`Seniors on the Move' hits milestone.

Byline: Kevin T. Baldwin

WESTBORO - Karen McKenzie smiles and greets her guests as she walks through the door at Westborough TV and begins to prepare for the taping of the 50th episode of her show "Seniors on the Move."

The locally-produced cable program, which airs in several towns including on WPTV in Westboro, Northboro Cable Access TV, Framingham on FPAC Public Access TV, on Worcester's WCCA-TV13, Hopkinton's HCAM-TV and Shrewsbury Public Access Connection, originally began taping in 2004 at The Willows at Westborough, according to McKenzie.

"We found it was very hard to move all the equipment from the studio and get it set up at The Willows at Westborough, so we decided to begin taping at the Westborough TV studio instead," McKenzie said. "We started at first by having a regular live audience, but not anymore, although we still do have a live audience on occasion."

On May 9, McKenzie taped episodes 49 and 50 of her show back-to-back.

McKenzie's guest during show 49 was Kathy Drew, hospice volunteer coordinator for UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, who was discussing the facets of hospice care.

"She was an extremely interesting person to speak with who had some great stories," McKenzie said.

For that taping, McKenzie had a live audience made up of her guests she would then have for show 50, members of the Shrewsbury Senior Writers: Dorothy Thompson, Doug Behm, Richard Cormier and Richard Coulter, who each spoke of how they came to write their stories.

McKenzie, 65, is a Worcester resident who has two children, Erik, 39, and Elisa, 41. In addition to her show, McKenzie also is the fitness director at The Willows at Westborough and has been a senior health and fitness specialist for 35 years.

"I wanted to do the show to get good health information out to seniors and to help them make informed decisions about their health," McKenzie said. "I spoke with previous (Westborough TV) Station Manager Mark McMinn who thought it was a great idea and he helped me set things up and provided me with a lot of information."

McKenzie said she has had many fascinating guests over the years.

"We did a three-part series on Alzheimer's disease, an episode on aging and spirituality, stroke prevention and stroke rehabilitation," McKenzie said.

In addition to Drew, McKenzie has also brought in other experts on various subjects such as senior nutrition, Parkinson's disease, seniors in the workplace, falls prevention, tai chi for seniors, diabetes, massage therapy for seniors and senior education.

Other guests have included the East Side Belmonts when McKenzie did a "History of Doo-Wop," and Suzanne Heidenheim who discussed the Red Hat Society, an organization of women over the age of 50 known for wearing red hats and purple dresses.

After four years of hosting "Seniors on the Move," McKenzie said she considers herself fortunate for the experience.

"Everyone at the station before and since Mark (McMinn) has been very helpful, there are too many name to mention," McKenzie said. "And I've really been lucky with the number and choice of guests I've had on the show."

However, she also said she has no intention of stopping anytime soon.

"There are still a number of topics I'd live to do," McKenzie said. "I hope to do shows which cover many topics including cancer, intergenerational intimacy, hearing loss and loss of the other senses as one gets older. I hope to keep doing the show as long as I can talk."

At the end of the taping, current Westborough TV Station Manager Maria Sheehan and Paul Temple, the station's new government access coordinator, surprised McKenzie by presenting her with a cake commemorating the completion of her 50th show, which McKenzie subsequently shared with Sheehan, station staff and her guests.

"A lot of people start public access shows, but rarely do they produce 50 shows," Sheehan said. "This is a huge accomplishment and deserves to be recognized."

Sheehan said the time, effort, passion and energy that McKenzie puts into "Seniors on the Move" is evident.

"She loves the senior population and works so hard to promote their life stories," Sheehan said. "Karen is a joy to work with and it has been a great pleasure to assist Karen on her show."

For more information about when "Seniors on the Move" will air, visit Westborough TV's Web site at www.westboroughtv.org, or call the station at [phone].

ART: PHOTO

PHOTOG: Record photo/KEVIN T. BALDWIN

CUTLINE: Karen McKenzie is all smiles as she prepares to shoot the 50th episode of her talk show, `Seniors on the Move,' at Westborough TV.