Ilsa Minor | Daily Press The crowd listens intently as Rhian Galgord, a nurse practitioner with OSF St. Francis Hospital, discusses routine screenings and the benefits of family practice at the Daily Press Senior Expo Tuesday. The free, annual event found a new home in the Ruth Butler Building at the U.P. State Fairgrounds this year, but the event continued its tradition of attracting local speakers with expertise in areas seniors care about.

ESCANABA — Senior citizens flocked to the Ruth Butler Building at the U.P. State Fairgrounds Tuesday for the 2022 Daily Press Senior Expo.

This was the first year for the event at the fairgrounds, which has historically been held at the Terrace Bay Hotel. The larger space at the fairgrounds gave plenty of room to the hundreds of people who attended the event, which was free but required a ticket to attend. All of the tickets made available at the Daily Press business office had been distributed weeks before the event.

“I think it worked really well,” said Terrie Belongie, Daily Press advertising manager of the new venue.

During the expo, attendees heard from a variety of presenters covering topics of importance to seniors. The morning kicked off with Margo Gobert Vargo, a Medicare specialist with Garceau Insurance Agency, then moved to a presentation about fraud and scams by Gladstone and Manistique Michigan State Police Post Commander F/Lt. Gregory Cunningham. Other speakers included Attorney Scott Brogan of Brogan & Yonkers, who spoke on estate planning and elder law; Nurse Practitioner Rhian Dalgord of OSF St. Francis Hospital, who touched on immunizations and regular health screenings; Executive Director of the Delta Area Transit Authority John Stapleton, who presented on the history and funding sources of DATA; Clinical Director for Upper Peninsula Surgery Center Kay Holma, who spoke about pain management; team members from Skradski Family Funeral Homes, who discussed funeral pre-planning; and representatives from U.P. Health Systems Home Care and Hospice, who gave a “Hospice 101” overview of end of life care.

All of the guests at this year’s expo were given goodie bags and a free lunch, composed of roasted or fried chicken, potatoes, mixed vegetables and dessert, provided by Elmer’s County Market and served by the Daily Press staff. Gift cards were also given away through drawings throughout the event.

The event is expected to return in the fall of 2023.