About
Joining your local chapter will bring you friendships, camaraderie, and making a difference in your neighborhood!
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Chapter #3976 restarted in March 2022, and we're growing into our shoes with a new direction, website, and re-energized determination! We're looking for people who want a chance to spend time with friends, develop new friends, and contribute to our chapter's efforts as we serve our community, creating learning and social opportunities as we age with dignity. Innovation keeps us all on our well-worn toes, and your ideas count!
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Being a member of the National AARP organization will provide valuable resources, discounts, information, and product awareness relative to seniors.
Peggy Gutman
President ~ 2023-2025
Peggy grew up in Columbus, Ohio and moved to Chicago at age 19 where she attended University of Illinois Medical Center, obtaining a BSN degree. She married Joel and raised four children in Chicago. While living in this vibrant city, she explored the museums and parks and worked in three Chicago hospitals in Occupational Health Nursing roles.
In 2012, Peggy retired and turned her interests to home and family. She now has eight grandchildren, living in three states. In 2015 Joel retired and they moved to Cary, NC. As renters, they believed they lived in Morrisville because of their address, but nearly six months later learned how intertwined Cary and Morrisville can be! They loved their town home complex and having time to enjoy friends and family. Three of their grandchildren now also live in Cary. They are happy to have both mountains and ocean near enough to visit often, and enjoy visiting towns all across this beautiful state.
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Peggy enjoys attending community events, music festivals, fairs and other outdoor activities as often as possible. She recently became a part-time staff member at the Morrisville Senior Center and has been able to meet many people and expand her community! In 2019, Peggy was invited to join Cary Area AARP and has served as Program Chair through 2022. In 2023 she proudly became President for the 2023-2024 term.
Kim Bragg
Vice President
Kimniech Bragg Bio
Kimniech, affectionately known as Kim, was born and raised in the Bronx, New York, and moved to the state of Maryland after the loss of her parents with the blessings of her grandparents to pursue a career that involved helping others, Kim held many positions, to name a few - Daycare provider, Foster parent, Life skill coach, wedding and event coordinator, transitional living provider, to finally settling as a social worker and worked 20 years with the State of Maryland. Kim is a proud alumna of Morgan State University.
Kim has accomplished many things in her life. She says, “Nothing compares to the challenges she overcame and the rewards she has received being a mother. Kim states that being a teenage parent to her children taught her Humanity at a young age. Kim is married to Lovell Bragg, they relocated in 2014 to Cary, North Carolina after visiting friends over the years and felt it was a great transition for Lovell career and to raise their baby girl. They have seven children raised across three states: New York City, Maryland, and now North Carolina, and 10 grandchildren. The Braggs are members of Pleasant Grove Church in Cary, North Carolina, where Kim serves as the chair of Outreach and the Chair of Hospitality.
Kim enjoys being adventurous, besides spending time with family, being a caretaker, serving the community, organizing events, traveling, cooking, reading, and facing challenges of all kinds. Kim also adores and loves her extended children Miracle, Mastro, Moses, Messiah, and Mercy, who make up 2 fur babies, two bearded dragons, and a bird. In 2022, Kim was invited to join Cary Area AARP, and she stated that she had found another community home.
Joel Gutman
Treasurer
Joel was born and raised in Skokie, Illinois and is a 1973 graduate of the University of Illinois with a degree in Finance. He worked several jobs, and eventually became a Real Estate Appraiser and a Security Team member at Lurie Children's Hospital in Chicago. Peggy was a single mom raising two small boys when he met her in 1975. They married in 1981, had two girls, and spent the next 30 years in Chicago.
In 2015, Joel retired and he and Peggy moved to North Carolina. They originally planned to live in Asheville, but changed their plans to Cary when their daughter moved here also. They enjoy the weather, bike rides on the Greenway, sometimes bringing the grandsons along, and watching their grandsons' soccer games. They love to travel to the mountains and the beach, and having friends over for card games or just to socialize.
Joel joined AARP chapter#3976 in 2019 and was asked to serve as Vice-President. He served through 2022 in this role, and as of 2023 has become Treasurer.
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Come and join Joel at a meeting!
Ines Ortiz
Recording Secretary
I moved to Cary, NC, in 2008. Before this move, I lived and worked in New Jersey, where I attended Rutgers University in Newark, NJ, and graduated with a B.S. in Accounting. I worked for a pharmaceutical company as a senior accountant in the trust funds department and a community college as a grants accountant. Once in N.C., I worked for Duke University as a Grants Administrator.
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Now that I am retired, I enjoy reading, traveling, yoga, regular exercise, walking my dog, line dancing, and doing nothing. Yes, I had to train myself to enjoy “doing nothing.”
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I live with my husband, grandson, and my dog Joy.
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IAleta Jordan
Director-At-Large
IAleta is a retired healthcare professional. She worked for the Durham VA, but most of her experience is in Michigan. She enjoys spending time with family and friends reading dancing traveling gardening and helping others