by Don Keelan
Vermont has many nonprofit organizations and, at least for now, the volunteers/trustees to serve them. As of this past spring, there will be one less. To take a line from the singer Kenny Rogers’ popular ballad, “The Gambler,” Jean Freebern of Arlington, Vermont, after decades of service, knew it was time to bring her service to an end. It was time to walk away.
For now, the nonprofits that Jean served as a volunteer and trustee will manage to carry out their mission, but without her service.
The present cohort of Vermont volunteers/trustees is aging, and the pool of volunteers/trustees behind them is not growing; contemporaneously, the number of nonprofits keeps proliferating.
The exceptionalism of Jean is just that; she was the exception. I believe that there might be others throughout Vermont that mirror Jean’s years of dedicated service filling the needs of worthwhile organizations.
Jean brought to Arlington and its nonprofits (Vermont’s Community Public Health Nursing Service, the Arlington Farmers Market, the Arlington Community House, and the Arlington Garden Club) her dedication, commitment, caring, and leadership.
Manifesting these qualities of character does not come from being a volunteer or trustee. In Jean’s case, they had their genesis from a life’s work, over four decades, serving as a registered nurse in surgical settings, psychiatric services, and where caring and compassion are paramount, her service in hospice care.
Jean had a silo of experience acquired by accompanying her husband, the late Robert K. Freebern, MD, Major United States Army Medical Corps, to far and not-so-far places such as West Germany; California; Washington, DC; New York; and Massachusetts. Dr. Freebern’s service as a doctor in Viet Nam, at the height of the war, brought Jean, now with three children, back to her hometown area of Hudson Falls, NY.
I can only imagine the experience of associating with professionals, patients, and families as a nurse in hospitals in California, New York, Maryland, Massachusetts, and, close to the end of her nursing career, Vermont. Jean brought that experience to her nonprofit boards in her adopted hometown of Arlington.
By now, you must have concluded that this column’s subject must be a nonagenarian. If so, you are correct. On September 12, 2026, Jean will be 93 years young. She believes that for having reached this milestone, it is time to walk away from her service to her hometown’s nonprofit organizations.
Jean’s service epitomizes that of many octogenarians and septuagenarians who continue to serve on Vermont’s nonprofit boards. There is no question that for many, a contribution is being made; at least, we believe so. However, there comes a time when we need to turn over that service and leadership to the next generation of leaders and volunteers.
It is not strictly in the nonprofit arena. When to walk away is no means an easy task.
By knowing when to walk away and actually doing so, we open up the organization to a younger generation with their ideas, as it was when we first joined organizations, decades ago, replacing older members of that time.
Nevertheless, we must not be too quick to encourage our 70-to 95-year-old volunteers/trustees to step down. For many, they have the wisdom, experience, and commitment to offer and are so often needed. In return, it provides a necessary sense of purpose for them as well as a social outlet deemed to be essential. It is hard to accept the fact that one’s contributions are no longer relevant.
Nonprofit organizations might do well to consider the environment that exists today when it comes to recruiting younger members. Their work and family lives are much different than what we encountered. They have time constraints as well as personal satisfaction requirements. Nevertheless, they can and will make valuable contributions.
Jean, we thank you for your service to your patients and for your volunteerism here in Arlington and Vermont.
And for this columnist, at four-score and seven, maybe I “got to know when to fold,” my laptop, of course.
The author is a U.S. Marine (retired), CPA, and columnist living in Arlington, VT.