Friday, March 4, 2011
Forget age discrimination and out dated clichés like 'Act your age', 'You are too old for that!', and 'It's too late for me.' You can now take heart ladies, because 60 IS the new 40 and Betty White at 89 has set the age bar higher for every talented senior who believes, 'You are as young as you feel.'
San Diego, California: As the baby boomers come kicking and screaming toward senior discounts at movies and restaurants, they often fall prey to the old, "I should-a, would-a, could-a, but now it's too late.", trap. That might have been true 20 years ago but not today. There are now 2 distinct categories of seniors and neither one has to do with age. There are those who find life to be a 'snack bar of delights', and live it to its fullest, and those who don't. The ones who don't, simply mark time until it's over, while the ones who do statistically live longer
For those who choose to 'snack' their way through life, the Internet and the many social media networks have opened a huge vista for dating, learning, joining like-minded groups and sharing their talents. Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, and Match.com are all bringing seniors together as a recognized, moveable force by major corporations and advertisers.
Our youth obsessed country is finally taking a long hard look at the older generation and actually listening to what it has to say.
This trend is especially noticeable in women who, even 10 years ago, would have been considered 'too old' at 40. They would have quietly been replaced with a 'younger model' and never heard from again. Not so today, where the top anchorman is a 64-year-old woman. Diane Sawyer is at the top of her news game. Martha Stewart is a brand to be reckoned with at 69. Raquel Welch is a beautiful 69. Nancy Pelosi holds major political power at 70, and while Barbara Walters at 80 is still making powerful people cry, Hillary Clinton, our Secretary of State at 62, represents the USA to the rest of the world. And don't count out Cher who is still showing her navel at 64. This list goes on and on with a few surprises like Goldie Hawn at 64 and Tina Turner at 70, which brings us back to your talented grandmother.
Back in the day there was a small window of opportunity for women climbing the show biz ladder and hoping someone would notice their abilities. But by the time a woman reached thirty, if she had not made it to the top of her field, her singing, dancing, and acting career was finished. Most women simply put their talents in the closet and settled for marriage.
Today's Endless Opportunities
By using the every expanding, social media network, women can now join the social media craze and show the world what it has been missing all these years. Major stars have been discovered and become household names in 48 hours. Consider the homeless man with the golden voice, (Ted Williams), who in one week, moved from living on the streets to appearances on all the major talk shows or Suzan Boyle who sang her way to fame on YouTube thanks to Simon Cowell.
Americas Got Talent, YouTube, Facebook, and Reality TV are all responsible for making stars out of ordinary people of all ages, nationalities and genders. It's simply a matter of the viewing public finding you. For senior women the opportunity to be found has now become a reality with the launching of the first on-lane performance pageant for women over 60, Ms. Senior USA. This pageant is the brainchild of three women from San Diego, California who met at the Ms. Senior America California finals. Jean Margaret Jones, Elaine Brammell, and Joni Wilson recognized the need for an on line site where talented senior women could show off those talents to the world. They all agreed that an on line pageant driven by the powerful social media machine and using the public's love of on line voting was the way to make their vision happen. After months of planning and preparation, this month the web site at: www.msseniorusa.com becomes a reality.
Each contestant has her own page on the web site with links to her two-minute talent video on YouTube and her personal and business web sites. To make the process easy there are 'how to' tutorials to guide the contestants every step of the way. To sweeten the event, the directors of the pageant have reserved the main stage at Harrah's Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas for the finals and are offering a $3,000 cash prize for the winner. This pageant is affordable to every senior woman in every state. Jean Margaret, Elaine and Joni set the fee to enter the first phase of the competition at $25, less than the price of a movie and popcorn, (even with the senior discount).
For further information on how to register your grandmother, or yourself, visit www.msseniorusa.com. For information and scheduling, contact Joni Wilson @ joniwilsonvoice@yahoo.com or call 619-229-0726
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