Congratulations to our OLLI Award Recipient

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1 El Paso Retired Teachers Association November Volume 4 - Issue 3 PRESIDENT S MESSAGE Congratulations to Donnette Vollmer and Gloria Bannister on joining the EPRTA Board. Ms. Vollmer accepted the position of 1 st Vice President for Membership and Ms. Banister accepted the position of Communications Chair. The Holiday season is upon us. I know because the Hallmark Channel is running Christmas movies. One of EPRTS s holiday traditions is to collect toys for children in El Paso. This year, at our November Luncheon, we will be collecting for the Child Crisis Center which provides 24/7/365 emergency shelter for up to 31 children, ages newborn through 13 years for families experiencing a crisis. They need toys, games, and books. Please be generous. After the Holiday season is over, the Primary season begins. All State Representatives and 15 of the 31 State Senators will be up for reelection. These are the people who decide our future economic security. The measures passed in the last year for our healthcare programs are not permanent solutions. We need a permanent solution to fund healthcare in an affordable way. We need a cost of living raise. During the regular and special legislative sessions this past year we learned that our voice matters! It was the s, letters, and telephone calls from thousands of retirees that influenced the Legislature to approve nearly three-fourths of the money needed. We need to do three things. First, we need to increase our membership. The more members we have, the more our elected officials will take us seriously. If you know of a retiree who is not a member, invite them to join. Second, we need to stay informed. EPRTA s Legislative Liaison, Joe Barbe, and our Technology/Phone coordinator Lila Murphy have done an excellent job of providing timely information. However, for you to get this information we need your address. If you have not done so, send your name and to my address below. Third, we need to voice our concerns. Demand to know what your Legislators see as a permanent solution. James Lamonica jphlamonica@hotmail.com Congratulations to our OLLI Award Recipient The recipient of the Spring 2018 EPRTA OLLI Grant is Genevieve Chavez The OLLI program provides adult education courses for senior citizens age 50 and over. Classes include art, history, languages, literature, music and physical activities. No prior academic credentials are required. No exams will be administered, no papers will be assigned, no grades given, nor diplomas or certificates issued. The EPRTA Grant includes the enrollment fee of $70 for as many courses as desired during the 12- week term. A parking permit is included. Recipients of the scholarship who have never enrolled in a course before will also receive the $25 for the one-time registration fee. Have a good book or two you read this summer and want to share? Bring them to the luncheon for our BOOK EXCHANGE TABLE where you can donate your books and select others for yourself.

2 Date & Time: Location: Program: EPRTA LUNCHEON November 16, 12:00 Noon Wyndham Airport Hotel Women of Smeltertown Menu Entrée: Thanksgiving Dinner Cost: $18.00 Reservation Deadline November 8, 2017 Call Lila Murphy at Luncheon Reservations The Wyndham requires that reservations be turned in on the Thursday before the Luncheon. The reservation deadline is listed above. If you are not contacted for the meeting, please call Lila Murphy at by the reservation deadline. If you make a reservation for the Luncheon, cannot attend, and cannot cancel by the deadline, you will be responsible for the cost of the meals reserved. Please pay the Treasurer, Carlos Martinez. Meal Choice Information For each Luncheon, two (2) meals will be available. Those will be: (1) The regular meal published in this newsletter. (2) A veggie plate that will also be gluten-free and dairy-free. There is no guarantee that the salad or dessert will meet dietary needs. Please tell your caller if you wish the veggie plate when you make your reservations. IN MEMORIUM William Gray Thinking of You Santos Rivera Guest Speaker The guest speaker for our November luncheon will be Mimi Gladstein. She is a Professor of English and Theatre Arts at the University of Texas at El Paso. She is the author of five books and co-editor of two. The Last Supper of Chicano Heroes: Selected Works of José Antonio Burciaga won an American Book Award, a Southwest Book Award, and a Latino Book Award. Gladstein s scholarly articles cover subjects as diverse as feminism in the Harry Potter series and bilingual wordplay in Hemingway and Steinbeck. International recognition includes the John J. and Angeline Pruis Award for teaching Steinbeck and the Burkhardt Award for Steinbeck scholarship. She will be speaking on The Women of Smeltertown. Mini Project This month we are collecting toys for the Child Crises Center composed of the Circle of Love Nursery and Children s Shelter, which provides 24/7 emergency shelter for up to 31 children, ages newborn through 13 years for families experiencing a crisis. Keeping Healthy: Two Minutes to Health It is well known that sitting for several hours every day can lead to heart disease, diabetes, and early death. Recent findings show that getting up for two minutes every hour of sitting and engaging in a light activity such as walking, or housework can substantially lower the risks. It is important to remember that this strategy is not a substitute for the 150 minutes of moderate exercise that your body needs every week.

