The Solon Senior of the Year Nominating Committee is now accepting nominations for the 18th annual award. Nomination forms must be received by Wednesday, March 13, 2024. The Solon Senior Advocates established the award in 2006. The Solon Senior of the Year is a senior citizen from the Solon area who has shared their expertise, time, and effort as a volunteer in the community, including programs and activities that benefit the lives of our seniors.
The nominating committee will make recommendations to the Solon Senior Advocates Board, and the Board will select the recipient. The recipient will be recognized at a meeting of the Solon City Council and during the annual Beef Days parade.
Nomination forms are available at Solon City Hall, Solon Public library and Solon Post Office. Please contact Pat Ikan, Nomination Committee chairperson for more information or a nomination form at P.O. Box 148, Solon, IA 52333, [email protected] or (319) 624-2643.
Eligibility Criteria
1. The nominee must be at least 65 years of age, by May 1 of the year in which they are nominated.
2. The nominee must be a resident of the Solon area, but not necessarily of the town itself. They must live within the Solon School District unless the bulk of their service has been done within the Solon area.
3. The nominee’s record of service to the community should be based on voluntary efforts and not for work done as a paid employee or an elected official.
Selection Criteria
1. The nomination form should describe the details of the nominee’s volunteer work: length of service, approximate number of people impacted by the service, and the variety of service activities in which they were involved. Special attention should be drawn to leadership roles the individual has taken on.
2. Monetary contributions to community projects by the nominee will not be considered.
3. Work done for pay as an employee will not be considered. The nominee need not be retired.
4. The nominee must still be living; the award will not be given posthumously.
5. The nominee should have been a resident of the Solon area for at least the last five years.
The Solon Senior Advocates recognized Jack Neuzil as the first Solon Senior of the Year in 2006. The next recipients were Wayne Croy 2007, Milt Hunt 2008, Pat Ikan 2009, Marie Kroul 2010, Bev Noska and Elaine Reynolds 2011, Anna McAtee 2012, Jean and Bob Stinocher 2013, Fred Bark and Rita Brannaman 2014, Don Erusha and Marv Stastny 2015, Larry and Marcy Olson 2016, Jeanne Erhart and Phyllis Fiala 2017, Dave Frisbee and Duane McAtee 2018, Sandy Hanson 2019, Judy Shulista 2020, Kris Brown 2021, Larry Meister 2022 and Don Ellis in 2023.
In 2018 Solon Senior Advocates created the Solon Senior of the Year Nominating Committee made up of past Solon Senior of the Year recipients. The nominating committee first made recommendations for the 2019 annual award and, with the approval of the Senior Advocates, formalized the eligibility and selection criteria. Current committee members are Rita Brannaman, Jeanne Erhart, Phyllis Fiala, Dave Frisbie, Pat Ikan, Larry Meister and Marcy Olson.