Aging celebrated at conference

"Celebrating Aging in Mind, Body, and Spirit" is the focus of the Annual Conference on Aging June 7 and  8  at Lynchburg College. The conference is presented by the Beard Center on Aging in partnership with the Central and Western Virginia Alzheimer’s Association and Centra Health Geriatric Health Services. Keynote addresses will take place at 9 a.m. both days in the Sydnor Performance Hall in Elliot and Rosel Schewel Hall, formerly Centennial Hall.

Carol Manning, an associate professor of clinical neurology at the University of Virginia, is the keynote speaker at 9 a.m. June 7. In her address, "The Voices of Alzheimer’s," Manning describes how a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease is often a frightening and devastating event for a family. Through a panel discussion, with three couples dealing with the disease, Manning will facilitate discussion on diagnosis and coping strategies.

In her role at UVa, Manning also serves as the director of the Memory Disorders Clinic and the Neurobehavioral Assessment Laboratory. She is an active member of the Parkinson’s disease and Huntington’s disease Treatment Teams at the University of Virginia. Her clinical interests include cognitive and behavioral changes associated with neurodegenerative disease as well as depression and anxiety. Her current research involves the effects of neurodegenerative disease on memory, apathy, and decision-making processes.

The Rev. Linda S. Whitmire, an ordained minister with the Christian Church, Disciples of Christ, in Georgia and the founding chaplain of Campbell-Stone Christian Centers, will give the keynote address at 9 a.m. June 8. In her keynote address, "While Walking with Winter," Whitmire will share vignettes and lessons learned for life in all its seasons. A superb storyteller and dramatist, Whitmire is currently writing The Winter Walk, a book on aging and spirituality. She will explore the importance of understanding our subconscious attitudes toward our own aging and mortality as they relate to the search for meaning. Our responses to change and loss will be related to faith journeys. Some specific ways to help families and those in their oldest years discover meaning as they age will be discussed with an emphasis on spiritual biography, meaningful ritual, and worship. A focus on those with physical and mental diminishment will offer some hard realities and some hope. At Campbell-Stone, Whitmire served for ten years as senior chaplain and director of pastoral care for more than 700 older adults living in independent and assisted living on two campuses in the metropolitan Atlanta area. She is the immediate past moderator of the Christian Church in Georgia, served on the governing Council for the Forum on Religion and Spirituality in Aging for the American Society on Aging, and as resource staff person for the National Symposium on Aging.