Staff Report

YOUNGSTOWN — Area residents were honored for their service to senior citizens with 2019 Valley Legacy Awards.

Danielle L. Procopio, corporate director of marketing, sales and communication for Shepherd of the Valley, said 17 individuals were nominated as outstanding senior and senior advocate nominees from Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties, and six were awarded the Valley Legacy Award.

This year’s honorees for Outstanding Senior Award for Community Achievement were Keith E. Bowser of Champion, Leo H. Connelly Jr. of Youngstown and Trudie Rose-McCoy of North Jackson

Outstanding Senior Award for Professional Excellence was Joyce Brooks of Canfield.

Outstanding Senior Advocates were Shirley Millerleile of Girard and Moses Murphy of Poland.

The Cliff C. and Lillie W. Johnson Memorial Award for Time Service to the Community was presented to the late Charles Darling, formerly of Youngstown.

Here’s a closer look at the recipients:

l Bowser learned service at a young age. He has served Trumbull Mobile Meals for 34 years, has been a Knight of Columbus for the last 37 years, gives more than 160 hours each year to the Italian-American festival, is a two-time president of the Champion Kiwanis Club, is an active member of St. William’s Parish, a volunteer with the Fairhaven Workshop, a regular Red Cross blood donor and has served Champion as a township trustee for eight years.

l Brooks, a Mahoning County educator, served in various leadership capacities throughout her career. She was named a Jennings Scholar for teaching excellence. She served as a teacher and administrator. She also has held many leadership positions in many educational associations. She has trained hundreds of teachers in Mahoning County and the surrounding area. She has been a mentor to administrators in all fields of education.

l Connelly spends each day taking care of veterans and their families. As a Purple Heart veteran, he was inducted into the Ohio Military Hall of Fame for Valor. He was instrumental in the dedication of the Women Veterans Memorial Bridges as well as starting the Disabled American Veterans Post 2 in Austintown. He has raised more than $18,000 for Toys for Tots and developed a Purple Star Room at Fitch High School. He also worked with businesses to provide safe housing rehabilitation for a 92-year-old World War II veteran who was living in a condemned house.

l McCoy’s mother in 2013 lost her fight with Alzheimer ‘s disease. In order to keep her mother’s memory alive and give back to others suffering from Alzheimer’s, McCoy began a Christmas gift drive called Opal’s Spirit of Giving. She partners with activity directors at local nursing home to identify long-term residents with dementia. She works with community members to collect holiday gifts to deliver to them. Since 2013, she had delivered hundreds of gifts to and plans to continue doing so until a cure for Alzheimer’s is found.

l Millerleile works as an advocate for senior programming ranging from home health to adult day care to meals and transportation services for seniors. She has helped with passing senior levies, written successful grants to secure funding and spoke with legislators to lobby for fair reimbursement and programming support. Once her husband received a degenerative neurological diagnosis, she spoke with legislators as a professional and as a caregiver to advocate for greater support and community programming.

l Murphy, during the 16 years he has worked in his current job, has helped hundreds of senior veterans access the benefits that are available to them. Through his efforts, he has brought more than $10 million in benefits to the veterans and their dependents in Mahoning County. A nationally accredited veterans service officer, he is a lifelong member of AMVETS and a critical member of the team at the Mahoning County Veterans Service Commission. He spends his days assisting families and helps in providing resources to a veteran.

l Darling, who is deceased, served in the U.S. Army as a medical technician. After leaving the military, he earned a master’s degree in history from Ohio University and later received additional training at Penn State and The Ohio State University. He served as department chairman of social studies at Springfield Local Schools. Before joining the history department at YSU, he taught classes at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. He retired in 1995 as professor emeritus of history. His well-known “Folk Festival Show” on WYSU radio celebrated its 48th season in 2018. He was also president of the Youngstown Torch Club, which he joined in the early 1970s. On his passing, he also left a $2.2 million gift to establish an endowed faculty position at YSU.

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