Dr. Aruna Chinnakotla, a geriatrician at Kaiser Permanente, leads attendees at Seniors on the Move through a series of Bollywood-inspired routines.

SAN MATEO, Calif. — At 102, Lorraine Norris has some advice for growing older: Keep moving.

“That’s what I tell everybody,” Norris said Thursday at Seniors on the Move, which drew hundreds of older adults to the San Mateo County Event Center. “Keep moving is mainly the thing. I do embroidery, I make quilts. I do genealogy. I go to Zumba twice a week. I read. I do jigsaw puzzles. I do crossword puzzles.”

Born in San Francisco in 1924, when Calvin Coolidge was president, Norris raised three sons and has lived in South San Francisco for 70 years. She stopped driving at 95 but still gets around on her own, using ride-hailing services and Redi-Wheels. 

Much of Thursday’s program focused on the same idea: staying active, connected and independent. 

“Not only do the attendees learn from the speakers, they learn from their neighbors sitting at their tables,” said San Mateo County Supervisor Jackie Speier, who hosted Thursday’s event. “If you don’t keep moving, you lose everything.”

A few minutes earlier, hundreds of attendees were dancing or joining in from their chairs, following Kaiser Permanente Dr. Aruna Chinnakotla through a series of Bollywood routines.

Lorraine Norris, 102, with Supervisor Jackie Speier at Seniors on the Move. Asked her advice for growing older, Norris kept it simple: "Keep moving."

“You have to move,” Chinnakotla told the crowd. “Move in the morning. Move in the afternoon. Move in the night.”

Chinnakotla also emphasized nutrition -- “You nourish to flourish,” she said – and the importance of building and maintaining muscle.

“It’s like treasure,” she said. “You can’t afford to lose that.”

Speakers provided tips and information on topics beyond health. District Attorney Stephen Wagstaffe offered advice on avoiding fraud -- hang up on suspicious callers, ignore unsolicited emails -- while others addressed emergency preparedness, transportation and consumer protection.

Speier began Seniors on the Move in 1987 in honor of her grandmother. Thursday marked its return after an eight-year absence.

Today, one in four San Mateo County residents is 60 or older, according to U.S. Census data.

Recent retiree Sharon Giordano of Foster City was making her way through an array of resource tables when she stopped near one devoted to pet adoption. That naturally led to Daisy, her “adorable” white-and-gray cat she adopted.

“I’m a very young senior, so I think a lot of the things don’t apply to me now,” Giordano said. “I’m really still kind of exploring that. It all feels very new to me, and since I have the time, I love to learn. I love to hear about new things.”

NBC Bay Area consumer reporter Chris Chmura urged attendees to get their dealings with businesses in writing – and suggested using AI tools to help draft emails to corporations that may themselves use AI to process messages.

He also cautioned against businesses that insist on cash.

“If they want you to pay them in cash, that’s a red flag,” Chmura said. “I wouldn’t want to do business with them.”

For all the expert advice, much of the day felt personal. Attendees asked questions drawn from their lives and the challenges of aging. Speakers responded with stories of their own. 

ABC7’s Spencer Christian moved from stories about growing up in the Jim Crow South and interviewing U.S. presidents and Muhammad Ali to speaking openly about his struggles with compulsive gambling. 

San Mateo County Parks Ranger Rob Cala presented a series of photographs of hummingbirds, humpback whales, seals, sunsets, a fogbow, sea stars, redwood forests -- all scenes from San Mateo County parks.

“We have easy access everywhere,” he said. “Find the trail that inspires you.”

His presentation was titled, “Nature: The Fountain of Youth.”

About San Mateo County
Established in 1856, the County of San Mateo stretches from the Pacific Ocean to San Francisco Bay and includes 20 cities and rural communities. Home to more than 750,000 residents, it is one of California’s most diverse counties with an economy driven by innovation, life sciences, agriculture and international trade and travel. In addition to serving unincorporated communities, the County provides countywide services that support the health, safety and quality of life of residents. Learn more at smcgov.org.