Bart Kendrick , ARRA Broadband Initiative Program

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Retirement wasn’t enough for Bart Kendrick. After a long career in advertising and public relations, he found himself drawn back to the work world.

As he wrote in his winning entry for the “My Encore Moment” story contest on Encore.org, “The fishing was lousy, bait was getting scarce, and I had finished the house project and was tired of piece-work when opportunity came along. Early retirement wasn’t what it was cracked up to be. A friend tired of listening to my no-fish tales suggested I apply for a public affairs position with Peace Corps and, instead of griping, get a job that would put my 30 years in media to work for something worthwhile.”

That’s exactly what he did, working as a program manager for the 50+ Initiative of the Peace Corps to recruit experienced workers as volunteers for the organization. The number of Peace Corps applicants over age 50 has grown significantly in recent years.

After completing that assignment, he signed on as a public affairs specialist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, working to promote broadband in rural communities through the Recovery Act Broadband Initiative, which is funded with federal stimulus dollars. Broadband access bolsters local communities economically by bringing the high-speed Internet capacity required for business as well as many educational, medical, and recreational online programs.

Kendrick encourages others to explore encore careers in government by visiting the official federal job site USAJobs.gov. “Look for ways to showcase your knowledge, skills and abilities,” he says. “Experience makes a difference. Flaunt it!”