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2007 Elders in Action Volunteer Award Recipients
Left to Right - Robert Hamilton; Vicki Hersen, Executive Director; Will Fuller; Lenore Bijan, and Mary Kay Lampert ( absent- Lois Ann Colaianni)
Elders in Action Salutes Our Volunteers
Sunny Skies, Colorful Carousel, and Bumper Cars create a festive day to honor our talented volunteers at Oaks Park
Elders in Action volunteers, friends, family, and staff gathered at historic Oaks Amusement Park on July 19, 2007 to honor all the volunteers who make Elders in Action succeed. In the past year nearly 7,000 hours of time and talent were donated by our volunteers to help ensure that the quality of life never depends on age.
Attendees received Elders in Action tote bags, goodies, and a poem written by Lois Lloyd, Program Specialist entitled: Volunteers Make the World Go Merrily Around. A lovely picnic lunch was enjoyed and then the roller coaster, bumper cars, train, carousel and other rides were given a whirl.
Each year special awards are given in our four program areas, as well as for the all round Volunteer of the Year. The 2007 Volunteer of the Year was presented to Will Fuller. Since 2005, he has been working as a Personal Advocate, an Elder Friendly Business Evaluator and a Community Educator. Will has assisted 18 individuals over the past 2 years and recovered over $56,000 for individuals due to wrongful billing. As an Elder Friendly Business evaluator he helps ensure that standards are met to better serve the older customer. As a Community Educator volunteer, Will has educated hundreds of people on avoiding scams and fraud, and promoted the services of Elders in Action. Will's friendly personality, great sense of humor and a desire to give back to the community shines through to everyone he meets.
Lenore Bijan is named the Commission Advocate of the Year. For more than two years Lenore has worked with great passion and dedication advocating for quality services for seniors on the local, state, and federal levels. She represents Elders in Action on the Portland Citizen Corps Emergency Planning Council where she assists public officials in understanding the needs of vulnerable citizens in times of emergencies, and serves on the Oregon Energy Advisory Committee in order to counsel about the challenges faced by low-income seniors who must cope with high energy bills. Lenore never hesitates to call public officials and eloquently expresses her ideas about how to make the social service system better.
Lois Ann Colaianni received the Elder Friendly Evaluator of the Year Award. Lois Ann is a very thorough evaluator and has helped us improve our evaluation tool including the addition of a unisex restroom category. She has evaluated 22 businesses this year, and last fall started volunteering in the Personal Advocate program. We are delighted to have Lois Ann's kind and caring assistance.
Robert Hamilton was named the Community Educator of the Year for his powerful and plentiful community presentations to groups about Scams and Fraud, the changes of Medicare and teaching people how to access public transportation through the Tri-Met Ridewise Program. He has appeared on TV and also serves as a Personal Advocate. Robert's humor, passion, and energy are warmly appreciated.
Mary Kay Lampert is named the Personal Advocate of the Year. Her outstanding problem solving ability has helped 75 people who were having problems with Housing, Healthcare, Crime and Abuse. Since 2000, she has gone above and beyond the call of duty, and has been especially effective in helping people navigate the systems of wrongful billing and aggressive sales. She says she likes to be "an agitator" and loves the opportunity to make a real difference in peoples' lives.
If you would like to volunteer in a meaningful way contact us at 503 235-5474 or marj@eldersinaction.org
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