Georgia Gerontology Society Incorporated - Serving Georgia since 1955 Georgia Gerontology Society - A tradition for professionals in aging since 1955  
 
return to the Georgia Gerontology Society Home Page
About Us - Georgia Gerontology Society
Georgia Gerontology Society Board of Directors
Annual Conference - Georgia Gerontology Society
Georgia Gerontology Society Online Member Center
Advocacy Updates - Georgia Gerontology Society
Training and Events - Georgia Gerontology Society
Awards - Georgia Gerontology Society
Scholarships - Georgia Gerontology Society
Georgia Gerontology Society Photo Album
Links to Usefull information on Aging and Seniors in Georgia, USA
Contact Us - Georgia Gerontology Society

 
Georgia Gerontology Society - Member spotlight

Kay Hind
 Kay Hind is the Executive Director of the SOWEGA Council on Aging in Albany.
 
  
 See this article!

   Georgia Gerontology Society - Awards and award winners
    current (below)    |    GGS awards history    |    nominate someone


See if your educational institution has what it takes to win $400!
Click here for more information.


Nominate an Individual for a GGS Award

Do you know of an individual who is deserving of one of the GGS Annual Awards?  Please take the time to recognize those who do so much to advance the field of gerontology in Georgia.  GGS is now taking nominations for our nine annual awards.  Click here to learn more.

Nomination Form (PDF)

GGS Award Winners 2012
 

Virginia M. Smyth Scholarship: Erin Fisher, Georgia State University
Robert P. Wray Scholarship: Meagan Jain, Georgia State University
Elsie Alvis Award: Patricia Baker
John Tyler Mauldin Award: Commissioner Emma I. Darnell
Louis Newmark Award: Matthew Malok
Marietta Suhart Award: Evelyn Gay
David Levine Legislative Award: Rep. Sharon Cooper

Dan Hickman Award:

Carleton Coleman
                                                                                              Certificate of Merit:  Eleanor Pye, V. Lynn Joyner, Linda Hunter, Scott Courson



A History of the Georgia
Gerontology Society Awards


The Georgia Gerontology Society annually acknowledges the outstanding achievements of individuals in the field of Gerontology through the presentations of awards during its annual meeting and conference.

The Georgia Gerontology Society established an early tradition of recognizing significant achievement and contributions to the field of aging. Since 1966, the Annual Meeting and Conference has included an Awards Ceremony as a particular highlight. During the first years, awards were given in a variety of categories - Individual, Professional, Distinguished Service, and area of service. With the passage of time, the number and type of awards has become more established. Several awards have been named for individuals who have been significant to the Georgia Gerontology Society and to gerontology in the state of Georgia - John Tyler Mauldin, Elsie Alvis, Louis Newmark, Robert P. Wray, Marietta Suhart, Dan Hickman and David L. Levine.

As the Society celebrates its 56th Anniversary, the following awards are our standard:

 

The Elsie Alvis Award (Formally the Professional Award) is given to the outstanding professional in gerontology with a minimum of 15 years of service. The Award was first given in 1970 as a Professional Award and was named in honor of Elsie Alvis in 1980. This designation honors an early GGS member who received the Individual Award in 1966, the first year Awards were made. She served as the Director of the Governor's Commission on Aging, later the State Commission on Aging, beginning in 1960. She served well past the age of 70 and directed statewide study to develop Georgia's Story of Her Aging, published as the official Georgia report to the 1961 White House Conference on Aging.

