ATLANTA - Peace Corps Director Ron Tschetter joined former President Jimmy Carter in presenting Shirley Maly with the Peace Corps’ 2007 Lillian Carter Award during an award ceremony on May 16 at the Carter Center in Atlanta.

The award was given to Maly in recognition of her work while serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Uruguay and her continued dedication to community and volunteer service.

The Lillian Carter Award was established as a biennial award in 1986 in recognition of outstanding senior Returned Peace Corps Volunteers who demonstrate a commitment to the Peace Corps’ third goal: promoting a better understanding of people from other nations to Americans. This prestigious award is in memory of Lillian Carter, who served in the Peace Corps as a health Volunteer in India in the 1960s at the age of 68.

Maly was 60 years old in 1992 when she volunteered for the Peace Corps. Closing her public relations consultancy in Lincoln, Neb., she set off for Uruguay where she worked with women’s groups, taught English, and developed a local recycling program.

Since her return home, Maly has given countless presentations on her Peace Corps service to senior groups and promoted service in the Peace Corps as a viable retirement option. She has also continued her work to better the global community through additional volunteer work with various organizations in the San Juan Islands, Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, Mexico, Peru and Brazil.

In June 2005, Maly published the picture storybook Love Affair With The Americas, chronicling her experiences in North, Central and South America. The book highlights her Peace Corps experience and features illustrations by Maly, as well as folklore and cultural lessons of the regions.

The award ceremony also served as an opportunity for Peace Corps Director Tschetter’s to present his national initiative to recruit more Baby Boomers into the Peace Corps. Tschetter and his wife Nancy were Peace Corps Volunteers in India from 1966-68 and served with Lillian Carter. Tschetter claims that serving with Miss Lillian and older Volunteers was a great benefit to him and the younger Volunteers.

“Miss Lillian was an inspiration to me,” said Tschetter. “What she contributed in India was greater than her skills—she brought maturity and experience and in return received a tremendous amount of respect from the people. We hope to offer even more older Americans an opportunity to serve others in this very unique way and have meaningful results.”

Tschetter’s priority for the agency is to improve on the tremendous legacy of Lillian Carter to meet the growing population trends and retirement expectations of today’s older Americans.

Today, the Peace Corps has over 7,749 volunteers serving in 73 nations. Peace Corps service is a 27-month commitment. Approximately five percent of Peace Corps Volunteers are aged 50 or older. To find out more about Americans serving in their silver or golden years, please visit: http://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=learn.whovol.older.

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