Michaela Williams

St. Petersburg, Fla. – Milagros "Millie" Cooper has been selected by AARP, the nonprofit organization for people 50 and older, to receive the 2014 AARP Florida Andrus Award for Community Service -- the Association’s most prestigious and visible state volunteer award for community service.

I’ve been an St. Petersburg Communications Intern Flier 10.21.14 with AARP Florida for the last nine months and I’m sad to say that my time is up. Lucky for me, what started out as a simple resume booster turned into one of the most valuable and inspiring experiences I’ve ever had.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, almost 20,000 women in the United States were diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2010 making it the eighth most common cancer and the fifth leading cause of cancer death in America. Yet, many cases of ovarian cancer are undetected until it has spread and is difficult to treat. Fortunately, detecting the cancer in its early stages can yield a survival rate of more than 93 percent.

Monica Stynchula is not a conventional retiree.

A few months after starting AARP in 1958, Ethel Percy Andrus, AARP’s founder, opened a Hospitality Center in St. Petersburg. The center welcomed Northern retirees visiting Florida in the winter and offered a place for those interested in the new association to receive discounts on prescriptions and medical supplies. Back then, AARP was helping Americans 50+ explore real possibilities in Florida.

When asked to imagine a traffic accident, most Americans imagine two cars colliding instead of a pedestrian and a vehicle. This lack of consideration for walkers is causing pedestrian fatalities to increase while overall traffic fatalities decrease. Nationally, in 2012, pedestrians accounted for 14 percent of all traffic deaths, up six percent from 2011.

AARP Executive Council member Ken Thomas is giving back to the community and fulfilling a lifelong dream through his active membership in the Tuskegee Airmen, Inc.

A new AARP study identifies an online victim profile based on 15 key behaviors and life experiences that increase a person’s vulnerability to online fraud. The report, “Caught in the Scammer’s Net,” a survey of 926 Florida adults finds that 2.7 million Internet users may be at increased risk of being victimized based on this new profile.