 Well, let's begin. Good morning, everyone. Thank you very much for coming in, for being here today to celebrate older Americans month, the Stay Savvy Vermont Coalition, and the signing of age 608, an act relating to creating an older Vermonters Act working group. I'm pleased to be joined by representatives from our congressional delegation, Attorney General Donovan, Secretary Gobe, Mr. Hutt, and her staff at the Department of Disabilities, Aging and Independent Living, members of the House Human Services Committee, Orca Media, and Cove. You've heard me speak often about the changing demographics in Vermont. Our population is aging. If current trends continue by 2030, one in four Vermonters will be in, be the age of 60 or older. We're the second oldest state in the nation, and Maine is number one. As much as I focus on the need to bring new residents to Vermont and to provide opportunities to keep our young people here, it's equally important that we recognize the contributions that older Vermonters make to our communities and our economy. Currently, we're working with our community partners to ensure we meet the needs of all older Vermonters from those who want to continue working or re-enter the workforce to those who support at home and those that want to stay active in their communities. Maine is older Americans month. And my administration has been engaged in thinking differently about growing older. Images of traditional retirement are being rapidly replaced by older Vermonters who are working, volunteering, parenting, and caregiving. There are small business owners and workers, our volunteers, friends, and neighbors. This year's theme for older Americans month is engage at every age. Research tells us that social connections contribute to healthier aging. Engagement is a prescription to fighting isolation, to strengthening social connections, to ensuring that we build strong and vibrant communities. With today's proclamation signing, I'm pleased to declare May 2018 as older Americans month and recognize our older Vermonters as vital members of our state. Additionally, today, I'm signing H608, a bill that creates a working group charged with drafting the first ever Older Vermonters Act. This group will look at options on how to best detail the services, choices, and supports available to older Vermonters across the state. Using the federal Older Americans Act as a guide. Staying informed, connected, and physically and mentally strong are protective factors to staying healthy as we age. The working group will also look at how to define our values and our commitment to healthy aging. Staying informed is also the goal of the Stay Savvy Vermont Public Service video series about common scams that are targeted to older Vermonters. The Department of Disabilities, Aging, and Independent Living, Attorney General TJ Donovan and his staff, Rob Chapman and the crew at Orca Media and Ginny Milky and her team at Cove partnered to produce a series of skits highlighting common scams and offering older Vermonters information about how to handle professional scammers. We've introduced or produced three skits to date and will continue to produce a new video every few months and airing them on local access stations and linking to a YouTube site so that the videos are available across the state. As we arm older Vermonters with knowledge and support and remind each of them about the power of multi-generational communities, we can continue to build a state in which older Vermonters can protect themselves and promote their own healthy, competent, proactive aging. Today I'm pleased to celebrate our older citizens and now I'll turn it over to Jessica Early from Senator Sanders' office. Thank you. Hello everyone, my name is Jessica Early and I work for Senator Sanders' office and the Senator's sorry you cannot be here so I have a letter to read on his behalf. Dear friends, I am sorry I cannot join you in person today but let me thank the Department of Disabilities, Aging and Independent Living for organizing the celebration of Older Americans Month and for recognizing the important role older adults and the people and services that support them play in our communities. It is no secret that these are tough times for many seniors. Far too many struggle with the high cost of prescription medicine, food, heating and housing while others are dealing with loneliness and isolation. That is why the work of our area agencies on aging our senior centers and the many organizations that support older Vermonters is so important. Your efforts are making a real difference in the lives of seniors, providing more meals, much needed companionship, healthcare, housing, social activities and many other services far too numerous to mention here. I have often said that a great country is not judged by the tax cuts it gives to billionaires and profitable corporations but how it cares for its most vulnerable people like its seniors. It should go without saying but no senior in the richest country on this planet should ever have to decide between buying groceries, medications or keeping a roof over their heads. That is why we must expand the federal programs that help seniors retire with security and dignity and not cut them as some in Washington want to do. As the chair of the defending social security caucus and the ranking member of the subcommittee on retirement security, you have my word that I will continue fighting to do just that. At a time when more than half of all households, age 55 or greater have no retirement savings at all, we must also expand social security and Medicare, not cut benefits or privatize them and we must protect and improve the programs funded through the Older Americans Act. This includes critically important services from caregiver support to transportation to job training for nearly 12 million seniors. It also includes the