By Ashley Arnsdorff
Photography by Heather Sargent
Mike and Barbara Lupfer
Their discovery of Aiken was all based on an invitation from a childhood friend.
Living in Virginia, Mike and Barbara were invited by a long-time friend of Mike’s to he and his wife’s home in Aiken. Jared Long had been friends with Mike since elementary school. Mike and Barbara visited Jared and Jane and were excited about the character and amenities of Aiken. Mike remembers Jared telling him, “Aiken is the place to be.” Mike felt assured that Jared knew what he was talking about after Jared had spent nearly 7 years researching his retirement location. As a native Virginian Mike says, “you don’t leave Virginia; it takes something special to get you to make a move.” On that first visit Mike and Barbara purchased a lot for a future home.
After almost three years living in Aiken, Mike and Barbara have found retirement to be a new phase of life. Mike, a former Marriott executive, works part-time as director of Member Relations for the Greater Aiken Chamber of Commerce, volunteers at the Reserve Club at Woodside, and serves with the Marine Corp League.
The numerous volunteer opportunities provide a tremendous outlet for seniors to use their experience and skill to help create a better community and quality of life in Aiken. Mike believes that “Aiken is blessed to have a senior community so involved that helps to provide services beyond what you could expect in many similar size communities, and that the at-large community is very appreciative of that fact.”
Aiken was somewhat of a chance encounter for Mike and Barbara Lupfer, and they’ve made the most of it. Not only are they involved, but they also enjoy many of the cultural activities available through the arts community. Most of all, Mike and Barbara are pleased with their selection of Aiken because of their many new friends. “The people of Aiken is what really sold us; there’s just a natural graciousness to everyone you meet. It makes it easy to live here and have a great purpose to your life” states Mike.
As retirement nears many couples begin a serious and sometime lengthy process of determining where they want to spend their retirement years and what they desire in a location. For these couples there are many important criteria to consider.
Many locations are found in magazines’ “Top 10” list of places to retire, which draws a great deal of interest, just as Aiken, South Carolina has been listed in numerous such lists. But for many considering Aiken as their retirement location, it becomes clear rather quickly that there is much more to Aiken than any “Top 10” list can detail. For three couples Aiken was more than a place it was an opportunity to continue successful lives with “purpose driven retirements”.
Gary and Alice Allington
Gary and Alice Allington were looking for a change of pace from the hustle and bustle of Orlando, Florida. Nearing retirement from Bellsouth, Gary began researching possible retirement communities using the internet. He narrowed his search by sorting communities that were smaller, spiritually based, offered distinct seasons and cultural amenities, and that had ample volunteer activities. Aiken made the final cut, and Gary and Alice planned a visit to see for themselves if it was all that the research promised. They made two brief visits and were impressed with the community and people and decided to keep Aiken near the top of their list. On their third visit, the 2006 Memorial Day weekend, they purchased a lot where they would build their retirement home.
Since moving, Gary and Alice found more than just a place to retire or a new home. They found activities and purpose for this stage in their lives. Gary serves as the local government liaison for the Greater Aiken Chamber of Commerce and uses his 22 years of experience as a corporate and external affairs executive at Bellsouth to encourage the business community to be involved in the governing process and to be more engaged. “It’s my role to identify opportunities and issues related to our business community that provides for a balanced initiative between local governments community because we have great leadership, and they work together to move our community forward,” states Gary. Alice uses some of her time and experience in philanthropic endeavors, such as working with Area Churches Together Serving (ACTS) where she administers help to families in need of food and clothing due to unforeseen emergencies. She is also a volunteer of the Hospital Visitation Program through the St. Johns United Methodist Church. Alice says, “It is a joy to serve and be involved in a way that helps your community and your neighbor. We’re just so thrilled to live in Aiken.”
Outside of these community activities, Gary has a hobby that sheds light on how much he appreciates Aiken. Gary is a songwriter in his spare time and, only one month after moving to Aiken, wrote “Aiken Is For Real,” a song about his admiration of this vibrant community. Neither Gary nor Alice is shy about why others should be attracted to Aiken. “It’s a place you have to see and experience for yourself, but we feel particularly blessed that we found Aiken, and we know others will feel the same,” states Gary and Alice.
Russ (Papa Russ) and Jennifer Richardson
Russ and Jennifer were two retired retail executives living in New Jersey researching their retirement location. They referenced “Where to Retire Magazine” to narrow their search as well as “Live South Real Estate Show.” They honed in on several locations and were familiar with many but also had Aiken on their short list. As part of their criteria, their new home had to have four distinct seasons, it wouldn’t be on the coast, and it had to be below the snow belt. As Russ put it, “if it snows, the snow must melt by noon.” They decided to visit Aiken and fell in love with its charm and beauty right away. “It was definitely a southern town, but it was different, more of a melting pot with great diversity but still with all of the charm and friendliness,” states Jennifer. They bought a house on their first visit.
Not long after their move to Aiken, some friends mentioned to Russ that one of his favorite hobbies might offer a good business opportunity for him in Aiken. Through the years Russ had become somewhat of a barbecue chef du jour. With the help of the local SCORE chapter, lots of hard work and the support of Jennifer, Papa Russ’s BBQ opened. “We started with just sandwiches and some sides, but we quickly expanded. I told everyone that we had lost our minds,” Jennifer says. Russ and Jennifer’s so called retirement has really meant finding a new purpose for the hours of hard work and determination they put into their new business. Along with the new business came more community involvement as they partnered with local charities through the restaurant to raise thousands of dollars. “We’ve taken what we’ve learned and put it into an investment for ourselves, but it’s also an investment in Aiken. We wanted to come to a southern town and to be involved; we’ve just gotten more involved than we first imagined,” states Russ. Aiken is unique in that it has a very skilled retiree community and their involvement through business ownership, charity work; and community activism makes Aiken a stronger and more vibrant place. Russ and Jennifer continue to expand their business and have added “Catering by Jennifer,” which provides a little more work in their lives and a little more fine food at local gatherings. “Aiken was just the right place for us and has provided us with a tremendously positive experience,” states Russ and Jennifer.
To meet the Richardson’s, Lupfer’s and Allington’s you might think they’re like many other retired couples but they’re not. They’re different because they chose Aiken! These couples sought a community that would continue to provide the purposeful opportunities to their senior years. These couples have each chosen their own path and purpose in their new home of Aiken but what they’ve found is that Aiken offers almost the limitless opportunity to follow their chosen path. The community has a broad scope of agencies and networks that retirees can be involved in or take advantage of to carry forward their lives and dreams. Along with the purpose that is taking place in each of these couples lives they also provide a tremendous amount of opportunity to Aiken through their collective experiences that are brought to bear in Aiken through their participation in government, charitable organizations, business ownership and so many other areas. Aiken is providing a “purpose driven” retirement and these couples return an extraordinary amount of service, energy and resources to their community. Aiken is a community rich in history yet forward thinking much like many of its retiree citizens. Whether its golf, plays at the Washington Center for Performing Arts, classes at USC Aiken, or starting a new business this is a community that reveres it most experienced residents. As Gary Allington put it, “come see for yourself, you’ll sink your roots in deeply and call it home.”
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