AARP Oklahoma Honors Volunteers' Outstanding Community Service in 2023 Andrus Awards and Volunteer Celebration

AARP Oklahoma's 2023 Andrus Awards and Volunteer Celebration virtually honored Oklahomans age 50-plus for their dedicated volunteer work across the state. The Andrus Award for Community Service is named in honor of AARP founder Dr. Ethel Percy Andrus and is the highest honor presented by AARP.

Watch the virtual celebration HERE

The 2023 AARP Oklahoma Andrus Award was presented to Elizabeth Reeve of Oklahoma City for her extensive community service and advocacy work for Oklahomans aged 50-plus. As the Andrus Award honoree, Reeve, received a $3,000 contribution which AARP will donate to Reeve’s nonprofit organization of choice, The Resting Place.

 Reeve is described as someone who identifies a need in her community and chooses to take action. She received the Presidential Volunteer Service Lifetime Achievement Award, which honors those who have completed more than 4,000 community service hours. Reeve volunteers at the food bank and the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon, helps children learn to read, and fosters cats. She also helped create multiple nonprofits, including a veterans shelter and a cat foster program. Reeves received many honors for her community service, including the Cherokee Nation Seven Service award and the National Miss Spirit of Celebrations USA title.

Two other Oklahomans were honored for their volunteer work and named as AARP Oklahoma honorees of distinction. Those honored include Mary Blankenship Pointer of Oklahoma City and Gaylene Stiles of Bethany.

Blankenship Pointer's philanthropic work and reach are expansive, as she serves on more than one dozen local, state, national, and international boards. Pointer works with organizations such as the American Lung Association, American Cancer Society, Arts Council Leadership Council, Catholic Charities, and the FBI Citizen's Academy Graduate Board of Directors. Her community service has garnered dozens of awards, including the President's Call to Service Award, which recognizes a lifetime achievement for volunteerism over 10,000 hours. Blankenship Pointer uses her connections to improve her community and the quality of life for those in Oklahoma and beyond.

Gaylene Stiles is recognized for her efforts to reduce isolation and loneliness by creating new learning opportunities as a volunteer with VillagesOKC. She succeeded. Attendees gave the courses Stiles spearheaded a 97 percent satisfaction rate. Stiles is described as an individual whose creativity energizes and becomes a magnet for others.

AARP will donate $1,000 to each of the two honorees' nonprofit organizations of choice in honor of their work. Blankenship Pointer selected Prevent Blindness and Stiles chose VillagesOKC.

The virtual celebration also recognized volunteers and staff from Drivers Safety, Tax-Aide, the Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) and the Oklahoma Retired Educators Association (ORTA). Local chapters were honored with AARP Chapters of Excellence awards.

- Drivers Safety Volunteer of the Year: Hank Varacchi of Edmond

- Tax-Aide Volunteer of the Year: Robert Hindman of Bartlesville

- ORTA Volunteer of the Year: Brenda Yirsa of Nowata

- AARP Chapters of Excellence: Pittsburg County, Northeast Oklahoma City, and Ardmore chapters

Longtime AARP and community volunteer John Palinsky of Oklahoma City received the AARP Oklahoma Legacy Award. He became an AARP Driver Safety volunteer 15 years ago and became the AARP Oklahoma State Coordinator for Drivers Safety in 2017. Under his leadership, the program thrived even during uncertain times during the pandemic.

AARP Oklahoma State Director Sean Voskuhl praised the volunteers' selfless work and called it invaluable and meaningful. "You are each everyday heroes, and we sincerely thank you for your continued involvement in AARP's mission to empower people to choose how they live as they age," he said.