John Staehlin, a resident of Carroll Lutheran Village, was recently selected as one of the 50 seniors nationwide for LeadingAge’s Celebrate Age exhibit in Washington, DC. LeadingAge, a national association representing more than 5,400 not-for-profit organizations serving older adults, developed the exhibit in honor of its 50th Anniversary celebration at LeadingAge’s annual meeting in mid-October.

Of the more than 400 individuals nominated for this exhibit based on their “zest for life and commitment to making a difference in their communities,” John is a shining example of volunteer achievement. According to Hermine Saunders, Director of Church & Public Relations at the Village, who nominated Staehlin: “He has been volunteering his time and organizing a large group of other volunteers to solve problems for people with disabilities that will provide independence and quality of life. In 1982, while working at Westinghouse, he founded Volunteers for Medical Engineering, a group that eventually merged with Learning Independence Through Computers and is now known as V-LINC. As a board member of V-LINC and as the leader of a group of volunteers at the Village, John continues to work on projects and assistive devices for other residents and for those in the greater community.”

LeadingAge CEO Larry Minnix said of all the honorees, “We honor them for making a difference and transforming the vision of aging in this country.”