When I received the Silver Marketing Association’s Exceptional Achievement Award, I was genuinely surprised. Not because I didn’t believe in the work I’d been doing, but because I never started this journey to win awards. I started because I was frustrated.
Frustrated that so many talented, experienced and vibrant older people were being overlooked. Frustrated that advertising, fashion and the media often treated ageing as something to hide rather than something to celebrate. And frustrated that women, in particular, seemed to become less visible the older they became. I knew there had to be another way.
Over the years I’ve been fortunate to work alongside the Silver Marketing Association, even serving as one of their awards judges. Watching businesses begin to understand the value of the over-50s market gave me hope that attitudes really could change.
Then something I never expected happened. In 2026, I found myself on the other side of the judging table, receiving the Exceptional Achievement Award. Reading the judges’ comments was incredibly humbling. They described me as a “superb role model” and recognised my work in “raising the visibility of older women, giving them a stage where none previously existed.” One judge even wrote that I had “raised the flag and the fist against ageism, making us all more visible and confident.” Those words meant more to me than the award itself. Not because they praised me, but because they acknowledged something much bigger.
The conversation is changing. Businesses are beginning to realise that the over-50s are not a niche audience. We are consumers, entrepreneurs, leaders, volunteers, carers, grandparents, innovators and decision-makers. We bring experience, loyalty and enormous spending power, yet too often we’re still missing from advertising campaigns or represented through outdated stereotypes.
Winning the award also made me reflect on responsibility. Recognition gives you a bigger platform, but it also gives you a bigger responsibility to use that platform well. I want to keep working with brands that genuinely value authenticity, encourage businesses to think differently about ageing and continue showing women that life doesn’t become smaller as we grow older—it becomes richer.
One of the greatest honours came after the awards when I was invited to become a Silver Marketing Trailblazer. Having spent several years supporting the Association as a judge, being asked to help champion the future of the silver market felt incredibly special. It wasn’t just recognition of what I’d achieved—it was an invitation to keep the conversation moving forward.
If there’s one thing this experience has taught me, it’s that change doesn’t happen because one person speaks. It happens because more and more people decide to listen. That’s why I’ll keep having the conversations, challenging outdated thinking and celebrating the incredible value that comes with experience.
Because growing older isn’t something to apologise for. It’s something to be proud of.
