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Baby boomers needed for ideas

The baby boomer generation is expected to redefine retirement.

Marci Rodgers, College Station's senior services coordinator, said people between the ages of 46 and 64 are more educated than previous retirees and would likely be interested in spending their retirement earning another degree, starting a new business or being more active in the community.

But it's unclear what the generation in the Brazos Valley might desire, so College Station officials are hosting focus groups to help figure out what those interests are, Rodgers said.

She said the groups would focus on the characteristics of "encore living," what she called life after the first career. The focus groups will meet from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday and March 11 at the College Station Conference Center, 1300 George Bush Drive. Dinner will be provided. Participants must register at 845-3502.

Rodgers said the city's Parks and Recreation Department, the Brazos Valley Council of Governments, the Volunteer Center of the Brazos Valley and The Center for the Study of Health Disparities will use the information in different ways to help plan programs and activities.

"We just see this group as so different from generations in the past," she said. "We are just eager to hear what their interests are and what do they want to do in their spare time."

According to the 2000 census, College Station had more than 6,420 residents between the ages of 45 and 64, and Bryan had more than 10,300 residents in that age category.

Rodgers said she expects those numbers to grow tremendously with the 2010 census.

Participants in the first focus group meeting Thursday discussed their interests and said they'd like a more walkable community with better transportation, more volunteer opportunities in which they can use their experiences and expertise, and more community classes on health, fitness, dancing and creative opportunities.

Members of the group also said they'd likely become involved with the community if they felt their activities were meaningful and were making a difference.

Ashley Schmidte, an AARP program coordinator for communications, said baby boomers are also different from previous generations of retirees because many may not be able to retire.

She said 70 percent of people in the age group will likely have to work beyond their retirement age while balancing jobs with family and volunteer work.

She said those boomers will be looking for volunteer opportunities that are can be done in a single visit under a flexible schedule.

Carolyn Kraus, a volunteer program manager with the Brazos Valley Council of Governments, said her agency can help find grants to improve volunteer opportunities for baby boomers.

The meetings were important, Kraus said, to gain a better understanding of what baby boomers are interested in doing after retirement so that her agency could focus its efforts in locating grants to match those interests.

Baby boomers have more skills and business experience than past retirees, she said, and they are likely to want more challenging, high-impact volunteer opportunities.

"They're not looking to come in and answer the phones anymore," she said. "We're not going to have a shortage of well-educated and trained volunteers."