2001 William Jenkins Memorial Award
Each year the Area Agency on Aging District 7, Inc. (AAA7) names a recipient for the William Jenkins Memorial Award. This year Mary Voiles, who recently retired from Jackson County Senior Citizens Center where she held the position of Executive Director, was named recipient of this prestigious award. Ms. Voiles was selected as the recipient from the 10-county area served by the Area Agency.
Executive Director Pamela Matura presented this award which is given in honor of William A. Jenkins, a Gallia Countian, who during his lifetime exemplified a devotion to serving the elderly, by helping to establish today’s ten county southern Ohio aging network.
The area agency staff throughout the years has always respected the passion that Mary Voiles exemplified in wanting to ensure all parts of Jackson County got coverage. Ms. Voiles from 1977 until the passage of a local levy in 1988 would not accept a pay raise because she felt too many people were on waiting lists and she wanted to make sure those that needed help would receive help.
Ms. Voiles not only made sure there was a congregate meal site in Jackson, the county seat, but also in the two other small towns of Jackson County, Wellston and Oak Hill, for a total of three congregate meal locations. She developed a system that enabled anyone in any part of the county who needed to go to the doctor, get groceries, or get needed prescriptions filled.
The Area Agency on Aging could always count on Mary Voiles to apply for all the vans that the Ohio Department of Transportation would allow her to obtain in any given year. As a result, home-delivered meals are delivered in all townships daily, due to her efforts and successes. When the levy passed in 1988, she expanded the program by providing seniors with homemaking services.
When PASSPORT began in 1990, this past senior center director, brought the Jackson Senior Center along and kept up with the changes required for the centers. She could be counted on to do what ever it took to make sure that Jackson County senior citizens got what they deserved. You could always count on Mary to work hard and look after her people.
It has been the Area Agency on Aging District 7’s pleasure to work with Mary Voiles over the years and the agency believes that she has made the lives of seniors in Jackson County better. She worked to improve the lives of older adults in her county by increasing the type, volume, and the coverage area of senior services.
The Area Agency on Aging District 7, Inc. is a non-profit organization funded by the Older Americans Act with funds administered through the Ohio Department of Aging. AAA7 serves senior citizens in Adams, Brown, Gallia, Highland, Jackson, Lawrence, Pike, Ross, Scioto, and Vinton Counties. All services are rendered on a non-discriminatory basis.