Volunteers at the Shepherd’s Center of Northern Virginia aid local seniors year-round, enabling them to stay autonomous and independent while strengthening their human connections.
The center’s volunteers in 2023 provided more than 2,100 free rides to people needing to go to medical appointments or grocery stores, said board chairman W. Scott Schroth during an April 25 awards luncheon in Tysons.
“You make us what we are,” Executive Director Carolyn Pennington told the assembled volunteers.
Pennington told of one of the center’s clients, a man named Norman, who is 85-percent legally blind and benefits from being driven to various locations by Shepherd’s Center volunteers.
“He said we’d given him a new leas on life,” Pennington said. “He’s absolutely thrilled not to be a burden on his family.”
Shepherd’s Center leaders bestowed the following awards:
• Service Pin Awards went to Tim Dodd, Annamarie Mariani-Huehn, Sally Bryan-Prell, Kris Miller, Jill Miller, Jack Roney, Alexandra Sullivan, Pauline Solomita, Patrick Tansey and Doug White.
• Town of Vienna Awards were given to Peggy Coleman, Larry Gibson, Margaret Davenport and Marsha Komandt.
• 500-Plus Hours awardees were Jean Bastien, Wolf Scherer and Jayne Young.
• The Ed Lowry Award went to Michael Mulreany.
• New board members Tim Dodd, Annamarie Mariani-Huehn and Alexandra Sullivan also received recognition.
Elected officials who attended the luncheon praised the Shepherd’s Center for its work.
“We live in such a caring community,” said Vienna Mayor Linda Colbert.
“The great thing about this organization is you are doing so much to meet the needs of your neighbors and our neighbors in the community,” said Supervisor Walter Alcorn (D-Hunter Mill).
“The idea of trying to connect people who do drive with those who don’t, and making sure that seniors are not living in isolation, is so important,” said Supervisor Jimmy Bierman (D-Dranesville).
Del. Holly Seibold (D-Vienna-Tysons) urged those present to press the General Assembly about their challenges by lobbying either in person in Richmond or remotely. “We do not hear enough from people who have boots on the ground,” she said.
U.S. Rep. Gerald Connolly (D-11th) noted that as Fairfax County morphed from a rural area into a suburban community, its housing aimed to meet the needs of young families.
“We never built for an aging population,” Connolly said, adding that the county is catching up by building senior housing or retrofitting existing buildings for that purpose. “Seniors are the fastest-growing demographic in Fairfax County – and we vote.”
After feasting on a variety of Italian dishes by Maggiano’s Little Italy in Tysons Galleria, where the event was held, attendees took part in a trivia contest with Tom Kyllo of Vienna’s Hawk & Griffin pub serving as master of ceremonies.
While it lost in the tie-breaker round on a question concerning the exact length of the doomed liner Titanic (882 feet 9 inches), the team at Schroth’s table positively crushed a quiz chart on various human bones. Schroth, a medical doctor, was our ringer.
