2012 Valley Legacy recipients announced

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Recipients of the 2012 Valley Legacy Award for Outstanding Seniors are: seated, James E. Herriman, left, Diana Bauman and Beverly Poidmore Pariza, and, standing, Carol Bigelow, left, and George Grim.

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Wilkins

CANFIELD

The six recipients of the 2012 Valley Legacy Awards were announced Oct. 11 during a luncheon at Avion on the Water.

There were 29 nominees for the award, which was launched by Shepherd of the Valley to recognize the contribution, service, sacrifice and compassionate actions performed by or for the senior citizens of the Mahoning Valley.

In the past seven years, nearly 175 people and organizations have been honored as nominees, with 40 receiving the Valley Legacy Award. They were nominated by friends and family and were educators, community volunteers, veterans, business people and physicians.

This year’s nominees were presented with flowers and a certificate of recognition for their contributions to the community, then WFMJ co-anchor Leslie Barrett presented the awards to the following:

Outstanding Advocate for Seniors: Dr. Charles Wilkins of Youngstown still makes house calls and takes time to talk and listen to his patients. His concern and empathy for his patients extends to their caregivers and brought him to the point to develop a place where caregivers could take their loved ones for a few hours or a day, taking time for themselves. There are now eight locations throughout the area.

Recipients of the award for outstanding seniors:

Diana Bauman of Warren was a teacher in Niles schools for 39 years and served as department head and mentor to first-year teachers. She developed the countywide Teacher Idea Exchange to share teaching strategies. She is a docent for the Sutliff Museum, sits on First Book Trumbull County Advisory Board and is co-vice president for the American Association of University Women. She is a member of St. Paul Lutheran Church and has overseen distribution of baskets to shut-ins and made lap robes and holiday treats for Shepherd of the Valley residents.

Carol Bigelow of Youngstown joined the Women’s Auxiliary of the Salvation Army in 1995, where she has served as president and treasurer, organized fundraisers, served on its advisory board as secretary, chaired the Kettle Committee and received its Others Award for service to others. She also volunteers for Butler Institute of American Art, Fellows Riverside Gardens and Hands On Volunteer Network of the Valley.

George Grim of Boardman, a Boy Scout, has served as member and three-time chairman for Whispering Pines District Advancement Committee, as unit commissioner for five troops in three churches and a VFW post, and raised funds for Camp Stambaugh. He is a member of Northeast Ohio Civil War Roundtable and Boardman Kiwanis Club, for which he served as president and District Lt. Governor. He serves on the Boardman Community Foundation Board and Mahoning County 4-H Advisory Committee.

James E. Herriman of Warren is a member of Trumbull 100, which provides leadership and funding for projects for Warren. He has been a long-standing member of Warren Civic Music Association, chaired various levy campaigns for Howland Schools, and held leadership roles on boards of Someplace Safe, First Presbyterian Church of Warren, Main Street Warren and United Way of Trumbull County. As a board member of Grassroots Revitalization of Warren he spearheaded Make-A-Difference Day project to clean up and beautify Warren’s Riverwalk.

Beverly Poidmore Pariza of Boardman is a member of St. Elizabeth Hospital Auxiliary, Stambaugh Pillars, Friends of Fellows Riverside Gardens, Mahoning County Historical Society and Genealogical Society, YSU Alumni, HandsOn Volunteer Network of the Valley, Korean War Veterans Chapter 137 and several quilting groups. In her spare time she volunteers for Austinwoods and the Rescue Mission. She makes baby blankets and knits and crochets lap robes, blankets and scarves for wheelchair-bound veterans and soldiers overseas and the Rescue Mission.