"She doesn't pull any punches," said Frank Lay with the Alliance for Retired Americans. "She shoots right from the shoulder. She tells you what she thinks… and if you don't like it, that's tough."

Fern is passionate about senior issues and isn't afraid to stand up to those in power. "She's tough, she's not afraid of anybody. I was with her when she took on the governor one day… oh man," Frank said shaking his head.

"I've reached this stage in my life… where I don't care what I say. Who's going to fire me?" Fern asked.

With the legislature facing so many priorities, Fern says it's important for her and others to keep senior issues on the minds of state representatives, even if they aren't always receptive. "When I started working for senior issues, remarks were made by the legislators like 'we're sick and tired of seeing you old people down here begging for money."

"I'm working so that by the time you become my age, you won't have to go through this. You won't have to go down to the legislature begging for money for the seniors. They're trying to sweep us under the carpet. We want to be heard and we're really fighting for the services," Fern said.

Thanks to that hard work, lawmakers signed a $5 million bill last year, providing transportation for seniors, so they can get out to the grocery store, their doctor, or even to the beauty salon. "Transportation is the last big independence you're taking away from us. You're going to take this away from us, how are you going to get us to (senior) facilities or to the doctor?"

Through the Older Americans Coalition and Colorado Alliance for Retired Americans, she's also working to provide seniors on fixed incomes with food and home care. "We want people to stay out of nursing homes and in their home. We're actually saving the government money by providing them home care. It's cheaper."

While senior issues are very close to Fern's heart, she actually started two decades ago, fighting for something that was important to her then–women and children's issues.

"I worked very hard on why women were always at the bottom of the totem pole on salary and a lot of things… and that children weren't getting health care that they needed. In about 1992 I was 70 years old and decided it was time for someone younger to start fighting for women and children. I needed to be dealing with senior issues."

While Fern is 85, she's not planning on slowing down anytime soon. Lawmakers can expect to see her down at the Capitol this fall and for many years to come. "I don't know where she gets the energy," said Frank Lay. "I'm about 15 years younger than her and I wish I had just half the energy she has."

Please join 9NEWS and Regis University in congratulating Fern Osborne, the September 2007 9Who Care winner.