PREVIOUS WINNERS
1970 - Mrs. Carolyn French / 1977 - Olga Spindell
1979 - Dr. Eugene Sherman / 1980 - Frank Whittington
1981 - Dr. David Levine / 1982 - Troy Bledsoe
1983 - Dorothy McArthur / 1984 - Judy Hagebak
1985 - Helen Conner / 1986 - Marietta Suhart
1987 - Dr. Jim Marshall / 1988 - Eve B. Levine
1989 - Diane Brin, RN / 1990 - Pam Buckmaster
1991 Gregory A. Foster, M.D. / 1992 - Ernestine Thompson
1993 - Harriet L. Cohen / 1994 - Barbara Payne-Stancil
1995 - Ellen Smith / 1996 - Linda Hampton
1997 - Joyce Horsley / 1998 - Deborah Sullivan
1999 - Margie Searcy / 2000 - Richard Meeks
2001 - Cathie Berger / 2002 - Jeanette Cummings
2003 - Kay Hind / 2004 - Maria Greene
2005 - Hunter Hurst / 2006 - Cliff Burt
2007 - Melanie McNeil / 2008 - Eve Byrd
2009 - Gail Thompson / 2010 - Kathy Keith
2011 - Jennie Deese / 2012 - Pat Baker


 


 

The John Tyler Mauldin Award is given to an older individual in Georgia who exemplifies a positive role model of outstanding Achievement in the field of Aging. First given to Dr. Mauldin in 1967 as the First Annual Outstanding Achievement Award, it was named for the first recipient the next year. Dr. Mauldin, a prominent Atlanta surgeon and also an early GGS activist, was appointed in 1959 to Chair the newly established
Governor's Commission on Aging, later the State Commission. He directed the planning of Georgia's participation in the 1961 White House Conference on Aging.

PREVIOUS WINNERS
1967 - Dr. John T. Mauldin / First Annual Outstanding Achievement Award
1968 - L.C. Butcher / John T. Mauldin Award
(formerly Annual Outstanding Achievement Award re-named for 1967 recipient)
1970 - Hugh Gaston / 1974 - Fred P. Manget
1976 - Cheryll Schramm / 1977 - James Thorson
1978 - Jeanne Bartle / 1979 - Ray Avant
1980 - Rep. Eleanor Richardson / 1981 - Camille Jeffers
1982 - State Senator Pierre Howard / 1983 - Virginia M. Smyth
1984 - Vita Ostrander / 1985 - Eleanor Richardson
1986 - Clara West / 1987 - Kay Hind
1988 - Dr. Wilbur Watson / 1989 - Julie Cohn
1991 Dr. Leonard W. Poon / 1992 Cheryll Schramm
1993 - Charlee Lambert / 1994 - Marion Fears
1995 - David L. Levine, Ph.D / 1996 - Virginia Zachert, Ph.D
1997 - Martha Eaves / 1998 - Margie Weaver
1999 - Meg Bradley / 2000 - Jack Brice
2001 - Dr. Barbara Pittard Payne Stencil / 2002 - Not Awarded
2003 - Dorothy Benson / 2004 - Ruth Crawford
2005 - Lithangia Robinson / 2006 - Melba Paulk
2007 - Shelby Lacy / 2008 - Linda Smith-Lowe
2009 - Ophelia Gaines / 2010 - Ann Williams
2011 - Gwen Knight / 2012 - Commissioner Emma I. Darnell


 


 

The Louis Newmark Award is presented to an individual providing at
least 10 years of service to aging, with particular attention to the Georgia
Gerontology Society. The Award was first given in 1982 to Louis
Newmark, the Society's first President, in recognition for his nearly three
decades of service to gerontology in Georgia and to the Society. Louis
Newmark also won several GGS Awards for his social service and service
to the Society and was the Society's historian for the first three decades of
its existence. He was also a founder of the Georgia Conference on Social
Welfare.

PREVIOUS WINNERS
1982 - Louis Newmark (new Award / 1st President, GGS)
1983 - Marian Glustrom / 1984 - Carolyn French
1985 - Sophia Deutschberger / 1986 - Jeanette Cummings
1987 - Betsy Styles / 1988 - Myron Dice
1989 - Virginia Griffin / 1990 - Annette McNaron
1991 - Pat A. Malone / 1992 - Kathryn D. Fowler
1993 - None Listed / 1994 - Ronald W. Schoeffler, Ed.D.
1995 - Barbara McBrayer-Brice / 1996 - Deborah Wilkinson
1997 - Kathleen Ernce / 1998 - Alan Goldman
1999 - Linda Garcia / 2000 - Barbara Rosenberg
2001 - Maureen Kelly / 2002 - Not Awarded
2003 - Cheryll Schramm / 2004 - Penny Medhurst
2005 - Pat Freeman / 2006 - Ken Mitchell
2007 - Patrice Earnest / 2008 - Cori Sackin
2009 - Walter Coffey / 2010 - Kay Hind
2011 - Wallace White / 2012 - Matthew Malok


