Legislative Luncheon, March Meeting, Elections...

The deadline for reserving a place at the Legislative Luncheon is January 31, 2011. Please email Jeanne immediately.

Also, please contact Jeanne if you have any suggestions for a speaker for the March meeting or would like to be on the agenda. The information letter for March meeting is to be out in a few weeks (late February) so make sure you let Jeanne know as soon as possible.

A slate of 2011-2013 officers needs to be approved at the March meeting. Please let Jeanne know immediately if you would volunteer for one of the following openings (any office may be co-chaired).

• President
• President Elect
• Assistant Secretary
• Membership Chairperson
• Associate Membership Chairperson
• Publicity Chairperson
• Legislative Chairperson
• Volunteer Hours Chairperson

Members who have held some of the above offices need a break. The strength of AREA is dependent on the commitment of members and officers. Please volunteer and help keep AREA the second largest retired educators association in Indiana.

Legislative up-dates will be posted when available. Please continue to check this website.

Jeanne Hertig, President

ISTA Legislative Update: 1/12/2011

GENERAL ASSEMBLY 2011
Support the Promise for Indiana's Children

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

President Nate Schnellenberger and Executive Director Dr. Brenda Pike attended Gov. Daniels' State of the State speech last night at the Statehouse. After the speech, Nate made himself available and spoke with numerous members of the statewide media in response to the governor’s proposals on education.

This morning, Nate met privately with Gov. Daniels to discuss the governor's education agenda in greater detail. During that meeting, both sides were respectful of each other’s positions.

Both the governor and Nate agreed to work toward common ground, fully understanding that will be differences between them during this legislative session.

Gov. Daniels agreed to make himself available for future conversations with ISTA.

As for the legislature itself, Nate and your ISTA lobbying team have met with the leaders of all four legislative caucuses and the chairmen of the various relevant committees as well as with many other legislators to strengthen relationships and to communicate ISTA’s positions on various issues for the current session.

As of now, the major education reform bills have not been processed nor made publicly available. Obviously, details on these to follow.

Later today the Senate Education Committee will meet and the notable proposal scheduled for hearing is Senate Bill 171 concerning school calendar start date, prohibiting schools starting before Labor Day.

Go to ISTA's Daily Legislative Updates to stay informed throughout the session: http://www.ista-in.org/blog.aspx?blogid=36954

Stay involved this legislative session. Follow what is happening at the Indiana Statehouse and stay in touch with your legislators. They have the power to represent your voice – the real voice of Indiana’s educators – in Indianapolis.


ISTA and the ISTA logo are registered trademarks of ISTA.
Indiana State Teachers Association - 150 W Market St, Indianapolis, IN 46204. ph 317-263-3400

Upcoming Dates, AREA Elections

Please note the following scheduled dates and events. Your support and attendance are appreciated.

February 14, 2011
Legislative Luncheon at the State House from 12:00-1:00 P.M. We need as many delegates as possible to go and let the representatives of the House and Senate know how important we are and that we are interested in a COLA or a one time check. It will be a hard sell this year, but if we don't support IRTA and AREA who else will? Please let me know if you are willing to go.

March 10, 2011
IRTA Open House at the new location:
2629 Waterfront Parkway East Dr.
Suite 105
Indianapolis, IN 46214.

All members are welcome.

March 24, 2011
AREA meeting at Chops Steak and Seafood, 6421 Jefferson Blvd. Fort Wayne, IN. We need to have names of volunteers who would be willing to take over the AREA offices for 2011 - 2013 to create a slate of officers to be voted on at the June 1, 2011 meeting. Any office may be co-chaired. Please talk with your colleagues to fill officer's positions. Age is not a factor. I do not plan to be President next year.

May 18, 2011 all day
Representative Assembly at Primo Hall South - Any members in AREA and IRTA are welcome to attend.

June 1, 2011
AREA meeting at the Lutheran Life Villages, 6701 Anthony Blvd. Fort Wayne, IN to vote on the slate of officers and social time. In addition, AREA will recognize those retired educators who have passed from April 2010 - April 2011.

July 13, 2011
The President's Workshop at the Clarion Waterfront Hotel at 8:30 A.M. If needed, I would attend with the new AREA President.

October 5, 2011
The tentative date for Retired Teachers Appreciation Day at the State House. This is an event any member may attend for a ceremony and reception from 12:00 - 3:00 P.M. Again there will be legislative representatives in attendance. They appreciate what retired teachers have done for Indiana.

Please volunteer for offices. All retired educators have organized and taught children. The only thing different is you will be planning and sharing with adults. AREA needs someone to continue to lead our organization.

