MOUNT PLEASANT — Marvin Brown SHIIP/SMP Counselor with Henry County Health Center will receive a Governor’s Volunteer Award from Governor Kim Reynolds and Lt. Governor Adam Gregg during a special recognition ceremony July 7 in Ottumwa.
Brown will be honored with a five-year service award by Senior Health Insurance Information Program (SHIIP) and Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP).
Since 2018, Brown has spent more than 1,300 hours providing guidance to individuals, families and caregivers on how to navigate their Medicare and identify plans and resources that work for them.
“We are very fortunate to have Marvin share his time and talents with us. Over the last five years, he has helped hundreds of people feel more at ease while learning the world of Medicare,” said Kirsten Heerdt, volunteer coordinator and SHIIP site coordinator at Henry County Health Center.
“Iowans take great pride in their deep and rich commitment for serving others—it’s in our DNA,” Gov. Reynolds said. “Iowa nice is the foundation of our state — you see it everywhere you turn — Iowans volunteering their time to help others and improve their communities and our state. It truly is an honor to be able to recognize these individuals for their meaningful acts of generosity through the Governor’s Volunteer Awards and inspire others to do the same.”
“SHIIP-SMP Counselors are some of the best volunteers and people you could ever work with. They care deeply about their community members, and consistently go above and beyond to provide unbiased and trustworthy information helping individuals and their families navigate the complexity of Medicare,” said Kristen Griffith, SHIIP-SMP director.
More than 500 awards are being presented this year during five ceremonies across Iowa.
It is estimated that more than 150 communities in Iowa were served by this year’s honorees.