Celebrating the Silver Frame Awards Winners by Noëlle Merrill, Executive Director
Thank you, everyone, for the incredible outpouring of nominations for the first ever Eastern Agency on Aging George Hale Silver Frame Awards for Active Aging in Eastern Maine. After reading these amazing stories, it became clear to us that picking six winners was going to be extremely difficult for our judges. The good news is that we are going to celebrate active aging in this way every year so there will be many more opportunities to celebrate our esteemed elders.
Artistic/Creative Winners
Yvonne Lambert, Hampden, is the winner of the Artistic/Creative category: under age 75. Yvonne was nominated by two people: Ruth Beatham and Joan Chase. Yvonne is a painter, knitter and scrapbooker. She also does needlepoint. She is unique in that many of her paintings hang in friends’ homes and she does portraits of pets. Yvonne has donated paintings to many different organizations for raffles, and has made afghans and hats for CancerCare of Maine. Not only is she artistic and creative, but generous of spirit as she volunteers as a phone friend, calls bingo and serves meals at Roe village. She’s on the Board of Trustees for the Edythe Dyer Library and works at the Food Cupboard in Hampden. She has been the president of Hampden Senior Citizens for six years, plans the annual Christmas party and orchestrates a cookout in her yard every year. Congratulations Yvonne, you are truly a wonderful model of active aging.
Mary Bates, Eastport, is the winner of the Artistic/Creative category: age 76 and older. She is an avid gardener, designs and knits beautiful sweaters and loves sketching pencil drawings. Her nominator and daughter, Rebecca Thibeault of Garland, says that her mother spends the “lion’s share of her day creating masterpieces.” Mary learned to sew Persian rugs in the 1960s and over the years had begun hand sewing (not hooking, weaving or tying) these colorful and complex works of art as her main passion. Mary learned to weave baskets a few years ago when she and one of her four daughters took an Adult Education course. At 91, Mary insists that her devotion to creating and crafting keeps her mind sharp.
Life Long Learner/Entrepreneurial
Mary Fleming, Levant, is the winner of the Life Long Learner/Entrepreneurial category: under age 75. Although past retirement age, Mary continues to work full-time as a Registered/Licensed Dietician teaching countless patients and their families the importance of taking care of oneself through diet and exercise. She is known as Mother Mary since many of her co-workers are young women in their twenties and thirties, struggling to balance work and family. A few years ago, she collaborated on writing the book, The Color Code, by providing the nutritional content for every recipe and traveling to promote the book. Her nominator, Patricia Barker, says she is not just the picture of active aging, she is the picture of active living!
Arthur Maurice Neal
Known as Maurice, Mr. Neal, Dexter, is the winner of the Life Long Learner/Entrepreneurial category: 76 and older. He is a licensed funeral director, finish carpenter, stone cutter, solar heat contractor and licensed preacher. Although turning 80 this year, he is employed by the Town of Dexter as the Supervisor of the Cemeteries and is the Grounds Keeper of Dexter. He was nominated by his wife of 59 years, Corinne Neal. While visiting a daughter in Washington State, he helped organize a Habitat for Humanity Chapter and twenty homes were built before he returned to Maine. He also organized a group of men and built a church for a Hispanic congregation. Maruice organized six work groups to travel to Nicaragua to build churches, homes and repair desks and chairs for schools. He preaches for pastors when they take vacations and has preached in 23 churches in the Maine. He has built two complete kitchens for Habitat for Humanity homes here in Maine. As if this weren’t enough, Maurice and his family started the Dexter Café so his grandchildren would have a place to work. Eleven out of the 14 grandchildren have worked there, and although it recently was sold, two grandchildren are still employed there.
Fitness or Outdoor Enthusiast/Adventurer
Weston Smith, Glenburn, is the winner of the Fitness or Outdoor Enthusiast/Adventurer category: under age 75. He was nominated by his co-workers at Alpha One. Wes overcame the challenges that resulted from becoming disabled and wheelchair bound. He introduced young people with disabilities to ice sports, like sled hockey and curling. He started the Youth in Motion Program, which gives wheelchair users the opportunity to participate in sports that are designed for them, not around them. Wes keeps fit by playing wheelchair tennis. After organizing a wheelchair curling team in Maine, he was selected to be part of the 5 person team USA in the 2006 Paralympics in Turin, Italy. Wes was recognized by the Japanese media as being the oldest paralympian. His future plans are to continue creating and implementing new recreational programs for people with disabilities. His nominators think of him as a senior pioneer and adventurer.
Wilmot “Wiggie” Robinson, Millinocket, is the winner of the Fitness or Outdoor Enthusiast/Adventurer category: 76 and older. Wiggie is described by his nominator, Bill Pierce of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, as being not only “full of life and spirit, but also committed to infecting all that God places in his path with these same positive energies. This young man of 84 years is a human dynamo and giver of light.” Wiggie has been a Registered Maine guide for 67 years and is actually a Master Maine Guide. He is a senior examiner on the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife’s Guide’s Examining Board and he attends four sportsman shows a year for the department. In addition to being an outdoorsman, he is such an avid gardener that he marketed over 450 pounds of beet greens last summer. Wiggie is a co-host on the Maine Outdoors Radio Show on WVOM and writes a column called Katahdin Country” He enjoys hunting, fishing, camping and canoeing by himself or with friends.
Eastern Agency on Aging will present each winner with their engraved silver frame and photo of them with George Hale in a celebration in their community when possible and depending on Mr. Hale’s schedule, during June. Each winner will also receive $100.
If you really want to be inspired you can read the nominating essays of these winners on our website, www.eaaa.org.
A very special THANK YOU goes out to our esteemed judges: Kay Lebowitz, Bill Miller, Jane Skelton, Jon Small, George Hale, Joni Averill, Julie Mallett, Rob Reeves, and Amy Cotton, who gave of themselves and read the many essays. We appreciate their generosity.
So I offer all of the winners a heartfelt and hearty congratulations to all the winners. Each and every one of you is an inspiration to us mere mortals. We also offer congratulation to all of the nominees. It was a difficult choice but in reality you are all winners.
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