Lieutenant Governor’s Senior Service Award

The Lieutenant Governor’s Senior Service Award is intended to promote and highlight the positive accomplishments Missouri’s senior citizens provide their local communities.

Congratulations to Bradley Lehmann for being nominated and receiving the Lieutenants Governor’s Senior Service Award.

Angela Weis, Aging Ahead’s Affton Senior Center Administrator nominated Bradley Lehmann with the following letter:

To Whom It May Concern,
            At the Affton Senior Center of Aging Ahead we pride ourselves in service and support for our community. Our main goals are providing excellent nutrition for the senior diet as well as fighting isolation which is often worse for senior health than a multitude of other health issues. Our meals on wheels program is one of the best in the area and throughout Missouri serving 2909 seniors a day from all of our centers. Our volunteers are an extension of our center and Bradley Lehmann is one of our best and serves a third of the homebound seniors that this center serves. For over a decade, we have been humbled by the dedication and kindness shown by Mr. Lehmann to our volunteers, staff, and most importantly, our seniors.
            Mr. Lehmann goes above and beyond what we ask of our volunteers. He logs approximately 100 hours per fiscal year in volunteer time with his regular route plus any additional route he picks up on a weekly basis. Mr. Lehmann’s routes are usually double the amount of deliveries compared to any other driver. We can also count on Mr. Lehmann picking up a route when another driver has to cancel or doesn’t show up. Never once have I heard him complain or express frustration with regards to the work load he carries and the responsibility we put on him.
            Mr. Lehmann knows every delivery by name as well as goes above and beyond to make sure his deliveries feel appreciated. On his own time, he has brought needed medical equipment like walkers to his seniors homes when he saw them struggling. In one case, a client who is very isolated has trouble keeping up with the days of the week. He established a system for her with small manila envelopes. He regularly gives her envelopes and has her lay five envelops out for each week. When the deliveries arrive she is able to put whatever donation she wants to give into the envelope and then she knows one day has passed. While this is seemingly simple and often overlooked at the macro scale, this small act of thoughtfulness brought comfort and stability to a homebound senior in the area.
            Another example of his dedication to the community and the homebound seniors we deliver to involves a water heater. In this particular case, a senior expressed frustration over how stressful her situation was because her water heater was out and she didn’t know how to move forward. He paused his route, which already takes an hour and a half of his day, and looked up the information on her water heater, made the appointment for her, and followed up to make sure it was installed properly. For these isolated people a follow up and a smile mean so much. Finally, sometimes with our seniors, we lose them to illness or old age. Even in these cases Mr. Lehmann will respectfully attend their funeral for support and to celebrate the life of the senior with their family.
            Most of the time when I receive calls about our deliveries or our volunteers they are referred to as “the Wednesday person” or the tall guy. Anytime I receive a call regarding Mr. Lehmann they always refer to him on a first name basis as well as to tell me that his delivery days are such a bright spot in their lives.
            There is no way for me to fully express the amount of gratitude and pride I have in Mr. Lehmann and would like to nominate him for the Lieutenant Governor’s Senior Service Award.