Jack Lim is president of PEF Retirees Chapter 9 in the lower Hudson valley.
The chapter, which is split into two distinct geographic areas by the Hudson
River, includes Duchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan, Ulster and
Westchester counties, with most members clustered in four main areas.
Jack writes, “My goals are to keep the retirees informed of what benefits
they are entitled to receive, and for them to utilize the available
government and private services, such as health fairs at local malls or a
health seminar at a local hospital.”
His objective is to make these things interesting and fun for members, but
not time-consuming.
In a recently published news article, Jack was characterized as a “... Man
Who Went the Distance.” We call him “the PEF Retirees Marathon Man.” Both
are references to his participation in the 2008 NY City Marathon, which he
finished.
It’s quite a feat for anyone to complete this course of more than 26 miles
along the streets and bridges of the city. It is even more impressive when
you consider Jack suffers from a lung condition called idiopathic pulmonary
fibrosis. He chose to participate and doggedly hung on to finish the
marathon as a way to spur support for finding a cure for this serious
illness.
Jack is not a quitter. We all can learn from his example and remember we’ve
retired from work, not from life. We still have a vast range of
opportunities for useful activity before us.
Let us all take heart in a leader such as Jack Lim, who struggled for nine
hours and 52 minutes through all five boroughs of New York to finish the
race. '
He may have been off the winning pace, but he accomplished what he set out
to do. That makes him a true winner.
