LMTAAA Wins National Honors for Fourth Year

LMTAAA won honors for the fourth straight year from USAging, the association that represents Area Agencies on Aging across the U.S.

Planning Director Kyle Sanchez brought home an award for making the often-confusing topic of long-term care easier to understand. Through guessing and matching games, Sanchez built memorable takeaways into moments of stress-free play during community outreach events.

“Seventy percent of Washingtonians will need long-term care so accessible information is important,” states Sanchez. “Most of these services are not covered by health insurance when they, or a family member, need a wheelchair ramp, home-delivered meals, or in-home help. I’m proud the overwhelming majority of game participants report a better understanding of ways to pay and what services are, and are not, included.”
 

Communications Manager Becca Frisch also won for transforming how the agency connects on social media. She is recognized for encouraging staff to see, and share, the powerful stories within their everyday work.
 

“When staff share photos and stories from the field, it helps people see how we might support them during their own times of need,” Frisch said. The shift to agency-wide storytelling boosted website visits from social media by 394 percent in one year.
 

"I'm proud of how our team approaches their work. These awards show what can happen when people feel supported to try new things," shared LMTAAA Executive Director Nicole Kiddoo. "USAging's recognition highlights the creative spirit that runs throughout our agency. We love encouraging staff to ask, 'what more can we do?' Then, giving them the freedom to think bigger."

Lewis-Mason-Thurston Area Agency on Aging has now won five USAging awards over four years:

• 2025: Innovation Award for long-term care education
• 2025: Achievement Award for community storytelling
• 2024: Workforce Development Award for leadership training
• 2023: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Award for professional development
• 2022: Innovation Award for establishment of leadership academy
 

During this year’s USAging conference, LMTAAA joined Bay Aging in presenting a workshop sharing the whys and how’s of leadership training. LMTAAA’s own focus on developing leaders helped 74 percent of program graduates advance in their careers.
 

Lewis-Mason-Thurston Area Agency on Aging serves older adults, adults living with disabilities, and their caregivers in Lewis, Mason and Thurston counties. The agency connects its communities with the resources needed to live independently.
 

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