Expensive contract clauses nobody reads
Most business owners spend hours negotiating the purchase price of a business. Then, after all that effort, they’ll sign a contract without reading half of it. We see it all the time – the first few pages, which generally set out the basic business terms, get everyone’s attention. The remaining pages become legal stuff, fatigue…
Providing Daily Bread
Anne Daly spent 40 years as a registered dietitian. Six months into her retirement, she wanted to fill her schedule with something that fit her interests. One evening while watching the local news, she saw a clip about Senior Services of Central Illinois’ need for volunteers for its Daily Bread program. “I knew immediately this…
6 St. Café
Although I’m hopeful that the soon-to-be-constructed apartments at the former Sangamo Club, the eventual influx of office workers at the Armory and the future BOS Center expansion will lead to greater dining choices downtown, right now the pickings, as they say, are a bit slim. But one reliable choice, which may not be on your…
Is the problem time management – or yes management?
I’ve never met a leader who told me they needed another hour in the day. What I hear instead is that we’re overwhelmed, overcommitted and struggling to keep up with competing priorities. Our calendars are packed, our inboxes are full, and the list of things we intended to accomplish somehow remains untouched. Most of us…
Springfield researcher awarded SIU’s 2026 Inventor of the Year
Springfield-based microbiology researcher Andrew Wilber, a director of cell biology and hematology at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, was recently named SIU’s 2026 Inventor of the Year for his work on developing gene therapies for rare blood disorders such as sickle cell disease and beta thalassemia. Wilber, who has a doctorate in molecular genetics,…
How to know when it’s time to retire
I’ll never forget one respected colleague’s lament a few years after he retired from University of Illinois Springfield. “I think I stayed two years too long,” he commented. He had contributed so much as a faculty member and administrator and enlightened many of us, particularly on issues of diversity. But as he watched new faculty…
The secret to staying young
A banana every morning, along with a glass of milk, and some pickleball in the afternoon. For Donald Taft, at least, this is his recommended elixir to older people who want to keep drinking from the fountain of youth. At 93, the longtime Springfield restaurateur is believed to be the oldest active pickleball player in…
State launches 10-year plan to improve seniors’ lives
The state of Illinois is in the early months of implementing an ambitious 10-year plan in which multiple state agencies, local governments and the private sector will collaborate to make life better for older adults and their caregivers. If all goes as planned, caregivers will have more resources, older adults will enjoy more affordable and…
A Q&A With Carolyn Austin
Carolyn Austin is the CEO of AgeLinc, the Area Agency on Aging for Linconland. Austin, 56, said she does “a little bit of everything” for the agency, handling the grants management, much of the marketing and other high-level duties. She is also the vice president of the Illinois Association of Area Agencies on Aging. Austin…
Quality of life is part of good care
For more than 20 years, I’ve brought music and movement into senior-living communities, serving people of all ages and abilities. This has taught me that almost everyone can participate. We simply have to give people the opportunity to do it in their own way. I have watched people dance from their chairs when standing was…
