Older Persons Action Group will hold its annual membership meeting Nov. 15 in Anchorage, at the Anchorage Senior Activity Center, 1300 E. 19th Ave. The board business meeting starts at 11 a.m., followed immediately by the membership meeting, with refreshments and live country and western music by Frank Jerue and the Stomping Moccasins. RSVP requested.

Candidates for board of director officers are:

President: Yvonne M. Chase

Vice President: Pam Yeargan

Treasurer: Leonard T. Kelley

Secretary: Jan Carolyn Hardy

Call 276-1059 or 1-800-478-1059 to RSVP or for more information.

Senior Voice wins awards

Senior Voice has been recognized again for excellence, winning four awards recently in the annual contest sponsored by the North American Mature Publishers Association (NAMPA), a nationwide network of publishers focusing on boomer and senior readers.

Contest entries were judged by faculty at the School of Journalism, University of Missouri, in Columbia, Missouri, who gave awards in categories based on the circulation size of the publication. Senior Voice entries competed in Division A, for circulations below 25,000.

Senior Voice won for “Most Improved Publication,” with judges noting the change in the cover format and other style changes that “give Senior Voice punch” and “add a feel of strong organization to the publication.” Anchorage graphic designer Anne Bacinski, of Spin.Space LLC, collaborated with Senior Voice Editor David Washburn on the makeover.

For the second consecutive year, monthly contributor Kenneth Kirk took a first place award in the “Senior Issues” category for his legal advice articles.

In the “How-to article” category, contributor Leslie Shallcross won a second place award for her article, “Preserving Summer’s Bounty: How to Make Your Own Jerky.” Judges wrote: “Shallcross’ writing makes it seems like fun to attempt this process of food preservation, with special attention to food safety. It’s a fun and interesting read.”

Shallcross, along with Kenneth Kirk, has won awards for Senior Voice articles in the past, including the Mature Media Awards earlier this year.

Finally, Senior Voice took first place in the special sections category for its 2018 Health and Fitness section. This section appears in the publication each January. Judges wrote, “This section is filled with articles about nutrition, fitness and health treatments available to seniors as well as encouraging participating in ways to improve their overall lives. Dianne Barske’s article about the Senior Center Without Walls lets folks know about a program that could easily be created in other communities.”

Senior Voice is a publication of Older Persons Action Group, Inc., an Alaska nonprofit organization that serves Alaska seniors and their families. OPAG has been publishing Senior Voice for 40 years and is partially funded by a grant administered through the Alaska Dept. of Health and Social Services.

Editor David Washburn accepted award certificates during a ceremony at the annual NAMPA conference in Orlando, Florida, in October.