MARY STEELE ELECTED TO NATIONAL RSVP BOARD

Mary Steele, director of the Northwest Iowa Retired & Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) has been elected Vice President of the Board of Directors for the National Association of RSVP Directors. She will serve with President Melodye Kleinman of Santa Monica, California. Steele and Kleinman were installed at a recent meeting of the NARSVPD in Washington DC.

The mission of the NARSVPD is to provide visibility and advocacy for the 750 RSVP projects nationwide. Board members work to establish a network of communication as well as providing technical assistance and professional development for RSVP directors. The NARSVPD board also serves as the liaison between RSVP projects and Congress and the Corporation for National & Community Service, the federal volunteer agency which oversees RSVP.

Steele has served as director of the Northwest Iowa RSVP for the past 18 years. She has a degree in human services and journalism from Buena Vista University. Steele and her husband, Steve, live in Spencer and have three grown children and seven grandchildren.

RSVP provides volunteer opportunities for people 55 and over, and is sponsored in Clay, Dickinson, Emmet, Kossuth and Palo Alto counties by Iowa Lakes Community College.