(12/13/03)A woman who stays on the go by helping others in the community has been honored for doing just that.

“She tries to have her hand in everything, that’s for sure,” said Jennifer Harper, director of the Vicksburg Senior Center. “She makes herself available for anything that anyone could need throughout the community.

“She’s the one to call.”

Frances Sheffield, a longtime Vicksburg resident, was awarded for outstanding volunteer services by the AARP Mississippi. She would not give her age.

Harper said a good example of Sheffield’s volunteerism is when the center was hosting a reception after unveiling historic quilts made by seniors.

“She and her volunteers made sure every table was manned and made sure everything was taken care of,” Harper said.

Sheffield moved to Vicksburg in 1939 as a nursing student at the Street Sanitarium but retired from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1980.

Since her retirement, she has been busy giving her time to help others, whether it’s serving on a committee to bring a change to the community or organizing a social at a retirement home.

She said she’s served on retirement development, planning and advisory committees for the Vicksburg-Warren Chamber of Commerce.

“She has been very helpful in retirement programs at the chamber,” said Rep. Chester Masterson, R-Vicksburg.

She has been a member of American Association of Retired Persons since 1983 and served as the district coordinator for the west central chapter of the AARP.

Masterson worked closely with Sheffield when he was chairman of the local chapter.

“She’s very congenial, and entergetic,” he said. “She’s easy to work with.”