Yesterday was an action-packed day at Ruth Eckerd Hall, with hundreds of people coming together to explore the trends and opportunities around the Boomer generation–everything from Boomer reinvention (especially given the impacts of the recession), The Boomer Economy, Florida’s Boomers, Boomer Trends and Caregiving. The day started with a great report from Schwartz Consulting (http://www.schwartzconsulting.com/) with their latest research on Florida’s Boomers. Timely information and a great snapshot…not just old, stale data. A lively presentation about Boomer Men followed, given by the creative, energetic Brent Green, author of Marketing to Leading Edge Baby Boomers. Mark Miller (author, The Hard Times Guide to Retirement Security and President of 50+Digital) and Roger Chiocchi (author, Baby Boomer Bust? How the Generation of Promise Became the Generation of Panic) did a great job reflecting on the generation’s struggles during the recession–looking back and looking forward.

Some of the other highlights: Laurie Orlov’s trend report on aging in place technologies. I hope her visions for where we can be come to fruition at the fast pace that technology in general is moving. Check out Laurie’s great Aging in Place Technology Watch blog. Lots of good presentations re: technology including Bernie Borges (Find and Convert) and Jody Haneke (Haneke Design)’s great discussion re: social media and mobile apps. I had no idea almost 1/2 the U.S. population is on Facebook! And, for a social media, viral marketing success story…who hasn’t seen “Will it Blend?”–if you haven’t and your an iphone or ipad fan, you may want to think twice about watching:-)

We had great audience interaction at our session about multigenerational family trends. It was an honor to be on the panel with Alex Chamberlain, Executive Director of Easy Living and Jack Levine, Founder of 4Generations Institute. We could have talked for hours about all the trends and needs of family caregivers and the multigenerational (many with 4 generations now!) family. Aging Wisely and Easy Living plan to continue striving to meet those needs and finding ways to innovate. With individuals like Linda Chamberlain, Jack Levine and Sallie Parks advocating for elders and the families who care for them, we’re sure to see positive strides.

Check out the conference webpage for all the great speakers, sponsors, and press releases: http://www.floridaboomerlifestyle.com/.