Group seeks nominees for a salute to seniors

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June Ekman of Elgin says her volunteer work is fulfilling and healthy. At 82, she still drives and invests about 40 hours per week at Senior Services. | Michael Smart~Sun-Times Media

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Nomination forms for a Salute to Senior Service are available at www.SalutetoSeniorService.com. Deadline is March 15.

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Updated: March 24, 2012 8:05AM

June Ekman of Elgin says her volunteer work is fulfilling and healthy. At 82, she still drives and invests about 40 hours per week at Senior Services Associates.

Through “Salute to Senior Service,” senior citizens such as Ekman are recognized for their volunteerism. Nominations for the honor, awarded by Home Instead Senior Care, will be accepted through March 15.

“I’ve been doing this almost 10 years,” said Ekman, who takes care of clerical tasks, mailings, bingo, trip coordination and more at Senior Services, 101 S. Grove Ave., and 205 Fulton St., both in downtown Elgin. “I like helping people and answering all the questions they have.”

Salute to Senior Service garners nominations for outstanding senior volunteers in all 50 states. The awards will be announced during May, which the organization recognizes as Older Americans Month. Nominees must be 65 years of age and volunteer a minimum of 15 hours per month. A winner from each state will be selected, and a national winner will receive a $5,000 donation to his or her chosen charity.

Ekman is at the Senior Services center Monday through Friday, she says. Volunteering has long been part of her life; she’s also helped with Easter Seals and planted daffodils at Walton Islands, she said. Sometimes, her contributions help the center reduce labor costs. When an employee at Senior Services fell ill, Ekman took over many of her tasks, said co-volunteer Gordi Albright of Elgin.

“June is the No. 1 gal over there,” said Albright. “She keeps it so they don’t have to hire another member of the office staff.”

Albright, 77, puts in about 20 hours per week volunteering at Senior Services. He helps with bingo, the newsletter, mailings and transportation. In 1997, he retired from a 38-year career at Beck Office Supplies and said his volunteer work is a positive part of his life.

“Volunteering makes you feel more adequate about yourself,” he said. Albright is also active at Cornerstone United Methodist Church in Plato Center, where he leads the usher team and transports the church’s members. He’s worked with the Salvation Army and came on board at Senior Services about six years ago.

“We have a lot of fun,” he said. “There’s line dancing, crafts, games, and it’s a real active place with a lot of nice people.”

Ekman, who spent years as a farmer and then factory worker, said volunteering is a joy she discovered after caring for her ill mother round the clock, seven days per week, for 10 years.

“On rainy days when I couldn’t work outside restoring my house, I’d go to the senior center,” she said. “And I’ve been there ever since.”

Home Instead Senior Care is a network of locally owned franchises providing home care for seniors. Nomination forms and more information about Salute to Senior Service are at www.SalutetoSeniorService.com.