A Job Offer for Anna Quindlen: Don’t Step Aside, Step Anew

VibrantNation.com Offers One of the Great Voices of the Boomer Generation a Few More Last Words

LOUISVILLE, Ky., May 13 /PRNewswire/ — VibrantNation.com, the first online destination for women 50+ and a peer-to-peer information exchange populated by smart and passionate women, today announced that it has extended an offer to Anna Quindlen, former contributing editor and “Last Word” columnist for Newsweek, to join the voices of other Baby Boomer generation women who comprise what has been dubbed the Vibrant Nation.

A copy of the letter sent by Stephen Reily, founder and CEO of VibrantNation.com, is published below in its entirety:

Dear Ms. Quindlen,

Like many Newsweek readers, I was stunned when I read your final LAST WORD column. I was even more surprised — and a bit concerned — as I considered your rationale for “Stepping Aside.” Don’t get me wrong; I respect your decision. Among the great advantages of living and working in the USA are our freedoms: of speech, of the press, of the choices we get to make in our personal and professional lives.

But as the founder of VibrantNation.com, a website for women age 50+, I’ve got a vested interest in ensuring the voices of this powerful, yet often ignored niche of the Boomer generation, continue to be heard.

Now, more than ever, our nation can benefit from the strong, wise and opinionated voices of the women who comprise the Vibrant Nation. In a world where women over 50 are too frequently pushed aside, written off and broadly ignored by marketers despite their exceptional purchasing power, stepping aside to create opportunity for a younger generation cannot be the best or only solution.

As you regularly do, you eloquently wrote in your farewell column about how, “Barack Obama hopscotched over an entire generation of politicians to reach the White House; he had not waited his turn because a majority of the American people decided that he ought not to do so. They agreed that the country needed change.”

I respectfully suggest that the reason Barack Obama became President Obama had little to do with his age and lots to do with the potent combination of better ideas and inspiration. He surrounded himself with advisors (younger and older) and combined the latest advances in communications technology with traditional, proven political campaign techniques. He called upon us to bring our best to make this a better world — regardless of one’s age or generation.

It is this combination of smart ideas, diverse experiences and well-stated opinions from our nation’s youngest and oldest citizens that truly represent the image and likeness of our nation and our world. Stepping aside is not an option, because we don’t believe you’ve said all you want or need to say.

Surely I’m not the only one who worries that your self-imposed retirement simply reinforces what the marketplace has always imposed on women over 50: silence and invisibility. Why else imply that it’s time for women like you to get out of the way? I am confident that women your age (and you’re only 56, for goodness’ sake) can make room for younger voices while continuing to share everything they’ve learned along the way, both in the broader arena and (as they always have done) with each other.

Please accept this formal offer to join the chorus of smart, passionate women over 50 as Contributing Editor for VibrantNation.com. We hope we can play some small role in helping you continue to share your important perspective on our world with other women like you who are eager to hear your voice…trust me, they’ll let you know how they feel about what you have to say.

If you’re interested, please email me at stephen@vibrantnation.com. If you choose to pursue other adventures, I hope you’ll still join the dialogue by becoming a member at www.VibrantNation.com.

Sincerely,

Stephen Reily

Founder and CEO

VibrantNation.com

About VibrantNation.com

VibrantNation.com is the first peer-to-peer information-sharing website devoted exclusively to successful women 50+, creating a place where they can exchange information and join in smart conversation. Stereotypes have for many years kept marketers from appreciating not just the size of their pocketbooks but also the level of connectedness of these women, whose shared interests and goals make them even more networked and even more influential with peers. At VibrantNation.com, we know these women are starting businesses, giving back, making new friends, traveling, learning, shopping — and looking to connect with others who share their desire to make the most of life every day. For several years, we have conducted research into the interests and needs of this fast-growing and important consumer demographic. VibrantNation.com is not only filling a unique need for its members, but also leading the way in helping marketers understand and serve 50+ women.

    Media Contact:
    Bratskeir & Company
    Tara Madden | 212.679.2233 | tmadden@bratskeir.com
    Patricia Rallis | 212.679.2233 | prallis@bratskeir.com

SOURCE VibrantNation.com