205 S. Walnut Avenue
Ames, IA  50010
Public Relations & Volunteer Spotlight


Marilyn Johnson
Public Relations Director  & Volunteer Coordinator



Mission Statement

The mission of Heartland Senior Services is to help create a community that values older people and supports them in achieving and maintaining their desired quality of life.

© 2001 Heartland Senior Services

Volunteer Spotlight

June Cotter and grapes

June Cotter
Volunteer Extraordinaire

It only took June Cotter a couple of months after arriving in Ames to seek out the Heartland Senior Center and find a way to contribute her time and talent.  A widow of over 20 years, June moved to Ames from Connecticut in 2003 to be near her daughter and family and be centrally located between her other two children in Colorado and North Carolina.

June lost no time jumping into Heartland’s activities with both feet.  She began as a receptionist at the front desk, welcoming newcomers as her specialty.  June then joined the Heartland exercise group of three participants.  It is no surprise that now there are 15 women in the group and everyone receives a birthday party, thanks to June’s instigation.

June also has been a committee member of Heartland’s Annual Afternoon Tea for the past two years and brings many great ideas and energy to those planning sessions.  And now that her fundraising appetite has been re-ignited, June currently is spearheading a jewelry sale fundraiser this fall for Heartland.  If you have any old jewelry to donate to the cause, she says now is the time to gather it up and get it to the committee, 233-2906.

Born and educated in Chicago, June met her husband just before the war.  By the time William had served in the Armed Forces and finished his education, they had dated seven years.  Their three children were all born in Chicago but soon the family was transplanted to the East Coast where William’s job took them up and down the coastline between Connecticut and New Jersey. 

For 20 of the years that she was out East, June was involved in operating a thrift/gift shop, a major fundraising venue benefiting persons with developmental disabilities.  Under her volunteer leadership, the program grew from raising $11 her first day in the office to eventually grossing $90,000 a year.  In the end she was managing and inspiring over 30 volunteers.  It is not surprising that it has taken two people to replace her!

June says volunteering has always been her main hobby.  She enjoys thinking up creative ways to raise funds or how to inspire a group to become more cohesive and productive.  June is also an active volunteer with the St. Cecelia Parish and, in addition, has helped with National Special Olympics through LIFT (Living Informed For Today).  She is also a proud grandma of eight grandsons and one granddaughter.

We at Heartland have a hard time imagining life without June Cotter.  She has been a fount of many good ideas, a friend to many and an outstanding volunteer. 

Thanks, June, for your lifetime of service to many people.  

Previous Volunteer Spotlight Honorees

Last modified 2 January 2008 wjh