OKLAHOMA CAPITOL --The 2002 Achievement in Aging Awards for outstanding contributions benefiting Oklahoma’s older population will be presented May 7 during the annual Oklahoma Conference on Aging.
In addition to the Achievement in Aging Awards, nine people will be honored for "putting their stamp on aging in Oklahoma." Receiving special recognition for exceptional contributions to older Oklahomans are: former Governor Henry Bellmon; former Governor George Nigh; former Regional Director of the federal Administration on Aging John Diaz; former state Medicaid Director Dr. Bertha Levy; Roy R. Keen, Director of Aging Services, Oklahoma Department of Human Services; and Dr. Kenneth Cooper, head of the Cooper Clinic in Dallas and father of the aerobics movement.
Posthumous awards will be presented honoring Lloyd Rader, former Director of the Department of Human Services for 31 years; Lennie-Marie Tolliver, former Commissioner for Aging, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; and Myrtle Patterson, nationally recognized leader in Indian health.
This is the inaugural year for the Achievement in Aging Awards, and the awards and special recognitions will be presented at the awards banquet during the aging conference May 6-9 at the National Center for Employee Development, Norman.
The 2002 Achievement in Aging Awards will be presented in nine categories. Honorees are:
VOLUNTEER: Two outstanding volunteers were selected.
Joan Clark, Ponca City, is a volunteer in the RSVP of Kay County program (Retired Senior Volunteer Program). She is being honored for work in educating older Oklahomans suffering from depression. A retired mental health professional, she uses her expertise in this area to coordinate a community mental health program known as "Blues: Not a Normal Part of Aging."
She spent countless hours creating a resource/referral guide of health care programs and facilities in the Kay County area to be distributed at program presentations. She recruits and partners with local mental professionals to facilitate presentations throughout her area.
Nancy Parker, Ada, has volunteered for the past six years at the Pontotoc County Adult Day Care Center, Ada. Currently, she volunteers every day, working directly with individuals and small groups of clients for a minimum of three hours each afternoon. She began volunteering at the center after visiting while a college student studying rehabilitation counseling.
She works with clients to improve skills and to regain forgotten skills, primarily by playing dominoes and board games. She gently encourages and assists the clients to do their best. Center staff credit her efforts with an 82-year-old stroke victim who has learning to walk again after one year in a wheelchair.
Ms. Parker suffered a head injury several years ago and was in a coma for an extended period. In spite of a poor medical prognosis, she worked her way from total dependence on others to total independence. It was this experience that led her to return to college to earn a master’s degree in rehabilitation counseling so she could assist others in overcoming similar injuries
PROFESSIONAL: Richard Amend, Oklahoma City, has been director of senior adult ministries at Christ the King Catholic Church since 1981. In that position he has established many programs for parish members, the community at large and the state. In January 1991, he founded The Centenarian Club of Oklahoma as a way of honoring Oklahomans who reached the century mark. The club was formed in part to honor one of his parishioners but has grown to be a statewide program that has honored nearly 1,100 older Oklahomans.
Amend collaborated with another Oklahoma City clergyman who pastored a neighboring church to establish Daybreak, a weekly respite program for older persons. Since 1987, this program has provided activities, entertainment and a hot meal every Wednesday. The program has been such a success that the two churches, Christ the King and Greystone Presbyterian Church have built "Friendship Walk," a bridge that connects the two churches and facilitates moving meals back and forth and serves as a symbol of the alliance between the two churches.
Amend also implemented a program in his parish through which students adopt an older member for exchange of holiday greetings. They also make visits to several local nursing homes and retirement centers and provide holiday artwork for the doors of the residents. Older students interview an older person in the parish and develop a life story which for an annual publication called Life Stories Book.
EDUCATOR: Ed Arquitt, Ph.D., Oklahoma State University, is a member of the OSU gerontology faculty and been active in the field of gerontology education for three decades.
He uses his expertise not only to teach students but also to inspire them to take proactive measures toward solving aging issues. He was instrumental in the formation of the OSU gerontology graduate faculty committee and later served as its chair. He developed a graduate certification in gerontology program at OSU and was a driving force in the gerontology graduate faculty becoming a part of the OSU Gerontology Institute when it was established in 1996.
He served for years as director of Oklahoma Elderhostel, a residential educational program for people 60 years of ages and older. He has received national recognition for his expertise in this area. Currently there are 20 sites throughout Oklahoma as well as more than 1,500 elderhostel sites throughout the world.
Arquitt has been appointed by the mayor of Stillwater to chair an investigative task force for senior planning for the city. The task force is working to identify services, funding sources and create a practical laboratory experience that can improve the quality of programs and services for older adults in that community.
PROGRAM: There are two awards in the Program category.
New Covenant Christian Church, Oklahoma City, sponsors Family Circles support group which meets twice a month and serves grandparents and other relatives raising other relatives’ children Family Circles provides education, respite and support for both the grandparents and the children. After a light dinner, the children and adults participate in separate activities on topics such as health-related issues, renewing parenting skills, negotiating systems, talking to school counselors, childhood behaviors and positive modifications for those behaviors.
The support group offers more than a night out for these families, although that is important. It provides time for emotional care and interaction with other individuals in a similar situation. The program reaches children who are often rejected or ridiculed by peers because of their special circumstances. It provides an avenue to counteract isolation while providing a place for peer socialization and acceptance.
Christmas in April of Cleveland County was formed in 1995 and held its first work day in April 1996. During its first year, volunteer teams repaired ten homes, all of which were owned and occupied by older persons. Since that time, the program has repaired 93 additional homes, of which 70 are for older persons living in Norman, Noble and Moore.
