Sunset Story

An organization dedicated to the business of the elderly is maturing.

The group, Sarasota-based Institute for the Ages, is the foundation behind an effort to turn aging demographics into a product, service and policy innovation asset.

The institute is the brainchild of a group of Sarasota business and civic leaders who discovered a surprise fact when they studied census figures in 2009. That fact: Sarasota County is the oldest large county in the country — out of 3,850 counties. Charlotte County, it turns out, is the oldest small county in the country.