Maj. Dan Rooney had a simple but vital message to share with sponsors and students of Big Brothers Big Sisters during their annual dinner Thursday night.Do good for others and you’re also doing good for yourself.Fort Wayne resident Curt Sylvester has been chosen president of AARP Indiana.
AARP is an advocacy group for people 50 and older. The Indiana chapter has nearly 860,000 members.
Sylvester's post is the top volunteer position for the statewide organization. His term is for two years, and he can serve three straight terms. He replaces Clyde Hall of McCordsville, who did not seek a third term.
Sylvester, 70, was a United Methodist minister for 35 years. He was a minister at St. Joseph United Methodist Church in Fort Wayne for 20 years, retiring in 2003. He also was at churches in Goshen and Valparaiso and is a former school teacher.
He has been an AARP Indiana volunteer since 2006 and a member of its executive council since 2010.
The Bloomington native said Tuesday that he wants to recruit, organize and train AARP volunteers as a "behind the scenes" president.
"You find people and say, 'What are you good at, what do you want to do,' and let them go," Sylvester said in an interview.
He is a member of the AARP National Volunteer Leadership Institute.
For more on this story, see Wednesday's print edition of The Journal Gazette or visit www.journalgazette.net after 3 a.m. Wednesday.
