After a 27-year career in hospital administration, Barbara Biehner took early retirement and moved to Wilmington in 2005.

She chose the location because she wanted to return to the East Coast and also because she had family and friends who lived in the area. She planned to play a lot of tennis, relax and have the time to be involved with her daughter’s high school soccer career and college preparation.

“That lasted a few weeks, and then I thought, ‘What am I doing? This is not me!’ she said. “I will drive my daughter crazy if I don’t find something else to do.”

Biehner is one of many transplants to Wilmington whose post-retirement life includes some kind of  employment. Some retirees go back to work because their fixed income isn’t sufficient; others because they are bored and want the stimulation and social outlet that a job offers. Still others just fall into a new career.

Biehner began looking for volunteer opportunities and wound up at University of North Carolina Wilmington Cameron School of Business, where her volunteer role as a mentor evolved into a part-time position managing external programs, serving as an executive in residence and teaching.

The position became full time pretty quickly as internships, mentoring and resume assistance programs grew. When budget cuts came a few years ago, however, she was moved to a sales position, which she felt was not a good fit for her interests and talents.

An opportunity arose that took Biehner back into hospital administration but working with a different kind of patient. She now manages the Eastern Carolina Veterinary Referral Animal Emergency and Trauma Hospital in Wilmington, pursuing her love of animals but still using the skills she honed during her career.

“I was excited to be able to match my passion with my experience in management and health care,” said Biehner, who continues to teach at the university and mentor business students. “I couldn’t give those up because I love sharing my experience and making college real for students as they prepare to enter their careers.”

George Zimmerman retired in 2006 from a career with Colgate-Palmolive. He was the company’s worldwide director of technology development, in charge of improving processes and supervising constructions of new plants and development of new products.

After “hanging out” at home in Princeton, New Jersey, for a while, he and his wife decided they would like to move south and build a home in St. James Plantation. They moved there in 2010.

“Originally I loved the idea of serenity,” he said. “I played golf three or four times a week, but you can play only so much golf.”

Now, Zimmerman works part time as a consultant with a firm in the Northeast, advising clients who need his expertise.

The rest of his discretionary time he spends in a variety of volunteer pursuits: as a member of the Cameron School’s Cameron Executive Network, mentoring students. He’s also on the board of Paws Place, a no-kill animal shelter in Winnabow, using his process skills to raise funds for and oversee construction of a much-larger new facility.

He partners with a friend who works for Cru (formerly known as Campus Crusade for Christ), helping his friend raise the funds he needs to support his endeavors. And if that weren’t enough, Zimmerman volunteers with several of Brunswick Community College’s athletic teams.

“I like the concept that I didn’t retire, I refired,” Zimmerman said. “I’m doing things that sent me in different directions, new ventures. It’s kind of a mindset.”

Bo Burch, chief principal of Human Capital Solutions in Wilmington, says the term “retiree” just doesn’t apply to many people who have stepped down from their primary careers but are looking for new pursuits. He prefers “re-engaged,” “recommitted” or “redirected.”

“With the high-tech boom and good financial management, there are people 50 years old who don’t have to work, plus there are people who are 60 to 65 and in really good health,” he said, adding that these people still have plenty to contribute and often want to find a new way to use their skills and experience.

They may be disappointed, however, when they start looking around in this area, Burch said.

“What they find is extremely limited opportunities to do what they have been doing. We’ve got the hospital, PPD, GE, nCino – these are not the kind of opportunities like where they were before,” Burch said. “But here’s the good news: Wilmington is, for an employer, a wonderful place because of the level of talent and the severe under-employment.”

Burch is one of those fortunate employers. He has benefited from talent in the area by hiring several recent transplants, including Zimmerman’s wife, Pauline, who have specialized skills and a wealth of experience.

Meanwhile, AARP has recognized that the pool of work-savvy retirees is only going to grow, and those people are valuable, said Suzanne LaFollette-Black, the organization’s associate state director for North Carolina. LaFollette-Black, who is establishing AARP’s Wilmington office, said her organization recognizes that many people will choose to keep working in some capacity and wants to help older adults plan ahead for that next chapter.

“What we’re trying to do is talk about the joys and challenges of retirement: health, wealth and personal fulfillment, and ask them ‘What do you need?’ We coach them … so they do as much as possible in advance before they retire,” she said.

LaFollette-Black said that AARP is finding that retirees moving to Wilmington choose the area because of the climate, the amenities and the golf. “Then, all of a sudden, it’s ‘Now what?’” she said.

The organization is compiling a data bank of age-friendly companies that, LaFollette-Black says, recognize the value of older workers, and the group is having success placing people in jobs in those companies. It is also working with SCORE and other organizations to help aspiring older entrepreneurs.

“There are lots of opportunities; it’s knowing where to look and how to navigate,” she said.

Ken Hodges didn’t have to look. The Special Forces veteran-turned government special mission professional moved to Carolina Beach in 2008, thinking he would enjoy fishing and surfing. But he also began roasting coffee as a hobby, having learned about coffee growing and processing during his worldwide travels.

“I would give [the coffee] to friends, and next thing, those friends would have dinner parties and … people at those parties wanted my coffee,” he said. “After about two years of roasting as a hobby and giving it away and others contacting me, I opened a commercial roaster, just as something to do.”

That hobby, now a business called Island Roast Coffee, has Hodges working six days a week in his  500-square-foot space that serves as roaster, office and warehouse. He roasts about 500 pounds of coffee each week and supplies local grocery stores, coffee houses and restaurants and also ships his products all over the U.S., thanks to customers who order through his website.

“As a retirement hobby, you have to be careful which one you pick, because it can easily turn into a
full-time business,” he said.