Nantucket Council on Aging Selects Senior Woman and Man of the Year After Eligibility Dispute

NANTUCKET — May 6, 2026 — Nantucket Council on Aging selects Senior Woman and Man of the Year after disqualifying three nominees on eligibility grounds. At the May 6 meeting, the board removed nominees M6, who had already won the award in 2023, and paid town employees F4 and M4, whose nominated contributions were tied to their jobs rather than volunteer activity — a requirement stated in capital letters on the nomination form. Using a weighted three-two-one ranking, members chose nominee F1 as Senior Woman of the Year with 14 points and M5 as Senior Man of the Year with 14 points, with F7 and M2 named runners-up. The board agreed to make the volunteer-only language more prominent on next year's form and discussed renaming the award "Senior Volunteer of the Year." In other business, staff member Jericho reported that the town's Comprehensive Human Services Needs Assessment had already surpassed its 380-response target with roughly 520 completed surveys, and that results will support a first-ever funding increase request since 2018, targeting approximately $825,000 for the broader human services pool — up from the original $650,000 baseline set eight years ago.