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SUNY Potsdam's First-Year Seminar Series to present inaugural Civic Engagement Award to Potsdam deputy mayor Ruth Garner

Posted 11/11/14

POTSDAM -- SUNY Potsdam's First-Year Seminar Series will present its inaugural Civic Engagement Award to Potsdam deputy mayor Ruth Garner next week, as she prepares to celebrate her 99th birthday. …

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SUNY Potsdam's First-Year Seminar Series to present inaugural Civic Engagement Award to Potsdam deputy mayor Ruth Garner

Posted

POTSDAM -- SUNY Potsdam's First-Year Seminar Series will present its inaugural Civic Engagement Award to Potsdam deputy mayor Ruth Garner next week, as she prepares to celebrate her 99th birthday.

Garner will accept the award and speak to first-year students on Nov. 17 at 4 p.m. in the Knowles Hall multi-purpose room.

This event is free, and all are welcome to attend. Birthday cake will be served in honor of Garner's 99th birthday, which actually takes place the next day, on Nov. 18.

The SUNY Potsdam First-Year Seminar Series recently created the Civic Engagement Award as a new way to honor those who make a difference in their communities, and inspire others to do the same, SUNY Potsdam said.

"Known for her tenacious, rambunctious spirit, Garner walked from Potsdam to Canton to raise awareness during the civil rights and anti-war movement in the late 1960s," a prepared statement from SUNY Potsdam said. "A long-time advocate for people living with HIV/AIDS, she helped to bring the AIDS Memorial Quilt to the North Country."

Garner was the first woman to be elected to the Village of Potsdam Board of Trustees in 1973, and 6 years later was elected mayor, a role she has held twice, for a total of 16 years. She is still a trustee, and as she nears her 99th birthday, may well be the oldest elected official in the country, according to SUNY Potsdam.

In 2003, CBS included Garner in a "60 Minutes" story about senior citizens who keep working well past the retirement age. An animal lover, Garner got her very first tattoo, a small shamrock, in 2009 at 93, to raise hundreds of dollars to support the Potsdam Humane Society.

She has also served on the board for the Potsdam Public Library, Renewal House and the St. Lawrence County Historical Society. Garner continues to serve as the co-chair of the Managing Local Government Conference, held annually at SUNY Potsdam.