AARP CEO Bill Novelli Honored at Ellis Island
By: Carole Fleck; Source: AARP Bulletin Date Posted: 2007-04-17 12:13:00-04:00
AARP CEO Bill Novelli was presented with the Ellis Island Family Heritage Award for Public Service today by the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation.
“The Ellis Island Family Heritage Award honors the arrival of Bill Novelli’s grandfather from Italy through Ellis Island and celebrates the significant contribution Bill has made to the field of public service,” said Stephen A. Briganti, President and CEO of The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation.
“My grandparents and others like them had great courage and vision,” said Novelli. “When my kids were growing up, and now with my grandkids, I think about how to impart the immigrant values—the value of hard work, a reverence for education, strength of family, and love of country.”
Novelli’s paternal grandfather, Raffaele Novelli left his ancestral home in Calascio, Italy at age 24 and arrived at Ellis Island on February 6, 1897. Raffaele made his way to Tarrs, Pennsylvania where he found work as a coal miner. He was soon reunited with Maria Giuseppa Florio, whom he'd know in the old country, and they married in 1899 and started a family. They returned to Italy, but Raffaele continued to travel to Africa and America in search of employment to support his growing family of four. By 1910 the Novellis returned to America for good. Maria gave birth to four more children, including Domenico, father of Bill Novelli and his brother, Jerry.
“In my life at AARP, I see how connected the generations are. Grandparents care about their children, their grandchildren and about leaving the country a better place. Young people care about their parents and grandparents. There is real solidarity,” continued Novelli. “I’m very proud of my heritage, and proud to be part of the American dream that still lives on.
Mr. Novelli was raised in the Pittsburgh area and attended the University of Pennsylvania where he played varsity football and lacrosse, earned a B.A. in English and Journalism, an M.A. from Penn's Annenberg School of Communications, and most importantly met his wife Fran.
Novelli co-founded Porter Novelli in 1972 to apply marketing to social and health issues, creating one of the world’s largest marketing and public relations agencies with corporate, not-for-profit, and government clients. After nearly two decades as president of the firm, he departed in 1990 to pursue a second career in public service.
Novelli is a recognized leader in the international practice of social marketing, and was named one of the 100 most influential public relations professionals of the 20th century by the industry’s leading publication. He has served as Executive Vice President of CARE—the world’s largest private relief and development organization, helping impoverished people in Africa, Asia and Latin America – as well as President of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, where he still serves as chairman of the board.
Novelli is now CEO of AARP, a membership organization of over 38 million people age 50 and older. He has written extensively on marketing management, communications and social marketing and is the author of 50+: Igniting a Revolution to Reinvent America.
Novelli and his wife, Fran, reside in Bethesda, Maryland. They have three adult children and four grandchildren.
AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan membership organization that helps people 50+ have independence, choice and control in ways that are beneficial and affordable to them and society as a whole. We produce AARP The Magazine, published bimonthly; AARP Bulletin, our monthly newspaper; AARP Segunda Juventud, our bimonthly magazine in Spanish and English; NRTA Live & Learn, our quarterly newsletter for 50+ educators; and our website, AARP.org. AARP Foundation is an affiliated charity that provides security, protection, and empowerment to older persons in need with support from thousands of volunteers, donors, and sponsors. We have staffed offices in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
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