AARP local chapter Members of local Salisbury/Rowan AARP Chapter 4314 attended the North Carolina Leadership Conference in Statesville April 23.
Local representatives were: Bob Bruce, president; Judy Bella, vice president; Barbara Bruce, secretary; Ray Raper, treasurer; Jerry Shelby, legislature action chairman; Pat Beck, program chairman; and Manie Richardson, community outreach chairman. Also in attendance were representatives from Alexander County, Mooresville-South Iredell and Statesville.
The Statesville meeting was one in a series of conferences conducted throughout North Carolina by the state AARP office in Raleigh. The purpose of these regional meetings was to train chapter officers and leaders and also provide a model for measuring the health and vitality of their local chapters. Local Chapter 4314 is one of the more active and healthier chapters in the state. Through their active participation in the Tar Heel legislature in Raleigh and relative speaker program, the Salisbury/Rowan Chapter continues to keeps its members informed of those issues that have a direct impact on their lives.
In addition to leadership training, there was an opportunity to participate in a community discussion of the AARP national initiative, “Divided We Fail” campaign. This portion of the program was open to the local community at large. Divided We Fail is a national effort by AARP to engage the American people, elected officials and the business community in finding broad-based, bi-partisan solutions to the most compelling domestic issues facing the nation: health care and lifetime financial security.
The Salisbury/Rowan AARP chapter meets at 1 p.m. the first Thursday of each month at Rufty-Holmes Senior Center. The next meeting will be June 5 for a picnic beginning at noon followed by a business meeting.
The June speaker will be David Lomax from Queen City, speaking about the pending DTV changes that all television viewers will be faced with on Feb. 17, 2009.