ICAA founder receives lifetime achievement award from Can-Fit-Pro

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Special events highlighting Active Aging Week, September 20-26, 2010, are great places for older adults, their families and friends to be active their way

VANCOUVER--Can-Fit-Pro, an organization dedicated to Canadian fitness professionals, has honored Colin Milner, founder and CEO, of the International Council on Active Aging® (ICAA) with its 2010 Lifetime Achievement Award. One of Can-Fit-Pro’s Delegates’ Choice Awards, the Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes Milner’s many accomplishments in health and fitness—particularly his efforts to advance active aging. The ICAA leader received this award on August 13 at the opening ceremonies of this year’s Can-Fit-Pro International Fitness and Club Business Conference and Trade Show in Toronto, Ontario.

“I’m honored and privileged to be presented with Can-Fit-Pro’s Lifetime Achievement Award,” says Milner, who serves on the Can-Fit-Pro Professional Advisory Panel. “This award is really a reflection of all those who, over the years, have dedicated themselves to the mission of Changing the way we age®. I’m grateful for their extraordinary support.”

A visionary in active aging and aging-related issues, Milner has been involved in the health and fitness industry since 1982. He managed large and small fitness clubs before founding Canada’s first national fitness trade magazine, Club Direct, in 1990. He went on to become vice president of sales and marketing at Keiser Corporation, the Fresno, California-based equipment manufacturer that is widely known for its pneumatic resistance. At Keiser, Milner was a driving force behind the creation of the Keiser Institute on Aging, an award-winning entity created to share and promote research on exercise and aging. He was the Institute’s chief operating officer until he departed the company.

Milner's facility visits for Keiser showed him that many professionals shared the goal of empowering older adults to live healthy, active lives. He recognized, however, that these individuals frequently lacked the information, resources and tools they needed for optimal success; and they too often felt isolated and unsupported in their efforts. After leaving Keiser to become president of IDEA Health and Fitness Association, Milner decided to follow his passion and founded ICAA in fall 2001. In the years since, ICAA has united a dynamic network of professionals who provide wellness and fitness facilities, programs and services for adults over 50. The association provides education, information, resources and tools to support these active-aging professionals.

As author, adviser and advocate, Milner has informed and inspired audiences worldwide about the benefits of a new way of aging—one that encourages people to live life as fully as possible in their later years. Recently, the World Economic Forum invited Milner to serve on its Network of Global Agenda Councils for the third consecutive year, recognizing him as one of the world’s “most innovative and influential minds” on aging-related topics. This network is designed to tackle global issues of vital importance, including the implications of an aging society.

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About the International Council on Active Aging (ICAA)

ICAA, a professional association that leads, connects and defines the active-aging industry, supports professionals who develop wellness facilities, programs and services for adults over 50. The association is focused on active aging—an approach to aging that helps older adults live life as fully as possible within all dimensions of wellness—and provides its members with education, information, resources and tools. As an active-aging educator and advocate, ICAA has advised numerous organizations and governmental bodies, including the US Administration on Aging, the National Institute on Aging (one of the US National Institutes of Health), the US Department of Health and Human Services, Canada’s Special Senate Committee on Aging, and the British Columbia ministries of Health, and Healthy Living and Sport.

For interviews please contact:

Contact: Colin Milner, CEO, ICAA
Toll-free: 1-866-335-9777 (North America)
Telephone: 604-734-4466; cell: 604-763-4595
colinmilner@icaa.cc

Contact: Marilynn Larkin
Communications Director, ICAA
212-315-3301
mlarkin@icaa.cc