John W. Martin, CEO of the Southeastern Institute of Research, spoke at the April 8, 2009 meeting of the Senior Statesmen of Virginia on the Older Dominion Partnership (ODP), an initiative by business, government, foundations and non-profits to help Virginia prepare for the coming boomer age wave.

The ODP is a public/private initiative created to raise awareness and advance preparation efforts across the Commonwealth of Virginia for the coming “age wave” of older adults – when aging Boomers double the population of citizens ages 65 and older as there are today. Through John’s vision, Virginia’s ODP has ushered in a new model in age wave planning where leaders in academic, nonprofit, state government, philanthropic communities, and business all join together to plan for their community’s shared destiny.

The ODP conducted strategic research among residents and business leaders to help create a planning roadmap for the ODP. Subsequently, six ODP workgroups were established: community readiness, civic engagement, aging services communications support, healthcare access and long-term care, workforce readiness, and a shared statewide research database work group that supports all of the ODP work groups and offers a matrix of age wave preparedness performance indicators.

In addition to co-founding the Boomer Project, the nation’s authority on marketing to today’s Boomer consumer, John Martin is president and CEO of SIR Research, a 44-year-old marketing research firm that has conducted over 13,000 studies for organizations like Media General, AARP, Liberty Mutual, Lincoln Financial, American Chemical Society, the Public Relations Society of America, Johnson & Johnson, and the American SPCA.

John speaks to audiences across the country about age wave preparation, as well as generational issues and understanding today’s Boomers. He also co-authored the award-winning business book, Boomer Consumer, published in 2007.

Over the last five years, the Boomer Project has established itself as the leading authority on generational marketing. Boomer Project findings have been shared on NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams, CBS Sunday Morning, CNBC, MSNBC, NPR’s “Marketplace” and recent cover stories about older Boomers by BusinessWeek and Newsweek, as well as articles in The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times. Hundreds of organizations from financial services firms, healthcare associations, consumer products companies, retailers, and governmental agencies have hired the Boomer Project to speak at conferences, events, and training sessions.

Following the presentation questions were taken from the audience. Today’s program was moderated by SSV Secretary Bill Davis.

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Program Summary

John W. Martin, CEO of the Southeastern Institute of Research, spoke on the Older Dominion Partnership (ODP), an initiative by business, government, foundations and non-profits to help Virginia prepare for the coming boomer age wave (www.olderdominion.org).

Because of the baby boomers, the population in Virginia of 65 and over will increase from 11 percent to 19 percent in ten years. The age wave will impact in five ways: •chronic diseases (e.g., heart disease, arthritis, stroke) will increase by 40 to 50 percent along with multiple severe diseases; •shortage of geriatric physicians and nurses (22,000 more nurses will be needed in 10 years); •enormous shortage of family care-giver workers (nine out of 10 boomers want to remain in their homes); •demands on business, transportation, housing–all must become more age-friendly; •a community’s overall attractiveness and competitiveness may be at stake to attract boomers.

Goals of the Older Dominion Partnership: •Build awareness of the coming age wave; •Broaden pro-aging stake holder groups; •Help facilitate the creation and advancement of community-driven strategies; •Support members through strategic coordination and possible alignment of funding sources; •Help formulate a comprehensive long-term strategic strategy for the Commonwealth; •Document and report on the progress in preparing for the age wave. In sum, “Make things happen sooner rather than later. Don’t play catch-up in 20 years, but rather predict the future by influencing it by taking it in the direction we want it to go in as residents of the Commonwealth.”

Bob Gibson, is executive director of the Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership at the University of Virginia. He is a 1972 graduate of the University of Virginia with a B.A. in government and foreign affairs. After serving as news director of WCHV radio, he joined The Daily Progress in August 1976 and has held a number of positions with the newspaper. He began his career covering police and local court hearings and has covered state and local politics and government. He was named city editor in 1982 and later special projects editor in 1992 when he wrote a series about racial disparities and justice in local courts.

In addition to his newspaper work, Bob hosted a weekly political call-in show on WINA radio in Charlottesville for seven years. He has also hosted a public radio talk show since 2001 on WVTF-FM in Roanoke and Charlottesville. He has been a regular contributor and guest on public radio station WAMU’s Virginia Politics Hour in Washington.

Bob is the winner of several Virginia Press Association awards, the 1993 Virginia Bar Association Award in the Field of Law and Justice and the 1993 Southern Journalism Award for investigative reporting.

Mr. Gibson spoke at a Senior Statesmen of Virginia meeting on March 11, 2009. Following his presentation questions were taken from the audience. Today’s program was moderated by SSV President Marvin Hilton.

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James E. Haden, president and chief executive officer of Martha Jefferson Health Services, was the featured speaker at the February 11, 2009 meeting of the Senior Statesmen of Virginia.

