Jim Schultz, AARP Speaker’s Bureau Volunteer of Year

By KATLYN PROCTOR
Eagle Times Associate Editor
CONCORD, NH — AARP New Hampshire recently hosted more than 100 volunteers at a celebratory lunch at the Derryfield Country Club in Manchester. The organization is known as one of the largest social welfare nonprofits in the United States for those over the age of 50, with branches in all 50 states, so getting bestowed an award by them is a great honor.

At the event, Speakers Bureau Volunteer of the Year was awarded to Jim Schultz of New London, a humble man who gives credit to his peers. Schultz is a former computer software developer and proud husband and dad.

His role with AARP involves spreading the good word about the organization through presentations, many of which are presented to civic groups, senior centers and beyond, on various topics. Presentations can range from emergency preparedness to driver safety to understanding Medicare.

“When selecting the volunteer to receive the 2023 AARP NH Speakers Bureau Volunteer of the Year Award, Jim was the natural choice,” said Pam Dube, AARP NH Associate State Director of Communications.

1. Tell me a little bit about yourself.

My main hobby is reading — mostly lightweight murder mysteries. (Marj, my wife, says she sometimes fears that I am simply doing research.) I am also able to spend a fair amount of time in my various AARP volunteer roles.

2. What compelled you to volunteer with AARP?

I have been a member of AARP since my older sister gave me a two-year membership when I turned 50 to remind me how old I was getting. Because I was involved in computer systems for so long and had gotten pretty familiar with taxes, I began volunteering with the Tax Aide program in spring of 2018. After attending an AARP Fraud Watch Network presentation, I became very interested in trying to help people avoid becoming victims of fraud and scams. During the pandemic, the NH Speakers Bureau (SB) grew tremendously and did presentations to groups across the state via Zoom. When returning to in-person presentations became viable, I simply continued. AARP’s NH Speakers Bureau has a list of presentations offered for free to essentially any group in the state. 

3. What do your volunteer duties include?

In terms of volunteer duties in the SB, our jobs start when an organization or a group requests one of the presentations. The SB Coordinator emails out the information regarding the request to all SB members. Typically, two volunteers who “raised their hands” are then selected to do the presentation. The volunteers then work together to decide who will be doing which parts of the presentation (most are PowerPoint based), how the presentation will be done [e.g., does the site have a PC on which to run the slides or do we bring one, how many attendees are expected, etc.], and any other logistical arrangements that are needed. Then once all that’s complete, it’s show time! Naturally when the presentation has been scheduled to be done virtually [via Zoom], the logistics are significantly different.

Please note that I do not feel that I have done anything special or out-of-the-ordinary in either my SB or Tax Aide roles. The staff in the state office and the volunteers who run these programs are the ones who make those programs successful.

4. What is your favorite presentation to date?

My favorite Speakers Bureau presentation to give is the one titled “Your Identity: Staying Connected & Protected.” This presentation is aimed at helping audience members recognize and avoid falling victim to identify theft and identity fraud. Attendees generally are very engaged in the presentation. They are generally very willing to share stories from their experiences and are very receptive to the tips and recommendations we are able to give.

5. Is there a motivation driving you to continue your volunteerism?

I have simply always enjoyed trying to somehow help others. In college in the early 1970s, I was a co-founder of a telephone hotline where we got calls from students as well as townspeople having issues with depression, drugs, alcohol abuse, etc. When we lived in Ohio, I was a member of our local volunteer fire department as an EMT and fire fighter. I have also been pretty active in church roles over the years.