AARP Florida Announces Andrus Award Winner

Hernando County resident Dr. Beatrice “Bea” Braun has been selected by AARP to receive Florida’s 2009 AARP Andrus Award for Community Service, the Association’s most prestigious and visible volunteer award for community service in the lives of others.

AARP Florida selected Dr. Braun for her remarkable service and for the impact she’s had on the lives of others and on her community.  

“Bea Braun stands as an example for people of all generations.  If we commit ourselves to service, we can work together for positive social change,” said Lori Parham, AARP Florida’s state director.  “The spirit of volunteerism is embedded deep in AARP’s DNA, and the Association values the important contributions AARP volunteers make to their communities, neighbors, and the programs they serve.”

The AARP Andrus Award for Community Service recognizes members and volunteers who, through volunteer service, are significantly enhancing the lives of individuals age 50 and over.

Dr. Braun became a Maryknoll Catholic nun at Manhattanville College, graduating in 1944.  She received her medical degree from Marquette College (today Marquette University) in 1949.  At the outbreak of the Korean War, at the request of General of the Army Douglas MacArthur, Dr. Braun and five other Maryknoll sisters went to Korea to assist Korean civilians suffering from the scourge of war.  After 17 years in Korea, she returned to the United States and, married Richard “Dick” Braun.  She worked in the field of psychiatry in New York for many years, retiring with her husband to Spring Hill in 1989.

Braun served as a member of AARP’s National Board of Directors for eight years.  She also served as a board member of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, a group created by Congress to advise it on Medicare policy.

After eight years of activities in Washington, D.C., Braun moved to Spring Hill and became active in Serving Health Needs of Elders, a program she helped create, as a volunteer.  Braun later became Hernando County’s local SHINE Coordinator and has recruited close to a dozen Hernando County SHINE volunteers. In addition, she volunteers her time as a psychiatrist two days a week at the Health Department in Brooksville.

Recipients across the nation were chosen for their ability to enhance the lives of AARP members and prospective members, improve the community in or for which the work was performed, and inspire others to volunteer.  

The Andrus award is named for the founder of AARP, Dr. Ethel Percy Andrus, who said that the highest purpose of life for those 50+ was “to serve, not to be served.”