In 2024 Jean Saunders was recognized for her work with Age Friendly Saco by being awarded the Patricia Oh Leadership award for her leadership advocating for age-friendly communities statewide and her encouragement for volunteers in other communities to “just do it! This award was created to recognize an individual or community that has shown exemplary work in making Maine a better place for all ages to live.
Douglas O. Wilson Rising Tide Leadership Award
2024 Jean Saunders recently received the Douglas O. Wilson Rising Tide Leadership Award, awarded in partnership with Southern Maine Agency on Aging and Community Health Options, this award recognizes and celebrates the sustained efforts of people who lift and inspire others to implement innovative solutions to challenges faced by older Mainers through collaborative partnerships, shared leadership and/or community building initiatives.
For nearly a decade, Jean Saunders has inspired hundreds of volunteers to take impressive action to build one of Maine’s most advanced and effective lifelong communities, Age Friendly Saco, making it possible for older people to remain in Saco as they age. She has been a tireless mentor to so many other community leaders starting in or struggling with this work. She is relentless in her efforts to build effective partnerships to implement solutions to thorny problems like housing and transportation. We honor her for her vision and tenacity in helping to establish a home sharing program in Maine, Nesterly. Whether helping older people access the beach or use technology to stay safer at home, she has inspired us all by showing us what’s possible.
6/3/2024 Lifelong Maine Conference
