A Message from the State President
By: Source: AARP.org Date Posted: 2007-01-23 16:07:02.784726-05:00
A Message from the State President
Hello . . . and welcome to AARP in North Carolina.
As a state with one of the fastest growing AARP memberships (we passed the one million member mark in March 2006 and continue to grow), we offer many opportunities for you to be involved as a member, as a volunteer and as a participant in services we offer, ranging from our Driver Safety Program to our Powerful Tools for Caregivers courses.
We have more than 70 local chapters across the state. In addition to offering regular meetings featuring food and fellowship, our chapters cooperate to serve their communities in a wide variety of ways: delivering Meals on Wheels, assisting at adult day care centers, conducting food drives, helping to make their cities and town more livable, visiting nursing homes and assisted living centers and generally finding ways to be of service in their home towns.
At our state headquarters in Raleigh, we have a talented staff headed by State Director Robert Jackson.
Bill Wilson and Mary Bethel, Associate State Directors for Advocacy, guide our Advocacy Council, made up of volunteers who write issue briefs, and work in the state legislative chambers to inform lawmakers about issues of concern to the senior population. They also keep in touch with North Carolina's Senators and Representatives in Congress. Advocacy Council members are often part of the teams going out in the community to talk about preserving Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and other topics.
Suzanne Lafollette Black, and Greg Tanner, both Associate State Directors for Community Outreach, offer volunteers many opportunities, including participating in our Faith in Action projects, serving as a Health Specialist and spreading the word about the importance of workers age 50+ to the U.S. economy. There are many programs in Community Outreach, some of them episodic and some continuing year-round. For example, with the help of local volunteers and other partner agencies, Tanner has conducted many Scam Jams around the state to alert seniors about frauds and scams that could cost people the loss of thousands of dollars or even their very identity.
AARP believes in training all its volunteers, and Helen Savage is the Associate State Director in charge of volunteer development. She also heads up our disaster preparedness efforts.
Associate State Director Rhonda Deitch, based in the Charlotte area, works with volunteers and a wide variety of projects in the southern and western portions of North Carolina.
Bob Garner is Associate State Director for Communications and handles public affairs in the state office. The support staff—Beverly McGahee, Danielle Harrell and Shawnita Hamm—help make all AARP's statewide efforts happen.
Whether you have an interest in livable communities, healthy behaviors, transportation, advocacy, caregiving issues, teaching driver safety, helping people with their income tax, or one of countless other projects, we would be glad to welcome you into our volunteer ranks.
I head AARP North Carolina's Executive Council, a group comprised of six volunteers plus the State Director, which offers advice and background in the drafting of the annual plan.
Others on the Council include:
- Bill Lamb, Raleigh
- Audrey Kates Bailey, Raleigh
- Richard W. Hatch, Oak Island
- Althea Taylor-Jones, Winston Salem
- Dwight Story, Thomasville
The best way to reach any of us is through the state office contact information. While we have more than a million members, we still have a way to go to mobilize a majority of them to help create a better world for everyone. Why don't you become the next member who goes beyond AARP's valuable member services and discounts to become a volunteer?
AARP envisions "A society in which everyone ages with dignity and purpose and in which AARP helps people fulfill their goals and dreams."
AARP’s mission is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for all as we age. We lead positive social change and deliver value to members through information advocacy and service, and we hope you’ll join us in that effort.
Diana D. Hatch
AARP North Carolina State President
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