LEWISTON, ME – Kathy Brooks of Greene was honored at the June 30 annual meeting of SeniorsPlus with the presentation of the 2025 Margaret Ross Award. Brooks was honored for more than four years of volunteerism at SeniorsPlus, including 367 hours last year alone. The award, presented annually, recognizes an individual who has made significant contributions to the agency and the larger community. SeniorsPlus is the designated Area Agency on Aging focusing on Androscoggin, Franklin and Oxford counties.

Brooks is an administrative volunteer in the agency’s Lewiston office, working three days a week answering phone calls, directing clients, and doing anything asked of her. She is also a SeniorsPlus ambassador to the town of Greene. She uses agency statistics and facts to make the case for municipal support. She has garnered support from the town through her attendance at town meetings. Beyond her work on behalf of SeniorsPlus, Brooks finds time to volunteer at the polls in her community.

“Kathy truly embodies the spirit of the Margaret Ross Award, giving of her time to not only SeniorsPlus but to her town as well,” said Betsy Sawyer-Manter, President and CEO of SeniorsPlus. “She is an incredible asset to SeniorsPlus, and we would love to clone her many times over.”

Since 1972, SeniorsPlus has been improving the lives of older adults and adults with disabilities. As the designated Area Agency on Aging for Western Maine, SeniorsPlus provides statewide services with an emphasis on Androscoggin, Franklin and Oxford counties for core services (i.e. nutrition and information and assistance) that support independent living, healthy aging, and fight isolation. The overall program goal of SeniorsPlus is to assist older people and adults with disabilities in its tri-county area to remain safely at home for as long as possible. The mission of SeniorsPlus is to enrich the lives of older people and adults with disabilities, their families and communities, and to support them to make informed choices. SeniorsPlus envisions a future where all older adults and individuals with disabilities are engaged and respected while living quality, independent lives in the communities of their choice. Annually, SeniorsPlus serves almost 8,000 individuals and fielded 101,000 phone inquiries.

Holly Zielinski, outgoing Board Chair, left, congratulates Kathy Brooks, the recipient of the 2025 Margaret Ross Award for volunteerism at SeniorsPlus, Western Maine’s designated Area Agency on Aging.