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James E. Haden was named president and CEO of Martha Jefferson Health Services in 1993. Mr Haden received his master’s degree in Public Health/Health Services Management from UCLA in 1971. He completed his administrative residency at Scripps Hospital in LaJolla, California, and received the 1988 Alumni of the Year Award from the UCLA Health Services Management Alumni Association. Mr. Haden served as president and CEO of Queen of the Valley Health Services in West Covina, California, from 1986 – 1993. Prior to that, he served as chief operating officer of Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian in Newport Beach, California, from 1978 to 1986. Mr Haden served as associate administrator at Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena, California, from 1976 – 1978. In 1992, Mr. Haden was chairperson of the California Association of Catholic Hospitals and was a member of the Hospital Council of Southern California from 1988 – 1993.

Mr. Haden served as a board member on the Federal Reserve Board of Richmond from 1998 – 2003, serving on its Executive Committee from 2002 – 2003. He is a former board member of the Charlottesville United Way, the Piedmont Virginia Community College Foundation and Charlottesville Chamber of Commerce.

Mr. Haden served as a preceptor at the UCLA Health Services Management Program from 1981 – 1987 and currently serves as a preceptor for VCU’s Masters Program in Health Care Administration. In 2003 Mr. Haden was the recipient of the American Heart Association, Charlottesville Chapter, Billy Gitchell Award. In 2006 he was the recipient of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society Blue Ridge Chapter Silver Hope Award. Mr. Haden is the 2008 recipient of the Beta Kappa Chapter, Sigma Theta Tau, UVa School of Nursing Community Service Award. Mr. Haden is married to Sue Haden. They have three children.

Professor Edwin T. Burton of the University of Virginia Economics Department spoke on the current economic crisis at a Senior Statesmen of Virginia forum on January 14, 2008. Professor Burton is a well known economic expert who is a frequent guest on WINA. He is the former head of the Virginia Retirement System and is the author of the Burton Finance Blog.

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Burton received his B.A. in Economics from Rice University in 1964 and his Ph.D. in Economics from Northwestern University in 1971. He is currently professor of economics at the University of Virginia, a post he has held since 1998. He is also currently a trustee of Virginia Retirement System. His past positions include head of Investment Banking and Municipal Finance at Interstate Johnson Lane from 1994 to 1995, president of Rothschild Financial Services, Inc. from 1987 to 1994, senior vice President of Smith Barney from 1975 to 1984 and assistant and associate professor of economics at Cornell University from 1969 to 1979.

The topic of today’s presentation is “The Financial Crisis – Which Inning Are We In?”. Bill Davis, SSV board member and secretary, moderated today’s program.

Program Summary

UVa Economics Professor Edwin Burton addressed the current economic crisis. He stated that the economic condition today is not worse than the Great Depression—unemployment now is even less than during the Carter administration. The problem began in early 2007 when the credit (lending) market started to freeze up. The head of the Federal Reserve and administration officials kept saying everything was OK, and that confused the market. Yet there is no way to measure the state of the credit market at any given time like there is to measure the stock and bond markets. <!–[if !vml]–><!–[endif]–>Housing facts: 30 % have no mortgage; 40 % have small mortgages with no problems; remaining 30% are where the subprimes are. Fannie Mae was set up to make low interest loans for home purchases, but President Johnson did not want the debt to show up on government books and so it was structured to resemble free enterprise systems of other institutions. The administration had taken the position they wouldn’t bail out the mistakes of others, but over one-half of the debt is now owned by foreign countries, and failure would have even more severe repercussions on the US financing its national debt.

Predictions and observations: •Unemployment will go to 8.5 % during the next three months. •Credit markets are already improving and housing markets will improve except in some areas. •We’ll be in deep trouble if the new administration takes the protectionist route—this was one of the causes of the Great Depression. •Although Professor Burton didn’t vote for Obama, he gives the new president an “A” for all of his appointments so far except for Hillary. •Professor Burton does not favor any stimulus package because the results will be so far down the road that they will then contribute to inflation. •A lot of money will be wasted by the stimulus package and banking.

Visit Professor Burton’s blog site at http://etbfinance.blogspot.com/.

Al explained how global warming, if it continues as it is going now, will submerge regions of Tidewater Virginia, and will cause major problems in Virginia agriculture.  The solution to this danger is to greatly reduce emission of fossil carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

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As Virginia’s population ages, so does it’s need for geriatric care. Yet doctors trained in geriatric care are increasingly hard to find. On June 11th, 2008, the Senior Statesmen of Virginia invited Drs. David L. Chesler, M.D. and Jonathan M. Evans, M.D. to speak on the challenges of geriatric care both from a medical and financial point of view.

On May 14th, 2008, The Senior Statesmen of Virginia hosted Senator Emmett Hanger, a Republican who is in his third term representing the Shenandoah Valley and a section of Albemarle County. Hanger reviewed the recently concluded General Assembly session, and discussed Governor Tim Kaine’s plan to raise money for transportation.

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Bio from the Senior Statesmen:

Emmett Hanger (Republican) is the senator for the 24th Senate District which includes a part of Albemarle, Rockbridge, and Rockingham, and all of Augusta, Greene, Highland, and the Cities of Lexington, Staunton and Waynesboro.