 


 

The Marietta Suhart Award, established in 1993 shortly after Marietta's
death, is given to the individual with demonstrated ability to educate
para-professionals, professionals and other persons working with older
adults; proven leadership and vision in gerontology by
development/expansion of educational programs and services; and
recognized ability to touch as well as to teach learners. A long-time GGS
Board member, hard-working committee member, and enthusiastic
educator who fit the description of the Award established in her name,
Marietta Suhart was the Gerontology Specialist with the University of
Georgia Continuing Education program.

PREVIOUS WINNERS
1993 - Elizabeth A. McNeely, Ph.D / 1994 - Nancy P. Kropf, Ph.D
1995 - Nelson McGhee, Ph.D. / 1996 - Ellen Jaeger
1997 - Ruth Garrett, Ph.D / 1998 - Barbara Fraser
1999 - Mary MacKinnon / 2000 - Mary Ann Erlanger, Ph.D
2001 - Eleanor Crosby, Esq. / 2002 - Judith Stillion
2003 - Mary Ellen Quinn / 2004 - Barbara Karcher
2005 - Ginny Helms / 2006 - Allan Goldman
2007 - Stacey Kolomer, Ph.D / 2008 - Kim Raymond
2009 - Lois Ricci / 2010 - not awarded
2011 - Kim McRae / 2012 - Evelyn Gay


 


 

The Dan Hickman Award is presented to the person who has shown excellence in the profession of Care/Case Management and who exhibits leadership in the profession by providing exceptional direct services, training fellow Care Managers, and/or advocating for improvements in care management. The Award was established in 1998 and first
presented in 1999 in memory of Dan, who was the Community Care Services Program Manager with the Georgia Division of Aging Services. He helped to define case management as a profession in Georgia, and he exhibited great spirit, zest, and integrity in support of the profession.

PREVIOUS WINNERS
1999 - Nancy Morrison / 2000 - Catherine Ivy
2001 - No Submissions / 2002 - Judith Stillion
2003 - Gail Bechtel / 2004 - Nancy Harper
2005 - Juanita Benjamin / 2006 - Karen Bacheller
2007 - not awarded / 2008 - Shirley Miller
2009 - Adail Treharn / 2010 - Doris Clanton
2011 - Cara Pellino / 2012 - Carleton Coleman


 


 

The Robert P. Wray Student Scholarship Award is presented by the Student Affairs Committee through a process other than through membership nominations. Robert P. Wray was an active GGS member, a founder of numerous service programs in Pennsylvania and Georgia, and was the first Director of the University of Georgia Gerontology Center. He was first posthumously honored in 1989 by designation of the Wray Legislative Award. However, Society members quickly realized that this educator's memory would be best honored through naming of the annual gerontology scholarship award.

1991 - Roger Wayne Morrell, UGA / 1992 - Mary Ellen Dasgupta, MCG
1993 - David Boyle / 1994 - Sharon Jacobson
1995 - Lorrina Eastmann, UGA / 1996 - Christy McGuire, Georgia Tech
1997 - Sherry Cummings, UGA / 1998 - Kimberly Porter / 1999 - no applicants
2000 - Molly Perkins, Georgia State / 2001 - no applicants / 2002 - Mary Shotwell, Brenau
2003 - LeighAnna Allen / 2004 - no applicants
2005 - Michele Weber, Kennesaw State / 2006 - Benjamin Michael Anderson, UGA
2007 - Marianne Tomashefski, Kennesaw State / 2008 - Andrea Bessey, UGA
2009 - Rachel Newsome, Georgia Tech / 2010 - Lorri Bowers, Georgia State
2011 - no applicants


 


 

The Virginia Smyth Scholarship is presented annually to offer financial support to persons seeking to advance their careers in aging. The fund, established in 1998, provides scholarships for graduate study in gerontology and promotes leadership development in the field of aging to include a broad knowledge base, strong organizational skills and a vision for the future. The Scholarship was first awarded in 2004 and named for Virginia Smyth, a founding member of GGS and the spirit behind the establishment and endowment of the GGS Scholarship Fund.

