NASHVILLE, TN — Longtime community advocates Rev. Edwin and Attorney D. Billye Sanders have been named recepients of the 31st annual Sage Awards, presented by AgeWell Middle Tennessee, a trusted nonprofit resource and champion for older adults and family caregivers.
The Sage Awards honors lifelong leaders who improve our communities, and organizations that significantly impact the lives of older adults across the region.
AgeWell is also honoring the Family and Children’s Service for their work over the past 20 years helping thousands of older adults through the Relative Caregiver Program, providing support services for children and non-parental relatives, primarily grandparents raising grandchildren.
Other 2023 recipients include Byron Kamp, active community volunteer and former AARP Middle Tennessee Volunteer Director, The Honorable Ellen Hobbs Lyle, former Chancery Court Judge and creator of the SeniorTrust Grant Program, Mike Hodge, lifelong social justice advocate and former Organizing Director for Nashville Organized for Action and Hope (NOAH), and Byron Trauger, Nashville attorney and civic leader.
The awards will be presented on Monday, Oct. 30 during the Sage Awards Ceremony & Fundraiser at the Franklin Marriott Cool Springs, 700 Cool Springs Blvd., in Franklin. Sage Award sponsorships are available on the AgeWell website.
The Sanders (Davidson County) are founders of Metropolitan Interdenominational Church in Nashville with the mission being “inclusive of all and alienating to none” attracting a broad cross-section of people. Metropolitan has outreach ministries in the areas of substance abuse, advocacy for children, sexual violence, and harm reduction, and provides services to persons infected with, and affected by, HIV/AIDS.
Rev. Sanders is the senior servant and founder of Metropolitan Interdenominational Church. For 18 years, he was the pastoral counselor for the Meharry Medical College Alcohol and Drug Abuse Program. He also served as director of the Southern Prison Ministry and as the dean of the Chapel at Fisk University. He was appointed by the Clinton, Bush and Obama administrations to several national boards and committees focused on HIV/AIDS and STD prevention, and he has been a frequent speaker at national and international AIDS conferences. He has also provided national leadership regarding minority participation in vaccine studies and compassionate drug policies. Sanders holds life membership in the NAACP and is a member and former president of the Interdenominational Ministers’ Fellowship. He was a member of the Alcohol and Drug Council of Middle Tennessee and served as a commissioner for the Tennessee Human Rights Commission. Sanders serves on the boards of directors of The National Minority AIDS Council, The Drug Policy Alliance, and Project Return addressing recidivism and mass incarceration.
Billye Sanders is the principal of D. Billye Sanders, Attorney-at-Law and an arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association. She was formerly a partner with Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis, LLP. She is a member of the Advisory Board of First Horizon Bank and serves as a commissioner of the Metro Nashville Civil Service Commission. A graduate of Fisk University and Vanderbilt University Law School, Sanders was an inaugural member of the Tennessee Supreme Court’s Access to Justice Commission. She has served on the boards of many nonprofits including Fisk University, YWCA, Metro Library, WPLN, United Way, CABLE, Inroads, Napier-Looby Bar Foundation, Leadership Nashville Alumni Association, Baptist Healing Trust, advisory council of FiftyForward Bordeaux and the Nashville chapter of The Links, Inc.
“We are proud to recognize these outstanding leaders in Middle Tennessee, who have improved the quality of life and continue to positively impact our communities. We look forward to honoring them in October. Their individual accomplishments and their steadfast service exemplify what it means to live and age well,” said Grace Smith, AgeWell Middle Tennessee’s executive director.
AgeWell also announced that former board chair Dr. Richard H. Gentzler has been named the recipient of the annual Elizabeth Jacobs Distinguished Service Award, named in memory of the nonprofit’s founder. The award recognizes a volunteer or collective group of volunteers who have given selflessly of their time, talents, resources and abilities in furthering the mission of the organization.
Gentzler joined the organization’s board of directors in 2014 and served as vice president (2017), president (2018-2019) and immediate past president (2020-2021). During his nine years on the board, Gentzler helped lead the agency through strategic planning, the COVID-19 pandemic, and a major rebrand from Council on Aging to AgeWell Middle Tennessee. He is a thought leader and advocate for reframing aging, having authored the book, “An Age of Opportunity,” about intentional older adult ministry.
Sage Award honorees (couples, individuals and organizations) are selected by the Sage Awards Committee from nominations received from the community. The committee, which is comprised of past Sage Award recipients, AgeWell board members, staff and volunteers, may also consider nominations from previous years. Eligibility includes older adults (age 60 and older) living in the 13-county region served by AgeWell Middle Tennessee, and organizations who have made a significant impact on the lives of older adults in the region.
AgeWell Middle Tennessee champions informed and positive aging, connects older adults and family caregivers with trusted information and community resources in 13 Middle Tennessee counties, and serves as a catalyst to address unmet needs. Founded as the Council on Aging of Greater Nashville in 1985, AgeWell is a thought leader, convener, catalyst and advocate for collaborative solutions to ensure we can all age well.