Meals on Wheels program which last year alone provided over one million meals to seniors in Vermont. While I can't physically be with you on this day celebrating older Vermonters, please know that I stand with you in making sure seniors have the support they need not just to survive but to thrive with respect and dignity. Sincerely, Bernie Sanders. Thank you. I'm now gonna pass it on to Senator Leahy's office and Polad Major. Thank you. Thank you. Senator Leahy, sorry you can't be here with you all today. My name's Pauli Major. I'm his outreach representative covering human services. Thank you all for coming here today to celebrate Older Americans Month. I would like to extend Senator Leahy's thanks to Governor Scott, the members of the state legislature and the incredible caregivers, advocates and community members gathered here today. Your support for your neighbors and advocacy for the essential programs that serve Vermonters help to keep our communities whole and strong. In honor of Older Americans Month, Senator Leahy would like to recognize seniors for their contributions to the economy, their civic engagement and for their participation in communities in Vermont and for across the nation. With the reauthorization of the Older Americans Act, Congress strengthened the care, transportation and nutrition programs that Vermonters depend on. As the ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Leahy is committed to ensuring funding for these programs. In the 2018 omnibus spending bill, saw the largest increase in funding for the Older American Act programs since 2010. The Senator helped to ensure a $178 million increase for the administration of community living. Increases to the Older American Act Title III programs, including home and community-based supportive services, nutrition services, family caregiver support and preventive health. And a $2 million increase to state health insurance assistance programs. These programs give seniors in Vermont and across the country the chance for independence and well-being long after retirement. These victories for the aging communities represent the hard work of advocates like you and your national partners. While these are victories, the Senator understands that there's still work to be done and he will continue to stand strong in these issues. Thank you all for your work and for coming here today in celebration of Older Americans Month. Now I'd like to invite up Kevin Beller from Congressman Walsh's office. Good morning. So it's my honor to represent Congressman Peter Walsh and he regrets that he can't be here today, but he noted how important it is for us to come together and to celebrate, engage at any age and how important it is to celebrate our collective work together. For his part in the United States House of Representatives, he's focused on bringing down the cost of prescription drugs, of course. He's also focused on the fixes to Medicare as they constantly need to be kept up to date with today's medicine. And of course he celebrates and supports the Older Americans Act for all the multitude of services that it provides. He would like to especially note that it is so easy to go to bat for this kind of funding when you know that behind it is Dale, the Department of Aging and Independent Living and its multitude of partners. They are amazing in the work that they do. They're amazing in the way that they have kept moving the needle on these services for the decades. And for, it was not long ago, that they were recognized by the first ever PACE Center Award for not only being out front in the nation, but being way out front in the nation in supporting seniors with dignity. So he would like to extend his appreciation to you, Monica and to Camille and to Angela who aren't here. But I would like to say that he promises to engage at every age. Thank you. And that will have a very careful benefit. Thank you, Governor. And Governor Scott, thank you for your leadership for this proclamation as well as the legislation you're about to sign. I do think this is a great opportunity for our state about older Vermonters. This is a real opportunity in our demographics. We should embrace it. I was at a presentation yesterday, I think I saw Betsy Bishop here earlier about the boomer, boom, that you get 20 plus years where people are engaged, working, starting businesses, starting second careers, Vermont should embrace this. This is a good thing. And I want to disabuse anybody who thinks we don't have fun in Montpelier because Monica Hunt and I found our second career in acting and doing these state savvy skits. And yes, Governor, they were skits. Perhaps unlike Monica, my second career will be short-lived. We had fun and it's an incredibly important message because of the invaluable contributions that older Vermonters make to our community. I just wanted to acknowledge Kristen Clouser from the Attorney General's office is the General Counsel for the Agency of Human Services. It works very closely with Secretary Gil Bay and Jamie Renner from my shop, who's here as well. We've gone around to 13 counties already to listen to older Vermonters because I think, Governor, as we go forward and I grew with you wholeheartedly about a cross-agency, multi-disciplinary team bringing folks together across state government to understand the issues, the important part is is that the answers aren't coming from Montpelier, that we actually go out and talk to Vermonters and ask a simple couple questions. What do you need to be successful? What's missing in your life? Is it transportation? Is it that social isolation? Is it food? Is it healthcare? Let's listen to Vermonters because the wisdom isn't necessarily always in Montpelier but is out in those 14 counties. That is what I'm excited about. Not only with our listening tour but partnering with the governor and the great folks at Dale to work on