From the Senior Scribes web page, About Us- The Senior Advocates was the brain child of Jane Williamson, Lyn Bliss and a few other seniors who love to write. They raised the question: “The Advocate has a page for young people published by teens - The Teen Advocates - who love to write... why not a page for Senior Advocates?”

    It was my pleasure to lend support and cooperation to the group to help get them off the ground. The first Senior Advocate Page was published on April  21, 2007.

    Over time the page and the group evolved. Seniors began meeting regularly to formalize their approach to providing content for the page. Lyn built the layout each week. The program was so successful that two more avenues grew from it... they began working with Teen Advocates and a successful monthly magazine, Mature Times, was added to their offerings.

    However, the group’s community service didn’t stop there. It spawned another group - the scholarship fund - for the purpose of providing financial aid to aspiring public communications students. While the scholarship program is a separate entity, all Senior Advocates participate in fundraising projects throughout the year. To date, one special one-time/one-class $150 scholarship and six $1,000 scholarships have been awarded.

    On November 17, 2009 the Senior Advocates voted to end their association with the Advocate and to become associated with Ball Publishing and the Early Bird -- under their new name “Senior Scribes.”

    Since then, the Scribes have written a number of stories and features covering local events and people for the Early Bird. Also featured is a special Senior Scribe page twice a month and a double page layout quarterly. Not only have the talents of a number of our members been showcased, but they have offered a valuable service to Early Bird readers.

    That was nearly two years ago. And just like everything else with “seasoned citizens,” time has flown and we continue to enter new fields of endeavor.

    This web site is the next step to reaching a larger group of seniors than ever before. Lyn Bliss has put extraordinary time and effort into it and continues to offer a world of information – as well as an additional writing outlet – to today’s seniors.

    Renewed interest by our young writers has spawned yet another group, the Teen Scribes. Seniors are working with these young people to help them develop and expand their writing opportunities.

    Then, a new opportunity presented itself. Thanks to a donation to the Scribes, a new website suddenly presented itself. The question? What to do with it?

    The answer? County News Online, a news and information service for Darke County readers and a new source of fundraising for the Senior Scribes Scholarship Fund. In three short months, thanks to the generous support of a number of CNO sponsors, enough funds were donated to add an additional scholarship, with more on the way. This year, 2011, the Seniors Scribes will provide five additional $1,000 scholarships to deserving Darke County teens.

    We hope you enjoy the group’s offerings here... like past senior pages, the site is by seniors, about seniors, and for seniors. We also hope you will enjoy our offerings at County News Online. Please tell its sponsors “Thank You” for supporting scholarships for Darke County teens.

Bob Robinson
Editor Emeritus, The Daily Advocate
Editor, County News Online