NASHVILLE, Tenn. — AgeWell Middle Tennessee, a trusted nonprofit resource and champion for older adults and family caregivers, honored Dr. Richard H. Gentzler, a former board chair, with its annual Elizabeth Jacobs Distinguished Service Award, named in memory of the nonprofit’s founder.
The award recognizes a volunteer or collective group of volunteers who have given selflessly of their time, talents, resources and abilities in furthering the mission of the organization.
Gentzler joined the organization’s board of directors in 2014 and served as vice president (2017), president (2018-2019) and immediate past president (2020-2021). During his nine years on the board, Gentzler helped lead the agency through strategic planning, the COVID-19 pandemic, and a major rebrand from Council on Aging to AgeWell Middle Tennessee. He is a thought leader and advocate for reframing aging, having authored the book, “An Age of Opportunity,” about intentional older adult ministry.
Additionally, six individuals were awarded the annual Sage Award, honoring lifelong leaders who improve our communities, and organizations that significantly impact the lives of older adults across the region.
The 2023 recipients were Byron Kamp, active community volunteer and former AARP Middle Tennessee Volunteer Director, The Honorable Ellen Hobbs Lyle, former Chancery Court Judge and creator of the SeniorTrust Grant Program, Mike Hodge, lifelong social justice advocate and former Organizing Director for Nashville Organized for Action and Hope (NOAH), Rev. Edwin and Attorney D. Billye Sanders, community leaders and founders of Metropolitan Interdenominational Church, and Byron Trauger, Nashville attorney and civic leader.
AgeWell also honored the Family and Children’s Service for their work over the past 20 years helping thousands of older adults through the Relative Caregiver Program, providing support services for children and non-parental relatives, primarily grandparents raising grandchildren.
The awards were presented on Oct. 30 during the Sage Awards Ceremony & Fundraiser at the Franklin Marriott Cool Springs, 700 Cool Springs Blvd., in Franklin, Tenn.
The Sage Awards, presented annually since 1992, serves as AgeWell’s signature event and fundraiser. All funds raised directly support the organization’s mission to champion informed and positive aging and serve as the area’s catalyst for collaborative solutions.
“We are proud to recognize these outstanding leaders in Middle Tennessee, who have improved the quality of life and continue to positively impact our communities. Their individual accomplishments and their steadfast service exemplify what it means to live and age well,” said Grace Smith, AgeWell Middle Tennessee’s executive director.
ABOUT THE HONOREES
Byron Kamp (Wilson County) has been a dedicated volunteer for AARP for many years serving in local, regional and national roles. He served as the AARP Middle Tennessee Volunteer Director for six years, volunteering 40+ hours weekly to educate community partners and elected officials and connect older adults and caregivers to services. He also advocated for stronger laws to protect older adults from scams and fraud, expand access to broadband for all, and ensure greater benefits for family caregivers. Byron has also served on several of AgeWell’s committees and helped to create and organize the Tennessee Coalition for Better Aging. In addition to his work in the aging field, he volunteers with TN Achieves as a mentor to students at Mount Juliet High School, Del Webb Community, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, and Student Outreach and Resilience (S.O.A. R). Byron’s advocacy efforts have led to an increase in firefighters, as well as the creation of Mt. Juliet’s own EMS Department.
Ellen Hobbs Lyle (Davidson County) served for 27 years as a Chancery Court Judge in the Twentieth Judicial District of Tennessee. During that time, over the course of five years, she ordered and implemented a $40 million court-based program to sustain and improve the lives of older Tennesseans. The program was a unique collaboration of a state agency, under the leadership of Jim Shulman, and leaders of the nonprofit community: Assisi Foundation of Memphis, HCA Foundation, Memorial Foundation, United Way of Greater Knoxville and The West End Home Foundation. The SeniorTrust Grant Program, as it came to be known, directed assistance statewide to thousands of older adults in the areas of oral health, home modifications and repairs, transportation, legal services and digital literacy, as well as establishing and reinforcing statewide networking among nonprofits. In retirement, she serves as as an arbitrator and mediator with JAMS, a national arbitration dispute resolution service. Lyle is a fifth generation Nashvillian, graduate of the University of Tennessee and The Harpeth Hall School.
