarian Commemoration celebration will take place during the Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday, October 6, 2020 starting at 11 a.m.  Centenarians, their families, caretakers and the public are invited to watch as the Board as they recognize these amazing individuals via live-stream video on the County’s website. Additional details will be provided as the event nears.

CONTACTING THE COUNTY ABOUT CENTENARIANS
If you know of a centenarian, contact Jenalee Dawson, Senior Coalition Coordinator at (707) 816-0554 and [email protected].  Please contact Mrs. Dawson by or before Friday, September 4, 2020 to ensure time to coordinate, capture, collect and compile video media.