DETROIT, Aug. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Three senior citizen advocates from Taylor, Detroit and Kalamazoo will receive the Claude Pepper Award in Mount Pleasant on Friday, Sept. 9 to honor their contributions to improving the lives of Michigan’s senior citizens. The awards will be presented at the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Senior Advisory Council’s 15th annual conference on issues of interest to the elderly.
This is the first time in the history of the event that three advocates instead of the usual two will be honored, with two awardees in the volunteer advocate category. Each will receive a $1,000 check to be given to their respective nonprofit organizations. A record 37 others will receive certificates of merit for their contributions.
The honorees are:
Harry E. Lester, 77, of Taylor, director of United Steelworkers of America District 2, in the working advocate category.
Gloria Wise, 65, of Detroit, a geriatric nurse, in the volunteer advocate category.
Art Nichols, 76, of Kalamazoo, who helps homebound seniors navigate the Medicare Medicaid Assistance Program as a certified MMAP counselor, in the volunteer advocate category.
This year’s conference, “Staying Healthy Through Engagement,” will take place from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 9 at the Soaring Eagle Resort in Mount Pleasant. The awards, which are named after the late Florida U.S. Senator Claude Pepper, a lifelong activist for the nation’s elderly, will be presented at 1:15 p.m. by Kevin Klobucar, vice president of the Family Health Centers and regional executive for Blue Care Network of Michigan, and Diana Jones, vice president of Community Affairs for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan.
Keynote presenter will be Mike Millington, a “certified laughter therapist” who will show attendees how to chase away stress and pain through laughter every day.
The conference also will feature Louann Bakk, MSW, director of Access and Benefits for the Area Agency on Aging 1-B, who will speak on the new Medicare prescription drug benefit.
Other presenters include Marcia Mittelman, education and training director for the Alzheimer’s Association, who will discuss ways to keep your mind healthy; Bradley Vauter, attorney for the Legal Hotline for Michigan Seniors, who will detail ways to fight fraud; Renee Defrang, registered dietician, and Jennifer Carver, South Haven Area Senior Services, who will speak on proper nutrition.
Conference attendees also can take part in a WalkingWorks health and fitness walk led by Hall of Fame broadcaster Ernie Harwell, starting with a chance to meet Ernie for autographs at 2:30 p.m. during pre-walk family activities at the resort.
The Claude Pepper Working Advocate winner, Harry E. Lester, represents more than 65,000 active and retired United Steelworkers of America members in Michigan and Wisconsin. He is an activist for Social Security and Medicare, and he led the fight in Michigan to support the health care tax credit, which provides relief for retirees and surviving spouses who lose their health care coverage as the result of a trade-related plant closing. He worked with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan to develop and implement the plan to prevent a huge financial hardship for more than 12,000 retirees and surviving spouses when United States Steel Corp. terminated the pension plan and dropped health care benefits for retirees of National Steel in Ecorse. He has served as an elected leader of the United Steelworkers for 50 years.
The second awardee, Gloria Wise, is a Claude Pepper Volunteer Advocate winner. She has been a nurse for 47 years, specializing in geriatrics. She is an Aging Advisory Council and Grant Review Committee member of the Detroit Area Agency on Aging, and volunteers as a senior advocate at St. James Baptist Church in Detroit where she developed its senior assistance program. More than 200 people benefit from her 40 to 80 hours per month of volunteer activities.
Art Nichols of Kalamazoo also is a Claude Pepper Volunteer Advocate winner. He is a certified Medicare Medicaid Assistance Program counselor, teaching seniors how to fill out insurance paperwork, and creating “lite” menus for clients of Meals on Wheels incorporating fresh fruits and vegetables. In 2004, he assisted 189 clients and reached 470 persons in 10 community presentations. Nichols conducts presentations on financial and medical issues and scams that prey on seniors. He often travels to counsel seniors at their homes if they cannot attend his presentations.
The 37 individuals receiving merit awards are: Sammie Alford, Eastpointe Maria E. Arnaiz, Detroit Marion Bloye, Dearborn Heights Kim Carter, Flint RoAnne Chaney, East Lansing Ann Combs, Greenbush Kenneth Fuerst, Waterford David Hankenhof, Temperance Jeanette Havel, Oscoda Anne Hester, Flint Lea Anne Ivory, Detroit Timothy J. Foley, Harrison Twp. Shirley Keesling, Lapeer George Kremer, Grand Rapids Rev. Peggy Lawrence Burns, Grand Rapids Barbara Marcum, Belleville Carl Malfitano, Warren Ellen McKay, Duck Lake Toni McIlwain, Detroit Nadene Mitcham, Westland Lilas G. Mogk, M.D., Livonia Mary Meyer Neff, Clinton Twp. Laura L. Newsome, Port Huron Pam Niebrzydowski, Lake City Ann Ozog, Caro Manuel L. Papista, Grosse Pointe Farms Tene S. Ramsey, Detroit Carl and Betty Rice, Melvindale Lorette Rofles, Durand Earl Rogers, St. Johns Florence M. Sawicki, Riley Henry Shaft, Saginaw Charles Smith, Detroit Sister Augusta Stratz, MSW, Kalkaska Thomas Turner, Detroit Henry Zuckerberg, East Lansing
Cost of the conference is $20 per person for seniors 55 and older, and $30 for service providers, which includes breakfast, lunch, discussion sessions and conference materials. To register, call 1-800-733-BLUE (2583) by Aug. 26.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan provides or administers health care benefits to just over 4.7 million members through a variety of plans: Traditional Blue Cross Blue Shield, Blue Preferred, Community Blue and Healthy Blue PPOs, Blue Choice Point of Service, Blue Care Network HMO, and Blue HSA(SM) plans compatible with health savings accounts. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Blue Care Network are nonprofit corporations and independent licensees of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. For more company information, visit http://www.bcbsm.com .
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan; Blue Care Network
CONTACT: Helen Stojic, +1-313-225-8113, or Bill Semion, +1-313-225-7975,mediarelations@bcbsm.com , both of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan
Web site: http://www.bcbsm.com/
