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It was all about appreciating the seniors of the city as the Suffolk Sheriff’s Office held their 2023 Senior Expo to the attendance of many on Thursday, Sept. 21. Held at Westminster Reformed Presbyterian Church, located on 3488 Godwin Blvd, the department’s first expo was a packed house as many senior residents came out to eat delicious food, socialize, gain information to combat fraud and even go home with quite a few door prizes.

Following the expo, Chief Deputy David Miles talked about what he hoped attendees took away from the event.

“I just hope that all the seniors enjoyed themselves and they took something home, information from the vendors, information from our speaker, and hopefully they received a door prize,” Miles said.

The expo saw various support, including a $600 donation from Sentara Obici Hospital passed during the City Council’s consent agenda hearing on Thursday, Sept. 20. Miles expressed the importance of the collaboration efforts such as Sentara Obici and more.

“The Senior Expo would not have been possible if not for the generosity of our community partners such as Towne Bank, Dominion Energy, Senior Advocate and Sentara Obici Hospital,” Miles said. “Though this was our first expo, it was a very large undertaking, and the support of our sponsors, vendors and volunteers is what allowed us to bring the expo to life.”

Likewise, Miles noted feedback after the expo on how residents can support the Sheriff’s Office to continue having community events, including next year’s expo.

 “The office actively seeks opportunities to pour back into our communities throughout the year,” he said. “We do food drives, pet pantry, school supply drives, a toy drive, as well as partner with local organizations and ministries in support of their mission. We post our events on our social media platforms and welcome the help of others that wish to pour good back into our communities.”

His main hope for next year?

“That we’re able to make it bigger,” he said. “We want to be able to get more seniors in. We know that some weren’t able to attend, so hopefully, next year, we’ll be able to increase the size so we can reach more seniors.”