LifeSpan’s largest and most comprehensive offering of the year is the Annual Conference and Expo. Hosted by LifeSpan’s educational subsidiary, The Beacon Institute, this year’s conference was held in Ocean City, MD Sept.16-19, 2025. Save the date to join us from Sept. 22-25, 2026! If you are in need of continuing education, want to see the latest offerings from businesses who support you in your mission, or just want to connect with colleagues, then this event has what you are looking for.
Visit our Conference website for more information regarding the 2026 Annual Conference!
Awards:
LifeSpan + Ceca Foundation Hero Award Recipients:
LifeSpan recognizes that everyday people often do extraordinary things, and through these actions they make the world a bit better. In partnership with the Ceca Foundation, LifeSpan recognizes three deserving heroes for their spirit of selflessness at our Annual Conference and Expo in Ocean City, MD. Thank you to our heroes!
View their award videos here. (video credit: Typoductions)
Chairman’s Award:
One of LifeSpan’s longstanding traditions is the Chairman’s Award, which is the Association’s highest honor and recognizes an individual or organization for outstanding achievement. It’s an honor we’ve bestowed upon a deserving leader or remarkable organization every year since our beginning over 30 years ago. The Chairman’s Award has honored those who, through their remarkable leadership and enduring commitment, have played a major role in LifeSpan’s evolution and who have made a significant contribution to the senior care community in Maryland and the District of Columbia. View the Past Recipients of this prestigious award.
Mayer Handelman Award:
Throughout his remarkable career, Mayer Handelman contributed greatly to the fields of senior care and pharmacy in Maryland and the Mid-Atlantic Region. His unrelenting focus on excellence in senior care and customer service were well known by all who had the opportunity to work with him. Mayer passionately believed in the value of continuous learning. To honor Mayer Handelman’s life and work, LifeSpan Network and The Beacon Institute have partnered with the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists to bestow an annual award in Mayer’s name. The award recognizes an extraordinary person or organization for their distinguished service and educational leadership in senior care in the Mid-Atlantic, with the annual award winner honored at LifeSpan’s Annual Conference in Ocean City, Maryland.
OBJECTIVE
To honor an extraordinary person or organization that has shown commitment, distinguished service and educational leadership in the senior care field.
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
Complete nominations must be submitted online by the deadline. A Nominee:
- Must demonstrate active involvement and leadership in the senior care field;
- Is not required to be a formal educator;
- Can be a staff person who has touched the lives of individuals intellectually in a significant way;
- Is recognized as having made significant contributions to the field, encourages others to strive for continuous professional improvement and actively inspires others to practice at their highest possible levels; and
- Can include organizations that promote a culture of increasing knowledge and continuing education.
SELECTION CRITERIA
A panel of judges comprised of representatives from LifeSpan, The Beacon Institute and the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists (Maryland Chapter) will evaluate nominations based on the following criteria:
- The Nominee’s educational involvement and leadership that has directly impacted the quality of life and quality of care for Maryland seniors.
- The breadth and reach of active involvement and leadership as an educator in the senior care field or in the community-at-large.
- The Nominee’s overall role or influence in supporting, designing or initiating programs that raise practice standards and improve care outcomes.
RECOGNITION OF HONOREE
LifeSpan Network and The Beacon Institute, in partnership with ASCP, will hold The Handelman Award presentation during the LifeSpan Network Annual Conference.
Distinguished recipients of the Mayer Handelman Annual Award:
| 2016 | William Vaughan, RN, BS |
| 2017 | Arnold Clayman, P.S., FASCP |
| 2018 | Irene Bayer The Malin Family |
| 2019 | Keith Gibb |
| 2020 | The Memory of COVID Heroes |
| 2021 | Tangie Newborn |
| 2022 | William Hasson |
| 2023 | Carmel Roques |
| 2024 | Casey Young, RN |
| 2025 | Chris McNally, Esq. |