* What is the major purpose of NARC, and how does it differ from Senior Network Lunch activities?

 NARC is professional trade association/membership organization. Our mission is to assure that senior serving professionals have the training, network and resources to allow them to serve as counselors to their clients, customers and prospects; committed to advising each on how their needs may best be served and able to direct them to the providers that can best meet those needs. We do this in a variety of ways, including our monthly regional Senior Network lunches. The lunches are designed for face to face networking with senior serving professonals in your immediate area so that you can learn more about what they do and build referral relationships.

* Do I have to pay to attend Senior Network luncheons?

 No. Senior Network lunches are included in your NARC membership and there are no plans to charge for attendance at network luncheons. We believe that senior-serving professionals who participate in these events will recognize the value of becoming a NARC member. Accordingly, we have a "try before you buy policy." If you are undecided about joining, feel free to attend a lunch as our guest before deciding. Of course, we do so much more than networking lunches, so we hope you will check out those things as well.

* How can my organization sponsor a Senior Network luncheon?

 For NARC members, there are two ways to do this. If your service is based out of a physical facility (such as a Retirement Community, Assisted Living, Adilt Day Center or Nursing Home) you can fill your building with local NARC members (a GREAT referral source) by hosting a Senior Network Lunch. Just visit the Home or Network pages on this site and choose your geographic area. Scroll through the lunch calendar that you find there, pick an open date that you would like to host and click where indicated to claim it. We'll get back to you promptly to confirm your date. Full details on How To Host a Lunch, including what you are agreeing to do, can be found by clicking the link at the top of every lunch calendar. Don't have a place to hold a lunch, but still want to sponsor? Considering becoming the Door Prize Sponsor at any lunch. The link to do that is also at the top of every lunch calendar. Just peruse the calendar to find open Door Prize dates. If yu would like visibility beyond a single event, consider upgrading to our Organizational Membership, which includes advertising on this web site and the ability to publicize your own events and messages in our E-News blasts.

* What are some of the marketing advantages of being a NARC member or being NARC-certified?

     - meeting regularly with other professionals from all corners of the senior services industry is the best way to build your referrals

     -  members are welcome to call our office for referrals to other members with whom they can form strategic partnerships

     -  members may show the public their commitment to providing the highst quality and most ethical service possible by displaying our logo on business cards or marketing materials; if you have made the higher commitment of getting certified as a Retirement Expert, tout that in your marketing as well

     - click on GET CERTIFIED, to your left, to learn even more about the benefits of being Certified as a Retirement Expert

     - participation in region-wide marketing activities e.g. vendor fairs, jointly-sponsored marketing surveys, etc.

* By what authority does NARC claim to be the Certifying Body for Senior-Serving Professionals?

 NARC has been created based on a vision of professionalizing the senior services industry by making such professionals aware about all components of life and care relevant to the needs of seniors.

 While select professionals are certified for knowledge by their own professions’ accrediting bodies e.g. nurses, geriatric care managers, financial product specialists, these same professionals often do not truly understand the specific need of the senior within the total context of that senior’s (and his/her family members) lives. NARC    proposes to bridge that gap by offering a range of opportunities for professionals to gain insight into the total needs of seniors.

 We are always recruiting professionals with extensive credentials and knowledge to contribute to NARC both on our Board of Directors and as expert presenters in our Continuing Education programs.

* If I belong to morning Provider Network group in my county (such as the Arlington Steering Committee or GROWS in Montgomery County) what are the advantages of joining NARC as well?

 Pursuant to the Older Americans Act, your local jurisdiction has morning meetings at least every other month, usually with a speaker, to help governmental, non-profit and private providers an opportunity to coordinate services to assure adequate resources for seniors in that jurisdiction. We are not in competition with these groups. In fact, we applaud and support the work they do. NARC goes above and beyond what they do and we think every senior serving professional should participate in both.

 NARC is not tied to a single jurisdiction. We are a national organization that provides a wider network and a deeper information pool than you can find in any single jurisdiction. Even our monthly regional network lunches cover multiple jurisdictions within the same region. See our home page for geographic coverage of our lunch groups.

Additionally, NARC is concerned with certifying senior-serving professionals as having met a number of  educational criteria. NARC also offers a number of marketing advantages, as well as discounts on products and services, to its members.