The mission of the program is to preserve and revitalize houses in Cleveland county assuring that low-income homeowners, particularly the elderly, disabled and families with children live in a safe, secure and weatherproof environment. Each year, the program’s board of directors raises approximately $25,000 for materials for home repairs. All labor and repairs are made during the work day and are free to home owners.
MEDIA: Jim Killackey, Oklahoma City, is a reporter for the Daily Oklahoman who focuses on aging issues. Killackey writes dozens of stories each year on all types of aging issues and organized the "Vintage Visions," a weekly column written by a rotating panel of experts in the aging field. Killackey selected the panel of collaborators who write on everything from financial solvency to health issues and housing problems. He edits the column to fit the newspaper’s format.
Through his reporting, Killackey has made a significant contribution to the quality of life of older Oklahomans. One of his nominators wrote that he "writes about the news stories that need to be told, even if they are not the hottest or most sensational stories. He listens to the concerns of older Oklahomans."
Another nominator wrote, "He has deep respect for older people and appreciates the challenges and opportunities present in the aging process."
Media Honorable Mention. An honorable mention award will be presented to the Enid News and Eagle newspaper for its service in providing information to older Oklahomans living in the northwest quadrant of the state. In 1996, the Eagle created a monthly magazine called Mature Living which is distributed to more than 6,500 households in Garfield County.
The publication provides health, home and garden, leisure and entertainment features from the vantage point of the older population. In 1995, the paper created a weekly senior page that features articles pertaining to senior issues and regular columns from the Social Security Administration and the NODA Area Agency on Aging. In 2001, the senior page became the Life Page.
The newspaper, which once had concerns about publishing articles on topics such as mental health issues and healthy sexuality among older persons, now recognizes that seniors have a need to know about these issues. More articles on these topics are appearing.
CORPORATE/BUSINESS: SBC Southwestern Bell will receive the Achievement in Aging Award honor for the corporate/business category. During the past four years, the company has worked aggressively in educating older Oklahomans on how to protect themselves and others from fraud and fraudulent activities through Oklahoma Seniors Against Fraud, OK-SAF. The company has helped underwrite the costs of two live broadcasts on OETA featuring expert panels responding to viewer questions regarding all types of fraud.
SBC was instrumental in the organization of OK-SAF and continues to support the program. It has also promoted awareness of the Lifeline and Enhanced Lifeline programs that allow every eligible residential telephone customer living in Oklahoma to obtain basic telephone service at a very affordable price, even as low as $1 per month.
SBC is an on-going financial supporter of the Oklahoma Aging Advocacy Leadership Academy, a training program that trains volunteers who want to become more informed, skilled advocates on aging issues.
ADVOCACY: Vivian S. Smith, Ph.D., Yukon, is a retired educator who has been an advocate for older persons in Oklahoma for many years. She has been an informed leader and source of information on aging issues not only for older Oklahomans but also for professionals in the field of aging and elected officials as well.
One of the founding members of the Oklahoma Alliance on Aging, which she still serves as board member and editor of its monthly publication, Dr. Smith is also a founding member of the board of directors of the Daily Living Center, the state’s first adult day care center. She has been a member of the AARP Capitol Task Force, a former member of the OKDHS Medical Advisory Committee, the Governor’s Advisory Committee on Aging, the State Health Department’s Long Term Care Facility Board and its Alzheimer’s Research Advisory Council.
She is a member of the Oklahoma Mental Health and Aging Coalition and was an appointee to the state legislature’s Interim Task Force on Welfare and Medicaid Reform. She has served as the coordinator of the Oklahoma Interagency Task Force for Health and Manpower Data.
She is a past recipient of the J.C. Penny Golden Rule Award for volunteerism, has received an award from the National Association of Adult Day Services for outstanding leadership and has received the Donna Nigh Award given by DHS for leadership and volunteer service.
OUTSTANDING OLDER ADVOCATE: Charles Campbell, Shawnee, is a member of the Oklahoma Silver-Haired Legislature and the SHL Alumni Association board of directors, which he currently serves as first vice president. He spends many hours at the State Capitol working for passage of legislation to improve the lives of older Oklahomans.
He has worked on behalf of legislation that would improve nursing home staffing ratios and create the Office of Elder Rights and Legal Assistance. He is monitoring the status of several measures currently before the legislature including legislation to create an income tax check-off to fund the activities of the SHL Campbell’s efforts to persuade legislators of the needs of Oklahoma’s seniors was cited as exceptional in his nomination form.
"Charlie is exceptional because of the quality and quantity of his advocacy," his nominator wrote. "The amount of time he personally devotes to being at the capitol, talking with legislators, building a relationship and rapport, attending committee meetings," and "his unselfish dedication to advocating the interest of this under-represented elder population is deserving of special recognition."
Honorable Mention Outstanding Older Advocate: Rowena Scott-Johnson, Purcell, has been one of the leading voices for reform of Oklahoma’s guardianship laws. Her leadership was responsible for the drafting of legislation now before the legislature that would create the Court Appointed Advocate for Vulnerable Adults Program.
She has been a tireless advocate for expansion of transportation services, and made this her issue when she served in the Oklahoma Silver Haired Legislature. She is currently completing her second term as secretary of the SHL Alumni Association, is a member of the board of Delta Community Action Foundation and has been instrumental in the development of at least two new nutrition sites serving McClain county.
Ms. Scott-Johnson is a graduate of the Oklahoma Aging Leadership Academy and is a recent recipient of an OKDHS statewide volunteer service award.
The annual Oklahoma Conference on Aging is sponsored by the Aging Services Division, Oklahoma Department of Human Services (OKDHS.)
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