Mike Hodge (Davidson County) is a lifelong social justice advocate and community organizer focusing on integrated voter engagement to empower all people to participate effectively in the political, environmental, social and economic decisions affecting their lives. He recently retired as the Organizing Director for Nashville Organized for Action and Hope (NOAH). Mike led NOAH as an anti-racist, faith-based coalition of 68 member organizations resulting in millions of dollars for affordable housing, special programs to stop the “school-to-prison pipeline,” and new initiatives for mental health diversion. Because of the strong foundation that he created, NOAH continues to build the power to shape the future for Nashville. Prior to his work at NOAH, Mike organized several neighborhood groups taking action on issues of crime, neighborhood condition, and affordable housing. Mike is a member of Edgehill United Methodist Church.
Rev. Edwin and D. Billye Sanders (Davidson County) are founders of Metropolitan Interdenominational Church in Nashville with the mission being “inclusive of all and alienating to none” attracting a broad cross-section of people. Metropolitan has outreach ministries in the areas of substance abuse, advocacy for children, sexual violence, and harm reduction, and provides services to persons infected with, and affected by, HIV/AIDS.
Rev. Edwin C. Sanders, II, is the Senior Servant and Founder of Metropolitan Interdenominational Church. For 18 years, he was the Pastoral Counselor for the Meharry Medical College Alcohol and Drug Abuse Program. He also served as Director of the Southern Prison Ministry and as the Dean of the Chapel at Fisk University. He was appointed by the Clinton, Bush and Obama administrations to several national boards and committees focused on HIV/AIDS and STD prevention, and has been a frequent speaker at national and international AIDs conferences. He has also provided national leadership regarding minority participation in vaccine studies and compassionate drug policies.
Rev. Sanders holds life membership in the NAACP, and is a member and former president of the Interdenominational Ministers’ Fellowship. He was a member of the Alcohol and Drug Council of Middle Tennessee and served as a Commissioner for the Tennessee Human Rights Commission. Sanders serves on the Boards of Directors of The National Minority AIDS Council, The Drug Policy Alliance, and Project Return addressing recidivism and mass incarceration.
D. Billye Sanders is the principal of D. Billye Sanders, Attorney-at-Law and an arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association. She was formerly a partner with Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis, LLP. She is a member of the Advisory Board of First Horizon Bank and serves as a Commissioner of the Metro Nashville Civil Service Commission. A graduate of Fisk University and Vanderbilt Law School, Billye was an inaugural member of the Tennessee Supreme Court’s Access to Justice Commission. She has served on the boards of many nonprofits including Fisk University, YWCA, Metro Library, WPLN, United Way, CABLE, Inroads, Napier-Looby Bar Foundation, Leadership Nashville Alumni Association, Baptist Healing Trust, Advisory Council of FiftyForward Bordeaux and the Nashville Chapter of The Links, Inc.
Byron Trauger (Davidson County) is a partner at the Wiseman Ashworth Trauger law firm where he concentrates on healthcare regulation. In public roles, he has chaired a Tennessee gubernatorial campaign and two Nashville mayoral campaigns, and he led the negotiating team that brought the Tennessee Titans to Nashville. His civic engagement has included chairing the board of Martin Methodist College (now UT Southern), the Nashville Public Education Foundation, the PENCIL Foundation, Nashville Public Radio, and The Land Trust for Tennessee. He also has served on the boards of You Have the Power, the Tennessee State Museum Foundation, Nashville Rotary Club, the Nashville Public Library Foundation, Historic Nashville, Nashville Children’s Theatre, PEACE, and the Tennessee Repertory Theatre. A Rhodes Scholar, he is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, the Tennessee Bar Foundation, and the Nashville Bar Foundation and has chaired the Campaign for the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee. He is an active Rotarian and and member of the United Methodist denomination.
Sage Award honorees (couples, individuals and organizations) are selected by the Sage Awards Committee from nominations received from the community. The committee, which is comprised of past Sage Award recipients, AgeWell board members, staff and volunteers, may also consider nominations from previous years. Eligibility includes older adults (age 60 and older) living in the 13-county region served by AgeWell Middle Tennessee, and organizations who have made a significant impact on the lives of older adults in the region.
ABOUT AGEWELL MIDDLE TENNESSEE
AgeWell Middle Tennessee champions informed and positive aging, connects older adults and family caregivers with trusted information and community resources in 13 Middle Tennessee counties, and serves as a catalyst to address unmet needs. Founded as the Council on Aging of Greater Nashville in 1985, AgeWell is a thought leader, convener, catalyst and advocate for collaborative solutions to ensure we can all age well.
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