Story by Van Mitchel, Staff Writer
The fourth annual Second Half Expo will be held Saturday, Oct. 19 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, 1700 NE 63rd Street in Oklahoma City.
The Expo is tailored to people who are in the “second half” of their lives who are looking to connect with the resources needed to live the way that they have always imagined. Up to 130 or more of Oklahoma’s businesses will be present, providing education and demonstrations of the products and services that are available for the 50+ generation.
The day will be loaded with fun and activities, including free educational seminars, food samples, drawings for prizes and music from some of Oklahoma’s best talents.
Robin Gunn, event organizer, said expo attendance grows each year. “Each year attendees are increasing by hundreds,” Gunn said. “We had 1,600 to 1,700 last year. We’re expecting over 2,000 this year.”
Bob Loudermilk, event organizer, said he wanted to bring his experience in the trade-show business from Kansas to help Oklahoma seniors. He began to seek out people that serve the 50+ community in Oklahoma for input. “I met with dozens of people that serve our senior community,” he said. “We scheduled forums to talk about what is needed in the community to serve this demographic. We concluded that a quality, annual event for seniors would be valuable so I teamed up with a local radio host Robin Gunn, who also serves publisher of the Oklahoma Senior Journal, and together we launched the Expo.”
Gunn said she envisioned something different when planning for the Second Half Expo. “We wanted to do something different. I’ve been involved in expos since I started the Oklahoma Senior Journal, for the last 32 years, but they just all seem to be kind of cookie cutter, and the same people were coming to it,” she said. “This is a statewide event, so we’re advertising it all over the state, and we have big coach buses that come. It is heavy on information, education, as well as entertainment, giveaways, door prizes. We’re going to do two live remotes, one from iHeartRadio, the other one from Freedom 96.9 FM, Oklahoma’s Talk Radio, and I’m also the host of that, so I’ll be doing the live remote on that one.”
Gunn said the Second Half Expo will feature several guest speakers. She said the Second Half Expo is supported by knowledgeable experts in their fields of health, business, motivation, retirement planning and more.
“We have our special speakers in breakout rooms with people that are trying to get the word out about scams and frauds, or what’s the difference between home health and home care,” she said. “We will have financial advisors, and Steve Burris will talk about annuities. We want to make it encompassing and entertaining too.”
Gunn said sponsorship and vendors have increased at the expo. “The very first expo was just a break-even expo, but we still had close to 100 vendors,” she said. “We’ve got 134 vendors now. Channel 4 does a spot on us on their morning show. We have handed out over 20,000 postcards for the expo, and we continue to have volunteers doing that for us. We have some great sponsors including Senior News and Living and Oklahoma Nursing Times. Channel 4, the Oklahoman, VillagesOKC, and the YMCA are going to be sponsors. Our main sponsor is Main Street Advisors.”
Gunn said the expo organizers hold monthly coffee talks that are sponsored by different local services in Oklahoma City. “We open it up to have coffee as well as continental breakfast,” she said. “We have a special speaker at our coffee talks.”
Gunn said families are invited along with seniors for the Second Half Expo. “We also like to encompass the entire family because this is a family issue,” she said.
Loudermilk concurred. “For too long, the concept of aging has a negative connotation in the minds of some,” Loudermilk said. “Our mission is to change that outdated mindset. We firmly believe the senior years can be lived with dignity and purpose with the right guidance and resources. We’re (Second Half Expo) here to support seniors and the adult children of seniors who are honoring and assisting their aging parents. The whole idea is to give people above 50 and their families an opportunity, in one day, to explore and visit with organizations that are resources for them, education for them, as well as products and services.”
Admission is free to the 2024 Second Half Expo and attendees are encouraged to RSVP online at https://secondhalfexpo.com.
