Lancaster: One place to start is at home

Jerry Lancasters' gift for nurturing and his determination to use that gift in the service of the elderly sets him apart as a tireless advocate for a population in critical need of champions.

His commitment to concerns for worthwhile issues that effect the Senior Citizens Centers, the American Association of Retired Persons and Arkansas Hospice, has him diligently searching for ways to improve their lot.

The Lancaster influence, in effect, asserts itself in organizations whose purpose is to create a more livable, more tolerable way of life, especially for society's vulnerable individuals. He has presided over such organizations, leaving his handprints in supportive programs that benefit all involved.

He is a doer, involved in various processes that benefit others. He it totally committed to their welfare, employing a strong work ethic to get things done. But this is not to suggest that Lancaster is a humorless fellow. Far from it. He laughs easily, finds humor in the foibles of life and, in short, he is a well-defined sort given to carry on in a very natural style

Most recently he found himself engaged in lobbying for the elderly in the Arkansas State Legislature.

"I feel called to volunteer in any venue that needs whatever help I can give them," Lancaster says in a self-deprecating way. "Love your neighbors but give them a hand too if they need it."

And it his view that there are many proven benefits for those who volunteer as well as those whom they help since volunteering, he maintains, can renew or reinforce a sense of purpose in one's life.

He puts a higher premium on being valuable than being visible, helping people whose lives are shadowed by problems that can't be solved by them alone.

"Performing some kind of community service does not depend on having highly specialized skills; it only requires a ready heart," he says. "And one way to start improving the world is to start very close to home."

That he is solicitous to the needs of the elderly is apparent when he says, "We must reach out and break down the isolation that surrounds so many older people and carry out projects that help people age successfully and make their lives more livable"

He doesn't just give lip service to these concepts, and the awards he has received attest to this fact. He is particularly proud of the President's Call to Service Award he received, plus the many awards garnered during his work with the elderly, especially from the AARP and the senior citizens center.

Lancaster, a native of Conway, is a former Am Tran Company sales manager. He attended Conway schools, the University of Central Arkansas and Little Rock University, now the University of Arkansas at little Rock.

Among his credits are memberships in Care Link (Central Arkansas Agency on Aging), the Conway unit of Arkansas Hospice and the Senior Citizens Center of Conway. He also served in the Arkansas Army National Guard for 26 years. Only recently he gave up gavel as president of the AARP and president of the Senior Citizens Center.

He was nominated twice for the Andrus Award, named for Dr. Ethel Percy Andrus, the founder of the AARP, and given for community service. He also is a fellow of the Arkansas Gerontology Society.

Today, Lancaster is a member of the AARP executive council for field operations, traveling the state of Arkansas while serving as an ambassador for AARP and developing new chapters.

During the recent 87th General Assembly, he and other advocates for populations at risk were cheered by the action of legislators who dealt positively with such issues as adequate housing, protection from identify theft and financial fraud, the silver alert program which is designed to help those caring for people affected with Alzheimer's and other cognitive disabilities, and proposals to help children avoid foster care, if at all possible.

Lancaster agrees wholeheartedly with House Speaker Robbie Wills who told fellow legislators: "Through our action, seniors will be at home receiving care instead of in a nursing home."