MOUNT MORRIS, N.Y., May 30, 2025 — The New York State Office for the Aging (NYSOFA) this week named Livingston County residents Brenda and Stephen Donohue as 2025 Older New Yorkers’ Day awardees.
The Donohues were among 100 older adults NYSOFA honored for their extraordinary volunteerism as part of its annual Older New Yorkers’ Day celebration, which took place May 27 in Albany, during Older Americans Month. This year’s theme, “Flip the Script on Aging,” encourages communities to challenge stereotypes about aging and celebrate the vitality and value older adults bring to society. The honorees were nominated by members of New York’s 59 county and municipal offices for the aging and their partners for making their communities stronger through remarkable volunteer and public service efforts.
Brenda Donohue’s commitment to public service is evident from her decades of community-focused work. She is the founder of Our School, a nursery school in Conesus, and served as a founding director of the Conesus-Livonia Recycling Center. She was elected Conesus Town Supervisor from 2006 to 2019, where she advocated for local infrastructure improvements and served on several County committees. She is an active member of the Conesus Golden Years Club, and is a choir member, lector, and volunteer cleaner at her church.
“Volunteering means getting involved,” she stated. “Volunteering is essential for the health of your community. Members support one another in many ways that enrich both those in need and those responding to the need. We create opportunities to interact with other members of the community for mutual gain and enrichment. Volunteering is personally satisfying.”
She currently serves on the board of Livingston Cares, a local non-profit that assists communities and individuals through humanitarian projects, focusing on disaster relief and recovery efforts.
In her free time, she enjoys reading, gardening, various crafts, and spending time with her grandchildren.
Stephen Donohue is a lifelong New Yorker with an equally impressive history of community engagement. He is a 53-year volunteer for the Conesus Volunteer Fire Department and
previously served for 32 years as secretary and treasurer of the Conesus Fire District. He was also a town justice and councilman in the 1970s.
Today, Stephen continues to be active in the community as president of the Conesus Golden Years Club, a position he has held since 2015. He enjoys creating music for his church’s congregation at St. Mary’s Church in Honeoye, where he serves as organist and choir director.
He offered simple words of advice for those looking to follow his path of civic contribution.
“Start with small commitments, a community clean-up day, helping out at a church social, or signing up to give occasional rides to people who need transportation,” he recommended. “You will meet new people, and you will be led to new volunteering opportunities. Share your skills or develop new ones, increase your self-worth and self-confidence. It feels so good to help, to feel that sense of accomplishment that comes from working with others toward a common goal.”
Stephen is an amateur birdwatcher, and enjoys bicycling, working in the woodlot, and playing piano at home.
The Donohues are longtime residents of Conesus. After marrying in 1984, they purchased their current home there where they raised their four children.
For a complete list of volunteer awardees, visit the Older New Yorkers Day Award Book here. For more information, visit the Livingston County Office for the Aging website here.
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About Livingston County:
Founded in 1821, Livingston County, N.Y., is home to more than 61,000 residents in 17 towns located across 631 square miles of the Finger Lakes region.