3 PROTECT YOUR SAFETY We all pay all kinds of bills. Sometimes bills we receive are higher than they should be and sometimes unexpected charges appear on a bill. You might even get charged for a service you don't recall ordering. Are you paying more than you should? You are your own best advocate. How often has a company worked on your behalf and figured out that you have overpaid and refunded your money? It could happen, but it happens very rarely. You are more likely to get your money back if you spot the error and point it out to the company. This means keeping track of what you normally pay and what the charges are for. The best way to do this is to keep your receipts so you can compare them with the bill. You can also ask for better deals or promotions you qualify for. Find out if interest rates can be lowered. The response might be no, but at least you tried. If you don't ask, you don't get. SPOTLIGHT ON LEGISLATIVE NEWS Just when you thought that all the legislative sessions were over, and that no more changes were coming, here comes the 2018 elections that will decide who will make all the key decisions in the next legislative session of Remember that the legislation passed this year was only a temporary fix for our health insurance. A permanent solution still needs to be enacted. You will be hearing a lot from TRTA and EPRTA as we try to get more active with retired educators, along with all who have a stake in public education. To be active in choosing the people who will make those crucial decisions for us you need this information. Due to the rapid pace of legislative news, EPRTA needs your address to ensure you get timely information. If you have not been receiving s with this information, send your name and address to jphlamonica@hotmail.com Remember: Always read every statement carefully. If something looks unfamiliar or wrong, contact the company. If you don't like the response you get, ask to speak to a supervisor. Always keep records of your calls. The Federal Trade commission has a web site that may help you dispute a credit card bill: disputing-credit-card-charges Volunteer Suggestions WANT TO HELP? Check out the Texas Retired Teachers Foundation for information on helping members living in the Hurricane disaster area at Anything you can give would be great. EPRTA will be ringing the bell for the Salvation Army on December 9 th at the Walgreens on the corner of Rushing and Fairbanks in Northeast El Paso. We need volunteers. Call Jackie Morgan-Tomko at to schedule an hour. We hope to have two members each hour. Bring your grandchildren! It s a great lesson for them. REMINDER: Keep up with your volunteer hours! Two months to go before hours will have to be turned in. Hours that you spend helping others such as: mowing lawns, cleaning house, sitting with elderly for temporary relief for caregiver, picking up children from school, babysitting for working parents, and taking elderly to appointments are hours that should be reported. A form is provided on page 5.

4 TRTA Retirement Education Committee Reaching Out to All Active and Retired Educators To our District and Local Retirement Education Committee Chairs and Members, your State Committee Members hope that everyone has started to think about or plan for some type of Retirement Education activity for this school year. Many of us are still struggling to recover from the impact of Hurricane Harvey as well as to prepare for the upcoming changes to our TRS-Care Health Insurance made during the Regular and Special Sessions of the Texas Legislature. We know that whatever method you choose to share information with educators throughout your community will be greatly appreciated. PROMOTE THE VOTE 165 of the 181 seats in the Texas Legislature are up for election or re-election in 2018: All 150 State Representatives 15 of the 31 State Senators These are the individuals that fund public education, control TRS, and determine your benefits and insurance. TRS has more than 1.5 Million active members and retiree recipients who should be voting in every state election. On March 6, 2018, the Texas Primary elections will determine most offices before the November 2018 General elections. Visit the TEXAS EDUCATORS VOTE! at to see which school districts in your area are spreading the word to educators about the importance of voting. TRTA State Retirement Education Committee

5 MEMBER BENEFITS Car in the repair shop? Want a car to drive out of town? Want a rental car in the city that you re visiting? Want to try out a new model? Any time that you need to rent a vehicle, you can depend on the special treatment that you will receive as a member of TRTA. As a benefit of your membership in our organization, three car rental companies will offer you special benefits when you let them know that you are a TRTA member. Here are the three companies which offer TRTA members special benefits and their instructions on how to get their offer: Avis Rent-A-Car For personal or business rentals in making reservations, ask for the best rate and mention Avis Worldwide Discount # (AWD) D to receive up to 25 percent off the rental. To reserve online or call Budget Rent-A-Car For personal or business rentals in making reservations, ask for the best rate and mention Budget Customer Discount # (BCD) X to receive up to 25% off the rental. To reserve call or reserve online at Enterprise Rent-A-Car Enterprise Rent-A-Car Offers 10 percent discount to members when car is rented from an airport location and 5 percent discount when car is rented from non-airport location. Call Enterprise at for reservations or visit Enterprise Rent-A-Car. To receive your discount, mention this code: 65TRTA, online use code: 65TRTA & enter corporate code: TEX on second page EPRTA Individual Volunteer Community Service Hours Mail before FEBRUARY 1 to the Local Unit Community Volunteer Chairperson: Barbara Keily, 2905 Devil's Tower, El Paso TX Hours to be reported for January 1 to December 31 Maximum 12 hours per day. Remember: 1) Volunteer hours may be counted for any service that is provided without pay to an individual or group. 2) Record hours spent in volunteer work from the time you leave home until the time you return. Also count the time you spend preparing to do the volunteer work, i.e., preparing a speech or baking cookies. 3) Record hours from EPISD and combine all other volunteer hours regardless of type of service performed. 4) Make a habit of recording the activities on a regular basis. A calendar is ideal for keeping track. Name: Phone: Local Unit: El Paso Retired Teachers Association District: _XIX Month Hours Month Hours EPISD Other EPISD Other January July February August March September April October May November June December Total Hours:

6 El Paso Retired Teachers Association PO BOX El Paso, TX NON-PROFIT ORG. US POSTAGE PAID EL PASO, TX PERMIT NO.2182 Return Service Requested CHECK US OUT ON SOCIAL MEDIA Website: Facebook: