Covenant Senior Honors

For many years, Covenant Health has led the way in showing the world how special seniors really are. This year, Covenant will be doing it with a new program. Covenant Platinum is proud to present Covenant Senior Honors. CSH is designed to be an honor roll or "Who's Who" among East Tennessee seniors. Covenant is looking for 200 outstanding seniors to add to this esteemed list. Seniors will be added every two years.

Those named to the list will be invited to the historic Tennessee Theatre to enjoy a private event for honorees, their guests, and nominators. At present, plans are to make this year's event a film screening in August.

"We are so very excited about this program," says event coordinator Tonya Stoutt-Brown. "I honestly wondered how in the world we could meet the standards of the Covenant Platinum Awards program, but I think we've hit the mark!"

Over a period of ten years, Covenant Health held a series of gala events honoring seniors at the Knoxville Convention Center. Four outstanding seniors were chosen as the winners of the Covenant Platinum Awards at each gala. Nominees were presented with award pins and a gift from Covenant Health. The Covenant Platinum Awards Gala quickly became the premiere event honoring local seniors.

The idea behind the Covenant Platinum Awards was to spend an entire decade encouraging seniors to work toward a greater quality of life, presenting the absolute best role models who were already living life to the fullest. Stoutt-Brown believes the program made an impact, because it's no longer unheard of for local seniors to be seen going back to school, climbing mountains, creating works of art, and dancing all over town.

"People who were entering retirement when the program started are now in their mid-70's," Stoutt-Brown says, "and today's seniors have more opportunites to be active than ever before."

"We are incredibly proud of our Platinum award winners and plan to grandfather them in, so to speak, for the Covenant Senior Honors," she adds.

To nominate a senior for the Covenant Senior Honors program, fill out the official e-mail nomination form, or print a form from this website and mail it to:

Covenant Senior Honors
1921 Topside Rd., Suite 101
Louisville, TN 37777

Write two paragraphs or more outlining why your senior is worthy of being named among the first class of Covenant Senior Honors. Include what your special senior is doing now to live life to the fullest in health and fitness, arts and entertainment, education, or community service. For tips on writing your nomination, visit our guidelines page.

A Stellar Group of Seniors

2010 Covenant Platinum Award Winners front row: Ann McRae, Lois Kelly, Maria de la Luz Compere back row: Eddie Mannis, Jim Dampier, Gene Rosenberg

Take care of yourself, get involved, give back, and have a good attitude. In a nutshell, that’s what nominees for the Covenant Platinum Awards advise you to do if you want to get the most out of your senior years.

Jean Idell, 75, Knoxville, was nominated for her tireless work with Friends of the Library and the Knoxville Tourism and Sports Corporation, but also for helping those who cannot help themselves.

“Were it not for her unique community involvement, a lot of individuals would be turning to public resources for help or simply doing without,” said nominator Suzanne Freeman.

Gene “Doc” Hayes, 76, Louisville, was nominated for his investment in Camp Koinona, a program he founded for children with special needs.

“It is almost impossible to measure the impact of Dr. Gene Hayes' contribution, professionally and philanthropic,” wrote nominator Paula Minhinnet.

The list of nominees included some high profile seniors like Dr. Bill Bass, a former Knox County medical examiner who, at 84 years of age, is still a sought after conference speaker and successful author. Former UT Chancellor Bill Snyder, 83, has gone from overseeing university operations to overseeing a major and highly attended music program at the Tennessee Theatre, where he also plays the Mighty Wurlitzer organ.

“These stories alone are impressive,” said Covenant Health Senior Services Vice President Stan Boling. “But they are only a small sampling of more than a hundred seniors and senior advocates who are daily changing East Tennessee as we know it.”

“If you take care of yourself, get involved, give back, and have the right attitude, your senior years can be some of your most rewarding.”