Ritchie Recognizes “The Starlighters” WITH Senior Volunteer of the Year Award

State Senator Patty Ritchie presented members of the St. Lawrence County Band “The Starlighters” with her “Senior Volunteer of the Year Award” Wednesday in recognition of their donating their time to play at community events throughout the north country.

The award was presented at Senator Ritchie’s St. Lawrence County Senior Health and Wellness Fair, which took place at Ogdensburg’s Odd Fellows Hall.  More than 300 people attended the event, which featured nearly 50 organizations offering health checks and wellness tips, a free lunch prepared by culinary students from the St. Lawrence-Lewis BOCES Northwest Tech Center, entertainment by The Starlighters and more.

“I was pleased to welcome more seniors and organizations than ever before to Wednesday’s Health and Wellness Fair,” said Senator Ritchie. 

“These events are such great opportunities for our area’s aging population to access the information they need to live healthier lives.  I would like to thank all who made the fair possible, including the organizations that participated, the students from BOCES, St. Lawrence County NYSARC for providing bus transportation, the Odd Fellows and the Starlighters, not only for providing the day’s entertainment, but also for the work they do in our community each and every day.”

Members of the band who were honored included the following:

• Jim FitzGerald
• Dan Pearson
• Gary Brothers
• Shirley Brothers
• Mary Fishbeck
• Wanda Livingston 

Senator Ritchie’s St. Lawrence County Senior Health and Wellness Fair was the last of three she has hosted in recent weeks in the region.  In total, nearly 2,000 attended events in Oswego, Jefferson and St. Lawrence Counties. 

(Senator Ritchie is pictured in the above photo with The Starlighters)