Congratulations! Andrus Award Winner for 2024 Announced

Congratulations Pam Partridge, 2024 WINNER of the Andrus Award for Community Service!

Each year, AARP Maine recognizes one Mainer who continues Dr. Andrus’ legacy by selflessly giving back to their community. Pamela Partridge, is the winner of the 2024 Andrus Award named in honor of AARP’s founder Dr. Ethel Percy Andrus. The Andrus Award celebrates and honors those who make a difference in the lives of others, and it is the most prestigious and visible award AARP presents each year.

Pam Partridge’s extraordinary public service actively embodies Dr. Andrus’ motto “To Serve, Not To be Served.”

Noël Bonam, AARP Maine State Director, stated “The AARP Maine Andrus Award acts as a symbol that every single person can make a difference and that each person can bring about positive social change. We are deeply proud to be presenting this year’s award to Pam Partridge, whose record of achievement, service and commitment provides an excellent example of the power of giving back to others.”

Pam has served as the president of the Somerset Education Association-Retired, web administrator for the Maine Education Association-Retired, and she actively volunteers with AARP Maine as an advocate at the State House. Pam also serves as volunteer producer of “Fraud Watch with Phil and Pam,” a monthly virtual workshop she co-hosts with her volunteer colleague, Phil Chin, to help Mainers learn about common scams and how to spot them.

Together with other volunteers, she established and now is the volunteer lead of the AARP Maine Speakers Bureau. Pam is also a member of the all-volunteer AARP Maine Executive Council. She belongs to several local, state and international organizations, all the while volunteering at her local soup kitchen. Pam has a son, a step-daughter, several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

“In giving vulnerable Mainers the best methods of avoiding fraud, Pam has become a significant part of our community and a key leader of fraud prevention in Maine,” said Bonam. “She sets herself apart with her generous spirit and dedication to help others above all else.”

Pam grew up in New Jersey where her parents owned a hardware store in Red Bank near the Jersey shore. She came to Maine in 1971 to attend Unity College, earning a degree in forestry and meeting her future husband, Deane. After marriage and the birth of their son, she returned to college as a non-traditional student in the secondary teacher education program at the University of Maine, Farmington. Pam taught middle level science for 11 years, and varying combinations of grades 3, 4 and 5 for 13 years at the Garret Schenck School in Anson, while also earning her M.Ed., Middle Level Education, at the University of Maine in 1994, and her K-6 teacher certification. She retired from teaching in 2012.

AARP has long valued the spirit of volunteerism and the important contributions AARP volunteers make to their communities, neighbors and the programs they serve. We welcome new volunteers to serve in a variety of roles with AARP Maine and hope you will visit our website, or call our office at 1-866-554-5380 if you would like to join our volunteer team.