FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: OCTOBER 25, 2022
Contact: Casey Cooper, Community Engagement and Fundraising Director. 517-887-1377. [email protected]
Tri-County Office on Aging’s Executive Director, Marion Owen, Retiring in November
GREATER LANSING – Marion Owen, the Executive Director of the Tri-County Office on Aging (TCOA), is set to retire on November 18, 2022 after over 48 years of continuous service. As the state-designated Area Agency on Aging serving Clinton, Eaton, and Ingham counties, TCOA has been the leader of assistance, advocacy, and planning for older adults to remain independent in their own homes and communities since 1974.
Owen began her career at TCOA that very same year. She was placed as a VISTA Volunteer through Legal Aid of Central Michigan right after graduating from Michigan State University with a degree in Sociology, specializing in aging. Advocacy with and for older adults has been her main focus, with an emphasis on long term care issues and public benefits. Her previous positions with TCOA include Assistant Director, Project Choices Director, Information and Referral Specialist, and Client Advocate. Owen has served as Executive Director since 2001.
Owen says, “I grew up at TCOA and it has been the mission, clients and the people who work here making it such an amazing and incredible experience. The staff are a unique group of people who tirelessly advocate for older adults and provide support and services whether it is preparing and delivering hot meals or counseling clients and families. The Board is a group of locally elected officials who are very supportive as well, and the Advisory Council is a group of older adults and service agencies who also offer their perspectives on aging issues to help us meet ongoing needs.”
Guided by the philosophy of person-centeredness since the agency’s formation, Owen instilled a culture of mission-driven work throughout all 20+ agency services and programs. Over 48 years and in multiple roles, she has served as an advocate, historian, visionary, and leader in the aging network. As she begins her transition from Director to community member, TCOA is left with a strong foundation of staff, volunteers, Board and Advisory Council members, and a host of community partners that look forward to continuing to serve older adults, persons with disabilities, and caregivers. Owen adds, “I was fortunate to have the career I wanted, as I was interested in working with older adults since I was a high school student in Detroit.”
Owen will be honored at TCOA’s 37th Annual Dinner and Auction fundraiser on November 16, 2022 at the Kellogg Center. Tickets are available at www.tcoa.org/tcoa-events/.
About Tri-County Office on Aging (TCOA)
TCOA is the Area Agency on Aging serving Clinton, Eaton, and Ingham counties and the cities of Lansing and East Lansing. Funded by the Older Americans Act of 1965, Medicaid, and other resources, it administers programs directly and through a network of over 200 service provider agencies and partners. Serving Michigan’s Clinton, Eaton and Ingham Counties and the Cities of Lansing and East Lansing through programs like Meals on Wheels and Congregate Dining sites; Project Choices; in-home services; Information and Assistance; caregiver supports; the Medicare Medicaid Assistance Program (MMAP); Evidence-based health and wellness classes; and more to help older adults, individuals with disabilities, and caregivers to live independently and remain safe, healthy and active in their own homes and communities.
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Tri-County Office on Aging, 5303 South Cedar Street, Building 1, Lansing, MI 48911-3800
