Lee Hammond Begins Term as AARP President

WASHINGTON, May 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AARP today welcomed Lee Hammond as president. Hammond previously served a two-year term on the AARP Board of Directors as president-elect and replaces outgoing President Jennie Chin Hansen. Hammond will continue to serve until 2012. As president, he will be AARP's lead volunteer.

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"I am honored to continue my service at AARP as president," Hammond said. "As an educator, I was drawn to AARP because of its roots as an organization dedicated to providing affordable, quality health care for retired teachers. More than 50 years later, we are an organization committed to service, to inspiring social change, and to ensuring people of all backgrounds age with dignity and respect. I look forward to serving AARP members, and the broader 50+ population, over the next two years."

As AARP president, Hammond will articulate the positions and views of AARP; provide leadership; and foster creativity and enthusiasm in AARP's volunteers, members, and staff. Additionally, he will represent AARP and AARP members at key national and international meetings and events.

The all-volunteer, 22-member board of directors is the governing body of AARP and approves all policies, programs, activities and services for AARP's millions of members. Some of the major responsibilities of AARP board members are to approve the budget and monitor the finances of the Association; determine the Association's state and national legislative policy agenda; and set policy that guides the Association's strategic plans and activities.

Hammond, of Salisbury, Md., was elected to the Board of Directors in 2002. He has chaired the Nominating Committee, the Audit and Finance Committee, the Membership Committee and the National Policy Council. Hammond began his 30-year career in education in Wicomico County, Md., as a classroom teacher. He then served as a school administrator for 25 years, developing administrative and managerial skills while working with diverse student and professional populations.

Before joining the AARP board, Hammond served as AARP Maryland State President and as president of the Maryland Retired Teachers Association. He is a member of the Maryland Interagency Committee on Aging Services and vice chair of the board of Directors of MAC, Inc., a non-profit Area Agency on Aging serving four Maryland counties. He is an ordained Elder at Wicomico Presbyterian Church and previously served on the U.S. Attorney's Health Care Fraud Task Force and on the boards of the Maryland Rural Health Association, the Maryland Commission on Aging and the Holly Foundation, a non-profit organization serving the needs of developmentally challenged persons.

AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan membership organization that helps people 50+ have independence, choice and control in ways that are beneficial and affordable to them and society as a whole. AARP does not endorse candidates for public office or make contributions to either political campaigns or candidates. We produce AARP The Magazine, the definitive voice for 50+ Americans and the world's largest-circulation magazine with over 35.7 million readers; AARP Bulletin, the go-to news source for AARP's millions of members and Americans 50+; AARP VIVA, the only bilingual U.S. publication dedicated exclusively to the 50+ Hispanic community; and our website, AARP.org. AARP Foundation is an affiliated charity that provides security, protection, and empowerment to older persons in need with support from thousands of volunteers, donors, and sponsors. We have staffed offices in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

SOURCE AARP