AARP Tennessee Seeks Volunteers for Popular Speakers Bureau

When April Eppolito’s niece encouraged her to join AARP Tennessee’s Speakers Bureau as a volunteer presenter in 2024, her first thought was, “I don’t talk in front of people.”

The 70-year-old retired loan processor was more of a behind-the-scenes kind of person. Still, she didn’t say no. During her first presentation on caregiving, Eppolito froze in the middle of the talk. Then she accidentally skipped a couple of slides.

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The audience didn’t notice. Eppolito kept going. And with each presentation since then, she has grown more comfortable.

“I get a lot of satisfaction knowing that any little thing we pass out or say can help somebody,” says Eppolito, who lives in Ashland City outside of Nashville.

She is one of about 30 volunteers with the AARP Tennessee Speakers Bureau, which brings free presentations to community centers, faith-based organizations and other groups around the state. But AARP is seeking more volunteers to help keep pace with requests, says volunteer Nancy Kendrick, 71, who is the bureau’s lead trainer.

Its priority topics for 2026 are Social Security, caregiving, fraud prevention, brain health and home modifications that make daily living safer.

AARP provides training, technical support and ready-to-go presentations that volunteers can modify with local statistics and personal experiences. Volunteers learn to use platforms such as Zoom, PowerPoint and the online design tool Canva.

“Our speakers have an opportunity to learn multiple skills that can be used in other facets of their lives,” Kendrick says.

Making a Difference

Vivian Martin grew up hearing that aging was a one-way slide. “You hit a certain age, and it’s all downhill from that point,” she recalls thinking when leaving doctor’s office visits.

Now 75, the Nashville resident is delivering the counterpoint as a Speakers Bureau volunteer teaching older Tennesseans about how habits — such as getting exercise, eating healthy food and staying socially connected — support brain health.

Martin does the work despite having initially planned to take it easy after busy careers in accounting, law and education — and while raising three grandchildren. But she appreciates the reaction she gets from participants, who realize the importance of being more proactive about their health.

More than 30 members of Friends and Neighbors of Middle Tennessee, a social group in Nashville, gathered in early February for a lunch featuring Kendrick’s presentation on the six pillars of brain health. It immediately resonated with the group’s mostly retired membership, says member Judy Book, 71.

Many attendees snapped photos of slides to review later. One of the pillars — regular exercise — sparked renewed enthusiasm for a previously active walking group.