Serving nine years in the House of Delegates and now in his third term in the Senate, Emmett has always been pro-business and as a Republican believes in the philosophy of limited government and fiscal conservatism. He values the protection of individual rights, coupled with a keen sense of individual responsibility. He chairs the Senate Rehabilitation and Social Services Committee, and serves on the Senate Committees on Finance; Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources; Local Government; and Rules.  He also is very involved with matters dealing with education, mental health, and the environment.  Emmett co-chaired the Legislative Subcommittee, which he patroned, to reform Virginia’s Tax Code. In addition, Emmett chairs the Commonwealth Competition Council, which is a pro-business organization that helps state agencies and private businesses thrive, and he is the immediate past chairman and currently a member of the Chesapeake Bay Commission, a multi-state commission. Emmett also is an active participant with the National Conference of State Legislatures; formerly serving on their Executive Committee, and now chairing the Budget and Revenues Committee.

Emmett holds numerous other leadership positions including chair of the Comprehensive Services Act Study Commission; chair of the Land Conservation and PDR Funding Joint Study; chair of the Virginia Schools for the Deaf and Blind Advisory Commission; member of the Board of Directors for the Center for Rural Virginia and of the Board of Trustees for the Virginia Tobacco Settlement Foundation; co-chair of the Virginia General Assembly Sportsman Caucus; and a Board of Trustees member for the New College Institute in Martinsville, Virginia. In his spare time and for fun he chairs the State Song Committee. As a former Commissioner of the Revenue for Augusta County, Emmett is well-versed in key business-related issues on both the local and state levels. He is a graduate of James Madison University with an MBA in Accounting and a BS in Management and Economics. Born and raised in Augusta County, Emmett is married with five children and four grandchildren. Within his community, he is a Ruritan, teaches Sunday School, and is chairman emeritus and current member of the Frontier Culture Museum of Virginia Board of Trustees. He is the former Commander of the Harrisonburg National Guard and obtained the rank of Captain in the US Army as an Infantry Officer. He loves politics, country music, and basketball (not necessarily in that order).

This recording was made by Dan Daniels.

On April 9th, 2008, the Senior Statesmen of Virginia hosted Charlottesville-area Delegates David Toscano and Rob Bell. The two reviewed this year’s General Assembly session, and gave a preview of the upcoming veto session. Mike Ludgate serves as the moderator for the event, which was recorded by Dan Daniels with help from Jim Peterson.

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• 00:00 – Introduction from Mike Ludgate
• 03:36 – Delegate David Toscano (D-57)
• 09:14 – Delegate Rob Bell (R-58)
• 18:21 – Question on legislation requiring Virginia medical students to take at least one course on geriatric medicine
• 20:47 – Question on transportation funding
• 23:44 – Question on whether the Delegates would support in the gas tax
• 29:34 – The Delegates are asked about their support for mass transit
• 33:40 – Question about regional transportation authorities
• 36:36 – Question about bipartisan redistricting
• 39:20 – “What is the process used to provide support for the schools?”
• 46:00 – Toscano discusses the revenue-sharing agreement between Charlottesville and Albemarle
• 47:32 – Delegate Bell is asked a question about the role of the teacher in cases of bullying
• 50:10 – Question about the state reimbursing dentists who accept patients on Medicaid
• 51:57 – Question about how state lottery funds go to education
• 53:20 – Question about pay-day loans
• 58:50 – Question about using private funding to build roads
• 1:00:20 – “How can we get more support for enlarging and improving rail service in Virginia?”
• 1:02:23 – “Why can’t there be stiffer laws to get the mentally ill into treatment?” (Delegate Toscano had to leave, so the remaining questions are answered only by Delegate Bell)
• 1:08:18 – “What is re-benchmarking?”
• 1:09:38 – “What aren’t Charlottesville and Albemarle County consolidated into one authority?”
• 1:11:52 – A question about prioritizing transportation spending

On April 11, 2007, the Senior Statesmen of Virginia held their monthly meeting at the Northside Library in Charlottesville, VA. The three invited panelists, among the community’s most familiar faces when it comes to discussions of local growth and development issues, shared their views on topics including land use, transportation, population growth, government regulation, and property rights. Listen to the podcast.

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The panelists were:

Jack Marshall, Advocates for a Sustainable Albemarle Population
Jeff Werner, Piedmont Environmental Council
Neil Williamson, Free Enterprise Forum

With the Senate race between Jim Webb and George Allen too close to call, Virginia faces the prospect of a second statewide election that goes to a recount. Last November, Democrat Creigh Deeds was locked in an extremely close race for Attorney General with Bob McDonnell, the eventual winner.

Deeds spoke at a public forum of the Senior Statesmen on November 8, 2006, the day after the election. He describes what happened with his recount, and why he thinks a paper trail should be required for all elections. Deeds also offers suggestions for reform to encourage a higher turnout.  Listen to the podcast.

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