Since the inception of the NORCs national demonstration initiative, the NORC grantees have gathered annually at a peer conference.

Coordinated by The Jewish Federations of North America, the event promotes the exchange of best practices, collaborations, and information among the demonstration planners and coordinators.

Recurring programmatic themes of the Annual Meeting include national and local evaluation, dissemination, curriculum development, and sustainability.

Annual Meeting 2005:
Las Vegas, NV September 25-28, 2005

Highlights:

• New Grantees day-long workshop, co-developed and led by David Schimmel, NORCs Demonstration Coordinator, United Jewish Communities, and Perry Orhen, Director, Supportive Communities, Detroit, Michigan
• Project overviews presented by all communities
• Presentation on aging trends in the United States and how these trends impact NORCs, presented by Laura Trejo, MSG, MPH, General Manager, City of Los Angeles, Department of Aging
• Panel discussion on innovative approaches to project sustainability at the local level
• Panel discussion on innovative approaches for sustaining and growing NORC supportive service programs utilizing state funding efforts
• Presentation on an innovative NORC project, presented by Michael Hunt, Professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison
• Presentation on next phase of the National NORCs Evaluation, presented by Barbara Bedney, Senior Planner, United Jewish Communities
• Presentation on AARP’s Livable Communities Initiative and its intersection with the National NORCs initiative, presented by Michael O’Neal, AARP-Livable Communities, Housing Options
• Panel discussion on long-terms and short term dissemination planning
• Presentation on the National NORCs Initiative web site, presented by David Schimmel
• Overall Annual Meeting program development and planning, David Schimmel
• Public Policy Outlook, Robert B. Goldberg, Director of Legislative Operations, United Jewish Communities

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Annual Meeting 2004:
Washington, D.C., October 25-26, 2004 

Highlights:

• Project overviews presented by all communities
• Presentation on the initial findings and conclusions of the national evaluation, presented by Barbara Bedney, Senior Planner, UJC
• Presentation on linking data collection to local evaluation and logic models, presented by Frank Burns, Director, Office of Evaluation, Administration on Aging
• Panel discussion of Logic Models as planning and evaluation tools
• Panel discussion on innovative approaches to project sustainability
• Presentation on the establishment of the national NORCs web site, presented by Gisele Toueg, Senior Content Manager, UJC
• Presentation on horizontal NORCs, presented by Karen Schwab, Director, Comprehensive Senior Center, Samuel Field YM & YWHA, Little Neck, New York
• Overall Annual Meeting program development and planning, David Schimmel, NORCs Demonstration Coordinator, UJC
• Public Policy Outlook, Rob Goldberg, Director, Legislative Operations, UJC

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Annual Meeting 2003 :
Washington, D.C., November 3-4, 2003

Highlights: 

• Project overviews presented by all communities
• Panel discussion on the development of guideposts, standards, and basic thresholds for NORC Supportive Service models
• Presentation on the importance of community-based programming, presented by Deborah Burns, Policy Analyst, Administration on Aging
• Panel discussion on managing partnerships, collaborations, and relationships, important and challenging components of the NORC Supportive Service model
• Panel discussion on sustainability options for NORC projects
• Presentation on the initial findings and conclusions of a case study of the 2002 NORC grantees, presented by Jane Tilly, Senior Research Associate, Urban Institute, Washington, D.C.
• Presentation on evaluation methods, tools, and planning, presented by Jenny Brodsky, Director, Research Program on Aging, JDC-Brookdale Institute of Gerontology and Human Development, Jerusalem, Israel
• Overall Annual Meeting program development and planning, Rob Goldberg, Assistant Legislative Director, UJC and Barbara Bedney, Senior Planner, UJC

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Annual Meeting 2002:
Kansas City, Missouri, October 1-2, 2002 

Highlights:

• Project overviews presented by all communities
• Presentation on NORC-related research, presented by Michael Hunt, Professor and Chair of Environmental and Textile Design Division, School of Human Ecology, University of Wisconsin - Madison
• Presentation on grant mechanics, presented by Kari Benson, Policy Analyst, and Maria Garner-Thomas, Grants Specialist, Administration on Aging
• Presentation on New York NORC programs, Anita Altman, Deputy Managing Director, Department of Government and External Affairs, UJA-Federation of New York
• Meeting on Program Planning & Development, led by Rob Goldberg, Assistant Legislative Director, UJC