MANSFIELD – The Area Agency on Aging recognized several individuals Thursday, Nov. 7 during its annual meeting at the Mid-Ohio Conference Center.

Among those recognized were Ontario Mayor Randy Hutchinson, as well as the organization, We ACT.   

“We celebrate everything that happened throughout the year and recognize some very special people for their contributions towards our mission,” AAA CEO Duana Patton said.

Hutchinson, who took office four years ago, received the “Elected Official of the Year Award.”

“When I think of Mayor Hutchinson, I think of collaboration, influence, focus on people and passion for community. Randy has always been a champion of the Area Agency on Aging, even before we moved into his backyard (from Mansfield to Ontario),” Patton said. “We could always count on him, and that was even before he was in office.”

She continued to say, his ability to connect the community with resources is what ultimately set him apart. Patton recalled an instance when the mayor called her in the evening to connect an Ontario resident with the AAA.

“It’s quite an honor,” Hutchinson said. “It’s such a great organization that serves our citizens. Duana and all of her staff are wonderful to work with.”

We ACT was the winner of the “Community Partnership Award.” Founded in 2015, the organization’s mission is to “respond to community needs with love, peace, respect and understanding.”

We ACT collaborates with the AAA on the Socks for Seniors community service project, which organizes, collects and distributes new socks for the elderly. Within the first two years, the organization collected more than 2,000 pairs. It hopes to reach 5,000 in total by the end of three years.

“It may not seem like much, when you go to a nursing home and give people a pair of socks and they have a huge smile on their face, we made a difference,” Patton said.

Also honored at the ceremony was AAA retiree Joyce Boling, who retired earlier this year after decades of service. She was inducted into the AAA hall of fame.

Boling started working with the AAA in 1987 as an ombudsperson. Two years later, she began to implement the care coordination program, which is still in operation. The following year, she began to develop the “passport provider network,” without any other staff to assist.

As the network grew, Boling managed a team in a supervisory role and later worked in quality assurance. She retired as the chief quality manager, a position she’s held since 2010.

“Throughout her career, Joyce was extremely instrumental in shaping the provider network not just in our region, but statewide,” Patton said.

The AAA named the Ohio Association of Gerontology and Education as the winner of the “Award of Excellence;” the Crawford Council on Aging and the Crawford County Partnership as the winners of the “Project Collaboration Award;” and Bede Agner, a retiree of the Marion County Council on Aging and Senior Citizens Advocate, as the of the “Advocate of the Year Award.”

Retiring board members and current employees reaching milestones were also recognized.