Wednesday, May 27, 2015

AREA Awards - Updated

Allen County Retired Educators will receive four awards at the IRTA Representative Assembly on June 17.

The four awards are:
  • A Certificate for Outstanding Performance in Associate and/or Regular Membership Growth
  • An Award for Website
  • To Steve Keim: A Certificate in Recognition of Your Outstanding Community Service Activities in 2014
  • To Carol Buttell: The AMBA Clock Award for Area 2 as One of the Eight Top Volunteers Statewide Due to Your Community Service Activities in Indiana
Congratulations to Steve Keim, Carol Buttell, and AREA for these honors!

[UPDATE: An earlier version of this post indicated that we would receive an award for Newsletter, Participation instead of our web site, which was incorrect.]

###

Monday, May 25, 2015

June 16 AREA Meeting

Our last meeting of the 2014-2015 year is upon us already! Your next newsletter and meeting will be very ably handled by our incoming president, Barb Kanning. I have enjoyed serving as your president and I thank you for your attendance at meetings and willingness to help. Tuesday, June 16, we will meet at

Catablu Grille
6372 W. Jefferson Blvd
Fort Wayne.

Please come by 10:45 so we can start promptly at 11:00.

RESERVATIONS: Please make your reservation with Mary Jo Purvis by Tuesday, June 9: 493-4263 or mpurvis1@frontier.com. The cost if $15.00, which can be paid at the meeting. You will have a choice of several meals. If you have special dietary needs, speak with your meal server to substitute within our budget.

FREE LUNCH for 2014 Retired Educators who have not attended any prior AREA meeting. TWO-FOR-ONE deal for MEMBERS who bring a non-member retired principal or teacher. Be sure to inform Mary Jo with your reservation.

PROGRAM: Abigail Savage will speak on the topic "Using BSU Immersive Learning." After studying education in the "immersive way" at Ball State, Abby taught a year in Germany and this past year in Bluffton.

EYEGLASSES: Bring old eyeglasses for Ed DeLong to collect to take to Lion's Club!

THE IRTA REPRESENTATIVE ASSEMBLY will be held Wednesday, June 17, 2015 at Primo South in Indianapolis. Please consider attending! We are allowed 23 delegates. To be a voting delegate, you must be a member of IRTA, but you may attend the meeting without being a member. AREA will pay the $25.00 cost for breakfast and lunch. Carol Buttell will be driving. AREA will be receiving three awards! Please contact Carol by May 27 if you can attend (260-489-55413) or cbuttell@frontier.com.

IRTA MEMBERSHIP - Have you joined? IRTA needs you! Contact Pam George (260-471-5952) or pamgeorgeph@comcast.net

HOPING TO SEE YOU JUNE 16 AT CATABLU!

###

Friday, May 1, 2015

Final Legislative Bulletin for 2015

THANK YOU TO OUR MANY MEMBERS AND FRIENDS OF RETIRED EDUCATORS!! WE DID MANAGE TO GET SOME HELP FROM THE 2015 LEGISLATIVE SESSION, ONLY BECAUSE YOU DID AS WE ASKED—YOU EMAILED AND WROTE UNTIL WE COULDN’T BE IGNORED!

This is a summary of what has happened in the past weeks—sometimes dripping like molasses, and sometimes striking like lightning.

  • After our COLA bill was heard in the Senate Pensions and Labor, but not voted on, we were quite concerned.
  • We planned our strategy from there by visiting several times with senators that we knew were friendly toward our cause.
  • We also asked you to write to all your legislators.
  • We visited one-on-one with some senators that weren’t especially friendly, but we tried to get our point across that a COLA was needed.
  • Many of you came to the brunch and talked directly to your legislators or sent them notes if they didn’t attend.
  • Everyone kept telling us that we had to see what the April forecast of the state’s economy would look like.
  • When it came out the week after the brunch as a negative report, that is, the state would be collecting less money than had been hoped.
  • At that point, we knew that a COLA was not possible, given the report and the mindset of the Appropriations Committee.
  • Nancy testified at the Conference Committee of the House and Senate Budget Conference on April 17. Since we knew the COLA was dead, I made the case for a 13th check.
  • Last week we made the rounds again, asking our friends in both the House and Senate to try to move others in our favor.
  • Monday, we were told that we were out of the budget. We talked, and talked to any who would listen. Our friends in the legislature were also working behind the scenes.
  • Steve was on the phone, dictating various message to Debbie and Julie in the office so they could send them out immediately.
  • I was also sending out emails.
  • On Tuesday we still thought it was gone. We talked to legislators as they came and went from their caucus.
  • In the afternoon, we heard that we were in!
  • By midnight on Tuesday, the budget bill had been printed, and it does have money for a 13th check. (A stipend. but they still want to call it a 13th check.) It will be just the same amounts and for the same teaching experience as past bills have been written.
  • This may give you some idea of how chaotic these last days of a session can be. However, the session is over now, and it is time for thank you notes to many people.
1. The first thank you that you may want to send is to Steve Beebe. Without his advice and expertise, I feel sure that we would have lost everything. You can send them to our IRTA office and the staff can forward them on to him.

2. Next, please thank our friends in the House! They stayed with their unanimous vote for us, and really held on for us to get something.

Thank:
Chairman Tim Brown, House Ways and Means

Representative Jeff Thompson

Representative Woody Burton

Representative Marin Carbaugh

Representative Robert Cherry

Representative Douglas Gutwein

And your representative, whomever it might be. The House voted out the original bill unanimously.



Finally, thank these senators. If the Senate hadn’t agreed to the 13th check, all the other time and work would have been for nothing.

Thank:
Senator Kenley
Senator Tallian
Senator Walker
Senator Becker
Senator Leising
Senator Rogers

All can be sent to
The Honorable ________
200 W. Washington Street
Indianapolis, IN 46204

If you know their home address, it will be fine to send it there.

Once more, thank you to you and all the people you asked to help. Without you, we could not have done this.

Your lobbying team

IRTA Representative Assembly

Dear AREA Members:

This is a reminder that the IRTA Representative Assembly will be Wednesday, June 17, at Primo South, Indianapolis. Please consider going as a delegate. We can take many. I will be driving and if we need more drivers, AREA will pay for the fuel. Being in attendance gives you a great idea of what IRTA is doing and accomplishing. Coffee, juice, rolls and doughnuts, etc. are available when we get there.

The meeting business is mostly completed by lunchtime and we leave for home soon after lunch. Our AREA incoming president, Barb Kanning, is not able to attend because of a commitment to another conference. I will be attending as AREA president. As last year, "ushers" are needed; we don't need to pay for meals for those who usher. In doing this last year, we found the job to be almost a "no job." IRTA now has 10 areas in the state; one usher stands at each area's section of seats to help members who can't locate their section. AREA members who live north will leave my house at 5:45 A.M. and we will pick up at Comfort Inn at Coventry at 6:00.

Please let me know ASAP (by Saturday night, May 2) if you can attend and if you are OK with being an usher. We will be able to make reservations later, but I need to inform the IRTA office now if we can help usher, how many, and names. Call me at 489-5413 or e-mail cbuttell@frontier.com It could be that enough people have already offered to usher.

Thanks! Carol

Big news from AREA member Mary Lou Morris. Her son, State Representative Bob Morris, informed her that we WILL have a 13th check; it is in the budget!