Spectacular Seniors

Perhaps you've heard or red about people in your country who have reached the age of 100, but I doubt you've heard their life stories directly from them. The woman in this episode is presently 99 and will be 100 in a few months. She's amazingly alert and in good shape. In fact, she still drives her a car and does her own shopping. Ivy Philipps, better known as Bubbles, started her life on a farm in the peace River area of Canada. She started her nursing training in 1941 at Vancouver General Hospital and worked as a nurse till she retired. She has now outlived 3 husbands, and to help her back and hip problem she uses an exercise machine. She's quite an inspiration to all of us "youngsters", so please listen to what she has to say.                

Greetings, everyone. We're so blessed to have such colorful and interesting people here in the Greater Vancouver area. My guest today is no exception. Mahara Sinclaire has spent 3 years travelling around the world. She has worked as a coach and teacher/mentor with various groups of people including disadvantaged persons, immigrants, people in drug and alcohol recovery programs, and first nations. She had to go to work when she was 18 to help support her family after her father was killed. She'll tell you what amazing things she's doing today, so let's listen to hear this story of yet another spectacular senior.

Today you will have the good fortune to hear from a senior who has worked in more than 6 countries and traveled to many more. On top of that she is well versed in several professions: journalism, hotel management, teaching and fund raising. She has some good advice for everyone listening, and she exemplifies the new "retired person" who is not really retired at all but just shifting to new careers.  We are lucky that she has time for this session before she takes off again to travel. Did you hear her story about meeting the Trudeaus?             

Having a stroke is a serious health problem. While I don't know the stats, many people don't survive or end up physically incapacitated following a stroke. Ralph Hahmann is one of the lucky few who can continue to work, walk around and converse with me regarding his experience. He says he owes a lot of his recovery to a Life Vantage product called Protandum. While Mr. Hahmann is in good shape now, the sad part of the story is the lack of timely and appropriate care from the medical establishment that he experienced. He recovered in spite of his doctors, not because of them.  Listen now and hear about this miraculous recovery and the good prospects of light therapy and Protandum. 

Denise Thompson is well traveled with some great adventure stories. She has lived and worked in Canada and the United States at the Canadian Embassy and for the International Monetary Fund. She's traveled to the Galapagos Islands and Easter Island among other interesting places.  Now she works as the event planner for the White Rock chapter of CARP, the Canadian Association of Retired Persons. She want everyone to come to the Christmas event happening this December 7, 2016. For other events, please visit https://facebook.com/CARPWhiteRockSurrey  You can also find their events on posters and in Zoomer Magazine. If you enjoyed this episode of Spectacular Seniors, please do me a favor and subscribe. That way you will know when other episodes are posted.

Have you ever met a celebrity? Well, today I met a local celebrity. Dr. Michael Likey is an international author with numerous books published. He's also a hypnotherapist, a video podcaster, a radio station host and a producer. If that's not enough he's also an ordained metaphysical minister and a Reiki master. What does he do in his spare time? He puts on magic shows. I suppose you'd say Dr. Likey is a modern-day Merlin from King Arthur's day.  A special thanks for this episode goes to Kim at the New Westminster, Canada shop, Harmony Gold for letting us record this episode there. Please drop by her shop at: 960 Quayside Drive and see all her esoteric goods. Just in time for Christmas presents!

Opalyn Llanera is definitely an international lady, having come form the Philippines and then working in Saudi Arabia for several years. Now she's in Canada near her family and she's started her own business called Agape Home Health Care Services. For any elder in the Vancouver area this is a great resource to know about. In order to contact Mr. Llanera please go to: http://agapecarebc.com  If you like this podcast, would you please leave a rating, subscribe or contact us with your comments? Know other seniors who speak well and have amazing lives? Let us know and I will interview them as well. They don't need to be in the Vancouver area, thanks to the internet connections. Just send a message to: contact@spectaacularsenior.com 

Cynthia Dunn had lots of personal experience with dementia through her grandmother and then her parents. She decided to specialize in this training and help other care givers. She rightly points out that the professional staff usually focuses on the patient, not the relatives who must deal with these problems, often without training. They usually have no breaks from the problems; they are on call 24/7. Her agency, Choice Dementia, offers some creative ways to provide care in conjunction with the care from doctors and counselors. If you would like to know more about this agency, please go to: http://choicedementia.ca If you like this podcast please leave a rating, subscribe or contact us with your comments. Know other spectacular seniors who can speak well? Let us know and I will interview then too. contact@spectacularsenior.com

Wendy has a very inspiring story. Often referred as the "Energizer Bunny", Wendy infects you with her unbridled passion and enthusiasm and demonstrates the power of positive attitudes for both yourself and your team/associates. It's easy to see how Wendy reports that her clients report a decrease in stress and illness and an increase in joy and productivity. Wendy Foster's methods for improving lives, both personally and professionally, are incredibly effective, yet also simple and easy to apply.  As a play expert, Wendy relates to the heart and soul of companies, such as Google, whose founders built the organization around the idea that work should be challenging but fun. Wendy's presentations link the art and science of play to success in life and business.  She is also the CEO of the G.E.M. Project (Giving Empowering Moments), which is a global movement for gratitude, acknowledgement, giving, receiving and paying it forward.  Want to see more? Go to this site:  https://www.es

