Fort Worth resident Tracy Wilcher sat next to a health care provider’s stand. She had just finished her search for health care and legal resources with her friend, Terry Ephraim.
“We came for information,” Wilcher said. “Anything that can help better our lives, especially the seniors. We’re old, honey.”
Wilcher found help at the Senior Synergy Expo. The event returned for its ninth annual gathering of health care providers, insurance companies, travel agencies and more on May 12 at the Amon G. Carter Jr. Exhibits Hall, 3400 Burnett-Tandy Drive.
Guests wait for shuttles to pick them up after the Senior Synergy Expo on May 12 at the Amon G. Carter Jr. Exhibits Hall, 3400 Burnett-Tandy Dr. The event was open to the public and focused on people ages 50 and up and their caregivers. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
The 9th annual Senior Synergy Expo hosted over 175 exhibitors on May 12 at the Amon G. Carter Jr. Exhibits Hall, 3400 Burnett-Tandy Dr. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
The Women’s Center workers talk to a guest on May 12 at the Amon G. Carter Jr. Exhibits Hall, 3400 Burnett-Tandy Dr. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
Guests listen to prize callouts on May 12 at the Amon G. Carter Jr. Exhibits Hall, 3400 Burnett-Tandy Dr. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
Kathryn Rotter, community outreach coordinator at the Office of Tarrant County Judge B. Glen Whitley, takes a phone call on May 12 at the Amon G. Carter Jr. Exhibits Hall, 3400 Burnett-Tandy Dr. Rotter joined the Senior Synergy organizing team 10 years ago. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
Guests leave the 9th annual Senior Synergy Expo at the Amon G. Carter Jr. Exhibits Hall, 3400 Burnett-Tandy Dr. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
Guests use the escalators on May 12 at the Amon G. Carter Jr. Exhibits Hall, 3400 Burnett-Tandy Dr. The expo focused on residents 50 years old and older. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report)
The expo hosted over 175 organizations and businesses. Over 2,400 guests pre-registered before April 25 and received a free lunchbox and parking.
Organizer Kathryn Rotter, the community outreach coordinator at the office of Tarrant County Judge B. Glen Whitley, joined the senior care group 10 years ago when the program began.
“It’s just coming together as a community. Just because you’re 55, 65 or you’re 80, that doesn’t mean that you can’t contribute in society,” Rotter said. “It doesn’t mean that you can’t get out and kick your heels.”
Rotter and Whitley saw a need for senior care and access to resources in the community and started their senior care work.
“We became aware by the outreach that we do in the community through the judge’s office, that there were a lot of resources that were available,” Rotter said “We try to bring all those resources together at one place.”
The annual expo happens in May. The expo skipped 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cristian ArguetaSoto is the community engagement journalist at the Fort Worth Report. Contact him by email or via Twitter. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
