In honor of Older Americans Month, 12 Lehigh County residents will be recognized as part of the Lehigh County Aging and Adult Service’s 20th annual tribute to Unsung Heroes.

This tribute honors older adults in the Lehigh Valley who have displayed exceptional generosity with their time and talents to enrich the lives of others in the community.

The 2020 celebration will look a little different, instead of the annual recognition ceremony, the honorees will receive plaques, certificates of recognition, balloons, flowers and yard sign delivered to their homes.

Robert H. Youst, of Bethlehem City, who was nominated by Kathleen Carceres and Neena Farooq, is one of the honorees selected as a recipient of the 2020 Unsung Heroes tribute.

According to his tribute, Youst has been a longstanding volunteer at St. Luke’s University Hospital and at Star Wellness Southside Bethlehem, which is the adult medical clinic affiliated with St. Luke’s Hospital in Southside Bethlehem.

“We, Kathleen Carceres and Neena Farooq, workers at the Star Wellness, have witnessed his dedication, and as such want to acknowledge Bob Youst as our Unsung Hero.

“Bob is a retired pharmacist who started volunteering at St. Luke’s at age 65 after closing his pharmacy.

“He also volunteers his time to seniors as an Apprise Counselor, providing education regarding their Medicare benefits and options. St. Luke’s Director of Volunteer Services reports that Bob has provided 7,356 volunteer hours since 1994. That’s about 300 hours per year,” Carceres and Faroog said.

“Bob Youst is a very kind, reliable, and compassionate individual who is dedicated to making a difference in senior’s lives.

“He was an extremely knowledgeable guest speaker at the St. Luke’s Dialysis Center on informing them of all the Medicare changes.

“He comes to work come rain or shine with a smile and a kind word. As the social work/case manager here at Southside I count on him keeping me updated on Medicare changes as well.

“Thank you, Bob for all you do for seniors and for your community.”