Former Chairman Mel Martinez established an Interim Commission on Aging in July 2000. As a means of proactively planning for the needs of our oldest residents, the Interim Commission was charged with recommending strategies to improve the overall quality of life for Orange County's older adults, with a focus on maximizing existing resources and improving upon the efficiencies and effectiveness of the existing network of services.

The Interim Commission on Aging was announced in June 2000 at an Orange County Senior Summit co-hosted by then Chairman Martinez and Florida Hospital. Then Secretary Gema G. Hernández, Florida Department of Elder Affairs, and Dr. Susan A. MacManus, a distinguished University Professor at the University of South Florida, Tampa, provided keynote addresses. In addition, the more than 400 citizens, agencies and funders of service who attended the Summit were asked to identify issues affecting older adults in Orange County. This exercise provided the foundation of issues for the Interim Commission to address.

The Interim Commission on Aging held their first meeting in July. During the months of August and September, the 29 members divided into five committees to study the subject in more detail. Meetings were held almost weekly and committee members listened to key speakers and researched statistical data.

• Mr. William C. Coleman, Chairman of the Interim Commission on Aging
  
• Mr. Richard Morrison, Vice Chairman
  
• Community Services & Partnerships Committee – Ms. Judith G. Thames, Chair
• Healthcare Committee – Mr. Richard Morrison, Chair
• Housing & Transportation Committee – Mr. Dennis Freytes, Chair
  • Transportation Subcommittee – Dr. E. Douglas Beach, Subcommittee Chair
  • Housing Subcommittee – Mr. Farlen Halikman, Subcommittee Chair
• Leisure & Safety Committee – Mr. Thomas N. Alston, Chair
• Volunteerism & Employment Committee – Ms. Patty DeYoung, Chair

At the conclusion of these committee meetings, the full Interim Commission reconvened and each committee presented a report, which included a vision, identification of the barriers to achieve the vision, and a set of recommendations. The Interim Commission on Aging then consolidated these reports into a final document that was approved by Orange County Chairman Rich Crotty and the Board of County Commissioners on March 6, 2001.