2004 - Megan Yerke, UGA / 2005 - Michael Lepore, Georgia State
2006 - Teresa Velzy Bowers, Emory / 2007 - Jessica Alanna Kennedy, UGA
2008 - Desiree Seponski, UGA / 2009 - Melissa Denno, Mercer
2010 - Andrew Kelly, Georgia Tech / 2011 - Katie Porter, UGA



 

The David Levine Legislative Award, established in 1993, is given to the legislator who has sponsored or co-sponsored legislation that would improve the quality of life for older adults; has consistently supported aging issues; and has been willing to listen to the concerns of Georgia's elderly.  This award has now been named to honor Dr. David L. Levine, who devoted his adult life advocating for those who could not advocate for themselves.

PREVIOUS WINNERS
1991 - State Senator Cathey Steinberg / 1992 - Rep. Jim Martin
1993 - State Senator David Scott / 1994 - State Representative Tom Sherrill
1995 - State Senator Charles W. Walker
1996 - Fulton County Board of Commissioners / 1997 - State Senator Clay Land
1998 - State Representative Mike Polak
1999 - State Representative Terry Coleman
2000 - State Representative Ralph Twiggs
2001 - State Representative Georganna Sinkfield
2002 - State Representative Jack Connell / 2003 - State Senator Vincent Fort
2004 - State Senator Mary Margaret Oliver
2005 - State Representative Jeff Brown / 2006 - State Senator Renee Unterman
2007 - State Senators Eric Johnson, Jack Hill and Tommie Williams
2008 - State Representative Ed Rynders / 2009 - State Representative Len Walker
2010 - State Representative Jimmy Pruett / 2011 - Rep. Terry England
2012 - State Representative Sharon Cooper


 


 

Certificates of Merit  may also be chosen and presented, by the Awards Committee, to special individuals who deserve recognition because of achievement, service, exemplary living, and/or commitment to aging. The decision of the Awards Committee is final.

PREVIOUS WINNERS
1993 - Martha Eaves, Evelyn D. Gay and Virginia Zachert, Ph.D.
1994 - Martha Eaves and Richard Janus
1995 - Rosa White Messer and Martin Miller
1996 - Delores Ellison and Kathryn D. Fowler
1998 - Kay Stanford
1999 - Tina Edna Pulley and Pattie Peace
2001 - Val Archer, Lithangia Robinson and Dorothy C. Benson
2002 - Charlotte Petty, Tracy Wise, Addie Sims, Ginny Helms and Inez Robinson
2003 - Kathryn Fowler, Cliff Burt and Penny Medhurst
2004 - Cynthia Haley
2005 - Estelle Taberoff and Nancy Kriseman
2006 - Frank Boyd and Frances Beard
2007 - Sudha Reddy, Edna Garst, Barbara Karcher, Pam Matheson, Pam Breeden and Chris Williams
2008 - Arvine Brown, Angela Jones, Christine Lewis, Connie Lott and Billy Wooten
2009 - Linda Bailey, Monica Couch, Jennifer Crosby, Ruthie Lewis, LaTonya McNair and Joyce Tutt Cherry
2010 - Patricia King
2011 - Bridget Delaney


advocacy updates     |    training & events    |    member center     |    tell a friend about GGS     |    contact us

Georgia Gerontology Society, Inc.      |        P.O. Box 7905         Atlanta, Georgia 30357
administrator@georgiagerontologysociety.org     ŠAll Rights Reserved GGS 2008       706-296-9795