Position: Outstanding Caregiver Organization: Oasis In-Home Care

Senior client, Patricia Chapman, shares her experience: “When my husband came home on hospice, it was very difficult for me, as well as all our children and grandchildren. I was so afraid to leave his side; I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t eat.” Many families experience this type of worry when their loved one is placed on hospice. In Patricia’s case, however, she wasn’t alone. She had outstanding caregiver, Karin Malone, who recently assisted Patricia during the difficult passing of her ...

Position: Social Worker Organization: Leisure World, Seal Beach

As a Medical Social Worker for several hospice companies over the course of seventeen years, Cynthia had the opportunity to be a part of a person’s last journey. She told us, "It's been a humble experience, as I had been allowed to walk with the patient and family during this sacred time. During my work as a hospice Social Worker, I discovered that I enjoyed working with the senior population, providing grief and loss counseling and finding resources for those that I was serving."

Position: Nurse Case Manager / Discharge Planner Organization: Placentia Linda Hospital

Fran Newhouse was borne to Basque/Spanish immigrant parents and live for her first 21 years on her family’s sheep ranch in the hills of Brea. Growing up on the ranch, she was encouraged to be independent and self-reliant, and to care and provide for others (which included the animals as well). "It is where it began for me, and I am thankful for the family that I came from," she said.

Position: Senior Medical Director Organization: Vitas Healthcare

Dr. Rajaram is Vitas's rock star! He is known throughout the senior healthcare community; when he walks into a senior community or facility, he is always greeted with hugs and excitement. People respond to his sincerity, softspokenness, humility, and kindness. He loves writing poetry for the Vitas staff and he is always the first one to sign up for the monthly in-office meditation class. Always humble, when interviewed about his work and achievements, after answering the questions, he ended the conversation with this focus: "The two most important things are love and gratitude. GRATITUDE. Gratitude for patients and families for allowing us to provide care at the end of life. Gratitude for the physicians, nurses, chaplains, social workers, hospice aides and office/field staff who make a difference every day by providing quality end of life care. Gratitude for senior management colleagues for having vision, patience, and wisdom to take us further. LOVE. I get so much love from everyone in the organization to help me be grounded and to receive their kindness. Same as the love that I can offer when I find a colleague who is struggling and in need of a kind word. There is so much love and gratitude in us, and around us, to ground us." From the Vitas Staff: Dr. Rajaram, we love you and are so grateful for you in our lives!

Position: Executive Director Organization: Senior Center in Central Park

Randy has made an impact in the senior community more than anyone could imagine. As an Executive Director of the Huntington beach senior center he has helped countless of seniors in the area. As only few people know, he was in charge of securing funds and programs to build the brand-new state of the art Huntington Beach Senior center. This took more than a decade to come to fruition, but he did it.

Position: Owner, CLPF, NCG, CSA Organization: Elite Fiduciary Services

Years ago, Elaine Watrous was asked by her father to be the family Trustee. Not knowing what that would entail, Elaine inquired with a local law firm so she could be well educated and prepared. The law firm got to know Elaine and realized she had an accounting degree and connected with the seniors so well that they hired her to manage their Trust Administration Department.

Position: Creator Organization: The Voice of Parkinson's

David was blindsided by his diagnosis over 5 years ago and was not given much information about the disease, treatment, or symptoms. He retreated home depressed until he was inspired to OWN IT! He used his humor to motivate himself to do hours and hours of self-research. He contacted hundreds of medical universities, neurologists, and clinics to compose his now famous list of Parkinson's symptoms which has hundreds of common symptoms on it.

Position: Community Volunteer Organization: Alzheimer's Orange County

As a WWII veteran who proudly served our country, Bill is a member of the Association of Naval Aviators, where he has made a presentation, and he also had a long history of volunteering as a Docent at the Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, and at Lyon Air Museum, which houses the largest private collection of aircraft, cars and WWII memorabilia. In this setting, he serves as a docent and has led hundreds of tours, which he personalizes by sharing his own experiences in WWII. For the past several years, Alzheimer's Orange County has brought groups of people with memory loss (many of whom are vets) to the museum for tours given by Bill which are especially tailored to their needs.

Position: President/CEO Organization: Atnip Co., Inc

Dick and Joan got married March 21, 1959, after knowing each other for just 10 days. She was 19 and he was 21. They drove from Napa Valley to Nevada to get married. They arrived at a chapel at 6 AM. Dick only had $2 in his pocket and the cost of a wedding was $6. Dick offered his watch in exchange. After refusing six times, the seventh time was a charm and the man at the chapel accepted his watch and said, "Okay, Let's get married now!". They have remained in love ever since. This March Dick and Joan celebrated their 59th wedding anniversary.

Position: Mayor of Anaheim Organization:

Tom Tait was elected to the position of the Mayor of Anaheim in November 2010 and was re-elected in 2014. He previously served on the Anaheim City Council beginning in 1995 to and served as Mayor Pro Tem from 2002-2003. Mayor Tait ran on a platform of bringing the values of freedom and kindness to the culture of the city, while upholding fiscal responsibility, public safety and civic upkeep.

Position: Vice President and Managing Director Organization: Dignity Memorial (Fairhaven)

Robert (Bob) Dowson is the Vice President and Managing Director of Dignity Memorial, a company with more than 24,000 employees at 2,000 providers throughout North America. In Dowson’s current position, he oversees their cemetery, mortuary and crematory operations in Orange and San Diego Counties, covering 600 employees conducting more than 5,000 funerals and 4,000 cemetery services per year.