New Hosts launch Season 5 of #ElderWisdom: Stories from the Green Bench
Kitchener, ON – March 7, 2023
With nearly 100,000 downloads from more than 100 countries, the unique perspectives of older adults continue to spread through the #ElderWisdom: Stories from the Green Bench podcast. With the 51st episode released on March 7, the producers are excited to welcome two new hosts to help bring out the best in storytelling from the range of guests expected this upcoming season.
The original hosts – Erin Davis, Doug Robinson, and Lloyd Hetherington – took the podcast format into long-term care and retirement homes in the fall of 2020. Over the course of four seasons, they have opened up conversations with older adults about the ordinary and extraordinary aspects of regular lives lived well, and the podcast was honoured to be recognized with a communicator award for Audio and Podcast Distinction in 2022.
“Erin, Doug, and Lloyd each brought something special to the show,” says Ted Hudson, Schlegel Villages director of digital marketing with senior living provider, Schlegel Villages – one of the key founders of the podcast. “They each had a natural ability to dive into the lives of each guest, and we have heard so many wonderful stories about friendship, tragedy, love, life, learning and so much more.”
As the new season launches, Erin and Doug share some of their fond memories as they pass the reigns over to the new co-hosts, Kathy Buckworth and Evelyn Brindle.
Like Erin before her, Kathy has a long history as a radio personality and listeners will recognize her as the host of the radio show and podcast Go-To Grandma on Zoomer Radio. She’s a mother of four and a grandmother of two, and she has shared her perspective on the art of parenting in six separate books.
Kathy’s co-host, Evelyn, is a resident at The Village of Erin Meadows retirement community in Mississauga and she holds a Masters Degree in Journalism. She’s a two-time cancer survivor, a mother, and a grandmother, and her energy and enthusiasm are contagious; many might be surprised to learn that she is in her 85th year, but then that is the point of the #ElderWisdom podcast.
“The podcast and the overall #ElderWisdom concept that we started promoting nearly a decade ago is about challenging the stereotypes that so many people seem to hold as true when they think about an older person,” Hudson says. “When we listen to the stories on the green bench, we’re reminded of the wealth of wisdom our elders have to offer, and I love that so many people are discovering it through this podcast.”
It is through conversation that Schlegel Villages celebrates the wisdom of our elders, and the podcast is an extension of the organization’s annual #ElderWisdom campaign, which has spread its quest to address ageism as an unacceptable form of discrimination across the globe.
There are 14 new episodes coming this year featuring residents of Schlegel Villages and special guests from the senior living industry, and anyone is welcome to share their voice in our pearls of wisdom feature at elderwisdom.ca.
Please visit: schlegelvillages.com/news/elderwisdom-podcast to learn more or search for Stories from the Green Bench wherever you get your podcasts.
For more information, please contact
Ted Hudson
Director of Digital Marketing, Schlegel Villages
519-496-5984
ted.hudson@schlegelvillages.com
Images – (Podcast art created by Tracy Doyle)
Downloadable from this OneDrive Folder
