Rose Kryzak Award winners honored

United Adult Ministries (UAM), the parent company of Flushing House, honored three outstanding persons with The Rose Kryzak Senior Leadership Award during their annual gala fundraising dinner held on Thursday, November 4 at Westbury Manor.
Kryzak was a powerful public advocate who fought for the rights of older adults. She was best known for spearheading passage of New York’s Elderly Pharmaceutical Insurance Coverage (EPIC) plan. A resident of the UAM-sponsored Flushing House for her last 13 years, she passed on June 24, 1999 at 99 years of age. To keep her legacy alive and further the many causes she cared for, UAM established the Kryzak Awards in 2000.
This year’s honorees were Sue Bouffier, Maria Cuadrado, and Lucy Garcia.
Bouffier has been program manager of the Franklin Square Senior Community Service Center (SCSC) since 1999. Franklin Square SCSC is part of Catholic Charities, the Diocese of Rockville Centre.
Cuadrado, Ph.D., LMSW, has been president of Queens Interagency Council on Aging (QICA) from June 2005 up to the present. QICA is the premier borough-wide coalition of more than 200 organizations and individuals providing vital services to seniors. QICA is the leading advocacy/lobbying group in Queens, bringing issues of concern to seniors to the halls of government.
Garcia, MSW, became associate director at the Elmhurst/Jackson Heights Senior Center in 1990, and then director in 2006. Born in Columbia, South America, she lives in Elmhurst.
All proceeds from the gala fundraising dinner support a special endowment fund, which allows Flushing House to remain affordable for many of the older adults who live there.
Built in 1974, Flushing House is a not-for-profit retirement residence, and was one of the first to offer older adults independent living with supportive services on-premises. Go to www.flushinghouse.com for more information.