Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Chamber Honors Senior Center
LYNN HUSSELL CHOSEN AS CITIZEN OF THE YEAR
PRAIRIE GROVE — The Prairie Grove Chamber of Commerce closes out each year with good food, good music and a good opportunity to recognize outstanding members of the community.
For 2012, the Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year is Lynn Hussell and the Chamber Business of the Year is the Prairie Grove Senior Activity Center.
The awards were presented Dec. 3 during the chamber’s annual banquet at Prairie Grove High School. The high school’s Tiger Honor Choir, under the direction of music teacher Katie Young, entertained the group with Christmas selections.
Chamber officers for 2012 will be President Dale Reed, Vice President Paula Ditmar and Sandy Keeney as secretary/treasurer.
“Our citizen of the year is a woman who has time and time again shown her volunteer spirit in the community and her giving heart,” said Larry Oelrich in presenting the Citizen of the Year award, though Hussell was not able to attend the dinner to accept her award.
Hussell grew up in Prairie Grove and graduated from the high school in 1956. She left Prairie Grove and worked in the Washington, D.C., area for many years, working first for the FBI and then as a legal secretary at a Washington, D.C., law firm.
Hussell retired and she and her husband, Boone, returned to live in Prairie Grove.
Since retiring, Hussell has remained busy, volunteering in the community and helping anyone who needs help, Oelrich said.
She has volunteered for the Prairie Grove Library, worked with the Friends of the Library, spent many years volunteering in the Prairie Grove schools and has volunteered countless hours at Life Ministries.
Hussell is a fixture at the monthly chamber meetings and helps prepare the Chamber’s noon meals along with the Women’s Federated Club. She also was instrumental in
establishing the Billy Maxey Foundation in honor of her late brother. This foundation sponsors a college scholarship each year for a Prairie Grove graduate.
The Business of the Year award was presented to senior center Director Linda Willkie on behalf of the activity center.
Oelich gave a brief history of the center, noting senior citizens started meeting at First Presbyterian Church in the 1970s. The effort to provide the seniors with their own building began in 1994.
The current building was made possible because of the joint efforts of the city, the school district, the Area Agency on Aging, the Washington County Sheriff ’s Office and many volunteers from throughout the community.
“The senior center’s mission and main functions are to make sure seniors stay active and hopefully independent,” Oelrich said. “By providing transportation, social interaction and nourishment, they are integral to keeping many seniors out of nursing homes and remaining in their own homes.”
The center serves 24 clients through its Meals on Wheels progam and delivers more than 6,000 meals per year to seniors in the area. The center raises much of its own income and is active with multiple fundraisers throughout the year. Funds also are raised through regional events, such as the Clothesline Fair, Hogeye Marathon and Bikes, Blues & BBQ.
For 2012, the center has been certified as a senior wellness center by the Arkansas Department of Human Services.
Oelrich recognized Willkie, who has served as center director for four years.
“She has strived to increase activities, increase usage and deliver services to the community’s seniors,” Oelrich said.
After the banquet, Willkie said the senior center is an important part of the community.
“It’s not a nursing home,” Willkie said. “It’s a place people can come and feel safe.”
She said the success of the senior center is a combination of the center, community and school district working together.
“The community has been a great support for us and I couldn’t ask for a better school district than the Prairie Grove School District. It’s a win-win situation for all of us,” Willkie said.