About 350 attendees came out for the De Soto senior expo, kicking off the senior expo season.
Leader advertising manager Katelyn Mary Skaggs said those who didn’t attend this event definitely missed out.
“We had a lot of fun with bingo, and our speakers were really good,” she said.
The expo featured De Soto businessman Jim Thomas calling both bingo sessions, Taylor Prince from Pharmax, a demonstration of disc golf by Corey Sprous from Knights of Columbus and teacher Sam Adams from De Soto High School.
“Taylor from Pharmax gave a lot of really good information. I learned lots from it, and I hope seniors found it informative as well,” Skaggs said. “Disc golf was also so fun, lots of seniors came up and tried it, and some even made it into the hole.”
She said seniors also seemed to be very engaged with Adams’ history lecture.
Around 30 vendors were on hand at the expo, informing seniors, handing out free items and some offering giveaways.
Babara Slepecky, 80 of St. Peters, won the Leader grand prize of four-pack of tickets to three Hillsboro Civic Club events. Courtesy of the Hillsboro Community Civic Club, the package included admission to the rodeo, Jefferson County Fair, and truck and tractor pull, and a $100 gas card.
Slepecky said she is really excited about winning.
“I can take my grandson, his fiance and their little girl to all those events with me,” she said.
Slepecky said she attends many of the senior expos throughout the year.
“I have a group of ladies from Fenton to Dittmer, I’m up in St Peters, and we go to all of them, for a number of years,” she said.
Slepecky said they keep coming back to the expos for the fun, free doughnuts and bingo.
Attendee Lynne Mahn, 77, of Barnhart said she’s only missed one Senior Expo in recent years due to illness. She said she likes to meet new people at the events, and “get a lot of goodies” from vendors.
“I’ve won before, and I even won the grand prize once,” Mahn said. “It was a trip to Branson in 2019. It was a really good trip; I went with one of my sisters. We went to the (Silver Dollar City) Showboat, which was the best part of it.”
Mahn was the first person in line at the De Soto Senior Expo. She said more seniors should give it a try because they can get a little exercise from walking from booth to booth.
“You get to meet all these vendors that have all these different things – it’s all for seniors,” Mahn said. “There are insurance companies, lawyers, nursing homes, people who work on your homes. There’s everything you need, all in one spot.”
Patricia Koehler, 65, of Barnhart said she began attending the expos last year and now goes regularly.
“Last year was our first time, and we just enjoyed it,” she said. “It gets us out of the house. I’ve won a few prizes in the past, like a $50 gift card to Texas Roadhouse from a vendor, which I’m going to use tomorrow, and a $10 Double D’s Pizzeria gift card from playing bingo.”
Koehler encouraged seniors to give the expos a try.
“I’ve always read about it in the Leader and never gave it a second thought,” she said. “I thought, ‘I’m too young.’ But once I came, I really enjoyed it. I brought my 91-year-old father here once (to the Farmington Senior Expo), and he really liked it.”
Greg Brunsmann attended the De Soto Senior Expo with his wife, Vicki. They’re both 72 and live in House Springs.
“We try to go to all of them (the senior expos),” he said. “We like going to all the different booths; they have helpful information. I bring home all the handouts they give and go through them. We like playing the bingo. You’re missing a lot if you don’t come out.”
Similarly, Connie Wilson, 73, of High Ridge, accompanied by her sister, Debbie Bauer, 66, of Richwoods, said she also tries to attend all the events throughout expo season.
“I attend (the senior expos) because they are all so fun! You meet a lot of wonderful people here, and it’s a great event with lots of free items. It also gives me something to do and lets me spend quality time with my sister,” Wilson said. “We get the Leader paper every week. It is great for keeping up with events, and we appreciate all the local info,” she added.
The next senior expo will take place May 13 at the South County YMCA, 12736 Southfork Road, St. Louis.
Leader Publications is hosting seven senior expos this year.
The remaining six expos include: the South County Senior Expo, May 13, at the South County YMCA; Festus Senior Expo, June 24, at the Jefferson County YMCA.; West Side Senior Expo, July 22, at Northwest High School in Cedar Hill; Arnold Senior Expo, Aug. 19, at the Arnold Eagles Hall; Farmington Area Senior Expo, Sept. 16, at the Mineral Area College Tech Center; and Eureka Senior Expo, Oct. 28, at the Timbers of Eureka.
The events are free and geared to people 50 and over. Businesses and organizations interested in securing a vendor space for any of the expos may contact the Leader at 636-931-7560 or ads@myleaderpaper.com.
Reporters Abby Stetina and Kate Bequette contributed to this story.
