A tireless advocate for historic preservation and childhood education, Brooklyn-born and lifelong resident Joan Maynard has received countless awards for her work with the Society for the Preservation of Weeksville and Bedford-Stuyvesant History, on whose board she continues to serve as a trustee emeritus.

Trained as a commercial artist, Maynard has devoted her life to documenting and preserving the heritage of African Americans and raising awareness among the next generation of the contributions and dignity of their ancestors. Her awards and honors include induction into the City Lore People's Hall of Fame in 1999 (at the Museum of the City of New York) and an honorary degree from the Bank Street College of Education (May 2003).

QUOTE:
There is recent documentation that the largest growing population is people over 100. That says something. Whether people like it or not, we're here; unless they kill all of us at one time, were going to be here. People are going to have to rearrange how they act, behave, and they can think Listen, I might get old too. But it doesn't mean that I'm going to be walking around unconsious on a cane, slurping and everything - that could happen too. But the chances are, all things being equal, I will be relatively useful for quite a long time. So I better get ready now. What else you going to do? You've got to get ready!!