Jeanne Hertig, President

December 2010 Update

Indiana Retired Teachers Association
• December 23-24 - Office closed
• December 30-31- Office closed

March 24, 2011 (Thursday)
AREA meeting Chops Steak and Seafood, 6421 Jefferson Blvd. Fort Wayne, IN

June 1, 2011 (Wednesday)
AREA meeting Lutheran Life Villages, 6701 Anthony Blvd. Fort Wayne, IN

Check out IRTA's new mascot - GIRTA, the bookworm

Need insurance quotes: contact Association Member Benefits Advisors 1-800-258-7041 or email www.amba.info

Travel and Tour Opportunities by Indiana Retired Teachers Association:
Contact Eugene Wease at 219-662-2867 or wpairagenes@att.net

• Texas: December 28, 2010 - New Year's
• Shades of Ireland: March 22, 2011
• Greece: April 12, 2011
• Rockies Highlights by Train: July 18, 2011
• Blue Danube River Cruise: September 26, 2011

Happy Holidays from your officers of AREA!

Are You a CASA?

December 4, 2010

Hello, again, my friends,

I know I just wrote to you, but after a recent conversation with Cindy Hiott, our state Community Service Chair, we decided to ask you for some help. We would like to find out how many retired teachers who are members of Indiana Retired Teachers Association are also serving as a CASA—a court appointed special advocate. We would like for you to survey your members in whatever way you choose, and to let us know the numbers who are a CASA. If they do not object, we would like to have their names also.

We understand that this can’t be done quickly and hope to collect the information over the next few months. Perhaps you can survey your members as you send out notices for the next meeting, at the meeting, or when you contact them to remind them of volunteer hours or attending the legislative luncheon on February 14.

This will help us in several ways. You may know that the Chief Justice of the Indiana Supreme Court supervises CASA. He is very interested in the program, and very supportive of our association’s partnership with CASA.

The information will help us in another way—in asking the legislature to recognize that we are still giving back to our communities. Every tool that we can utilize can help when we testify during the legislative session.

Finally, we have been recognized several different times by our affiliate, the National Retired Teachers Association, and this would give us information to prepare another application for a national award.

If you can help us with this project, please send the information that you gather to jgreen@retiredteachers.org. Cindy and I thank you for your effort on this project.

Sincerely,
Nancy Tolson, President
Cindy Hiott, Chair of Community Service Committee

Volunteer Hours

Members,

If you have not turned in your volunteer hours for 2010, please complete immediately.

Send information to:
Kate Ferguson
8324 Park State Drive
Fort Wayne, IN 46815
katef8881comcast.net
260-749-8881

Please break down your totals into youth hours and other hours. If you have many hours, please give Kate a brief note. We need all the volunteer hours to show state legislatures that retired teachers are giving back. We hope it will encourage them to give us a COLA.

In the column on the right there is a link to the Indiana Legislature. When I let you know that we need to notify legislators on educator's bills, please follow that link to get the information. It will take all members to help with a COLA or 13th check.

Please note my email has changed:

jeanne914@frontier.com

If you have not reported changes in your address or email, please do so at this time.

Thanks!
Jeanne Hertig, President of AREA

Thanksgiving Message

November, 2010
 
Dear Friends,
          First, I want to wish each of you a wonderful Thanksgiving.  I am thankful for your support and friendship, and I hope you know how much I appreciate all that you do for retired teachers and for our communities.  There are several things that I want to share with you.
          Number one: we will be moving our office from downtown to suburban Indianapolis.  The address is 2629 Waterfront Parkway East Drive, Suite 105.  It is off highway 136.
          This move means that we will be saving money on our monthly lease, will have more space, free parking, a better “break room” for our hard-working employees, and will be near the Clarion where we hold many of our meetings.  In fact, our board room in the new office will be big enough that we can meet there, saving even more money.  Larger meetings such as our Presidents Workshop can still be at the Clarion, but the office will be close by so that will help us prepare for those meetings.
          We hope you will feel free to stop in and visit when we get moved.  If all goes as planned, we will be settled in by early January.
          Number two:  We are preparing for whatever may come up in the legislative session beginning in January.  We feel it is not going to be a “snap,” but Andy Thomas is already hard at work with plans and contacts so that we will be ready for whatever happens.
          Number three:  I goofed when I asked people at the Fall Workshops to fill out the form that asked how much you gave locally to scholarships.  I forgot that there might be several from one local; therefore, the figures would not be accurate. So if your chapter gives any scholarships locally, would you please send the amount that you gave in the past year to the office.  When we add together what local chapters give and our state scholarships, it will give us one more way to show how much retired teachers are still giving back to our communities. 
          Please send your name, the name of the local chapter, and the amount of your local scholarship to jgreen@retiredteachers.org.   If your local has sent a contribution to the state scholarship fund, please list that also.  We can publicize this in the coming year.
          Again, my thanks for all your work and support, and may you have a beautiful holiday season.

Sincerely,
Nancy Tolson