It's National Older Americans Month and senior volunteers from Chemung, Schuyler and Steuben counties are being honored today at a State Capitol tribute to service

Albany, N.Y., May 5—New York State Senator Tom O’Mara (R,C,I-Big Flats), Assemblyman Chris Friend (R,C,I-Big Flats) and Assemblyman Phil Palmesano (R,C,I-Corning) will help welcome senior citizen volunteers from Chemung, Schuyler and Steuben counties to the State Capitol on Tuesday as part of the 2015 Senior Citizens Day Celebration sponsored by the New York State Office for the Aging.

In a joint statement, O’Mara, Friend and Palmesano said, “What a great honor for all of the outstanding and meaningful service these area seniors have provided to so many of their fellow seniors throughout the Southern Tier and Finger Lakes regions.  It’s a fitting tribute to the thousands of hours they’ve volunteered, which have made such a difference in so many lives.” 

According to the Office for the Aging, Senior Citizens Day is celebrated in New York in conjunction with events across the nation during May to observe Older American's Month (#OAM15).

This week’s event acknowledges the significant contributions made by older New Yorkers to their communities.  Local county Offices for the Aging submitted nominations for the 2015 recognitions.  

The following area seniors are being honored as part of this week’s celebration:

-- Marjorie MacPherson (nominated by Chemung County Office for the Aging): MacPherson, of Elmira, was co-recipient of the Chemung County Senior Citizen of the Year Award in 2014.  For 30 years beginning in 1953, she was a music teacher, including a tenure as Chair of the Music Department, in the Elmira City School District while working alongside her husband Walt at their funeral home and raising three children.  Over the past 20-plus years, she has accumulated more than 25,000 hours as a volunteer with Arnot Ogden Hospital Auxiliary, where she organized the inaugural and remains the driving force behind the Orchids and Candlelight event.  She also volunteers as a Patient Advocate, at the Clemens Center, and for a local Poison Awareness and Prevention Program where she has overseen a volunteer effort that has brought nearly 3,200 presentations to local elementary schools and reached over 59,000 children;    

-- Albert Draht (Chemung County): With MacPherson, Draht, of Pine City, was co-recipient of the Chemung County Senior Citizen of the Year Award in 2014.  Draht has been a member of the Chemung Volunteer Action Corps (formerly the Retired Senior Volunteer Program) for 15 years and, among numerous other groups, is an active member of the Trinity Episcopal Church, Big Flats Lions Club and Meals on Wheels of Chemung County.  Utilizing his expertise as a woodworker, Draht builds and restores cabinets for the Chemung County Chamber of Commerce, Salvation Army and area churches.  In 2011, he organized a group of volunteers now known as the RAMP Crew to build ramps for homebound Chemung County residents.  The RAMP Crew has constructed 38 ramps to date, with more in the works; 

-- Ruth Walters (Steuben County): Born and raised on Long Island, Walters moved to Bath in 1989.  She has devoted over 50 years of volunteer service to various causes and organizations, with a particular emphasis on serving veterans and military families.  She and her husband Richard (Dick), a Navy veteran, are members of the historic First Presbyterian Church in Bath, where she currently is an Elder, Clerk of Session and Sanctuary Tour Guide.  Walters is the Vice Chairperson of the Veterans Affairs Volunteer Services Executive Committee and also serves with the American Red Cross as the Services to the Armed Forces National Deputy Representative for the Eastern and Mid-Atlantic regions.  She is a member of the local Red Cross Disaster Action and Disaster Assessment teams, assisting individuals and communities impacted by emergencies and natural disasters.  A licensed Amateur Radio Operator, she transmits information to emergency and law enforcement agencies, and the public, during severe weather;

-- Jane Jamison (Steuben County): Jamison, of Canisteo, began her career with the Hornell Central School District in 1962, where she was a math teacher, counseled the Math Club and pioneered the district’s computer learning program. A volunteer for over 55 years, Jamison has served as Secretary of the Bethesda Foundation, with the Southern Tier Library System and as a member of the board of the Hornell YMCA, St. James Mercy Hospital and the Institute for Human Services.  She is a member of the Forthnightly Literary Club, serves as a treasurer of Temple Beth El, and volunteers with Faith in Action providing transportation to area seniors;

-- Kenneth P. Wilson (Schuyler County): Wilson, of Watkins Glen, has enjoyed a lifelong career in banking, including serving for 25 years as Branch Manager/Vice President of the Watkins Glen branch of Marine Midland/HSBC.  For over 40 years, Wilson has contributed to numerous volunteer activities, including as a 25-year Board Member and Past Chair of Schuyler Health Foundation, Trustee of the Watkins Glen Library, Past President and Campaign Chair of Schuyler County United Way, Member and Past President of the Watkins-Montour Rotary Club, and Member and Elder of the First Presbyterian Church of Watkins Glen.  He has chaired several major fund drives for Schuyler Hospital, United Way and the First Presbyterian Church, pointing with particular satisfaction to his work chairing the Hospital Emergency Room Campaign, on the steering committee to build a street-level public library, and the fund drive for this church’s renovation; and 

-- Judith Haughey Phillips (Schuyler County): Phillips, a lifelong resident of Watkins Glen, served as the Schuyler County Director of Public Health and as the Mayor of Watkins Glen.  A volunteer for over 40 years, Phillips has been involved in her community in many capacities, including on the Finger Lakes Board of Directors with the American Lung Association; the Chemung, Schuyler Chapter of the American Red Cross Board of Directors; and the EOP of Chemung and Schuyler counties. She remains involved with many groups and organizations: Elmira Psychiatric Center Board of Visitors; League of Women Voters; The Arc of Schuyler Guardianship Committee; Schuyler County Catholic Charities; Southern Finger Lakes Women; Watkins Glen International; Watkins Glen Public Library Board of Trustees; and Watkins-Montour Rotary Club.