- May 2, 2024
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Award Winners from left to right: Front: Sonia Byrne, Thomas Corum, Jo Ann Smerdon and Terry Jones Back: Mark Carman, Kathy Winner, David Palmes, Bill Tol and Deborah Susswein
City Council member Bill McGuire reads the National Senior Citizens Day Proclamation from 1988.
Palm Coast Precinct Senior Commander Mark Carman nominated Major Sonia Byrne.
Kathy Winner nominated award winner Thomas Corum.
Award winner Jo Ann Smerdon , owner of Kritters animal sanctuary with co-owner David Palmes.
In honor of all senior citizens in the United States, Aug. 21 is celebrated as National Senior Citizen Day. The day is to honor senior citizens throughout the United States who have made a positive contribution to their communities. Closer to home, Deborah Susswein arranged an awards ceremony to give recognition to some of Flagler County’s most outstanding senior citizens.
The awards ceremony was held at Florida Hospital Flagler on Aug. 21 and was sponsored by the Florida Hospital Flagler Foundation. The 2015 National Senior Citizen Day awards were given to Sonia Byrne, Thomas Corum and Jo Ann Smerdon. An award was also presented to Friends of the Library President Terry Jones in honor of Sandra Rose Friedman, as well as an award in honor of the late Dr. John Canakaris to his surviving spouse, Georgia Canakaris.
Susswein got the inspiration to honor our community’s senior citizens from the Santa Fe Living Treasures program. Mary Lou Cook founded the program in 1984 to express gratitude for the contributions of our nation’s elders.
“We set a great example for the younger generations,” Jo Ann Smerdon said. “We show them they are never too old to accomplish your dreams. You can do anything you set your mind to.”
Smerdon, owner of Kritters animal sanctuary, dedicates her life to the animals at her shelter. Her goal is to give unfortunate animals who have been abandoned a sanctuary to live a long and healthy life.
Award winner Thomas Corum is on the executive committee for the Palm Coast Arts Foundation. His long-term vision for the community as well as his optimism continues to benefit the Arts Foundation. Corum has been a resident of Palm Coast since August 1992.
Sonia Byrne has been a loved volunteer for the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office for 13 years. Within that time, she has volunteered for 27,000 hours. Her duties within law enforcement are a great contribution to the community. She was nominated by Senior Cmdr. Mark Carman, who looks to Byrne as a second mother.
“She makes the precinct feel more like a home than a place of business,” Carman said.
The Senior Citizen Awards ceremony is the first of many events to come. Susswein expects to hold an annual event honoring Flagler County’s senior citizens once a year on National Senior Citizen Day.
