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Although they continue to provide these vital functions, they have expanded. Some, as those in Mesa and Apache Junction, are called “multigenerational centers” for intergenerational sharing, community building and fitness and health education opportunities for everyone, he adds.

The title “Senior Center” is disappearing, yielding to Active Adult Center, Wellness Center or just Center. In addition, the centers are partnering with local community college or universities for programs and offering many more volunteering opportunities, such as event planning and fund-raising, he says.

Taylor: “It will still be at least another five years before the boomers begin to exert their presence on active adult centers, and when that happens the ‘twist again, just like we did last summer’ begins.”

Third Agers are not only working longer for the added income and to rebirth themselves: They’re needed. Kennedy cites U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics that, despite an increase in the unemployment rate for those 55 and older, as with every other market segment during the recession, the proportion of older adults either employed or looking for work has risen during the extended downturn.

Arizona, in particular, expects a shortage of qualified workers within the next five years. This offers extended employment to older Americans as well as, for forward-thinking companies, the opportunity to retain and solicit the knowledge and experience that older Americans uniquely provide.

“Through the Older Volunteers Enrich America Program that n4a administers for the MetLife Foundation, we have the privilege of recognizing incredible people doing incredible work,” Markwood says. “These are people in their 70s, 80s and 90s, and they’re making a huge difference in their communities,” Markwood says. “These are not ‘old people’ but vibrant people full of promise as they age.”

“Phoenix, the bird rising from its ashes, is a perfect image for this age transformation,” Kennedy adds. “It’s a place for a new beginning. We’ve got people with knowledge who can make incredible contributions and help solve the complex problems we are all facing. As a community, we have to grasp this opportunity as people reach not the end of life but its zenith.”