Senior Health Insurance Program Volunteers Honored

Springfield, IL - The Illinois Department of Insurance recently presented the Southern Illinois regional awards for volunteer service to its Senior Health Insurance Program (SHIP).

Leo and Phillis Pijut of Dix were honored as the SHIP Volunteers of the Year. They have served as program counselors since 1993 and volunteer through the Sunshine Center in Mt. Vernon.

The Lawrence County Senior Citizens Center in Bridgeport was honored as the SHIP Office of the Year. This office and its coordinator, Esther Fontanyi, have been offering SHIP counseling services to Lawrence County for over ten years, making them one of the longest serving SHIP sites in Southern Illinois.

SHIP is a statewide program that provides free insurance counseling both by Department of Insurance staff and trained volunteers on senior health insurance issues such as Medicare, Medicare supplement insurance and long term care insurance.