2025 Men of the Year: Mark Applegate

As director of safety and security and dementia care specialist at SeniorAge Area Agency on Aging, Mark Applegate is an active advocate for patients and their caregivers. His work stems from personal passion in honor of his mother, grandmother and uncle – all of whom lost their lives to Alzheimer’s disease.

“I strive to do three things,” he says, “serve our Ozarks seniors, protect and help the vulnerable among them and fight to end Alzheimer’s.”

Applegate graduated from Missouri State University with a bachelor’s in history. He later earned a master’s in business administration in IT project management and a master’s in homeland security, both from Colorado Technical University. He leverages that background and education in technology as SeniorAge’s IT director for more than 35 locations. Applegate also facilitates 10 support groups for caregivers of people with dementia diseases, with the intention to add additional groups in the future.

“These caregivers, more than most any group I have ever been involved with, need encouragement and they need information all at once,” he says. “Our groups may do a lot of problem solving, but they also provide the badly needed comfort and love, as well.”

Alzheimer’s can run in families. Applegate knows this and understands his predispositional risk. This has driven him to participate in dozens of research projects at Washington University, University of Kansas Medical Center, Vanderbilt University and Emory University. As a clinical research subject, he has undergone rounds of PET scans, lumbar punctures, thigh biopsies and cognitive testing. He is also registered as a brain donor upon his passing.

“It is my hope that, should I develop dementia 10 to 20 years from now,” Applegate says, “I will leave a remarkably useful trail of data that researchers can use to help find a cure for this devastating disease.”

Applegate’s civic involvement extends even further to being chair-elect of the Greene County Community Organizations Active in Disaster, also serving on the Community Organizations for Vulnerable Emergency Resilience subcommittee. He regularly provides disaster training at SeniorAge centers. His expertise in disaster response and information technology combined when he provided search and rescue aid and infrastructure repair during Hurricane Katrina and in tornado relief efforts. He is also active with the Walk to End Alzheimer’s event, serving as the 2025 co-chair. He has advocated at the state and national capital for the Alzheimer’s Impact Movement.

“Sadly, I couldn’t fix my mom’s memory issues in time,” Applegate says, “but her heroic fight will continue to fuel me until the glorious day when we celebrate a cure.”

Family: I married my far-too-stunning-for-me high school sweetheart in 1990. We have three amazing kids.

Words to live by: If you are blessed by the Lord with the opportunity to care for aging parents, you will never regret giving them your all. Effort wrapped in love trumps skill in caregiving, but build a care team since nobody should have to go it alone.

Dream dinner party guest: The first person to truly defeat Alzheimer’s disease. While I wait for that sweet day to arrive, I would love to dine with Jack Buck, Dizzy Dean and Yogi Berra on the Hill in
St. Louis.