Marlene Batterberry named 2024 Andrus Award recipient

Marlene Batterberry of West Fargo is the recipient of the 2024 AARP Andrus Award for Community Service – AARP’s most prestigious volunteer award.

The award recognizes outstanding community service and symbolizes the power and ability individuals aged 50 and older have to make a difference in the lives of others. The award is given to just one North Dakotan annually and includes a $1,000 donation to a charitable organization chosen by the recipient. AARP North Dakota will donate $1,000 to Meals on Wheels Cass County in her name.

According to her nominator Tom Seymour, Batterberry has been “steady as a rock in supporting North Dakota AARP efforts to inform seniors about various fraud scams that attack senior citizens.”

The 86-year-old Batterberry regularly leads and participates in fraud workshops. She is vice president of the West Fargo Seniors and uses her platform to raise awareness of various fraud scams to older residents within her community. As part of the AARP ND Speakers’ Bureau, she regularly provides presentations on brain health and fraud to organizations in the West Fargo area. A retired nurse, Batterberry served as a parish nurse after retirement, visiting people in hospitals and nursing homes. She also volunteers with Meals on Wheels and in her church.

“Marlene is a consistent presence for advocating on behalf of older adults in her community and across the state. With her ability to see what needs doing and then get that work done, she is a worthy recipient of the award,” Josh Askvig, AARP ND State Director says.

While Batterberry’s focus in helping people avoid becoming victims of fraud, she notes that volunteering is an important part of her aging journey. “I think everyone when they’ve reached my age of 86 they need to be social in some way, and this is my way of doing that.”

Four other volunteers also were nominated for the award. Bruce Danuser of Fargo travels regionally to photograph patients in their final days as a volunteer for Sanford Fargo Hospice. Karen Lee, Fargo, volunteers at the Veterans Administration and Valley Senior Services' Meals on Wheels. Eden Mungustu, Bismarck provides volunteer administrative services to CHI Health at Home and Hospice, and Darrell Schneibel, Bismarck has served the Benedictine Living Community of Bismarck since 2017 when his mother became a resident.

Watch the 2024 Andrus Award video to learn more about Batterberry's good work. Learn more about the Andrus Award here.