LEGACY AWARD | Recipients

The awards recognize Mahoning Valley residents for their contributions to, by and on behalf of senior citizens.

Outstanding Senior Award

Cliff and Lillie Johnson of Warren: Lillie is a founding member of the Community Volunteer Council and Friends of the Warren-Trumbull County Public Library. She is a director for the Trumbull County SCOPE Board, Trumbull County Children Services Board, Warren-Trumbull Urban League, Warren Civic Music Association, Opera Western Reserve and the American Cancer Society. She was Teacher of the Year for Warren City Schools, 1983-84; received the I.B. Taylor Voluntary Service Medal in 1987; was inducted into the Trumbull County African American Achievers Association; received the Warren YWCA Woman of Achievement Award; and in 2007, received the Community Star Award.

Cliff, also an educator, is a national instructor of diversity issues through the American Red Cross, is an original member of the Martin Luther King Jr. Dream Team, and is a member of the boards of Humility of Mary Health Partners, Villa Maria, Salvation Army, United Way of Trumbull County, Sports Hall of Fame, Trumbull County NAACP, and the Trumbull County Red Cross. He is chairman of Leadership Mahoning Valley and has been inducted into the Trumbull County Red Cross and the Trumbull County Afro-American Hall of Fame and the Scope Society of Honors, and was named a Paul Harris Fellow by the Warren Rotary Club. He has received the Clara Barton Award from the Trumbull County Red Cross and the Ohio Outstanding Community Leadership Award from Leadership Mahoning Valley. Cliff and Lillie were honored in 2007 with the Ohio Hospital Association’s Meritorious Service Award.

Anthony Lariccia of Boardman: A successful investment banker, Lariccia is a generous champion of charitable causes across the Mahoning Valley. Concentrating in the area of education, he has provided $5,000 a year to 85 students from area high schools to attend Youngstown State University. Since 1984, Lariccia and his family have donated $11 million to individuals and organizations. He is chairman of the Centennial Capital Campaign for YSU and has helped raise $46 million for the university. He received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor and was the recipient of the Youngstown-Warren Regional Chamber’s 2007 William G. Lyden Spirit of the Valley Award.

Helen Stambaugh of Youngstown: For more than half a century, Stambaugh has sought to be involved in and improve her community, beginning in the 1950s as president of the YWCA business women’s group, which became the Staff Club. She helped establish the Senior Citizen’s Hobby Show at the Butler Museum of American Art. She is a member of the Salvation Army’s Advisory and a founding member of the Salvation Army’s Auxiliary, where she is treasurer. She serves on the board for the Greater Western Reserve Boy Scouts Council and was on the Ohio Presbyterian Retirement Services Foundation Board of Directors. She volunteers with SCORE (Senior Corps of Retired Executives), is a member of the YSU Penguin Club, and is treasurer for St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church. At YSU, Stambaugh underwrites a football scholarship and provided the marching band with new uniforms in 2007. She and her late husband also provide the lead gift for the university’s Andrews Student Recreation and Wellness Center initiative. The Stambaugh Room in YSU’s Kilcawley Center is named in honor of her and her husband. She has been named a YSU Friend of the University, 2004 Penguin of the Year and 2004 Outstanding Philanthropist by the American Federation of Philanthropists Mahoning/Shenango Chapter. She received the Great Communicator Award from the Youngstown Hearing and Speech Center; 2007 Distinguished Scouter Award from the Greater Western Reserve Boy Scout Council; and 2007 Woman of the Year Distinguished Citizen Award from the Federation of Women Club. Last year, the Park Vista lobby was named the Helen Stambaugh Lobby in recognition of her long-standing financial support for Park Vista.

Barbara Wright of Howland: As an educator, Wright made an impact on her community. Her school, H.C. Mines School in Howland, was designated a Hall of Fame School by the Association of Ohio School Principals. Some of the programs she started include student enrichment, student council, and an aluminum can recycling project that raised $10,000 through the years to support student activities and needs. Wright was selected as a Martha Holding Jennings Scholar, and is on the boards of Trumbull Memorial Hospital, Forum Health, Harriet Taylor Upton Association, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, and Shepherd of the Valley. She is also chairwoman of the Community Service Committee for Trumbull Retired Teachers Association and is a member of a number of community organizations, including Trumbull New Theatre and Trumbull Art Guild. She received national recognition from AARP for “With Our Youth,” a program that provides tutoring and scholarships. She is a Master Gardener and works with the Mines School master gardening program and Lake Vista Elder Care horticulture programs, and was a presenter at the state Master Gardener Conference.

Outstanding Advocate Award

Maureen McCarty of Boardman: McCarty has worked in the senior community for 20 years. Most recently, as activities and volunteer director at Briarfield at the Ridge, she has added programs and built partnerships with the community and local organizations to bring in new volunteers. She created a memorial garden and a vegetable garden. McCarty received the Providence Holy Cross Medical Center Service Award and the St. Elizabeth Health Center’s President’s Award.

Muriel Ward of Salem: Ward is a volunteer for RSVP (Retired and Senior Volunteer Program), Hospice, Salem Community Hospital, Medication Assistance Program, and the Ohio Senior Health Insurance Program, and is a guardian for the Columbiana County Probate Court. She received the Outstanding Volunteer Program of the Year Award in 2001 for her work in establishing the Medication Assistance Program in Columbiana County, which helps people in need obtain free prescription drugs from pharmaceutical companies. She also received the Volunteer of the Year Award in 2002 from RSVP.

Source: Shepherd of the Valley