Koenig, Old Friends Club, receive state service award

Published 8:30 am Friday, June 24, 2016

Old Friends Club Founder and Executive Director Karen Koenig recently received a Service Recognition Award from the Washington State Association of Senior Centers.

WSASC Board President Teri Burke, of Redmond Senior Center, presented the award to Koenig at a lunchtime gathering at Sno-Valley Senior Center in Carnation, June 13, with members of the center and Old Friends Club in attendance.

The Service Recognition Award is given for a program, service or event that is creative, meets a specific community need, is on the cutting edge of a recent trend, solves a community problem or highlights the special nature of the community, a center or the people it serves.

Koenig was nominated for the award because of her immediate and compassionate response to families in need of memory care when the Sno-Valley Senior Center in Carnation had to close its long-running Adult Day Health program last year.

As the former coordinator for that program, Koenig was familiar with the population and the community and center members who had given their support over the years.

She quickly got to work, assessing needs and corralling resources, which resulted in the creation of the Old Friends Club. The new group opened in September 2015, just a few weeks after the closure of the ADH program. Koenig worked with a local church, Tolt Congregational United Church of Christ, to secure a meeting place just steps away from the senior center.

For the last several years, Koenig has been a champion for those experiencing dementia and other memory issues, and has served as a vital resource and support for their caregivers.

She continues to gather donations, hold fundraisers and donates much of her own time and resources. Through this adventure, her talks with caregivers, and her relationships with the Alzheimer’s Association, Evergreen Health, the senior center and others, she has realized a deep need in much of the state for this kind of care, which is not usually provided by nursing facilities, adult group homes or most senior centers. Old Friends Club members meet two or three days a week, engaging in social activities.

Koenig has worked in the field of geriatrics and memory care for just about five years. With this new endeavor, she has made an incredible difference for seniors and their families and is working to change and improve the way people with dementia are treated.

When accepting the award, Koenig spoke in a soft voice spoke about the legacy of Sno-Valley Senior Center’s former Adult Day Health program, its staff and supporters, and thanked the community for their continued support of this population.

Koenig continues to grow this program and will open a second site in Kirkland-Redmond on July 12.

For more information, visit www.oldfriendsclub.org.