megram - Index

megram - 55Ottawa - Index

Publisher’s Note
Celebrate with us
Boomers taking blue zone seriously — and so are we
This month marks our 20th anniversary of publishing.Twenty might not seem old —
especially for a publication that prides itself on providing readers who are over 50
with information to help live fulfilling lives.
The fact is it’s only the rare few magazines that can boast such a life.The ones who have
lived this long have a few things in common: relevance, a strong readership and strong supporters.We
have them all.
So in this issue we thought we would do a bit of reminiscing and blue-sky thinking
about what lies ahead for boomers in the next 20 years.And, why not — some blue zoning.
The blue zone is what is now being coined by experts studying the field of longevity in society
and what makes certain people in parts of the world live longer than others.
In just two years, baby boomers will be reaching the age of 65 at the rate of 10,000 per
day.At an age when many will consider retirement,most are ill-prepared to retire with the same
success they achieved in their younger years.This speaks mostly to North American societies.
This is due in large part to the fact that most adults only plan for financial security and fail to
look at the personal,social,and physical changes they will face in this new chapter of their lives.
The last two decades have been a time of significant change.Would you have imagined
20 years ago that you could communicate in real time with your grandchildren thousands of
miles away through a computer monitor? Boomers are one of the fastest growing groups of
Internet users and it continues to grow.
Did you ever think that in addition to your emergency roadside assistance kit in your
trunk that the next most important piece of equipment in your life would be a cellphone the
size of your palm? Today these personal communication devices are still used largely for connecting
with other people. But they are extremely useful for helping us have remote access to
our homes for security and fire,for monitoring older relatives with health or stability issues and
even for turning on or off the hydro at the cottage through a computer terminal hookup.
Other key changes that we’ve witnessed over the last 20 years include our increased
awareness of the environment.Today we are more likely to have a larger recycling bin at the
end of the driveway than garbage bags. Recycled products from our homes come from
everything from bottles,paper and clothing.In turn,some of the products we purchase,such
as garden furniture and clothing, might easily come from the very products we have recycled
in the first place. Similarly, our demand for more energy efficient vehicles has allowed
consumers a selection of hybrid vehicles.The times certainly are changing.
That brings us to our own trendsetting. Armed with a great team, Fifty-Five Plus has
always been a leading provider of information, trends and articles for people 55 and over.
Our success in the last two decades can be attributed largely to two things: very loyal readers
and extremely supportive advertisers.We appreciate your support and look forward to
the next two decades of continually providing the kind of information that you need to succeed
and to live full, healthy lives.
Congratulations are also in order to our editor Patricia den Boer and our team, PS Design
Group, all of our writers and our energetic sales force.This spring we were awarded no fewer
than 16 more awards for editorial and design excellence to add to our inventory of accolades
bestowed by the National Mature Market Media Awards.This is a North American-wide competition
of publications focusing on boomers.This brings to 75 the honours that Fifty-Five Plus
has received in recent years.
So, come celebrate with us as we embark on our next 20 years of publishing
excellence.
George Coyle
September 2008 • 8 • Fifty-Five Plus Magazine
As we celebrate 20 years in publishing,
we thought it might be nice for you to
see who is behind the pages of Fifty-
Five Plus. It wasn’t easy, but we finally
managed to nail down one day when
everyone from the editorial and production
departments, as well as our
sales staff were at the office.
Stella Waugh (bottom left) Dennis
Stover, George Coyle Jr., Jay Darrah,
Patricia den Boer, George Coyle and
Carole Coyle. Sarah Pinkerton (top of
stairs, left) Sheilagh Cleevely, Tim
Skinner, Pat Consiglio and Pam Dillon.
PHOTO: RICK BRAND