this issue because as you look at our demographics, this is an opportunity. We should not be ashamed of our demographics. We should not be worried. Let us be prepared, let us embrace and let's create an opportunity for all Vermonters. So, Governor, I wanna thank you for the proclamation in signing the Older Vermonters Working Group Act. I look forward to collaborating with working group members including legislators, state agencies, non-profits and members of the public to explore how we can work together to enhance and better coordinate our crucial systems of elder support and protection. So thank you very much. With that, I turn it over to Representative Wood. Good morning, thank you. I'd also like to take an opportunity to thank my fellow committee members here. Our Vice Chair of House Human Services Representative Sandy Haas and Representative Dan Noyes who is also here from Wilco. Our committee worked a long time on H608 and I'm gonna focus a little bit on that this morning. And we've heard many times about how Vermont's the second oldest state in the country. Just heard the governor speak about that moments ago. But what does that really mean? It means that our median age is 43.1. Last I checked, most 43-year-olds didn't have one foot in the grave. And so I think it's important to remember that. We're second only to Maine with New Hampshire not far behind. However, we are also aging faster than any other state in the union. And to put that in perspective, in the year 2000, Vermont ranked 26th in terms of its percent of population over age 65. A mere 10 years later in 2010, our rank had moved up to 11th and it continues to rise. The demographics of our state are clear. And are we prepared? That's the question that we ask ourselves. Have we done all that we can do to ensure that older Vermonters have opportunities to lead active, healthy lives, to remain engaged in community life, to participate in the workforce and to receive the supports and services needed to live with dignity and independence in their preferred setting? I can tell you the answer to that is no. Despite our successes, and Dale has worked long and hard as well as community partners and volunteers in the community, we still have a ways to go. We've built a system through bits and pieces, essentially. It's developed over time and it's been mostly successful. Despite level federal funding and sometimes cuts and modest increases in state funds. But we do not have comprehensive legislation of Vermont until today that supports older Vermonters and sets out the overarching policy of the state of Vermont. As a state, we need to be crystal clear about what older Vermonters can and should expect for a continuum of services, about the network of service providers and about the desire to keep or return older Vermonters to volunteerism or to the workforce. Sometimes society tends to think about older Vermonters as a burden and we need to change that perception. Unfortunately, ageism is alive and well in Vermont. There are thousands of older Vermonters who are or want to be active. And if you'll indulge me, I'll just tell you a little personal story about my dad. My dad was 83 years old. He was in intensive care in Bennington Hospital and he was in the last weeks of his life and his doctor comes in and asks him, he says, John, what is it that you want to do? What's your goal? Of course, he was expecting to hear, well, I want to go home or I want to eat one last favorite meal or whatever. Well, my father said was, I'd like to mow a few more lawns. And I don't think my father's unique in that. There are many Vermonters who want to stay active and engaged in their communities. With the signing of the bill that the governor will do in a few moments, we embark on an inclusive process to change ageism, to change the perception about older Vermonters. The bill establishes a working group to develop legislative recommendations for a thorough and comprehensive older Vermonters Act. And it will address the need for a cohesive system aimed at targeting older Vermonters most in need and supporting vibrant older Vermonters to continue to be active members of our communities. Thank you. And I'd like to turn it back now to the governor for the proclamation signing and reading and of signing of age 608. Thank you, Representative Wood. I'm going to now read the proclamation. Excuse all the whereases, but this is my failure and that's how we speak here. Whereas 18% of Vermont's population is currently age 65 or older and a percentage is expected to increase to 26.9% by 2030. And whereas older Vermonters enrich and strengthen our communities with their wisdom, knowledge, skills and experience. And whereas we recognize the growing percentage of older Vermonters in our workforce and the important asset they represent to our economy. And whereas we acknowledge the importance of taking part in the experiences and activities that promote physical, mental and emotional health and wellbeing no matter your age. And whereas Vermont is committed to engaging in supporting older Vermonters, their families and caregivers. And whereas Vermont area agencies on aging, the business community, service providers and senior centers across the state enrich the lives of individuals of every age by promoting home and community based services which support independent living, involving older Vermonters in community planning, events and other activities and providing opportunities for older adults to work, volunteer, learn, lead and mentor. Now therefore I, Philippi Scott, Governor do hereby proclaim May 2018 as older Americans month in Vermont. So what I'll do is, I'll sign the proclamation first. If you want to come around, it makes for a great picture. That's the proclamation of the hard part. And the bill. Questions for any of the others? Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you.