Published in Pawtucket times on April 9, 2001

It was a rigorous and long process for those seeking the position of AARP RI State Director, stated Kathleen S. Connell.

One evening two-months after submitting her application, Kathleen reminded her husband to write out a check for $10 to renew their AARP membership.

At that moment the phone rang and the caller stated he was from AARP. Kathleen chuckles now thinking that for  a split second she thought the phone call was to remind her to renew her AARP membership.  The call was to schedule her interview for the job.

“It’s been intense learning curve in the last four months,” admits Connell, who came to the job with a variety of professional experiences, nurse and health educator, state senator, and Secretary of State for Rhode Island.  She has been very busy learning about the national and state organization, meeting local membership and planning to opening of AARP’s headquarters in Providence.

“We have surveyed the market and reviewed submitted requests for proposals and visited properties with AARP staff from Washington, DC, Connell told The Times.

She expects a site in Providence to be selected within the upcoming weeks because AARP’s National headquarters want state offices to be located at the state capitols.

Rhode Island’s AARP office, staffed by the Rhode Island State Director, Associate Director for Communication, Associate Director for Advocacy and an Office Manager, should be up and running and fulling staffed by September 2001.

“It was a bold step for AARP’s volunteer board of directors under the leadership of Horae Deets to decentralize f rom a regional level and to bring their offices to the state level to better serve its membership,” Connell said, noting that this effort involved a huge commitment of resources and time to establish 32 state offices throughout the nation this year.

It’s obvious, “having a presence in Rhode Island will be a factor in increasing AARP’s visibility at the statehouse, added Connell. Having a state office in Rhode Island will also be a catalyst in helping the group recruit more older Rhode Islanders to participate in the nonprofit group’s committee and activities, she said.

By having an office in Rhode Island, “We want to continue to raise the awareness in AARP membership about what the membership driven organization is doing within the state and at the federal level.

According to Connell, a new volunteer structure will be designed to bring more diversity and flexibility into the volunteer experience.

“One of the concepts that we will be exploring is the use of episodic volunteers, people who do a specific project, disengage and come back to work again on a future project.”

As the AARP begins to reach out to the aging baby boom generation (those born from 1945 to 1954), research tells the nonprofit that this demographic group because there is more leisure time available to them.

Connell states that the AARP will begin to actively recruit aging baby boomers to join AARP.

While you got to protect the current generation you must begin to watch out for those that follow,” she says.

Finally, Connell wants all to know that the AARP is a tremendous resource for members and nonmembers alike. She stated that on a number of issues that affect people age 50 and over, the group’s research is widely recognized for excellence and objectivity, adding that the data findings can be used by almost any group with confidence.