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L-R: AARP Maine State Director, Noël Bonam with Age-Friendly Millinocket’s Lou Pelletier and Thomas Malcolm
WINNERS OF BEACON COMMUNITY and VOLUNTEER STEADFAST ADVOCATE AWARDS FOR 2026
AARP Maine is thrilled to recognize a member of the AARP Network of Age-Friendly States and Communities as the winner of the AARP Maine Beacon Community Award, and two AARP Maine volunteers as the recipients of the AARP Maine Steadfast Advocate Award.
Since 2021, AARP Maine has identified an age-friendly community in Maine to recognize and celebrate each year with its Beacon Community Award. This year’s honoree is Age-Friendly Millinocket, a member of the AARP Network of Age-Friendly States and Communities since 2019.
“Age-Friendly Millinocket is the epitome of what it means to be a collaborative, engaging, action-oriented community that focuses on helping older adults live, and thrive, in place,” said Noël Bonam, AARP Maine State Director. “It is exciting to see that in a relatively short amount of time this remarkable community has made such strides on behalf of older community residents. We are delighted to present this award to them in recognition of their accomplishments.”
“We are deeply honored to have been selected as the winner of the 2026 AARP Beacon Community Award,” said Jane Danforth, founding member of Age-Friendly Millinocket. “This recognition reflects Millinocket’s unwavering commitment to creating a livable, inclusive, and age-friendly community where residents of all ages can thrive.”
AARP Maine’s Steadfast Advocate Award celebrates individual volunteers’ countless and unending efforts to support the AARP Maine mission. Said Bonam: “Jean and Dave Crossman are longtime AARP Maine Advocacy Volunteers who have continually demonstrated their steadfast commitment to the betterment of the lives of older Mainers. We are delighted to present them with this year’s AARP Maine Steadfast Advocate Award.”
Upon receipt of the award, Jean and Dave Crossman stated, “We are honored to receive the AARP Steadfast Advocate Award for 2026. Volunteering with AARP has been an inspiration as we advocate for issues that are important to all Mainers, but especially those of us over 50. We always say that we get more from volunteering with AARP than we give, and we encourage anyone looking for a volunteer opportunity to consider AARP.”
AARP Maine celebrated the honorees at its annual meeting held this year on October 6th at the Maine Maritime Museum in Bath.
