Brad Anderson of Des Moines has been named the new AARP Iowa State Director. He will oversee operations of the Iowa state office, which includes a staff of four full-time employees and a 14-person volunteer advisory Executive Council that works on behalf of all Iowans 50+, including the more than 370,000 AARP members statewide. He succeeds Kent Sovern, who is retiring after seven years as State Director.
AARP Iowa and Attorney General Tom Miller hosted a statewide teletown hall, “Don’t Be Fooled by Imposter Scams,” on Monday, May 14. This program highlighted the growing problem of impostor scams, ways you can identify and avoid being scammed by them, addressed caller questions and concerns, and providing helpful resources, tips and websites.
Kent Sovern of Des Moines, who has served AARP Iowa as state director since July 2011, has announced his retirement, effective June 1, 2018. Over his 47-year career, including seven in his current position, Sovern’s work has spanned many areas including organizational and business development, association management, policy advocacy, K-12 and higher education, and local government administration, leading organizations in Iowa and Minnesota and as an active volunteer in his community.
AARP Iowa State President Chuck Betts has announced three new Executive Council members for 2018—Brena Corona of West Des Moines, Judi Pierick of Des Moines, and Phil Tetzloff of Marshalltown. The AARP Iowa Executive Council is a team of volunteers from across Iowa who provide leadership to support the implementation and execution of AARP priorities statewide.
As state lawmakers near a key deadline, the 2018 legislative session’s first funnel of February 16, AARP leaders and activists descended on the State Capitol this morning for the Association’s annual lobby day, urging lawmakers to pass the 2018 Iowa CARE (Caregiver Advise, Record, Enable) Act. The bill (HF 2289/SSB 3123), with no cost to the state or taxpayers, would provide vital support for Iowa’s more than 317,000 family caregivers who help their older parents, spouses and other loved ones live safely and independently at home.
When Irene Olson was unexpectedly discharged from the hospital on a wintery Saturday afternoon after a short stay following aortic aneurism surgery, she phoned her daughter Sue, 175 miles away in Ames, telling her to come and pick her up. With minimal information from hospital staff regarding the discharge, Sue drove five hours through blizzard conditions. Arriving at the hospital, Sue’s mother was waiting in a wheelchair to be taken home. No instruction was provided to Sue on how to administer her mother’s medications or how to tend to a wound that remained from the recent surgery.
As state lawmakers near a key deadline, the 2018 legislative session’s first funnel of February 16, AARP Iowa is urging lawmakers to pass the 2018 Iowa CARE (Caregiver Advise, Record, Enable) Act. The bill (SSB 3123), with no cost to the state or taxpayers, would provide vital support for Iowa’s more than 317,000 family caregivers who help their older parents, spouses and other loved ones live safely and independently at home.
AARP Iowa State Director Kent Sovern was honored earlier this month with the 2017 Planning Advocate – Engaged Citizen award from the Iowa Chapter of the American Planning Association (APA-Iowa) during the Upper Midwest Planning Conference in Dubuque. This award honors an individual who has advanced or promoted the cause of planning the built environment in the public arena.
AARP is pleased to welcomes the 2017 Class of AARP Iowa Executive Council members, leaders from across the state who are joining with a team of volunteers to provide strategic direction and leadership in support of accomplishment of AARP priorities in Iowa.