Your TARCOG E-Newsletter for March

Senior Fun Fest 2025 Set for May Senior Fun Fest, put on annually by TARCOG and the Madison County Commission is set for Older Americans Month in May.Dust off your boots because TARCOG is preparing for its annual Older Americans Month celebration in May. The 38th Annual Senior Fun Fest will have a western Rodeo Roundup theme. It’s going to be a fun-filled day for up to 1,500 seniors from DeKalb, Jackson, Limestone, Madison and Marshall counties, said Sheila Dessau-Ivey, TARCOG’s director of aging programs. Senior Fun Fest is sponsored annually by TARCOG and the Madison County Commission, with ticket sales and other local businesses also providing financial support to offset costs.  Senior Fun Fest tickets will go on sale April 1, for the event scheduled for Tuesday, May 13, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the Alabama A&M Agribition Center at 4921 Moores Mill Road in Huntsville. Advance tickets are $5 and may be purchased at any senior center in DeKalb, Jackson, Limestone, Madison and Marshall counties, or, at the TARCOG Office at 7037 Old Madison Pike, Suite 450, in Huntsville. For more information call TARCOG at 830-0818. Advance ticket sale prices end Friday, May 2. After May 2, and on the day of the event, tickets may be purchased at the door on the day of the event for $7. “We are excited to see residents from the TARCOG region get together in one place for a day of fun, entertainment and food,” Sheila said. “This is an event our entire TARCOG staff works on for several months each year to create a special day to celebrate our aging population”Read the story

Growing the Economy: Revolving Loan Fund At Work

At age 31, Maurice “Mo” Haywood is living his dream of owning a business with the help of TARCOG’s Revolving Loan Fund (RLF). He’s following in the footsteps of a restaurateur and antiques dealers who own thriving businesses today thanks, in part, to the same fund. That’s why the RLF can be a game changer for entrepreneurs looking to start or grow their businesses in northeast Alabama and they all make an impact on the local economy. Lee Terry, TARCOG’s director of Economic Development and Planning, said Mo’s loan was recently approved so he could start MoScapes, a landscape materials business. He said TARCOG partners with Neighborhood Concepts, Inc., (NCI) to administer its RLF through the North Alabama Revolving Loan Fund, LLC. MoScapes, 9465 US Highway 431, Owens Cross Roads It’s an exciting time for Mo, who is literally building his new business from the ground up. He worked with a crew moving and building up dirt for the foundation of his operation at the end of February with plans to have his storage bins up and ready to start selling bulk materials in March and a new building completed in April. He worked at another local landscape business for 10 years as its hardscapes operations manager. He knows and understands the business and is ready to make his first sale. But it didn’t happen overnight. When Mo got serious about starting his own business, his mother gave him a contact at NCI. He followed their advice and secured the non-traditional funding route that helped him get started.

Maurice “Mo” Haywood is building his new landscaping supply business MoScapes from the ground up in Owens Cross Roads.Raul Alvarez-Piers is expanding Big Papa Gyros in HuntsvilleMark Ardin shows there is much more to be discovered than antiques at Hartlex Antiques Gallery in Huntsville.

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Let’s talk about: Hospital to Home

Did you know TARCOG has a program that helps individuals return home after a hospitalization? Kelley Carpenter is TARCOG’s Hospital to Home Transition Coordinator. If a referral is made, she goes to the hospital to meet with the patient to determine eligibility and begin the transition process. If you find yourself hospitalized and learn you will need long-term care, Kelley may be able to you get home with Medicaid Waiver services instantly upon discharge. TARCOG’s Medicaid Waiver Program Manager Melissa Brinkley said the appropriately named “Hospital to Home” program starts with a referral. Hospital social workers, discharge planners, or social services case managers work with a patient to take the first step toward a safe transition. Hospital to Home uses an expedited application process to initiate services immediately, she said.

TARCOG’s Hospital to Home Transition Coordinator Kelley Carpenter

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Senior Center Spotlight: Geraldine

Debra Whitten likes to exercise to stay in shape as she ages and serves as a caregiver for her husband. One of the places she depends on is the Geraldine Senior Center. “I thank God for letting me get up and do what I do every day,” Debra, 67, said. “Sometimes it’s the simple things, like walking in the park and chatting with a friend that makes the day go better.” It’s a common thread at the Geraldine Senior Center where about 15-18 people gather each weekday morning. When Annette Rowell retired in 2012 from TS Tech Automotive, she and her husband Punkin were walking the track at the town park just outside the Geraldine Homemakers Building, where the Senior Center is located. He stopped to use the restroom and saw an aunt, a cousin and some friends inside. But that’s not all. “I was out there walking, and he was in here getting me a part-time job!” Annette, now 76, explained.Read more

Annette Rowell is the manager of the Geraldine Senior Center.

Employee of the Month: Alexis Baker

Alexis Baker gets to help qualified Medicaid clients living in nursing homes move back to independent living. It’s easy to see she loves what she does when she talks about it. Alexis has worked at TARCOG for two years as the transition coordinator for the Gateway to Community Living Program. The program is a Medicaid-funded, targeting Medicaid recipients in a nursing home setting who are ready to transition back to living on their own in the community. She covers 26 nursing homes in six different counties. If a candidate meets the qualifications, Alexis assists a client find and obtain housing, furnishings, medical equipment, household supplies, utilities — whatever is need to set up the home with basic housing needs to ensure their health and safety needs are met. Read more

Gateway to Community Living Transition Coordinator, Alexis Baker

MORE NEWS

Planning for the future Pine Ridge is one of the smallest towns in DeKalb County proving that no matter your town’s size, it’s important to plan for the future. The town just completed its first Comprehensive Plan. The process started in March 2024 and was officially adopted by the Town Council in February 2025. Read more

From left, TARCOG Director of Aging Programs Sheila Dessau-Ivey, Executive Director Michelle Jordan, Student Brooklyn Brittain, Case Manager Bailey Frank and Medicaid Waiver Program Manager Melissa Brinkley.

Job shadowing at TARCOG Brooklyn Brittian, a graduating senior attending St. John Paul II Catholic High School (JPII) in Huntsville spent March 4 and 6 with TARCOG case managers to learn more about the work they do.  Brooklyn expressed an interest in working with older adults, so doing a job shadow with TARCOG case manager’s made perfect sense. Brooklyn shadowed Sarita Chaloupka and Bailey Frank and experienced several aspects of their jobs firsthand. Brooklyn will be attending the University of Alabama in the fall and we wish her all the best in her future endeavors!

UPCOMING EVENTS

Find a new career opportunity at TARCOG’s 2025 Invitational Career Fair set for April 3. Read more

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