As an airhorn blast signaled the start of the 50th Annual MEOC Walkathon, Marilyn Maxwell led participants across the starting line. Maxwell, Mountain Empire Older Citizens’ founder and Executive Director Emeritus, was there for the very first Walkathon in 1976. After leading the agency from its founding in 1974 until her retirement in 2012, it was only fitting that she helped lead the way again during the milestone event on May 3.
Personal care aide Mary Wennberg is the recipient of the 2025 Grace P. Davis Award, recognized for her outstanding dedication to the care of older adults through MEOC’s In-Home and Family Support Services department. The award was announced April 15 during an In-Home and Family Support Services staff development meeting at MEOC’s main office in Big Stone Gap.
Older Americans Month is recognized each May as a time to celebrate the contributions of older adults and reaffirm our commitment to supporting healthy aging in our communities. This year’s theme, “Champion Your Health,” focuses on the everyday choices and support systems that help people maintain their health, independence and quality of life as they age.
Mountain Empire Transit won the annual CTAV Virginia State Paratransit Bus Roadeo, marking its sixth consecutive championship. The 2026 competition was held April 25 in Alexandria and brought together transit operators from across Virginia to test their skills in safety, precision and passenger care.
Mountain Empire Older Citizens will host its 50th Annual Walkathon on Sunday, May 3, at Bullitt Park in Big Stone Gap, marking half a century of neighbors coming together to support older adults across Southwest Virginia. Registration for the 5K walk along the Greenbelt Trail will begin at 1 p.m., with the walk starting at 2 p.m. A free picnic for participants will follow, along with a live concert by If Birds Could Fly at approximately 3:30 p.m.
Mountain Empire Older Citizens (MEOC) is celebrating the 25th anniversary of Healthy Families Southwest Virginia, a voluntary home visiting program that supports parents and young children across the region. MEOC will mark the program’s 25th anniversary on Tuesday, March 31, following the agency’s annual pinwheel planting in observance of Child Abuse Prevention Month in April. The planting will begin at 10 a.m. outside MEOC’s Big Stone Gap office, with a brief anniversary gathering and light refreshments to follow in the agency’s main conference room.
This story is part of our MEOC Impact series, which highlights individuals and families whose lives have been touched by Mountain Empire Older Citizens programs and services. These stories show what our work looks like in everyday life across the communities we serve.
Mountain Empire Older Citizens, Inc. has been honored with a 2025 Aging Achievement Award from USAging for its Expanding Telehealth Access for Rural Older Persons initiative, which brings broadband and telehealth access to isolated older adults in Southwest Virginia.
What does addiction really look like in Southwest Virginia—and how can communities begin to heal? That’s the conversation MEOC’s Healthy Families program and Radford SAVES hope to spark during a free Sept. 5 screening of Inheritance, a powerful documentary about a boy growing up in rural Appalachia amid generational addiction.
Personal Care Aide Robin Marshall is the 2024 recipient of the Grace P. Davis Award, recognized for her exceptional dedication to MEOC’s mission and the clients she serves through In Home and Family Support Services. FSS Director Rebecca Gilly presented the award during the spring In-Home and Family Support Services meeting on May 31, 2025, at the Mountain Empire PACE Center.