Michelle Cyr | Energetic Enlister

Photo by Luke Beck

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Michelle finds personal satisfaction in her work with hundreds of volunteers she recruited as AARP’s Divided We Fail (dividedwefail.org) program coordinator for Florida. But she finds personal peace on the water fishing and on her sportsbike exploring.

“I resolve to relax.  Sounds easy enough, but for some reason I find myself over-analyzing every last detail of any task I take on, whether it’s a work project or a girl’s night out.  I’m committed to easing my worries by taking joy in the process as well as the outcome.” -- Michelle Cyr

MEET MICHELLE

Michelle thought she’d become a marine biologist. Born in Maine but raised in the St. Pete area since a small child, she’s always loved being near the water. “Dad has his captain’s license and always shows me where all the good fishing spots are. I love SCUBA diving and did an internship with Clearwater Marine Aquarium fresh out of college,” she says. After staying on with the aquarium for a few years working primarily with volunteers at the attraction, her career took a sharp turn toward the world of advocacy. Michelle began working for AARP in 1998 and realized that her volunteer outreach skills could be just as useful in this new landscape. “I realized that I could do the same recruiting in the community and help others in a very grass roots way,” she says.

When AARP’s Divided We Fail program launched in 2007, Michelle already had been serving as an advocacy program coordinator within the organization. She moved into a new role heading up the Florida volunteer recruitment for this new advocacy effort which established two core concerns across party lines, affordable healthcare and lifetime financial security. She says her decision to lead this bipartisan charge in Florida was a natural one. “These are issues important to everybody, not only people over 50. I ran into my own issues after I graduated from college. I learned that I couldn’t be on my mom’s health insurance anymore then received a letter telling me that unless I went to grad school, I’d need to start paying back my student loans. So these are two concerns affecting everybody,” she says.

Her recruitment efforts with Divided We Fail have gathered over 400 volunteers across the state and 75,000 pledge signatures gathered toward the program’s million voices for change goal. She’s pleased with the presence the organization earned at political rallies for both parties during this previous election campaign period. “Our goal was to register people to vote and encourage them to become a more educated voter who’s willing to vote across party lines to achieve what they feel is best for them to get affordable healthcare options and ensure financial security,” she says. “If we can get community leaders, business leaders and elected leaders all at the same table, we could accomplish so much more in our country.”

Michelle says what she’s enjoyed most is getting the opportunity to work with a variety of people of different age groups and backgrounds. “Most volunteers are retired professionals, and they can share so much experience and knowledge with me and my generation. Every time I talk with them, I feel like I learn something new,” she says. It doesn’t hurt that she truly loves what she does on a day-to-day basis. That makes even the stressful days much easier to tackle. “It’s hard to recruit if you’re not friendly and passionate about what you do. People sense it if you don’t have that passion.”

Now with the 2008 election over, how will her role in the organization change as newly elected candidates prepare to take office? “My top priorities will never change. Now it will be our job to hold the elected officials true to their word and continue to advocate for Americans,” she says. Recently, Michelle was nominated for the Lyn Bodiford Award for Excellence in Advocacy for her work with AARP, an acknowledgement for which she was quite thrilled to receive. “Lyn was a very passionate advocate whose life was cut short. I was fortunate enough to get the chance to work with her before, so it was such an honor to be recognized in this way.”

When she’s not traveling for work, she enjoys hanging out with her chocolate lab Conroy, fishing, hiking, and spending time with her family while exploring the open road. “I’ve had my own sporty GSXR motorcycle for a few years now, ride a few days a week, and love seeing sights on the back roads on the weekends. Mom and dad weren’t thrilled with my riding a bike initially but since then, they’ve gotten their own bikes, too. So sometimes, we all go riding together,” she says.