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Those who enhance the Valley recognized
Six awards — four for Outstanding Senior and two for Outstanding Advocate for Seniors — were presented.
BOARDMAN — Recipients of the 2008 Valley Legacy Awards embody the spirit of the Mahoning Valley, that of working selflessly for the betterment of all, said Kurt Sauer, president of the Shepherd of the Valley Board of Directors.
“They seek no compensation or accolades but are constantly seeking opportunities to be of service to their communities, churches, families and senior citizens throughout the Valley,” said Sauer, whose organization is a major sponsor of the Valley Legacy Awards.
Six awards, four for Outstanding Senior and two for Outstanding Advocate for Seniors, were presented during an awards luncheon this week. Eighteen people were nominated for the awards.
Outstanding Senior Award recipients are: Anthony Lariccia, of Boardman; Lillie and Cliff Johnson, of Warren; Barbara Wright, of Howland and Helen Stambaugh, of Youngstown.
Outstanding Senior Advocate Award recipients are: Muriel Ward of Salem and Maureen McCarty of Boardman.
“I was in the right place at the right time for what needed to be done,” said Ward, a volunteer for RSVP, the Retired Senior Volunteer Program.
Ward, who was business office manager at Salem Community Hospital for 27 years, teamed up with Donna Verzella, Wellsville, who worked in a doctor’s office for many years and had direct experience dealing with pharmaceutical companies, to create the Medication Assistance Program.
“I got involved with a group of fantastic volunteers from all over Columbiana County, and we have done a tremendous amount of good. In the two years prior to the start of Medicare Part D, our drug prescription program brought over $2 million worth of free medications into the county,” she said.
Ward said she was surprised to be selected for the award because “I was in a roomful of people that had done some much for their communities. I feel very honored, and I want to share the award with all the people who have worked with me. A little a bit of praise goes a long, long way,” she said.
Receiving the Outstanding Senior Award as a couple made it very special for Cliff and Lillie Johnson, retired educators who met while attending Youngstown State University and have been married for 46 years.
The Johnsons, both very active in their community, have been recognized individually many times, but this award meant a lot because “we also do so much together,” Cliff Johnson said.
“Given the caliber of the nominees, we were particularly honored to be selected,” he said.
“We’ve always been into helping as much as we can. We both do a lot of diversity work. We have a tremendous respect for and accept the differences in people, but there are so many similarities that we can build upon,” Johnson said.
Besides Shepherd of the Valley, major sponsors of the Legacy Award are WKBN-TV, Big 106.1, WNIO 1390, Newsradio 570 WKBN, The Review Newspapers, the Senior News, EMBARQ and R.L. Smith Printing.
Since 2005, some 80 people and organizations have been nominated by family, peers and coworkers, with 17 receiving Valley Legacy Awards.
alcorn@vindy.com