shAARP Talk: Observations from AARP

Today was such an important day in history - for so many reasons, and for so many people.

I started voting as soon as I was able to: when I turned 18. Not any one candidate or issue got me fired up, it was simply an important rite of passage. To vote meant to participate in one of our greatest freedoms.

Voting is perhaps the most important representation of a democracy which we are so lucky to have here in America. People in other countries have given their lives to achieve this privilege of a voice. A voice that isn't pressured by any one else but is representative of one's own best judgment.

It is massively important for everyone of all ages to vote, but for those of us who are over 50 and older hopefully have some experience. Perhaps our perspective and appreciation that our voting will have significant policy and leadership impact to the well being of not only ourselves, but of future generations is felt a little bit stronger as we age.

I recently sat down with Alejandra to chat about Life@50+ and how truly amazing an event it was. I was on my feet everyday from morning until night, but not even being tired could keep me away from our fantastic members and some of the most fun I've had in a long while. Below are some excerpts from our conversation.

Alejandra: What were you most surprised by at Life@50+?
Jennie: Just how delighted so many attendees were with the organization and coordination with an event of this magnitude. They came up to me and just gave unsolicited comments of appreciation!

A: Did you meet any celebrities? Do you have a favorite celebrity moment?
J: Quincy Jones, Sally Fields, Richard Petty, Patty Austin, Martina Navratilova and Dr. Ruth. And it was great to meet Mickey Mouse!

A: Did you have a favorite event during Life@50+?
J: The Lincoln Memorial event which was both powerful and moving, It really helped us highlight the legacy of our 50 years and the vibrancy and timelessness of issues that drove Dr. Andrus to start our organization-and the issues continue to still need our leadership and advocacy today..50 years later!

A: Next year Life@50+ is in Las Vegas, is there anything you'll do differently next year?
J: Would most definitely spend more time on the floor to meet more members and attendees as well as our multitude of exhibitors.

A: What was your favorite member/attendee story?
J: The thrill of the entertainment of the evenings..so many people were just over the top happy to have seen and participated in the Natalie Cole, Ramsey Lewis, Chicago and Paul Simon concerts.

It was amazing to see members pounding the stage to exhort Paul Simon to return to the stage two times after the "last song". It was also fun to see some attendees with 4-6 shopping bags just filled with stuff gathered from the nearly 500 exhibitors.

Check out the picture of me on stage during our opening event! The room was pack with about 10,000 people!

It was such an important moment for us as AARP to be so visible and present at this Medicare rally at the Capitol. Seeing members from both sides of the aisle come together to assure that important provisions of Medicare are preserved and enhanced for this program was inspiring. Most of all we all became more hopeful that we can work on breaking political gridlock and get back on track to secure our collective well being for our country.

We will all benefit from having physicians receive adequate compensation, seeing that the efficiency and safety of using technology for e-prescribing, assuring that our retired military are also cared for and ultimately - older Americans see an overall improvement in their health care.

A big thanks to our many volunteers who were able to be present in their famous AARP red tee shirts..it was a visual reminder to all of our collective voice.

Alejandra has blogged before about how detrimental a fall can be for an older person. Some of you may have noticed that in a recent edition of AARP The Magazine I highlighted this as a high priority issue for me while I'm President...we know how important this issue can be for people 50 and older.

Recently, a US Center for Disease Control study showed that falls are injuring and claiming the lives of our loved ones at an alarming rate. And for many people who fall and break their hip, their lives of independence are often forever compromised.

So, if you know someone who's getting older, or maybe just beginning to have a hard time getting around their home, know that there are proven "steps" one can take that can help prevent or minimize the risk of falls. Since half the falls experienced occur at home, there are some simple things you can do to minimize the risk of a fall by improving safety features around their home.

You can find some truly helpful tips for renovating your home on our website. I also have colleagues from the Archstone Foundation in California who have funded a special focus on this topic by creating a Fall Prevention Center of Excellence.

See you in a couple of weeks!

Hello everyone! I've not been posting here on Shaarp Session for awhile, but I'm back and will be posting more regularly - and robustly- than ever before.

You may or may not know that my position is a volunteer position here at AARP. Some of my favorite parts of this role include meeting so many people, both individuals and organizations, who really care about situation of our country today and think AARP can be a big resource to help contribute to our well being now and in the future. As a volunteer and member, I really feel I get to help improve the lives of older Americans and their families across the nation along with the nearly million other AARP volunteers - and our nearly 4 million activists!

I've been busy traveling across the country with AARP, talking to our volunteers, meeting with elected officials...and even an occasional celebrity here and there. This has been an incredible experience already and will start sharing some of my experiences with you. I'll be bringing you pictures from the road, some interviews and sharing my background and experience. Hopefully this can be a venue where you get a more personal view of AARP, post your input and a have some fun doing it. Talk to you soon!

Hi everyone, I'm Jennie Chin Hansen, AARP's new soon to be new President. While my tenure is filled with firsts - I am a boomer, a gerontologist and an Asian American - I also will be the first AARP President to blog. I will be posting twice monthly here at shAARPsession, so check back to hear the latest on what we're doing.

As you might imagine, AARP has a full agenda. Between our work on Divided We Fail, our new and engaging website (with social networking), as well as our growing membership, as well as our recognition of our 50th anniversary I am honored to be a part of what will be occurring in these next two years. I also know, however, that many Americans are concerned about their future and the future of their children and grandchildren. People are anxious about their finances and about their health care.

Our founder, the first female principal in the California, Dr. Ethel Percy Andrus, left us an important saying: what we do, we do for all. I hope you all know that is still at the core of what we believe and do.

Along these lines, each year on the second Thursday in May, we launch AARP's Day of Service to lend a hand to our local communities. Last year, more than 33,000 people gave back and this year we expect even more. We'd like to invite you to join us!

Visit AARP's Make a Difference site where you can choose a Day of Service activity, connect with others, suggest ideas or let us know what you think about giving back to your community.

We're here to support you. Whether you need resources on how to care for an aging parent or loved one, need to figure out how much you will need to retire, or even if you just want to kick back and make a new acquaintance online, AARP has all of this for you.

I look forward to hearing and connecting with you. You can leave comments here or send me an email.