Lessons From Being #WithIt

By Roberto Muñiz, President & CEO

Last month, we were thrilled to celebrate with the extended Parker family our historic 110^th anniversary milestone and share our vision for the future.

A big part of mapping the road ahead is about embracing our brand campaign, which we call #WithIt. We arrived at this idea because being "with it" is not about being hip or trendy; it's not about a certain age or time of life; it's about being who you are and living your best by doing the things you love. It's about staying vital and active and engaged at any age.

When I think of being WithIt, I think of Harold Bloom, the 86-year-old literature professor who just published his latest book about Shakespeare. I hear Tony Bennett, the 90-year-old music legend who turns off the microphones when performing at Radio City Music Hall to show that his unaccompanied voice can fill the theater. I think of Ruth Bader Ginsburg (aka, the Notorious RBG) the 84-year-old Supreme Court Justice whose toughness is perhaps surpassed only by her wisdom.

Nearer to home, there's Tao Porchon-Lynch, 98-year-old master yoga instructor and bestselling author who we were so fortunate to have join us at our event. (She's got a very busy date book: Tao is one of the stars of the HBO documentary If You're Not in the Obit, Eat Breakfast, which features fellow living legends Carl Reiner, Mel Brooks, Norman Lear, and Dick Van Dyke, and debuts this month.)

Looking around the dining rooms, social areas, and gardens at Parker, I think of Candice Avila, Parker's Director of Recreation & Culture, who began working at Parker straight out of college, and who makes it her daily mission to provide meaning and joy to Parker residents and participants. I think of Kenneth "The Wolfman," Wolfire, a Parker resident who doubles as the DJ-like voice behind our morning announcements and is graced with golden pipes that would make Ryan Seacrest or Cousin Brucie blush. I think of Raquel Fischbach and her granddaughter, also named Raquel, who began as volunteers at Parker Landing Lane and today see each other each day as resident and employee.

Being #WithIt is not a single moment in time, or something you accomplish. It's not about being young or old. It's a state of mind. Thank you, Parker residents, program participants, employees, volunteers, and family members, for inspiring all generations to be WithIt, for making aging services an exciting field for people to enter, and for all you do each and every day to help make aging part of life.