Kucki Low's story is filled with adventure with amazing twists and turns. She  triumphed over adversity to become South Africa's first female airline pilot. Today she reaches audiences worldwide with her presentations as a speaker and her book, This is Kucki Low, Your Pilot Speaking. Her life is now being made into a feature film, many of the shots taken in Africa.  Drawing on her many stories and adventures she takes her audiences on an exciting journey filled with laughter and introspection. She shows you how to use joy and laughter to make your business and your life soar to success, to triumph over adversity and to live a happy, fulfilled life. She has spoken at many conferences and been a guest on numerous TV programs. She is still available to speaking engagements if you care to contact her through her website, http://kuckilow.com 

Would you like to live in a heritage museum? My next guest does just that. Sandra Reams has lived as a caretaker of the Michaud House, the oldest house in Langley, BC for 19 years now. You'll hear her describe her unique life in the centuries old house. What a great place for an artist who appreciates antiques! If you would be interested in visiting Michaud House, watch for the ad in the local paper in July and again in December when Sandra holds an open house for the public. Alternativley you can join her mailing list by contacting sreams@shaw.com. The house is not open to the public on an on-going basis. If you enjoyed this podcast, please download other episodes of Spectacular Seniors. Better yet, subscribe so that you can be notified when new episodes are released. This is Vicki signing out for now.  

My guest for this episode of Spectacular Seniors is Andrew Barber-Starkey. He started out his adult life making money on the oil rigs for 3 months of the year to support his passion for hang-gliding. After some of his friends and acquaintances died while hang-gliding, he decided to move on and joined the corporate world as a salesman for Zerox. In 1993 he changed again and became a business coach. He has become quite successful at this job, measured in both money and success of his students. His ideas about Centers of Influence will really expand your ideas of what is possible in marketing. He says he's not done yet, and you'll hear all about his future plans in this recording.  

Today's interview is with Una Festor, a small woman with a huge presence. Coming from Cape Town, South Africa to Vancouver, Canada in 1966 she began teaching music at an elementary school. She had a choir, guitar and recorder groups and a band. Later she taught language and math as well as music with over 300 students every week. Now she's joined the ForEverGreen company and focuses on helping people improve their health. You can connect with her at: una@business-bc.com   

Here's a person with so many qualifications and so much experience it's amazing a person can accomplish all this in one lifetime. Laurie has not only worked but excelled in the following fields: occupational therapy in extended care, home health and mobility equipment sale and construction, home renovations. She has a Red Seal Trade Qualification in painting and decorating, one of the few women in Canada to accomplish this. She's also worked in media production education, and online education. About 6 years ago she embarked on her own business helping the elderly with home repairs. Since she used to do this same service for her own grandmother, she calls it Handy Granddaughter. The goal is to keep seniors in their home for as long as possible and to provide reasonable priced help. 

Here's an interesting man who has a wealth of both practical and course knowledge. As with the others I've interviewed he's extremely active as you'll hear. Cal Lypkie worked in the moving and storage business for over 30 years. Then he managed an apartment complex for 9 years after his wife became sick. Now he's involved with two Toastmasters clubs called Professional Edge and Spontaneous Speakers. In addition, he's putting together his own business called Destiny Developments Unlimited. He'll tell you all about it.  Here's his address if you want to contact him: clypkie@telus.net 

This episode of Spectacular Seniors is about an amazing artist. She's been creative all her life, even as a child. But 20 years ago a trip to her husband's woodworking show changed her life. She purchased some engraving tools there and started to work on all kinds of objects, all custom orders. Now she has moved onto another unique art form using gourds. In fact, they are so beautiful they really should be in a museum, not the local gallery in Langley, British Columbia, a suburb of Vancouver. There is one picture below, but the ones she showed me were elaborately painted with cut-outs in the fragile shells. There was one with something like an embroidery pattern. I was truly blown away. Listen to what she has to say about her work.  

Bob Munro is as senior with a wealth of life experience and wisdom. He's had many careers - everything from farming to fire fighting to telecommunications and now sales and marketing. However, his real passion is helping families stay together through retreats and support groups for men. In our world often devoid of extended family support, Bob's work is a breath of fresh air and salvation to the many people he has touched.

David Simpson, a former engineer now has his own business, David Simpson 360, in which he mentors recent business graduates and new business owners to adapt to the work environment and gain leadership skills. In this way they can move ahead much faster and be able to better manage their time and resources. 

Here is an episode about a senior who is a world-renown photographer. Originally from Chile, he moved to Miami and then Canada 40 years ago. He's recently published a book showcasing hundreds of his photos. I was amazed at the wide range of his photography - everything from shots of Vancouver to models, weddings and food dishes from well-known Vancouver restaurants. Wait till he tells you about his next adventure in Cuba to record the people, their lifestyles and of course the music.

Andrew Mackey has had several business careers and comes to his present job with tons of experience helping other entrepreneurs with startup businesses. He is truly an elder mentor and business coach working more than part time. He lives in a suburb of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Although he is an elder himself, he lives with his father who is now in his 90's. Do you like this podcast? Please download other episodes of Spectacular Seniors and subscribe so that you can know when new episodes are available. Do you know other elders who are doing inspirational things in their later years? Please contact us so that we can interview them as well.