SOLANO COUNTY – The Solano County Board of Supervisors needs the community’s help in identifying centenarians living in our community for recognition at an upcoming Board of Supervisors meeting later this fall as part of the 17th annual centenarian commemoration celebration.
For the past 16 years, the Solano County Board of Supervisors has recognized and honored centenarians by hosting a celebration for them during a Board of Supervisors meeting. The commemoration serves to capture and share the stories of some of Solano County’s oldest residents, while bringing attention to some of the issues facing the senior population.
This year, as part of the commemoration event, the Board will receive a video presentation of Solano County’s Centenarians, sharing stories from their amazing lives. The Board has hired a professional videographer who will come to your home (or place of your choosing) to conduct the video interview. Information collected at the interviews will also be included as part of a commemorative yearbook, distributed to all Centenarians shortly after the commemoration event. Centenarians who wish not to conduct an interview are still encouraged to submit information, including a biography and photographs to help tell their life story.
Board of Supervisors Seeks Community’s Help
Identifying Centenarians for Recognition Ceremony
To date the Board has honored more than 225 centenarians in Solano County. Two centenarians reached super-centenarian status, including Marie West in 2011 and Reta Wills in 2021. Super-centenarians are those individuals who have reached the age of 110 years or older, which only occurs at a rate of about 1 in 7 million people.
According to the Boston University School of Medicine, 2022 New England Centenarian Study, out of a population of 336.9 million people, there were approximately 89,739 centenarians living in the United States, or a prevalence of 0.27 percent of the total population. The prevalence of centenarians living in the United States has been increasing over time and nearly doubled in the past 20 years. In addition to genetics, physical activity and social support, scientists liken our ability to prevent and treat diseases like cancer, pneumonia and stroke to be a strong indicator this trend will likely continue.
CONTACTING THE COUNTY ABOUT CENTENARIANS
If you know of a centenarian, please email Centenarian@SolanoCounty.com and/or call (707) 784-3004 by or before September 4, 2023. Please relay the following information over the phone or in an email to the Supervisor, including (1) name, (2) address, (3) phone number, (4) and best contact email address.