Mystic Valley Elder Services Honors 11 Residents Making a Difference

Joanne Wooldridge, pictured on the right, receives Mystic Valley Elder Services’ Community All-Star Award. At left is award presenter Michele Clopper, a Mystic Valley Board member.
Reading, MA — Mystic Valley Elder Services is proud to announce that Joanne Wooldridge received the nonprofit agency’s Community All-Star Award. The awards program recognizes individuals whose efforts impact the lives of older adults and people with disabilities.
Mystic Valley Elder Services (Mystic Valley) named 11 people as All-Stars, one for each of the communities the organization serves. Wooldridge received the award for Reading.
“Our community has been integral to the growth of our agency over the past 50 years. It seemed fitting to celebrate our milestone by honoring people who enrich the lives of older adults and adults with disabilities,” said Lisa Gurgone, Chief Executive Officer.
Joanne Wooldridge co‑founded the Reading Neighbors Network and currently serves as President of Friends of Reading Seniors 60 Plus, a 501(c)(3) she helped establish. She has served on the Reading Council on Aging and the Board of North Shore Elder Services, and spent ten years as a volunteer health insurance counselor with Mystic Valley Elder Services’ SHINE Program. Wooldridge is a retired MGH nurse and founder of Mass General PrimeCare, MGH’s Geriatric Care Management practice.
Mystic Valley presented the awards on June 4 at its Legacy50 Summit, an event that served as a fundraiser and a celebration of the agency’s 50th anniversary.
The other recipients are Rosemary Ardagna (Medford), Susan Becker (Melrose), Anthony Carbone (Everett), Gene Ferullo (Stoneham), Mary Ellen Keough (Winthrop), Janis Mamayek (Wakefield), William Reedy (Revere), Julio Salado (Malden), Roberta Sanchez (North Reading), and Giovanny Zuniga (Chelsea).
Mystic Valley invited the public to nominate Community All-Stars, with the goal of spotlighting individuals whose outstanding contributions help build age-friendly and disability-positive communities. Members of Mystic Valley’s Development Committee had the difficult task of selecting the 11 winners.
Visit www.mves.org/community-all-star-awards for more about Wooldridge and the other award winners.

