AARP President Spreads Aloha During Visit to Hawaii
By: Source: AARP.org Date Posted: 2006-11-30 15:09:00-05:00
AARP National President Erik D. Olsen spent four eventful days in Hawaii during the first week of November, meeting with volunteers and learning first-hand the meaning of Aloha. It was his first visit to Hawaii since being sworn in as president in May.
Among the highlights of the visit was a volunteer recognition luncheon in Waikiki, where Olsen and his wife, Jackie, met with AARP volunteers and learned of the work being done in the Islands to advance AARP's mission of positive social change.
President Olsen spoke graciously of the spirit and enthusiasm of Hawaii's volunteers, and presented the 2006 Andrus Award for Community Service to longtime volunteer and senior advocate Laura Manis. Manis was recognized for her efforts to convene the first Silver Legislature in Hawaii in more than a decade.
During his stay in Honolulu, Olsen met with members of Hawaii's congressional delegation, including Congresswoman-elect Mazie Hirono, whom he briefed on AARP's health care reform agenda. He also paid courtesy visits to Sen. Daniel Akaka and Rep. Neil Abercrombie.
He also met with the editorial board of The Honolulu Advertiser, and was interviewed by the Honolulu Star-Bulletin and Hawaii Public Radio. KHON-2 interviewed Olsen for an upcoming television series featuring AARP visiting scholar Dr. Bill Thomas.
On his last full day in Hawaii, Olsen delivered a keynote address to physicians attending a major medical conference at the Hawaii Convention Center. He told an audience of about 400 physical medicine and rehabilitation specialists that even though the health care system in Hawaii is better than in most states, generations of Americans in all 50 states will suffer if nothing is done about the out-of-control costs and inefficiencies of America's health care system.
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