The Cayuga County Legislature scheduled a luncheon with five men and women who will be honored as Senior Citizens of the year. The luncheon was followed by a meeting of the legislature with the first order of business being the presentation of the awards by members of the legislature and a special proclamation for all senior citizens by Roger Mills, chairman of the Legislature, Tuesday at Emerson Park.

This proclamation recognizes the contributions of Cayuga County seniors as “valuable members of our society who are rich in experience and deserving of our respect. ... Our older citizens promise to be among the most active and engaged older adult populations in our nation's history.”

In order to be eligible for the award, nominees must be residents of Cayuga County over the age of 60 who contributed on a volunteer basis to the community in some way. Names were submitted to the Cayuga County Office of the Aging, who made the final selections.

Nancy Siefka, executive director of the Office of the Aging, solicited nominations in the April issue of “Senior News and Views,” the newsletter of the agency. In her monthly column she wrote, “May is Older Americans Month, and this year we celebrate working together for strong, healthy and supportive communities. Working together, our communities can improve older adults' overall quality of life by helping them to make changes in lifestyle choices that can reduce risk of disease, disability and injury. It's never too late to improve the quality of our daily lives.“

Here are the 2008 award winners and the reasons they were selected by the awards committee:

€ Eleanor Jordan has volunteered with several food pantries and soup kitchens, the Sennett Senior Citizen Club and the Presbyterian Women's Circle.

“Eleanor is very quiet about her accomplishments,” Siefka said. “She is 87 years old and volunteers whenever asked. In her spare time she plays golf, bowls in three leagues, mows her own lawn and plants a garden.”

Mary Kalet Kosct has been a blood drive volunteer for more than 20 years, and she has given her time to the Community Caring Food Pantry and the Auburn Service League thrift shop.

“Mary is always there with a helping hand, volunteering quietly to make every event she is involved in a success, and is best known for her delicious pierogies at the Ukrainian National Club,” Siefka added.

Margaret Valentino is a volunteer at the Gordon Eadie Activity Center.

“Margaret was originally reluctant about volunteering at he center as she was not sure she would be able to volunteer with individuals with dementia,” Siefka said. “She has been coming back for almost threes and accomplishes her volunteer responsibility with extreme kindness and skill.”

Alan Drennen assists at the Calvary Food Pantry and has been an active Boy Scout supporter for 20 years. He has participated in Sennett, Skaneateles, Melrose and Springport Senior Clubs. Al is also a veteran of the World War II Navy Sea Bees and served in the South Pacific.

John Oxford was a volunteer firefighter in the Town of Owasco for 37 years and also served with a Long Island Department.

“John is 83 years old,” Siefka said, “and still works on the fire trucks for the Owasco Fire Department.”

The Office of the Aging works all year to honor all seniors and provides valuable information and assistance for seniors and their families. The office is located in the County Office Building. For more information, call 253-1226.