Summer Greetings 2023 from State Director, Noël Bonam

Warmest greetings to all! I hope that you and your family are enjoying summer in Maine.

It has been a busy year so far at AARP Maine with many important issues at stake, and I want to sincerely thank our wonderful advocates and volunteers for their dedication and tireless efforts on all fronts. At AARP Maine, we believe that hard work shouldn’t go unnoticed. To celebrate the accomplishments of our volunteer advocates during the legislative session, I am proud to share our 2023 Legislative Honor Roll! If you would like to become a volunteer advocate with AARP Maine, please send us an email at me@aarp.org anytime.

As you may have heard, one of our biggest legislative victories this session has been our work on a Paid Family and Medical Leave program in Maine. On July 11, 2023, Governor Mills signed state budget legislation into law which includes language to establish a Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) program in Maine! This is welcome news for Maine’s 166,000 family caregivers who work to better balance their job and family responsibilities. We thank bill sponsors Senator Daughtry and Representative Cloutier for championing this critical cause, and Governor Mills for signing the bill into law.

Another advocacy issue that we have been championing was the reforming of the Net Energy Billing program in Maine. While LD 1347 did not pass, AARP Maine was involved in many important conversations that helped drive home the importance of reforming this flawed program. We will continue to push for improvements that benefit Maine’s vulnerable consumers, particularly older adults who live on low and fixed incomes.

You can read more about these and other AARP Maine priority issues in our 2023 Legislative Wrap-up here.

In addition to the great work our volunteer advocates, our age-friendly communities across Maine are working to become more livable for residents of all ages. This year, AARP Maine is proud to have 14 Community Challenge grantees right here in our state! The Community Challenge is part of AARP’s nationwide work on livable communities, which supports the efforts of neighborhoods, towns, cities and counties across the country to become great places for all residents.

In other news, in June we participated in four PRIDE events in Maine: Hallowell, Lewiston/Auburn, Portland and Bangor. At each event, we offered festival-goers a chance to play a Social Security “plinko” game to test their knowledge about this crucial program. AARP’s unwavering commitment to the LGBTQ community reflects our core belief in the dignity, worth, and potential of every individual. We see diversity as a source of strength and LGBTQ communities are a vital part of the quilt of American life. Check out our short video thanking the volunteers who worked with staff at these events here.

As always, we welcome you to join our networking opportunities including our monthly coffee talks. This fall, we’re also excited to return to some of our popular paper shredding and medicine disposal events in collaboration with law enforcement and local community organizations. We hope you will stop by our events in Lewiston (Sept. 9^th), Presque Isle (Sept. 23^rd) and Portland (Oct. 21^st).


I also wanted to mention that AARP Driver Safety is looking for volunteers to become part of their team of instructors to teach older drivers how to stay safer behind the wheel. Instructors find it to be a meaningful way to make a difference as well as good way to make new friends. Click here to learn more.


Please continue to visit our website to stay up to date on our work and events around Maine. You can follow and like us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for important updates, the latest news, and additional resources.

As always, I welcome your feedback and ideas on how we can better serve and engage you locally. I look forward to hearing from you!

Warm wishes to you and your family for a healthy rest of the summer,

Noël Bonam
AARP Maine State Director