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LEWISTON — SeniorsPlus honored longtime Auburn resident Hugh Keene with the 2018 Ikaria Award for his singular and outstanding contributions towards improving the lives of older adults.
Keene received the award on Friday, March 23, at the Hilton Garden Inn Riverwatch in Auburn at the organization’s annual Fill the Plate Breakfast to benefit Meals on Wheels at SeniorsPlus.
Almost 200 people attended the breakfast, which raised more than $10,000.
“It was wonderful to recognize Hugh with the Ikaria Award,” said Betsy Sawyer-Manter, president and CEO of SeniorsPlus. “He has been an active volunteer at SeniorsPlus for many years, in addition to contributing his time to many other organizations. We were happy to honor that dedication and hard work with the Ikaria Award.”
Keene served on the Board of Directors at SeniorsPlus as well as the Advisory Board of SeniorsPlus and the Frye School Housing Development, Inc. Board. In 2014, Keene retired from Lewiston/Auburn-based Community Credit Union’s board of directors, which he joined in 1967. He served as chairman of the board from 1998 until his retirement. Keene taught science at Edward Little High School in Auburn for 25 years and was the drama coach there. He has been involved with many organizations in addition to SeniorsPlus including Habitat for Humanity, Senior College, St. Vincent de Paul thrift store in Lewiston and Maine Education Association Retired.
Ikaria is a Greek island in the Aegean Sea. It is considered one of the world’s five “Blue Zones” – places where an estimated one in three members of the population regularly lives an active life into their 90s.
At the breakfast, Chris Randall, a Meals on Wheels driver and assessor for SeniorsPlus, spoke about the rewards of his work.
The keynote was given by Elizabeth Peavey, creator and performer of the award-winning, one-woman show “My Mother’s Clothes Are Not My Mother_.” P_eavey discussed the frustrations, compromises, revelations – and humor – entailed in the complicated relationship between a child and an aging parent, as depicted in her show, which has played to sold-out houses since 2011 from Maine to Manhattan.
The Fill the Plate Breakfast is presented in conjunction with March for Meals, a national campaign of the Meals on Wheels America. Last year, SeniorsPlus delivered more than 100,000 meals to almost 800 homebound older adults and adults with disabilities in Androscoggin, Franklin and Oxford counties through its Meals on Wheels program. Almost 700 volunteers donate more than 25,000 hours to the program annually. Each meal provides one-third of the recommended daily allowance of nutrition, a safety check, and a visit to these vulnerable adults. The majority of the consumers of Meals on Wheels are lower income or on fixed income.
The overall program goal of SeniorsPlus is to assist older adults and adults with disabilities in the tri-county area to remain at home safely for as long as possible. The overwhelming majority of older adults (greater than 95 percent in an AARP survey) wish to remain at home until they die. The Meals on Wheels program provides nourishment, socialization, and regular safety checks. The mission of SeniorsPlus is “to enrich the lives of seniors and adults with disabilities.” SeniorsPlus believes in supporting the independence, dignity, and quality of life of those it serves. Established in 1972, SeniorsPlus covers Androscoggin, Franklin, and Oxford counties and serves more than 17,000 individuals annually. The agency focuses on older adults, adults with disabilities, and families and offers a network of support, including information and assistance, short-term care management, Medicare counseling, caregiver support and respite, health and wellness education, Options Counseling, and Meals on Wheels and congregate dining.
PHOTO: Betsy Sawyer-Manter, president and CEO of SeniorsPlus, stands with Auburn resident Hugh Keene, who received the Ikaria Award for outstanding contributions toward improving the lives of older adults at the Fill the Plate Breakfast to benefit Meals on Wheels, which was held on March 23 at the Hilton Garden Inn Riverwatch in Auburn. (Submitted photo)
