PRICE CENTER SUPERSTARS FOCUS OF RECENT TEDx TALK
Wellness and healthy aging were the focus of a TEDx talk given this past week by Price Center executive Director Clay DeStefano. The talk included stories of three particular remarkably healthy seniors who are regular and active participants in a number of the Center’s events and activities. Price Center patrons Carmen Willey, a 100-year-old painter; 96-year-old Sara Carpenter, a lifelong dancer; and Rouye Rush, the 96-year-old co-creator of an active quilting Bee, were highlighted because of their active, creative, and inspiring lifestyles.
DeStefano was one of 12 speakers who were joined by musical performances and interactive opportunities for audience members and speakers to engage throughout the special TEDx event. The independently created TED event was hosted by Texas State University in downtown San Marcos on Saturday, Nov. 3 and featured the theme of “ReXamine.”
Through a fun, informative, and engaging talk, DeStefano presented a crash-course in health living via a Blue Zone lifestyle. Listeners were challenged to account for their current health status using a fast-paced personal checklist and then encouraged to aim for a healthy 100 through inspiring, real-life examples of these remarkable seniors.
His personal wellness and aging philosophies are derived from life experience, including 30 years in the health care industry, which led to a book he published in 2016 titled “HealthScare: Confessions of a Hospital Spin Doctor.” His talk and others from the day will be available on the TEDx YouTube channel in the near future. The Center will share and post the link when it’s made available.
Under DeStefano’s direction over the past three and a half years, the Price Center has broadened its focus and outcomes using the arts and Blue Zone concepts that include healthy and creative activities offered within an intergenerational, multi-cultural, and historic venue.
Pictured here, above, 100-year-old Carmen Willey's delightfully contemporary painting of a donkey titled "Playmate;" Right: 96-year-old dancer Sara Carpenter (4th from left, front row) and other members of the Price Time Dancers recently built and rode on a float in the Downtown Mermaid Parade; below, 96-year-old Rouye Rush's Bee Friends created this group quilt titled "All You Need is . . . Hearts."
For more information about Price Center activities, please stop by the Price Center, at 222 W. San Antonio St. in Downtown San Marcos, Mon. – Fri., 9-5 p.m., call 512-392-2900 or visit price-center.org.